We Have an Academy Sports store opening up in Lexington .Never been to one.How are they on guns and ammo and hunting stuff?Are they like Dicks ,no evil Ar-15's .and very little selection of anything else?. we have one of those ,wont go to Dicks anymore.Academy Sports prices decent ?
Never been in one but it sounds like soccer mom central.
Decent. Much better than Bass Pro's crap. But I find their gun sales staff to be insufferable.
One down the road from me is best place in town to buy ammo. Good selection of medium to low priced firearms. parking lot is always full.
Academy ain't no Dick's.
Texas owned company.
Academy is the Walmart of sporting goods. Good prices on guns and ammo compared to most big box stores, however their buyers for the reloading section didn't know squat about reloading.
Their gun selection is hit or miss, mostly miss. Once in a while you'll see a Benelli or Browning in the shotgun rack, but usually its price point entry level stuff.
I always view it as one step above Walmart, for the times I can't get to a big box sporting goods store.
Decent. Much better than Bass Pro's crap. But I find their gun sales staff to be insufferable.
^^^^This^^^^
They don't hire knowledgeable gun staff. They hire staff and train them in "ACADEMY culture".
They can't AFFORD knowledgeable gun staff.
Academy ain't no Dick's.
Texas owned company.
Anything from Texas is good!
Never been in one but it sounds like soccer mom central.
Not really.
They have womens sports and outdoor wear sections, but the focus on hunting, fishing, ammo, guns and such is dominant.
I've bought guns there, and lots of ammo, as well as hunting stuff, camo, fishing shirts, and even an elevated deer stand, and a couple of 700 pound feeders, since I supplemental feed the wildlife on the ranch. Shot some good hogs from those feeders too.
Academy ain't no Dick's.
Texas owned company.
Anything from Texas is good!
HQ'd in Katy, TX!
You might be familiar with that town...
They have ammo.
They have guns.
Priced above others now.
They used to be one of the lower priced retailers.
Not anymore...
You can order guns online and have them delivered to local store also.
Their website kinda sucks on return/ back page option.
Have to reset alot it seems to specific item search.
They dont have a 10% mil discount at the Clarksvegas store anymore yr round after having it for almost 11 yrs.
They are 1 to 5 dollars more than wally world on ammo now.
They price steel case 9mm the same as brass now.
And similar for other steel versus brass cartridges.
Or exactly 1 dollar less when it used to be 3 to 5 dollars less for steel case.
I can buy a box of win AA super sporting clays #8,s 12ga at wally world for 11.84 or go to academy and pay 12.99 for it....
The Honk for Joey inflation has given them the excuse to add in their added profit inflation " under the radar"....
Bean Counter schit to exploit like alot of companies are doing now.
IMO....
Never bought guns at Academy Sports, but their ammo prices are usually lower than Bass Pro. I used to buy lots of fishing lures, line, etc from them and for the exact same product, they always beat Bass Pro. Not as good a selection as Bass Pro. Very little if any jig/fly tying stuff or reloading supplies.
Academy ain't no Dick's.
Texas owned company.
Anything from Texas is good!
HQ'd in Katy, TX!
You might be familiar with that town...
It’s about 30 miles from my house, put plumbing in Katy Taylor high school in 77-78, Dancehall named MO’s Place there. I think Sakoluver lives in Katy. Lots of very pretty women in that area.
Back before corporate America got hold of them they were a military surplus store.It was a mom and pop operation. Now the corporate slime has turned them into trash.U can shop there,but the Nike and other woke junk makes me sick.i buy my hunting license there,not much else.
Bout average from what I remember shopping there in the early 2000's. I get ammo on-line from them. Delivers here in WI easy enough.
Our nearest BPS is in Nashvegas.
Their prices are outrageous.
I go dec 26 or 27th each year cause the wife and daughters get me fugging BPS gift cards.
Been telling em for years get me wally world or mid southshooters gift cards.
They do the BPS thing cause they know it aggravates me.
And Khanarella knows I will bring her back 2 bags of those uncle bucks malted milk balls she likes out of the fuuuking gift cards.
And out of the kindness of my purple piss water pumping heart...
🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
And her fuuucking birthday is 29 dec.
So I also get her a fuuuucking present with a portion of the fuuuking gift cards also.
#hateBPS.....
Around here Academy stocks the plain-ol’ ordinary stuff Jose Six-Pack needs for hunting and fishing and camping.
And,for the most part, plain ol’ ordinary rifles, shotguns and handguns work sufficiently well for their intended purpose.
Academy rocks.
When shortages were at their worst & folks would mention finding stuff the Academy name came up quite a bit.
First I'd heard about it was this thread, thanks Remshooter. They didn't waste time, grand opening is this weekend.
Academy used to have free shipping at 25 dollars, back before Covid. Don't know if they still do or not. Before the world ended and Hodgdon doubled their prices on powder, I was having jugs of IMR 4064 delivered to my door for 27 bucks.
Will probably never see the likes of that again.
In the last two weeks I bought 4 flats of Winchester AA's from Academy and they were shipped. It took 4 days to arrive as I recall. The price was just under $120/flat, cheaper than Walmart and I could get the number I needed, not a box here and a box there like Walmart. The fishing tackle selection is not as good as Bass Pro, but the prices aren't as high either. I have found Walmart to have the best tackle prices if they have what you want. I have purchased firearms from Academy in the past but nothing recent. Their prices were good when I bought them. Haven't priced any lately. They are certainly nothing like a Dicks store, which I WILL NOT ENTER!
I would welcome the new store in that at least it will offer you an additional shopping point for whatever you might need.
Rick
Good prices. Decent selection. It’s not what Cabelas WAS, but it’s not Walmart or Dick’s, either. Plenty of ammo, handguns, fishing, etc.
Not “high-end” stuff, but lots of low to mid-range gear.
Oh, and they WILL match prices with BPS/Cabelas/etc. Bring in an ad, or pull it up on your phone. I have done this with guns, as well.
Never been in one. I have purchased shotshells when they were on sale & had free shipping. That was years ago.
When shortages were at their worst & folks would mention finding stuff the Academy name came up quite a bit.
First I'd heard about it was this thread, thanks Remshooter. They didn't waste time, grand opening is this weekend.
your welcome .will have to check it out myself
They have sales from time to time to that can be pretty good prices.
They have sales from time to time to that can be pretty good prices.
Sign up for the emails.
They do 20% off $100+ online purchase every so often.
Free shipping.
If you want something right now, you may find it there if you're okay with your second or third preference as to brand.
My local Academy seems to have a lot of ammo except for anything in 20 ga. For some reason, it's almost unobtanium around here.
Lots of smokers and BBQ accessories.
Dont have one around here.
Crapelas ia less than an hour away.
Ill go there to grab some early season bibs
Then take the ol lady to Fords Garage for a couple drinks and chow.
Gotta make the trip worthwhile.
They’re not a pre-BPS Cabelas,but it’s better to have one close,than not…
A lot of NFL and college team apparel in there. So many of you Gunsmoke phags might not feel comfortable in there.
And also there is no ice cream for sale inside.
So just better off, stay away. 💀
No Tom Clancy, no Murder She Wrote box set laser discs in there either
No canvas water bags for your Packards
Their clearance stuff can get pretty cheap. Most of my fishing lures and soft plastics were bought at Academy on sale.
One good thing about Academy, is they will have Rite in the Rain notebooks and pens by the cash registers.
Better than most places.
And damn sure better than nothing, which pretty much all have for 100 miles in any direction.
Their clearance stuff can get pretty cheap. Most of my fishing lures and soft plastics were bought at Academy on sale.
One good thing about Academy, is they will have Rite in the Rain notebooks and pens by the cash registers.
Knowing the code for final markdowns is a help and they mark a lot of seasonal stuff way down. If the price is marked at .88 on the end it is final closeout. Got a couple of Stoney Point shooting sticks for $8.88 each. I got one of their closeout Browning T Bolts for $349.
It’s fine. Not high end stuff though. Mostly Savage, Mossberg, Turkish shotguns, and Ruger Americans. Lots of Glocks. The occasional Tikka and BL-22 with random oddballs thrown in like a half dozen Christiansen rifles in mine right now.
Really good fishing selection. Decent, if mostly fairly cheap clothing selection. Nice selection of BBQ stuff. Decent place to get golf balls and cheap fish cookers.
It’s a decent store of mostly low to mid-range stuff.
decent selection of a variety of stuff. as much basketball/soccer/football stuff as anything else. Better selection than walmart, less than cabelas. Prices are also between those two. Much more convenient and faster to shop than walmart without all the spanish speaking and weirdos. they do actually have cashiers to check you out and you wont be stuck behind edna with 2 grocery carts full of stuff that wont ring up.
Academy is the Walmart of sporting goods. Good prices on guns and ammo compared to most big box stores, however their buyers for the reloading section didn't know squat about reloading.
I buy a fair amount of stuff at Academy and this is a pretty good description of their operation. Some of their gun and reloading counter people are knowledgeable, most are not. Just know what you want and something about what you are looking at before you go in there. They are certainly "gun friendly". Generally, not a great place to get information/good advice about firearms & reloading. Prices are good. They will not order any firearm or other item that is not listed listed on their website, even if it is a common model by a brand that they sell. They generally stock a few reloading supplies and equipment, but what they do stock is usually priced well. Powders and primers are mostly kept in a back room, so ask for what you want if you don't see it displayed. Ammo is usually priced well and generally a fair selection, depending on current market supplies. They carry a pretty good selection of generic camping supplies, barbecue equipment, a large selection of athletic shoes, clothing, and equipment, some hunting and work boots, some hunting clothes (mostly their store brand), and a large selection of fishing and boating equipment. I did not cover everything, but I think that is a pretty good general description of what to expect there.
The on line store has good service
Pricing sometimes too
Nice bbq selection. I buy a lot of my kids sports stuff there, including shoes. Hunting and fishing selection is ok. Camping is decent. I usually pick up a $40 easy-up every spring.
Over 60% of the store is clothes. Their Magellan line of clothes and hunting gear is decent quality for the price.
Keep an eye out during their transitions to find some good deals. I.e. end of summer boating stuff on sale to make room for hunting, and visa versa.
For 74 years Academy was a privately held company owned by the Gochman family, but as of a few years ago it’s publically traded on the Nasdaq. Lots of speculation as to whether they go the (mis)direction of every other sporting goods store in the future.
Anything from Texas is good!
I'll agree. Connie Jo from Jeff Davis County was very good.
Decent. Much better than Bass Pro's crap. But I find their gun sales staff to be insufferable.
^^^^This^^^^
They don't hire knowledgeable gun staff. They hire staff and train them in "ACADEMY culture".
They can't AFFORD knowledgeable gun staff.
Who, in the day on the interwebs and YouTube goes into a store to ask the staff what they should buy??
I just wanna ask them to finger fug it….
Academy is decent. Prices are decent. Mini Bass Pro is up the road just before the state line. Was in there last weekend for the first time in several years. Wife wanted a pistol and they had a good selection. Down the road is a private gun/hunting store that is well stocked with everything. Good brands. Lots of hunting stuff. Only problem is everything is MSRP. There is a Dick's in the shopping center next to Academy. They moved from across the interstate. Don't think they even carry guns at that Dick's anymore. Walmart next to them. That Walmart no longer carries guns. Academy has decent sales from time to time. Black Friday they usually have some really good prices.
We stopped to one every day in Texas we were blown away by Academy and Buckeys gas stations
Back before corporate America got hold of them they were a military surplus store.It was a mom and pop operation. Now the corporate slime has turned them into trash.U can shop there,but the Nike and other woke junk makes me sick.i buy my hunting license there,not much else.
Southern Sales IIRC
ya!
GWB
We stopped to one every day in Texas we were blown away by Academy and Buckeys gas stations
Bucc-ee's
https://www.facebook.com/bucees/ya!
GWB
buy most of my cloths there.
buy most of my cloths there.
I've just about quit the Bucc-ee's in Luling, I want to stay married....
ya!
GWB
I like Acacdemy 2-stores in Baton Rouge. I have a store card buy ammo, hunting, fishing & other things Ì need with it.
Sportsman’s Warehouse and then Gander Mountain tried opening stores here, couldn’t compete with Academy.
Bass Pro is hanging on on the Far North Side, but that’s the more upscale area.
If I want a $5,000 Johnboat rig complete w/ trailer and outboard I’ll go to Academy, if I want 144mo financing on something much bigger I’ll go to Bass Pro.
I have bought a lot of ammo from Academy, used to be free shipping over $25.
I visited the local store when I bought my SIG 2022. Best price around by far.
Feed store in a hole in the road town.
Apparently, some locals burn up lot's of 16 gauge ammo because this M&P outfit keeps 16 gauge "in stock"!
Not cheap, but because it's a M&P and not a Big Box outfit and I can always use 16 ammo, I try to buy at least one box when we go in.
We stopped to one every day in Texas we were blown away by Academy and Buckeys gas stations
Two of our homegrown retailers. Hope you enjoyed your stay. Both stores have lots to offer. I try to help them along often!! Lol.
I think Academy sucks. They are 40 miles from me. They don't keep their inventory current between website and store. I have been several times to buy things their website shows instock in the Jonesboro, AR store. They have never once had what I went in the store to buy. After a couple of those trips.I never made the drive just to go there. I only check there if I am already in town.
Never been impressed. Weak selection, not great prices.
Bought the kids some sports stuff there over the years, and always cruise through the ammo and guns. Never see anything that caught my eye.