Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska My Reviews of South-Central Gun Stores

Great Northern Guns (Anchorage). GNGs been around a long time and has a good supply of standard-grade and high-end rifles, handguns and shotguns. Prices run higher than average, but customer service is excellent. This is the best place to go if you're new to AK and you want to get set up with a top-quality rig. It's also the best place to find high-end rifles and shotguns in town. The only bad thing about GNG is they need a new facility! They're still operating out of an old mobile home and things get very tight-packed on the weekends.

Great Guns (Anchorage). Chuck does a lot of business with local LEOs and has a good supply of police-related equipment. Moderate inventory of handguns and rifles, plus a few shotguns. I've found some of my best deals at Great Guns, and the service is always excellent. I'd recommend anyone with enough time swing through to see what's on consignment. I've found everything from bargain-priced Iranian Mausers to bargain-priced Walther pistols. You never know what's going to show up, and consignments there don't last long.

Gun Runners/RAL sports. (Anchorage, Eagle River) These guys are the young Turks of south-central gun shops. They have an amazing stock of C&R rifles and low-end bargains. The down side is there's a lot of crud mixed in and you have to be able to distinguish. Handgun selection is excellent and prices in general are low. Service is OK but the store tends to be more do-it-yourself. A good place to shop if you know your firearms. Good selection of odd ammo.

Ammo King. (Anchorage). The best selection of military surplus ammo, plus a good selection of standard ammo. Some extremely good deals if you buy in bulk. This is an essential store given the difficulties of shipping live ammo to Alaska. They also have a rotating stock of primarily C&R and used long guns and handguns. They tend to buy in bulk. Currently they have a great deal on Yugo SKS's. Previously they've had bulk orders of M-48 Mausers, Mosin-Nagant M-44's, etc. I've gotten some good deals there. Customer service is good. No rude experiences.

Northern Security. (Anchorage) These guys also specialize in supplying the LEO and security professionals. Stock of new handguns is excellent. Prices are OK, but you won't find many used bargains here. Service is adequate but I've been brushed off more than once. Holster and add-on selection for handguns is probably the best in town. Rifle and shotguns appear to be strictly a side note for them.

Wild West (Anchorage). I get the sense that Wild West does most of its business by mail with folks outside. Their shop tends to be pretty sparse, with a small selection of long guns and handguns. Prices are uniformly high. Service is OK, but I've also had some rude encounters that left me scratching my head. They've made a cottage industry out of modifying big-bore leverguns. If you want a take-down custom Marlin, they're the ones to see no question. They've elevated it to the level of high art. For more mundane gunsmithing such as cleaning and re-bluing, I'm not sure they'd be the best due to prices and backlog.

Turpin Gun & Pawn. (Anchorage). Turpin G&P is a little secret I've kept to myself. I've found some downright amazing deals there on vintage firearms. They have a good but fast-rotating stock of long guns and handguns. Service is very good, and prices are mixed. There is no way to predict what will be in the store from week to week so it's good to keep an eye out. Also, if the owner ever decides to sell off the "not for sale"rifles on the wall I'll be there. He has an excellent collection.

Mountain View Sports (Anchorage). A full sporting goods store with a good selection of long guns and some handguns. They are the best place in town for reloading equipment and also have the very best selection of books on shooting and hunting. Service is good. Prices tend to be on the high side.

Boondock Sports (Eagle River). These guys are the biggest gun sellers in Eagle River. They have a good selection of new long guns, but few used. They have a moderate selection of handguns. Good inventory of ammunition. I've seen a few deals floating through, but mostly prices are high. Service is good, but twice in the past I've been in there while the boss was chewing out an employee right in the open. Very uncomfortable experience, and I'm not at all sure why it was done in public. Boondock has a good supply of fishing and camping stuff as well as firearms. A good place to swing by if you forgot something and you're heading north to your air taxi.

Chimo Guns (Wasilla). I'm afraid I can't give Chimo a good review. Their prices are high and their service ranges from adequate to terrible. Many times I've come in and waited to be served while the staff is in the back rooms arguing or goofing off. I've also witnessed several intense arguments with customers that left me troubled. But worst of all, I have seen firearms priced far beyond their actual value. The worst was a bubba'd "custom Mauser" that had been hacked up priced at over $600! It's actual value was well under $200.

Valley Pawn Shops (Palmer and Wasilla). In the gap left by a lack of adequate firearm suppliers in the Valley, a number of pawn shops have stepped in. I've found some downright awesome deals at these outfits, from Sharpshooter's supply in Palmer to Alaska's Best Pawn on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway to various pawn shops in downtown Wasilla. A run through all the shops takes a few hours but is often worth it. Service is of course not the best, but then again these are pawn shops so you pretty much have to help yourself. It's strictly buyer beware. Some of the firearms are real junkers, and again you have to be able to tell the difference. The pawn brokers have also been filling the need for supplying many needs of homesteaders. The major outlets simply don't carry things like hand water pumps and old kerosene lamps.

Good idea for a post, and well done I think. Your observations are pretty much in line with mine, plus some good tips on a few places I haven't visited in quite a while.

Your comments on Chimo's made me laugh. I always leave that place shaking my head!

dave

Thanks! I figured I've put so much time into browsing I should try to get *some* good out of it! You know you're finished when they all say your name when you walk in--like Norm at the bar in "Cheers." Oh well. I didn't need my money anyway. It's not as fun as firearms.

I've only visited GNG's a couple times, and really didn't talk much to the folks behind the counter. But, from what I've read here, some folks don't care for them too much.



Stangely enough, I had a great time in WWG's and got the nickel tour from a pleasant guy there. I guess everyone has good and bad days. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />



Thanks for the review, I'll have to pull this up again before my next Anchorage trip.

WWG's has sort of caught on to the fact that they're known for having bad attitudes. I think they are making an effort to be more pleasant.

GNG's can be good or bad, as far as counter service, depending on the mood and how busy they are.

It seems most of the folks at the gun stores are pretty opinionated...nothing like any of us here.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

dave

Yeah, I've heard the whole spectrum on GNG. I'm one of their fans for sure, but others do *not* feel the same way. If you're after bargains they're not the best place, but I have gotten a lot of tips and they've always been nice even when I have no money. Besides, prices are high but uniformly so. I've never seen anything that made me think they were screwing people over such as the $600 "custom Mauser" at Chimo. It's more of an across-the-board increase to reflect their higher staff charges.

It will be nice to see how the above stores react to real competition from sportsman's Warehouse. Give them six months and watch and see how the attitudes and prices react. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> With over a dozen visits to sportsman's warehouse under my belt, I really can't see the need to shop anywhere else at this point. Prices, selection, and service add up to a nice total package.

The only local shop that consistenly earns my respect is Boondocks in Eagle River. They don't mind going the extra mile for the customer and the prices have always been worth the drive in the past.

While the target audience may be a little different in each store-the need for uncompromised customer service is a constant.

I see Sportsman's Warehouse's decision to open up at the old S-Mart location as fitting. I stopped patronizing national chains precisely because of S-Mart's sellout to Michael Moore. It really opened my eyes that any of these national outfits can pull the plug on controversial items overnight, with zero consultation from you. This is also why I avoid Wal-Mart. It's best to keep our eggs in a lot of little baskets IMHO than trusting in some superstore to keep us supplied.

So yes, I'm averting my eyes anytime I'm down near Old Seward and Dimond! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Another good store is alaska gun on 4th ave. They just opened so they are still kinda small yet. Prices are very reasonable.

As for GNG well, lets just say I dont go in there anymore. Very large conflict of interest with a guy behind the counter (who happens to be very large <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />). When he talks smack, he doesnt like to be corrected or proven wrong <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Another good one is alaska tactical if your into the black guns. Steve (the owner) knows his stuff. Nice guy just to stop in and BS with.

Muldoon guntraders aint bad either. there trying to get back going strong since they ran into troubles a few years back with one of the hired help. I've walked out of there with some smoking deals. One hint, with guntraders, whats written on the price tag is always negotiable. Good folks.

A NEW SHOP ON 4th! Tell them Cosmo's coming, and my wallet's coming with me! Yee haw. Fresh meat!

yeah, if your heading east on 4th, just before you hit gambel, its on your left.

Great post; it's always interesting to see the different experiences people have at the various stores. I'll add ours: We're not from Anch and only get there half a dozen times a year. We had been going to Mt View Sports for years, since they were back at their old location, but recently it seems they've turned into a yuppie outfit more interested in high-priced fishing equipment. We're both left handed, and had inquired there about several LH guns in the last couple of years. Each time we were told: nothing like that available. Both times we then went to GNG, (which we didn't to go to at all before about 3 years ago). GNG said they'd look around, and in both cases they called us long distance the next week to say they'd found the guns. One was a LH stainless 7mm-08 for me and the other was LH 300 RUM for my husband. The prices were right and they held them for us until we could get to Anchorage. It's been a pretty interesting turn around of where we go.
We still always go to Mt View, and I can consistently check through the fly rods to find the one I like the best, and be guaranteed that it is darn near the most expensive one in the store!!!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Thanks for the post, I suspect we'll be adding a few of these to our list of stores to visit. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Great observations. Thanks for starting this post! I have had good results ar Boondocks in ER and I consider them my standard to judge by. I have purchased guns at several of the shops though, not just Boondocks. I did get an ass chewing at Boondocks from the owner once. I asked if he would come down another $40 or so on a rifle to match the prices I could get it for somewhere else. After about 3-4 minutes of chewing on me he growled "go buy it at Wal-mart, we don't need you." Then walked off. I bought it anyway and I suspect he might have talked different to me if he had any clue to the thousands and thousands of dollars I have spent there. I only deal with Shawn and RJ now. I think the one consistant thread I have seen at most all the stores is bad attitudes. If they aren't feeling good, watch out. Which of course is unacceptable as a business plan. So now I just keep my mouth shut unless I have a specific question on a specific product. The only people I will have a conversation with are the guys a Boondocks, I just avoid Red Beard.

FA18CUB, you are a LOT more patient than I would have been! I was upset enough seeing the owner chew out an employee. If he had done it to me, I would have made a point of swinging by there every time I head into Anchorage to buy a rifle at GNG, show him my cash money, and leave <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> But you're right, the employees themselves are actually very good and I've always had good luck with them. Maybe a change of ownership is in order.

My same observation with both Don at Boondocks and Joe at GNG IF (and that's a BIG IF) you catch them in a good mood they can be very nice guys but if you don't they can be real A$$H**LE$ and I think their moods affect every one around them just like many other things in life the people around them walk around on pins and needles which makes doing business around them unpleasant at best. I other wise like what both stores have to offer as far as inventory goes and potential product knowledge goes. I do have a problem with Muldoon Gun Traders. Their prices on their guns may be negotiable but when the prices are higher on their used guns than other peoples new guns I'm not inclined to even start negotiating. They have improved over the years from when they were across the street the BS got VERY deep at times. Remember when Longs Drugs were around and selling at some very good prices? Someone asked them one time why they weren't selling Mini 14's to compete with Longs and one of their sales people said "Longs is selling seconds!". It will be interesting with the Sportsmans Warehouse coming to town some of these places will have to learn to compete and will learn themeaning of "competion is good". CaribouJack

It's a hell of a deal when a customer has to tread lightly and watch what he says, just to spend money in a gunstore.

One of the guys at GNG goes by the name Yog. He's treated me well, I try to work with him on the rare occasions I spend money in there.

Most things I want can be ordered by mail. Find a friend with an FFL and life is good.

dave

When I go into a gunstore, I don't "shop" as I know what I want / need. I have found most employees at the above mentioned stores to be very helpful each time I visit. What has surprised me is when customers start ragging on employees for not having a particular product / gun; just this morning I stood behind some loudmouth bitching out a SW employee for not having a particular rifle (he wanted a sako). Nearly every encounter / purchase I have had at various stores has been good, I suppose this is based on the fact that I am in control of the situation and can CHOOSE TO TAKE MY BUSINESS ELSEWHERE at any time. Treat others with respect, it usually works; if not, take your money to another store and let the offensive store know why you did not spend your hard earned money with them. Shepherd

Those damn Sako owners... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

He was a "wannabe" Sako owner, maybe that is why his panties were in such a bunch <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> shepherd

Well, there ya go Annie. It's the fault of recess left-handed jeans. Or was that genes.?? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />


Re: Mt View Sports. Same thing happened to Gary Kings a couple decades ago. Damned Yuppies. Money is the root of all evil, and much else, too.