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I have found it pretty hard to beat Bud's -> Local FFL

The "guys behind the counter" have pretty much turned me off on these stores. The only time I go to cabelas or bass pro is if I happen to be close to one. Sometimes even then I pass. Too easy to get whatever you're looking for off the net. The only decent gun deal I've ever found at either was on a hunting rifle that was being discontinued.

The last time I was there, the guy behind the counter bent over backwards to help me. In fact, they didn't have the rifle, in the caliber I wanted, immediately available so he checked and found there was one that had just come in and hadn't been logged into stock yet. He went back, found it, and had it logged so I could buy it. All-in-all it was a very good experience.

jimlongley wrote:So for a while I have been looking at the NAA .22WRF revolver that folds into a pocket clip. I just think it's kind of neat and almost ideal for a gun you carry when you can't carry a real gun. Heck, it might even fit in bicycle shorts.

Anyway my bride decided I should have one for my birthday (my wives, in combination, have bought me more guns than I have ever bought for myself) and she found one for a pretty good price at Cabela's (lower than CTD anyway) and off we went.

It took more than 40 minutes for a walk in "I want that one!" transaction, including a timed 10 minutes for the "manager" to show up to authorize the sale after two other employees checked, cross checked, and verified, everything. I was just about to give up and leave when he did show up, and all he did was laugh it off: "It always happens when I am at the other end of the store."

And I never really was given the chance to look in the box at the gun I bought. It was as if this was the first time they had ever sold a gun.

Considering that there are only a few houses actually closer to Cabella's than mine . . . well, let's just leave it that I will still shop there when I don't have the time to go elsewhere, but that might have been the last gun purchase.

All the big box stores are like that. In my experience Academy and Walmart are even worse. Lately I'm making all my purchases from small local dealers and I'm in and out in ten minutes.

I walked into a Cabela's for the first time a few weeks ago...their prices on the high end stuff are pretty competitive but the everyday stuff was overpriced...

I've only ever bought two guns from Cabela's. I bought a Model 642 (which now belongs to another forum member) at the Fort Worth store back in 2008 (I think), and I bought a cheap Stevens 350 shotgun at the Allen store. I've had LOTS of conversations with counter staff at Cabelas and never had a problem with them. But, their firearms transaction process, even back in 2008, was so clunky that it makes it easier to just buy at a mom & pop shop, or at a gunshow or something.

Nice thread necromancy, by the way.....

Well, as long as we're necromancing (don't know how I missed the post last year)....my only experience with the Allen Cabelas was that I knew way more about the Walther PPS I was buying than the guy behind the counter did. It was kinda fun. There were other customers watching/listening/chuckling.

I find it amusing to pretend I've never handled a pistol and see how they treat and educate me. Some are genuine and it's obvious they want to help. Others are all bravado and stories. One guy even pulled out a Desert Eagle to show me.

I used to work for academy and i can understand how people can dislike it. The store that i was at the gun guys knew a lot took training and i always heard good things from them by customers but i go to another academy and its like these guys don't know nothing. Half the time they're kids playing around not doing anything and then when you go to ask they say i dunno nothing bout this stuff.

I have been working part time in a Mom and Pop gun store for the past 5 months. I am 52 and have never worked retail in my life. It has given me a whole new respect all who work retail. It is not easy. I learn something new every time I work a shift and much of my learning does come from the customers. Especially when it comes to old military firearms. It would be very difficult to know everything about every gun in the store. The stock is always changing. There are many hard to get firearms that may be in the store 3 times a year and on the shelf for about an hour or less.
The most important thing about working in a gun store is checking in the firearms to AMI before they go on the shelf and the 4473 form. A mistake by an employee can cost the owner his FFL. Also, treat each person who walks in the door with respect and be helpful. No matter how much you think you know about every gun in the world there is always someone who knows more than you.

So what I am saying in a nut shell is: Unless you have worked retail, especially in a gun store, give them a break. It is a hard job and there is lots to do to keep up a store front. It can also get frustrating talking to 20 people a day why there is no 22 ammo and how you can drag an AK47 through the mud and it still shoots. But I still act like it is the first time to talk about it.lol

I do understand that you will run into clerks that so not seem to care about you or their job. If you run into that just go somewhere else. That is how I found the store I work in now.

rwilso wrote:I have been working part time in a Mom and Pop gun store for the past 5 months. I am 52 and have never worked retail in my life. It has given me a whole new respect all who work retail. It is not easy. I learn something new every time I work a shift and much of my learning does come from the customers. Especially when it comes to old military firearms. It would be very difficult to know everything about every gun in the store. The stock is always changing. There are many hard to get firearms that may be in the store 3 times a year and on the shelf for about an hour or less.
The most important thing about working in a gun store is checking in the firearms to AMI before they go on the shelf and the 4473 form. A mistake by an employee can cost the owner his FFL. Also, treat each person who walks in the door with respect and be helpful. No matter how much you think you know about every gun in the world there is always someone who knows more than you.

So what I am saying in a nut shell is: Unless you have worked retail, especially in a gun store, give them a break. It is a hard job and there is lots to do to keep up a store front. It can also get frustrating talking to 20 people a day why there is no 22 ammo and how you can drag an AK47 through the mud and it still shoots. But I still act like it is the first time to talk about it.lol

I do understand that you will run into clerks that so not seem to care about you or their job. If you run into that just go somewhere else. That is how I found the store I work in now.

I don't think anyone here expects the guy behind the counter to know everything. The problem comes when the guy thinks he knows everything or pretends he knows everything. The end result is almost always incorrect information and an unhappy customer. I have great respect for the "I don't know the answer to that question but I'll see if I can get it for you" response because then two people typically end up learning something and the next customer will get that answer immediately.

rwilso wrote:I have been working part time in a Mom and Pop gun store for the past 5 months. I am 52 and have never worked retail in my life. It has given me a whole new respect all who work retail. It is not easy. I learn something new every time I work a shift and much of my learning does come from the customers. Especially when it comes to old military firearms. It would be very difficult to know everything about every gun in the store. The stock is always changing. There are many hard to get firearms that may be in the store 3 times a year and on the shelf for about an hour or less.
The most important thing about working in a gun store is checking in the firearms to AMI before they go on the shelf and the 4473 form. A mistake by an employee can cost the owner his FFL. Also, treat each person who walks in the door with respect and be helpful. No matter how much you think you know about every gun in the world there is always someone who knows more than you.

So what I am saying in a nut shell is: Unless you have worked retail, especially in a gun store, give them a break. It is a hard job and there is lots to do to keep up a store front. It can also get frustrating talking to 20 people a day why there is no 22 ammo and how you can drag an AK47 through the mud and it still shoots. But I still act like it is the first time to talk about it.lol

I do understand that you will run into clerks that so not seem to care about you or their job. If you run into that just go somewhere else. That is how I found the store I work in now.

I work retail, my first experience doing so for the last 7 years, and I could tell you tales . . . but my recent experience with Cabela's was a bit over the edge.

jmra wrote: I don't think anyone here expects the guy behind the counter to know everything. The problem comes when the guy thinks he knows everything or pretends he knows everything. The end result is almost always incorrect information and an unhappy customer. I have great respect for the "I don't know the answer to that question but I'll see if I can get it for you" response because then two people typically end up learning something and the next customer will get that answer immediately.

Yes. Courtesy, friendliness, and a sense of purpose to find what is right for the customer goes a long way towards building a solid customer base. Treat people how you would like to be treated and people will remember - treat them badly and they will remember a lot longer.

I'll never forget the guy who worked at a box store - Big 5 to be exact. I was shopping for a Mosin-Nagant and Big 5 used to get batches of them and always had the best prices anywhere. He didn't know much about them, but said I could go to the back room with him and pick one out of the bunch. They had about 20 MN's and I looked through them all. He was eager to learn what I knew about them, history, markings and such, and we had a great time. I found the one I wanted and when I went to pay, he gave me another $20 off the price for the education. Now that is customer service.

Brandon33 wrote:I used to work for academy and i can understand how people can dislike it. The store that i was at the gun guys knew a lot took training and i always heard good things from them by customers but i go to another academy and its like these guys don't know nothing. Half the time they're kids playing around not doing anything and then when you go to ask they say i dunno nothing bout this stuff.

I tried to buy a gun at the Round Rock Academy and subsequently at the Cedar Park Academy and couldn't get waited on. I guess I was supposed to tell the two guys standing behind the counter ignoring me while I wandered up and down in front of them, peering into the displays and even bending down to look at the lower shelves that those behaviors were indicative of what most store call 'customers' and signal an intent to purchase. This is kind of odd as the floor staff are some of the most friendly and helpful people around. Maybe it was the motorcycle gear.

I posted my experiences on the Academy website and a guy from corporate sent me an email telling me the mgrs of CP & RR had been notified and would be calling me shortly. The RR guy never called but CP guy did. He apologized, asked the time & date and said that he'd take steps to see it didn't happen again. Based on his response, I went into the CP store about a week later and it was deja vu all over again. Before leaving the store, I asked to see the mgr, he wasn't in but I spoke to the asst-mgr and told him of the previous episode and that things haven't gotten any better. He offered to take me to the gun dept and assist me himself. I told him thanks but no thanks, I think I'll go to Red's. I did and Red's matched Academy's price and I bought my LCR there. I now only got to Academy to look for ammo and as the shortage subsides, I go there less and and less.

Must be some sort of pecking order within the store with those behind the gun counter being the head peckers. I've had similar experiences at Cabella's and Gander Mountain. I really don't understand the attitude, given the level of expertise that I've experienced on that rare occasion when I was able to someone to wait on me.

Aren't stupid people just the greatest?

I usually have a good experience at Cabelas.

I stopped by the location in Buda yesterday (upon receipt of my new CHL ) to pick up an IWB holster for my Springfield XDs. The associate that helped me let me borrow their XDs from the case so that I could make sure the holster would fit well without any printing issues. He even allowed me to throw my (unloaded) mag into it to make sure that my grip extension didn't add any unwanted bulk to the mix.