Posted: 12/27/2002 3:42:57 PM EDT
| Ok guys. Where is your fav. gun store? Im in the east valley. I like the Shooting Star. The owner is pretty cool. Also where do you hate to shop? My least fav. is Arizona Sportsman. |
| I'm up in Prescott and my favorite place is High Country Guns & Knives. I don't like J&G Sales for the simple reason that there is no way in hell that they need to see a photo ID in order to sell me anything that does not require a permit (okay, ammo I can understand that they want to verify my age, but they don't need to plug my address into the computer for records.) |
I hear ya about Az. sportsman. I was raped on some ammo there this week. (and was not told thank you) AB |
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The prices are good at SGC, and the owner is always cool to me. Try buying something, he can usually pucker up and smooch a little butt for that. Machine Gun Kelly's on 19th Ave ain't bad in a similar vein to SGC. Arizona Sportsmen does suck, but the one on Bell has (or had) a little hottie working there that would always give me that old scrotal twitch... Bear Arms in Scottsdale is good if you need a full service (full price) store that stocks a variety of stuff. They have 7,5 Swiss! Shooting Star is way kick ass too. Decent prices and a variety in stock. Check out Dillons retail store on Frank LLoyd Wright. Theres also a senile old dude in Fountain Hills that has a little store front and good prices. Guns by SAMMI or some shit like that, he always has an ad in the Republic. There's Mandall's on Scottsdale Road, but that guy doesn't actually sell guns, they are for display only. You can tell by the prices and the sullen attitude. |
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The Armory-neat, classy, expensive.1 G&S- small, good prices. Pistol Parlour-, good used prices, don't like to haggle. Bear Mountain- lame, poor service. Sportsman- lame, avoid their service if possible. AJI-getting better. EAU- hole in the wall, but nothing unique J&G- tinfoil hat club. Guns Etc- over priced, nothing special. Shooters-overpriced, but he stocks Tannerite. (cheaper online though). Glockmeister- speciality Caswells- over priced 1911 Heaven- random behavior patterns Bear Arms- Big selection, but a smaller store with a big catalog can have the same selection at lower prices. |
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The best thing about Arizona Sportsman are their check out girls (on Bell Rd). It seems you have to be a "good 'ol boy" to get some good customer service. The people at the Armory in Scottsdale have always been helpful and friendly. They are a bit on the expensive side, but you'll get a good product. Bear Arms is a pretty good meat and potatoes gun store. They have a nice selection of firearms Machine Gun Kelly's is a small but decent store. I don't go there often, but I did buy my SIG there. I had to wait a long time for the little background check that's required. The wait wasn't their fault, but they threw in a box of CorBon hollow points. Big Bore is a good store. I bought my Bushmaster there and the owner, Gordon, is a good gunsmith. He specializes in 1911 type pistols, but he has a good selection of Bushmaster, and Glocks. Not a big store, but a solid selection of quality AR15 accessories and 1911 parts. Gordon's happy to answer any questions I've had. |
Big Bore is a nice shop, but im pissed he raised the price on the SA battlepacks. i went in and he had em for 49.95, which is the cheapest locally. i told him he had the best price in town for SA ammo. he asked how much everyone else was charging and told him 60.00. I went in 1 week later and he raised the price 5.00. i was gonna buy a bunch more, but now im getting my SA from the internet cheaper. |
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I went into Defensive Firearms. Once. Asked what he would charge me to do a FFL transfer. He told me "NoWay, you have to buy the gun from me". Then he tried to sell me some POS (USA?) 30 rd mag for a Mini-14 for $40 telling me the whole time how it was the last one left and there are no more pre-bans. I left and never looked back. A buddy tried to order a holster from him and got jacked around for months before my buddy said screw this and ordered one on the net. He had it within a week. |
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BEST: * Bear Arms in Scottsdale. Great selection, good service. * Shooting Star in Tempe (?). Small but good. * CavArms in Mesa. Not really a "gun store" but what the hell. HONORABLE MENTION: * Outdoorsman on Cave Creek Rd. north of Hatcher in Phx. Small shop but friendly w/ cheap ammo. THE WORST: * Shooter's World in Phoenix. Dumbfucks plain and simple (IIRC also owns AZ Sportsman). * Mandall's in Scottsdale. Overpriced, too much attitude. |
Don't know anything about Shooter's World 'cept when I went in there a year ago, included with membership to their range was 2 guns at cost per year. Who couldn't love that? |
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1) Bear Arms (Scottsdale) - Purchased an Otis kit, shotgun and various other odds and ends. Good service, good selection. Prices could be better but not bad. 2) Armory (Scottsdale)- Nice stuff, almost a novelty shop for guns if there is such a place. Purchased a holster and some snap caps there. They are quite pricey but the folks are nice and if you want to salivate over some MGs...whoa! Also, they'll be opening the Scottsdale Gun Club someday that will include a really nice indoor range and will be located on Northsight near the Pizzeria Uno. 3) Outdoorsman (Cave Creek Rd) - Purchase a pistol from them. Good service, great price on the pistol I bought. Too far for me to drive so I haven't been back since. 4) SGC (Scottsdale) - Went in there and I think the guy grunted at me while sitting in his chair. Never got up, never asked if I needed anything. Left. Prices were decent but service was non-existent. 5) Mandall's (Snobsdale) - From the moment I walked in the door, I knew I wouldn't be back... They love their guns so much, they don't have any desire to sell them. 6) Caswells (Mesa) - Not a very large selection of guns but a decent indoor range. Good deal if you want to try out some guns before buying becuase they only charge a $3 (I think) fee to rent a gun and you can keep coming back and trading it out for others they have at no additional charge (very cool). A little pricey on stuff though. Nice guys that work there. Took a basic pistol course from them and was very pleased! That's it for me! Drivie |
Was there a coule of years ago, it was good then. Anyone try Ruff's Guns and LIQUOR in Flagstaff. Funniest shit I've seen, one side the wall is full of long guns and pistols, with the other side being booze. To top it off, they have an F-n drive-thru! I'll take a 12 pack of Natural Light and a Glock!!!!! |
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Some of the places mentioned that sell class III NFA items are way out of line in their prices and I mean their machine guns are often $ 2,500-5,000.00 higher than anywhere else I have seen. My favorite run of the mill gun shop is A.J. Imports in Apache Junction because the prices are reasonable and because if you don’t see what you want today just go back in a week and most of what was there will have been sold and replaced with something else. Jeff and his staff will take the time to talk to you and he will special order for you if he doesn’t stock the modern firearm you want. He only charges $ 10.00 transfers on guns you purchased from someone else out of state. THISISME |
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My favorite would have to be Big Bore. I live only half mile form there, which makes it convenient. The owner Gordon is just a wealth of knowledge when it comes to AR's, 1911, Class 3's. Selection is pretty good for a small store. SA battle packs $54.00. I also just bought me S.I.R.S and aimpoint Comp ML2 from him at a great price. Worth checking out, even if it's just to ask a question. my $0.02 Huntrik |
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To add to Kay9 and M18, Ruff's Guns & Liquor in Flagstaff is about as cool as it gets! As those t-shirts say, "Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms". All that and a bag of chips. I always like Jenson's in Tucson. I believe it's on Pima Rd, near Dodge (I think). It's been a while since I've been there. |
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Best Cav. Arms, AZ EX Arms, Scottsdale Gun Center and Machinegun Kellys As for Shoooters World. The man that owns Arizona Sportsman sold it to Arizona Tactical. Arizona Tactical had the law enforcement clothing store in the front part of Shooters World. This happened last summer. |
SOOOOOOOOOOO TRUE I bought an AR from them last month that had been there since 1990. They do not want to sell thier guns. |
I disagree. They charge to much to have receivers delivered, and the last time I was in there they were selling "COLT NIW PREBAN MAGS" for $89. That were nothing more than refurbished regular mags with a Colt baseplate. I called the guy on it and he basically said he knew they were fakes. I will say that the owner is a reasonable guy, but he is never there soooooooooo Even though this is the closest funstore to my house, I drive across town to avoid. |
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This has been a great thread. It's always valuable to hear advice from informed consumers regarding the many local business establishments that support our "hobby" (and in some cases our livelihoods). My take: #1 The Armory / Scottsdale Gun Club - the owner & staff are approachable, friendly, and very knowledgable concerning all aspects of the shooting sports - they are expertly familiar with the products they stock and sel,l and are willing to share their knowledge without being condescending (good place to examine a variety of Class III stuff up close, too). Lots of specialty items you don't regularly find in gun shops. Prices are too high on lots of items, but that comes with the Scottsdale address. Fantastic customer service, though - they do what it takes to make your purchase "right" if you've got any kind of problem with it. They will also source and special order just about anything you might want (even low-cost, low-profit items) - and they will gladly order it! #2 Bear Arms - broad selection on firearms, especially handguns, with reasonable prices on just about everything in the store. Good people too ... they show a willingness to help. #3 Lone Wolf Guns - The staff is helpful but they don't add much value to the enterprise - none of them strike me as being "sought-after" sources of firearms information (except the owner) - just well-trained store clerks. They have competitive pricing on their handgun inventory, but pricing on premium ammo is whacked. Falling into the "Why bother?" category: Shooter's World - I'm not sure, but I think this place got a new owner about 6 months ago(?) The store has the floor space to accomodate a huge variety of firearms, shooting supplies, and related equipment ... so what gives? They just don't seem to offer much that I want / need. This place has the potential to become a shooter's destination, but some serious evolution needs to take place first. Mandall's - the employees don't seem like THEY even want to be there! |