[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Army Surplus stores (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 2/10/2013 10:39:51 PM EDT
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the gun shop/ porno shop thread go me thinking about something.....
While I've never been to a really creepy, dingy, nasty gun shop, guess I'm spoiled, pretty much every Army Surplus store I've ever been in has the owner/ employees who are just fucking out there. Plus pretty much every one of them is pretty dark, dingy, and nasty. By out there I mean tin foil wearing, wierded out, some what like the Surplus guy in Falling Down kind of person Am I the only person who's experience in a Surplus store is as such? |
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Quoted:
the gun shop/ porno shop thread go me thinking about something..... While I've never been to a really creepy, dingy, nasty gun shop, guess I'm spoiled, pretty much every Army Surplus store I've ever been in has the owner/ employees who are just fucking out there. Plus pretty much every one of them is pretty dark, dingy, and nasty. By out there I mean tin foil wearing, wierded out, some what like the Surplus guy in Falling Down kind of person Am I the only person who's experience in a Surplus store is as such? Yeah now that you mention it, the creep factor does kick in in those places for some reason. |
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I haven't been in a real Army / Navy surplus store since... '84 or so. Loved the one in Waco when I was growing up. And Academy was originally Academy Surplus, they used to be stocked to the rafters with surplus gear in good condition.
I miss the real surplus stores.... |
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Quoted:
the gun shop/ porno shop thread go me thinking about something..... While I've never been to a really creepy, dingy, nasty gun shop, guess I'm spoiled, pretty much every Army Surplus store I've ever been in has the owner/ employees who are just fucking out there. Plus pretty much every one of them is pretty dark, dingy, and nasty. By out there I mean tin foil wearing, wierded out, some what like the Surplus guy in Falling Down kind of person Am I the only person who's experience in a Surplus store is as such? The owner of the ARMY/NAVY surplus store where I live is a smokin hot MILF!!! 
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Yep!!
I miss ours. Old Nam vet, hardcore Govt. hater, ancient quonset hut building with a couple plywood partitions and stuff mostly organized into piles. Get the guy going on conspiracy theorys and the whole neighborhood would lose thier TV signal. Had a Sherman Tank out front, and his trusty M151 inside. Good God that man hated Klinton. His kid is a long hair, without 2 shits to give about anything but his little stint playing Guitar with a c list hairband in the 80's, and gutted the place when his dad died. Then a convenient fire consumed what was left. Shame, as what was left, was the stuff in the back room that was actually very valuable, and rare....and of questionable legality. I gotta find another one, somewhere. |
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The Grouch is in a class by himself.. If he could get his website to smell like mothballs and old 782 gear he could retire tomorrow. 
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Henry P Grogan's War Surplus 
" The discovery by Retch and me that we could purchase black powder in bulk from a local dealer was to have great impact on our lives, not to mention various parts of our anatomies. The dealer in question was the proprietor of Grogan's War Surplus, Hardware & Gun Emporium, none other than the old reprobate, Henry P. Grogan himself. We weren't at all sure Grogan would sell a couple of scruffy, goof-off kids something as potentially dangerous as black powder. Our first attempt at making a purchase was, therefore, cloaked in subtlety and subterfuge. "Howdy," Mr. Grogan, "we opened with, both of us so casual we were fit to burst." "Howdy, boys. What can I do for you-assuming, of course, you got cash in your pockets and ain't just here to finger the merchandise?" "Oh, we got cash," I said. "Uh, Retch, why don't you read Mr. Grogan our list?" "Uh, okay, heh, heh. Yeah, well here goes-one GI mess kit, one helmet liner, a parachute harness, a pound of black powder, and let's see, now, do you have any of those neat camouflage jackets left?" To our chagrin, a look of concern came into Grogan's eyes. "Gosh, boys, I don't know if I should . . . It just don't seem right to sell you two young fellows . . . Oh, what the heck! Elmer Peabody wanted me to save those last two camouflage jackets for him, but I'll let you have 'em. Now how much gunpowder was that you wanted--a pound?" In all fairness to Grogan, I must admit that he did warn us that severe bodily harm could result from improper use of the black powder. His exact words, if I remember correctly, were, "You boys set off any of that stuff near my store and I'll peel your hides!" Aviator |
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My local Army/Navy surplus store has employees that tell people that by racking the slide of a shotgun it's enough to scare off any intruder (I witnessed this myself). Their firearm and ammo prices are always higher, I can buy stuff online, pay shipping and still be cheaper than if I bought there.
The ammo can prices are still reasonable and is really the only reason why I would go there. I did buy a nice, used Gortex parka at a decent price once. |
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Quoted:
Henry P Grogan's War Surplus
" The discovery by Retch and me that we could purchase black powder in bulk from a local dealer was to have great impact on our lives, not to mention various parts of our anatomies. The dealer in question was the proprietor of Grogan's War Surplus, Hardware & Gun Emporium, none other than the old reprobate, Henry P. Grogan himself. We weren't at all sure Grogan would sell a couple of scruffy, goof-off kids something as potentially dangerous as black powder. Our first attempt at making a purchase was, therefore, cloaked in subtlety and subterfuge. "Howdy," Mr. Grogan, "we opened with, both of us so casual we were fit to burst." "Howdy, boys. What can I do for you-assuming, of course, you got cash in your pockets and ain't just here to finger the merchandise?" "Oh, we got cash," I said. "Uh, Retch, why don't you read Mr. Grogan our list?" "Uh, okay, heh, heh. Yeah, well here goes-one GI mess kit, one helmet liner, a parachute harness, a pound of black powder, and let's see, now, do you have any of those neat camouflage jackets left?" To our chagrin, a look of concern came into Grogan's eyes. "Gosh, boys, I don't know if I should . . . It just don't seem right to sell you two young fellows . . . Oh, what the heck! Elmer Peabody wanted me to save those last two camouflage jackets for him, but I'll let you have 'em. Now how much gunpowder was that you wanted--a pound?" In all fairness to Grogan, I must admit that he did warn us that severe bodily harm could result from improper use of the black powder. His exact words, if I remember correctly, were, "You boys set off any of that stuff near my store and I'll peel your hides!" Aviator My favorite Patrick F. McMannis story. .....Poof No Eyebrows. 
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Quoted:
Henry P Grogan's War Surplus
" The discovery by Retch and me that we could purchase black powder in bulk from a local dealer was to have great impact on our lives, not to mention various parts of our anatomies. The dealer in question was the proprietor of Grogan's War Surplus, Hardware & Gun Emporium, none other than the old reprobate, Henry P. Grogan himself. We weren't at all sure Grogan would sell a couple of scruffy, goof-off kids something as potentially dangerous as black powder. Our first attempt at making a purchase was, therefore, cloaked in subtlety and subterfuge. "Howdy," Mr. Grogan, "we opened with, both of us so casual we were fit to burst." "Howdy, boys. What can I do for you-assuming, of course, you got cash in your pockets and ain't just here to finger the merchandise?" "Oh, we got cash," I said. "Uh, Retch, why don't you read Mr. Grogan our list?" "Uh, okay, heh, heh. Yeah, well here goes-one GI mess kit, one helmet liner, a parachute harness, a pound of black powder, and let's see, now, do you have any of those neat camouflage jackets left?" To our chagrin, a look of concern came into Grogan's eyes. "Gosh, boys, I don't know if I should . . . It just don't seem right to sell you two young fellows . . . Oh, what the heck! Elmer Peabody wanted me to save those last two camouflage jackets for him, but I'll let you have 'em. Now how much gunpowder was that you wanted--a pound?" In all fairness to Grogan, I must admit that he did warn us that severe bodily harm could result from improper use of the black powder. His exact words, if I remember correctly, were, "You boys set off any of that stuff near my store and I'll peel your hides!" Aviator I loved those books growing up. |
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There was a great Army-Navy surplus store in the city where I grew up.
It used to have great WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War surplus stuff. In the mid 80's it became sort of a Levi's wholesale store, they dumped most of the mil-surp stuff, almost all of the Boy Scout stuff and the firearms. Last time I was in there they had a good sized gun counter, some US mil-surp, a bunch of foreign mil-surp stuff and racks and racks of clothing that was patterned after the old US Army Woodland Camo scheme in every color under the sun. Still smelled the same. 
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Ours is small, but very clean and the owners are super nice.
Their stuff is a little more expensive but they only stock good stuff, no junk, which is nice. You know he handpicks everything instead of just buying lots and throwing it into piles. Great place to grab smaller items and books, I usually get bigger stuff online though. |
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Quoted: Henry P Grogan's War Surplus " The discovery by Retch and me that we could purchase black powder in bulk from a local dealer was to have great impact on our lives, not to mention various parts of our anatomies. The dealer in question was the proprietor of Grogan's War Surplus, Hardware & Gun Emporium, none other than the old reprobate, Henry P. Grogan himself. We weren't at all sure Grogan would sell a couple of scruffy, goof-off kids something as potentially dangerous as black powder. Our first attempt at making a purchase was, therefore, cloaked in subtlety and subterfuge. "Howdy," Mr. Grogan, "we opened with, both of us so casual we were fit to burst." "Howdy, boys. What can I do for you-assuming, of course, you got cash in your pockets and ain't just here to finger the merchandise?" "Oh, we got cash," I said. "Uh, Retch, why don't you read Mr. Grogan our list?" "Uh, okay, heh, heh. Yeah, well here goes-one GI mess kit, one helmet liner, a parachute harness, a pound of black powder, and let's see, now, do you have any of those neat camouflage jackets left?" To our chagrin, a look of concern came into Grogan's eyes. "Gosh, boys, I don't know if I should . . . It just don't seem right to sell you two young fellows . . . Oh, what the heck! Elmer Peabody wanted me to save those last two camouflage jackets for him, but I'll let you have 'em. Now how much gunpowder was that you wanted--a pound?" In all fairness to Grogan, I must admit that he did warn us that severe bodily harm could result from improper use of the black powder. His exact words, if I remember correctly, were, "You boys set off any of that stuff near my store and I'll peel your hides!" Aviator If that's from Patrick McManus you should have given him author's credit. |
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I have been in many and the recurring theme is:
Slight smell or urine and or cigarette smoke. Messy as shit, stuff scattered all over. Staff eating the MREs that are already out of boxes and aren’t traceable in inventory. Clothing in size XXXXXXS or XXXXXXXXL. |
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I have been in many and the recurring theme is: Slight smell or urine and or cigarette smoke. Messy as shit, stuff scattered all over. Staff eating the MREs that are already out of boxes and aren’t traceable in inventory. Clothing in size XXXXXXS or XXXXXXXXL. Pretty much this. There is one here locally that is somewhat cleaner than most but their prices are insane. They had a used MOLLE FLC Vest with no pouches on the rack for $75 last time I was in. |
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I love those old surplus stores, I've been going to them since I was kid. These days you have to know what you're looking at because like was said above, there's a lot of cheap repro. crap from China. Lately, prices have also crept up to the point of being ridiculous.
The weirdo's that run / work-in those places just add ambiance for me.
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The Grouch is in a class by himself.. If he could get his website to smell like mothballs and old 782 gear he could retire tomorrow.
Ive know Old Grouch for 20 years now. If I need surplus hes the guy I go to. Hes good to go. I usually hit his shop once a year if I can. |
The surplus store here is weird. It's in downtown Fredericksburg so it doubles as a antique shop, and for some reason triples as a barber shop. Everything is wicked overpriced now and they sell the oddest shit. There's a vintage $300 fur coat owned by some mobster sitting next to the xxxxxl 5.11 tactical vests. They don't have an ffl but it's the kind of store that gives off the vibe of having an illegal cache of military ordinance in the basement that you can only gain access to if you say a secret passphrase. Then again now that I think about it, every damn store in downtown fredericksburg is wierd. The tobacco shop is pretty much a second police station, and the candy store seems to be in business forever, despite there never being any customers. I think the flamboyant gay owner makes german porno or something in the back to pay the bills. 
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The surplus store here is weird. It's in downtown Fredericksburg so it doubles as a antique shop, and for some reason triples as a barber shop. Everything is wicked overpriced now and they sell the oddest shit. There's a vintage $300 fur coat owned by some mobster sitting next to the xxxxxl 5.11 tactical vests. They don't have an ffl but it's the kind of store that gives off the vibe of having an illegal cache of military ordinance in the basement that you can only gain access to if you say a secret passphrase. Then again now that I think about it, every damn store in downtown fredericksburg is wierd. The tobacco shop is pretty much a second police station, and the candy store seems to be in business forever, despite there never being any customers. I think the flamboyant gay owner makes german porno or something in the back to pay the bills. That place is still around?  They've been open since the early 90s in one form or another. There's definitely a weird vibe there and if I remember correctly, the surplus section used to be in the basement or at least a walled off section in back. Is it still laid out with the artsy-fartsy, women's lib, purple triangle and cat owner stuff up front?
Virginia has a weird surplus store situation in general. There's one good store that is still in business, pretty organized, with nice staff. Then there's a local chain and I can't figure out how they stay in business. Bad prices, pimply emo kids working the counters, a lot of cheap repro stuff. |
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I have 3 near me, each about a 30 minute drive away. They all are pretty clean, nice places with "some" actual surplus (I got a awesome U.S. Army rain poncho, slightly used, for $20). I have been told by the owners of each store that actual surplus items are getting harder to find because the government is actually spending money to destroy them rather than allow them to circulate into the marketplace.
The reproduction items are still MUCH cheaper than anything you will find at a fireman/police outfitters shop. A 5.11 small "tactical" range bag is $99 at the local gunshop. A nearly identical bag (woodland camo as opposed to black) at the nearby Army/Navy store is $25. Yeah...each one has at least one tin-foil hat guy but some of them know their shit (they are usually ex-military) when it comes to odd but useful items that you can't tell immediately what it is for. What the hell...remember...just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. |
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I think the Golden Age of Army/Navy stores is long gone. As a kid I used to love hitting those stores up but now its all knock offs and useless garbage. Only a few shops I've been to even bother with going through the hassle of buying from DRMO and they don't even realease anything good anymore. I can remember bins of still new M1 Garand cartridge belts, jungle boots with the tags still on them dated from 1968, piles of jungle fatigues that had never been worn, and even Marine dungarees.
Half the fun of goiong to a surplus store was to dig through the piles and see what you can find. One dive yielded a nearly brand new Ranger Body Armor vest priced the same as the PASGT vests for $99. One cool side benefit my Dad had for me on family vacations was to stop at any surplus store along the way. My Dad always got a kick out of watching me get all excited and dig through a store like a crazed animal in search of the next piece for my ever growing collection. Then hearing the moans and complaints from my Mom and sister complaining about the musty smell of my newly aquired treasure made it all worthwhile Yes I miss that smell of old surplus stores and the things I found in them. The fondest memories of my childhood are those trips Dad and I made to nearly every surplus store, gun store and gun show in the midwest. Now I don't go to them much anymore due to the junk they pass off as merchandise. Quite sad actually. |
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People gripe about messy surplus stores- but people love messy surplus stores. Digging through that pile to find a bargain is something people love.
I can have all sizes and styles of used pants up front, freshly washed and neatly piled, and people will walk past and spend 20 minutes digging through the pile that jut came in and is waiting to be washed, and pay the same price but be convinced they found a bargain. |
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The surplus store in Richmond has been open forever. I don't know how they've survived the internet, though.
They're prices are downright outrageous. Really. Makes CTD look like Walmart. ETA And they don't even sell guns. ETA 2 all they sell is mostly junk, and custom cut foam rubber, which would be cool, if they didn't price it like it was made of unobtainium. |
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The local surplus store back when I used to live in FL was awesome; owned by a collector who knew most of the old school UDT guys that live in The VIllages, FL. he had a wall with nothing but classic VN era UDT/SEAL memorabilia; oars, plaques, pictured of UDT classes, hats, helmet liners, you name it.
He also gave me dibs on most of the new stuff he would get. Small shop with limited inventory, but he always had a lot of unique items.  I miss it; Foxhole Army/Navy - Leesburg, FL.
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"Dark, dingy, and nasty" is all part of the charm. The owners do seem to be slightly more odd than your typical gun store employee.
That being said, decent surplus stores are getting much harder to find. Nowadays, they are likely to just be sellers of counterfeit chicom junk. E-Bay is the place to go these days. |