Payment Plan on a Handgun: Need Advice

[Lumberjack98]

Does Academy, Gander, or Bass Pro do payment plans?

No, No and No (unless you use a credit card).

[PhilR.]

If your friend finds him/herself up near College Station, stop at Champion Firearms on Texas Ave (Business 6). They have a payment plan - two of them in fact. They also have a fairly decent selection of pistols, and usually at the lowest price to be had in this area. Customer service however can run hot or cold....


Get A Stoeger Cougar and a 12ga. pump, and you're in business for around $500.

Hard to beat a Glock though -- the more I shoot my somewhat new 26, the more I like it.....

PhilR.

[Stupid]

I always say that if you cannot afford a gun, meaning a cheap Glock, you need to worry about your financial security first.

Budget it properly so that you can move to a decent place. That's way better than having to shoot someone which is something I would never look forward to.

[Skiprr]

Let's see, how can I put this delicately . . . I believe every law-abiding person ought to be able to have a firearm, but if your friend's neighbor is so strapped for cash he can't even afford a modestly-priced handgun without a payment plan, he probably won't be able to afford practicing with it, which I consider essential . . .

A handgun IS a valuable piece of safety equipment, but you have to learn how & when to use it - it's not a magic talisman that automatically makes you safe just because you have it.

Sage advice. Especially if your friend is looking to borrow your pistol for CHL, then find a way to buy his own after the plastic arrives weeks later. If figuring out how to own a modestly-priced handgun eight weeks from now is an issue, he will absolutely, positively, not be able to buy ammo and pay range fees to shoot it.

I agree with others. Save the CHL fee and buy a decent shotgun. Your friend will be hundreds of dollars ahead, will have a better home-defense instrument, and it will be one he doesn't need to to spend many hours and a lot of money to practice in order to be adequately proficient.

[longtooth]

Good words from 2 wise men.

[lrb111]

Oh yeah, of course he is going to get his CHL first before he carries. Shotgun is a great idea, but my friend is really picky and he wants a handgun. He planning on taking his CHL course first and borrow my G19 to do the shooting proficiency test. After that, he going go look for a handgun and concealed carry when his license arrive in the mail.

Does Academy, Gander, or Bass Pro do payment plans?

They probably do lay-a-way plans. Which means he would make all the payments before taking possession of the gun.

I probably have a dozen handguns, but if there are problems on the property, I have my 12 gauge with the pistol grip in my hands. A handgun is not a replacement for a home defense shotgun.
Use all the power you can, when you can.

[barnez]

tell him to check out budsgunshop.com, they have 90 days 0% interest.

9mm would be a good choice since it's cheaper ammo for practice. Something like a Kahr CW9 ($360) would be good for a ccw.

I certainly wouldn't look down on this guy for financing a gun when I see people racking up debt at 23.99% for consumables like gas and groceries. At least a gun is going to retain 80-90% of it's value.

btw, thumbs up helping a friend get involved in guns. tell him to join the NRA as well.

[NguyenVanDon]

Oh yeah, of course he is going to get his CHL first before he carries. Shotgun is a great idea, but my friend is really picky and he wants a handgun. He planning on taking his CHL course first and borrow my G19 to do the shooting proficiency test. After that, he going go look for a handgun and concealed carry when his license arrive in the mail.

Does Academy, Gander, or Bass Pro do payment plans?

They probably do lay-a-way plans. Which means he would make all the payments before taking possession of the gun.

I probably have a dozen handguns, but if there are problems on the property, I have my 12 gauge with the pistol grip in my hands. A handgun is not a replacement for a home defense shotgun.
Use all the power you can, when you can.

Yeah, I found out that Academy does lay-a-way plan, but that is a no go for him. I gave him the option of shotgun or handgun, but he told me he doesn't want a shotgun because he said it's just for his apartment until they move out later. He's a small guy btw, about 5'5 and only 140 lbs. The power of the shotgun would probably knock him on his butt.

His gf lives with him btw and she is very anti-gun, but in this situation she wants him to get one now. She wants him to get his CHL class first, then buy a handgun after that. For some odd reason, that doesn't make sense to me. I got no say in this because it's between them two. I'm here just to give advice, and other options to them.

Thanks for the advice here fellas. I'm going to pass ya'lls advice to him tomorrow and let him decide what he wants to do.

[KBCraig]

I always say that if you cannot afford a gun, meaning a cheap Glock, you need to worry about your financial security first.

Budget it properly so that you can move to a decent place. That's way better than having to shoot someone which is something I would never look forward to.

And in the meanwhile, a hundred-dollar Raven/Jennings/Bryco (even an RG!) can fit into most folks' budgets.

Anyone who can budget a CHL course and license fee, can budget a move to a different area, and probably a cheap last-ditch gun to boot. Personally, I'd suggest a couple of cannisters of Fox 5.3 instead, but that's just me...

And yes, having been dead broke several times in my life, having to choose between Ramen and Cup-o-Soup while pondering which utility service I could live without, I feel qualified to judge.

Kevin

[Vic9mm]

If he must have a gun on a little budget get a Hi-point 9mm until he can afford to get a better gun. I have a 24/7 Pro and a Hi-point 9mm the Hi-point has around 3000rds through it not a bad gun for 120 bucks brand new comes with an 8 and 10 round mag. For starters it not to bad.

[barres]

Someone already mentioned Champion Firearms in College Station, which was my first thought. It also wouldn't hurt to go talk to someone at Academy and maybe Bass Pro, Gander Mountain, and/or Cabella's if there's one nearby. Academy used to offer 6 months 0% APR on new Academy credit cards, assuming your friend is credit worthy. If he can afford a CHL class and license, he should be able to pay off a Glock from Academy in 6 months.

[DSARGE]

Maybe he can find an individual who will sell him a used gun and let him make payments?

[govnor]

Oh yeah, of course he is going to get his CHL first before he carries. Shotgun is a great idea, but my friend is really picky and he wants a handgun. He planning on taking his CHL course first and borrow my G19 to do the shooting proficiency test. After that, he going go look for a handgun and concealed carry when his license arrive in the mail.

Does Academy, Gander, or Bass Pro do payment plans?

There's always lay-a-way. He could go ahead and put the gun on lay-a-way at the store and by the time he got his CHL he could have it paid off (I'm guessing you can do this, I've never done it). I've personally never heard of payment plans on a gun, other than credit cards.

I'm with the guys on the shotgun thing if he's just trying to defend his home. Cheaper and more effective. He can always get a pistol later on...

[Vic9mm]

Oh yeah, of course he is going to get his CHL first before he carries. Shotgun is a great idea, but my friend is really picky and he wants a handgun. He planning on taking his CHL course first and borrow my G19 to do the shooting proficiency test. After that, he going go look for a handgun and concealed carry when his license arrive in the mail.

Does Academy, Gander, or Bass Pro do payment plans?

There's always lay-a-way. He could go ahead and put the gun on lay-a-way at the store and by the time he got his CHL he could have it paid off (I'm guessing you can do this, I've never done it). I've personally never heard of payment plans on a gun, other than credit cards.

I'm with the guys on the shotgun thing if he's just trying to defend his home. Cheaper and more effective. He can always get a pistol later on...

Yes sir you can do it, I didnt have 460 dollars for my 24/7 Pro at the time and they had layaway 20% down and pay it off in 2 months and thats what I did. Its wasnt too bad, and yes I over paid about 60 bucks but after all the places I went to this places' cutomer service was outstanding and they gave me free 100 rds of ammo and a lane so all in all it was a pretty good deal.

[govnor]

Oh yeah, of course he is going to get his CHL first before he carries. Shotgun is a great idea, but my friend is really picky and he wants a handgun. He planning on taking his CHL course first and borrow my G19 to do the shooting proficiency test. After that, he going go look for a handgun and concealed carry when his license arrive in the mail.

Does Academy, Gander, or Bass Pro do payment plans?

There's always lay-a-way. He could go ahead and put the gun on lay-a-way at the store and by the time he got his CHL he could have it paid off (I'm guessing you can do this, I've never done it). I've personally never heard of payment plans on a gun, other than credit cards.

I'm with the guys on the shotgun thing if he's just trying to defend his home. Cheaper and more effective. He can always get a pistol later on...

Yes sir you can do it, I didnt have 460 dollars for my 24/7 Pro at the time and they had layaway 20% down and pay it off in 2 months and thats what I did. Its wasnt too bad, and yes I over paid about 60 bucks but after all the places I went to this places' cutomer service was outstanding and they gave me free 100 rds of ammo and a lane so all in all it was a pretty good deal.

You may have overpaid a little, but I've been to several gun shows lately and haven't seen one 24/7 pro. I scour every table too... Don't feel bad though, I've overpaid on a couple of guns.

As far as Nguyen's friend goes...that might be the answer. Lay-a-way.