Supporting local gun shops...

[DaleA]

'Permit to Purchase'.
Sigh.
Yeah, in Minnesota you need a 'Permit to Purchase' card to buy a handgun or some of the scary looking rifles.

(A friend needed one to buy the 'tacticool' version of the Remington 597 .22LR some years ago...Remington no longer offers the 597 in that flavor anymore.)

It's a simple enough and free procedure. You go to your local police office, fill out a couple of pages of information about yourself and in a couple of weeks you stop back and pick up your 'Permit to Purchase' card which is good for one year.

In Minnesota if you get a 'Permit to Carry a Pistol' then you do not need the 'Permit to Purchase'. The 'Permit to Carry a Pistol' requires you to take an approved class, which you have to pay for, and then there is a fee of $100 paid to the state (or maybe the county?) when you apply for the permit. The 'Permit to Carry a Pistol' is good for five years.

I forgot to mention you still have to pass the Federal background check.
This is of course for sales from a dealer.

[Art Eatman]

The topic is about LGS, not state laws. A question about a state law? Take it to PM.

[Don Fischer]

Problem with a LGS is volume. They can't make a living just selling guns, they can make a living selling supply's and component's. It will beat the online sales normally as if they don't have it in stock they can order it and still be competitive. I would bet that the Sportsmen's whse people could not keep their door's open selling just gun's. Around here the closest thing to a LGS is a Bi Mart 35mi away. I buy what I can from them but their supply of say bullet's lacks most of what I shoot and they can't order most of it. After that the closest I think is Redmond and the only source I know of is Coastal Farm. Their supply of what I need is also limited, they're a bit over 50 mi from here. Next stop is Sportsmen's i Bend. That's right at 70 mi. Small local gun shop's don't go around here and I think it's because they rely on gun's to make their money.

[Badgerstate]

For one, youre supporting a local business that contributes to the local economy.
I like shopping LGS when the price makes sense and I find that often LGS is very competitive on price.

[dvdcrr]

In my opinion you do not "support" a shop. What you do, is give them an opportunity to earn your dollar. For different people, it takes different ways of earning that dollar. But some common themes, are consistently competitive pricing, service, selections which are relevant to them. It never hurts to advertise a special now and then.
I think for me, a shop needs to provide at least value priced item when I am browsing to get me to pull out my wallet. Maybe that is a discounted box of shells, or can of cleaner. Once that wallet is out, I am more apt to make the trip worth while by picking up one more thing I need.

When it comes to firearms, I need the price with tax to be close to the online price with shipping and transfer. And I need the model in the shop to be the "good" one. I.E. the one with 2 hi cap mags, not one lo cap for that price.

[Dranrab]

I have no need for my LGS. I have two. One is a tacticool kind of shop with few hunting and target rifles. The other deals mainly in Beretta, Sako, and Browning. The prices at both are well in excess of what I would pay ordering online, and that is IF they had what I want. They don't. Their service is not very good either. Sportsman's Warehouse and Cabelas are within an hour. They have good sales sometimes. The SW has a very good stock of reloading supplies.

Not all LGS are created equal.

[Danoobie]

SO, Carmike, when's the last time you bought a gun sight unseen?
My point is, I doubt you had a chance to inspect that merchandise, before you bought it, from a online store.
More than likely, you went to the brick and mortar LGS, had a look at that gun,
then scurried on home to find the best price, online. How much did you REALLY
save, after shipping, and paying your background check fee?[rhetorical question]

Now, some day, when all the LGSs are out of business, you'll have to buy
a gun based upon the leap of faith that you'll like it, the first time you actually see it. Which will be when you pick it up, as you get it, from wherever they will
ship it, for background checks, after all the LGSs are closed.

I'm certainly not advocating that all LGSs are good. I've seen shops selling used rifles ,still being manufactured, for more than the rifle retails for, new.
What I'm saying is, take the time to FIND a good LGS near you. Then
develop a good working relationship. You won't be disappointed.

[JoeSixpack]

You have a point about buying a gun without hands on exp.
But as far as shipping things back you'd do it at the same place you got a transfer.. lots of FFL's do nothing but transfers and usually from their house.

They're just as capable of shipping as someone who works out of a B&M store front.

[surveyor]

While it is one thing for a new current production gun,the online, unseen stock photos shipped to a transfer dealer, the used out of production guns are another thing. Pictures only go so far. This is not to say I haven't done it before, but that I prefer to see it pesonally before I decide.

Yes it can be done, with a non firing inspection, but if issues arise the only people makibg money on the deal is the shipper.

So I'll trade with the psychic gun shop dude who knows my likes.

[Gunplummer]

A gun shop is a business. "Support" may have been the wrong word for the title of this thread. If they have what I want, I shop there. I don't buy shoes I do not like to support a local shoe store either.
Years ago I was buying a rifle from a dealer at a show. It was slow and we were talking a little bit. He told me he was planning to open a gun shop in a town near where I grew up. I told him there were numerous shops there in the 60's, but they all failed after the small game was gone. Many opened up after that, but none made it more than a year without going big into fishing and archery. He did not pay attention, made it one year.
It is a business. You check the history of the area and present wants of people there. If you squeeze into a niche market like black guns or surplus guns, good luck with that. The market is flooded with black guns and the surplus has dried up. I can think of only one true gun shop locally. It has been there for years and does well. It sits in an area that is big into hunting. Half of us hillbillies are veterans. That sports shop gets some really nice military stuff in. It is a big carry area, so he is also into handguns. He does shows, but as far as I know has no online sales. The problem with a lot of struggling gun shops is the owners no nothing about business. If people do not "Support" LGS, the problem can usually be traced back to the owners.

[Berserker]

I don't worry about the local guy. Special not in a big city with 100k. Small town I would spend some money for convience, if I liked the guy.

I disagree with the post that said it equals out. It does not. You will pay $10-35, typical for someone with the FFL to do the paperwork.

When I look at Buds, I figure $50 over,is being generous, and maybe worth it to deal local.

If you have problem it is going back to manufactuer. Might be easier to have them do it. It can be a pain if no one is home at your house, and UPS hub is not close. Has to be a hub, not a UPS store, for guns.



I do support local business, to keep them around. I wouldn't worry about it in a big city though. Rural areas I like to spread money around. Even that I balance it. It is my money. Some need it the money, some are just gouging.

[flashhole]

"..... when's the last time you bought a gun sight unseen?" Interesting comment.

I bought a Ruger SP100 revolver, a Ruger #1V, a Stevens Favorite, a CZ 455, a Ithaca Model 37 shotgun and a Kimber Longmaster Classic all sight unseen. The revolver was the only disappointment, just didn't like it so I traded it off, but it was just what they advertised it to be.