Gun Stores, Local Ranges

Well, I hear Wal-Mart is getting out of the gun-store business in many of its stores. It matters not to me, as I live in a county that thinks Wal-Mart is evil and resists them opening in the lower part of the county. It’s probably a cost matter, too, for the company. Adhering to gun sale regulations is expensive, and there are fewer customers in a dense suburban area for hunting accouterments, so it makes economic sense.

There is a Bass Pro Shop in Anne Arundel county, within 30 miles of my house. What a glorious place! It’s the size of an airplane hangar. It even has floatplane hanging from the ceiling. There are deer heads all over, and even an old Chevy pickup as decoration. This place has everything. Thousands of fishing poles, camping gear, a half dozen food dehydrators, a dozen meat grinders, boats, rock climbing gear, hunting clothes, beef jerky, and recliners. If they let me set up a TV and bring in beer I’d never leave.

They have guns in Bass Pro, too. Handguns and rifles. A few of those new revolvers that shoot gargantuan .500 magnum loads out of a snub nose barrel. Probably a good gun if you crashed in Alaska and some Polar bear was trying to get to you as you retreated into the fuselage of your broken airplane. I don’t know what else, though. I imaging it can be fun to shoot if you like super-power loads. These revolvers make Dirty Harry’s .44 magnum look like a .22. They aren’t for me, but hey, if you want to get one, more power to ya.

They had some left handed bolt action rifles at Bass Pro. I checked out a Savage in .30-06. It has a new kind of accu-trigger. It has a little extra tongue that you press for the first stage, and a pretty light (and adjustable) second stage. It would take some getting used to. The rifle felt ‘flimsy’. I’ve gotten used to and prefer older weapons because they have more presence in my hands. They feel rugged. The Savage had other problems in that it didn’t have my other requirements for a bolt-action rifle. I didn’t get the Remington Model 11 shotgun that long ago, so my gun budget hasn’t replenished to a level that makes it harder to resist impulse purchases. I have to sit tight and accept no compromises to my bolt action requirements.

Bass Pro has lots of ammo, scopes, and other shooting related items (more than a dozen different deer stands!) and the ammo prices are very reasonable. I’d bet they are as cheap as Wal-Mart. Bass Pro isn’t my go-to gun shop, but it’s nice to know they are there. For more than just guns, too. Picked up some camping equipment, and will probably get some hunting togs there.

There are 4 guns stores I know of in my county. There are 2 Atlantic, Potomac, and Gilbert. Gilbert recently moved off of rt. 355 to off of Gude because they wanted to expand their indoor range. It’s very nice. Maryland has a rule about ranges, as you have to be a member of a range to shoot there. You can’t just rent a lane for an hour. And Gilbert costs $300 for a year to be a traditional member (there are other packages and trial memberships). I’d have to go once a week to justify that, right now. It’s tempting though, because it is SO close. The shooting lane is only 75 feet, and while they let you shoot .30 rifles there, I’d prefer at least 100 yards. So if I was a member, any handguns I have would get the most workout. Goodness knows, I can use some practice with handguns, but I only have the one to practice with. Maybe if I acquire another. Another BIG advantage of Gilbert is they’ll rent you a gun, so you can try out some models before making a purchase. See how a new piece fits your hand before plopping down the cash for. That is an invaluable service. Gilbert keeps their gun display in cabinets inside a vault, I think, so they can lock the whole place down, rather than moving the guns to cases at the start of the day, and back to a separate vault at the end of the day.

Atlantic Guns has 2 shops, and used to be located in DC, before the District of Columbia decided that guns were their problem and not the people that pull triggers. (I keep telling them, if they only outlawed murder there wouldn’t be any more.) I went to the store in Rockville to check it out. I need to check out the Silver Spring store some time soon. The staff was friendly, and they had a huge selection of cowboy-action style guns. Cowboy-action is a separate hobby inside competive shooting circles that uses mid nineteenth century shooting iron, costumes, and shooting styles. So they have double barrel shotguns and lever guns and old style revolvers. They also had a decent selection of Springfield rifles, like the M1A I covet.

Potomac Trading & Antique Guns & Lionel Trains is my primary guns store. I bought my revolver, Garand, and shotgun through them. Yes they sell Lionel trains there, too, which is kind of neat. My ex Father in Law was a huge model train fanatic. The gun section has an old bronze cannon in the middle of the floor. They also had a big ‘ol .50 caliber machine gun (I thought it was a Ma Deuce or M2, but apparently it is the similar variant known as M3, used extensively in aviation). Potomac specializes in a lot of historical firearms, with 19th century muzzle-loaders and lots of Civil War and World Wars memorabilia. When I am shopping for a new gun, this is the place I check first. They have an ample selection of new and used firearms.

Clark Brothers, the gun store with the rifle range out back, is geared toward the hunter, but it does have non-hunting specific guns for sale. The store is farthest from the city, so it is more geared toward rural customers. Their gunsmith is usually on site, and has been every time I have been there. The other gunshops either contract out gunsmithing work, or their gunsmith wasn’t in the store the day I stopped by. The fact that the store is in Virginia adds a layer of complication, so if I DID see a firearm I wanted there, it gets complicated. They have to ship some purchases to a licensed dealer in your state, or they certainly did 7 years ago for handguns. Long guns may be a different story. So I hope I never find a gun there I have to have, to avoid the legal headaches.

There is a huge gun show in Chantilly Virginia in an old Builder’s Square that is now a convention center expo type thing. I look forward to attending that, but the last show coincided with my vacation and I was out of town. Another is coming up.

Another place that has caught my eye is the Maryland Rifle Club. You join the club for a token dues fee, then pay an additional $150 for a range badge. (As I mentioned, you have to be a member of a range to shoot there. This badge allows you to shoot at a number of affiliated ranges.) I am pretty sure the closest range is up near Sykesville Maryland, West of Baltimore. It’s probably 40 miles from me. I’ll have to look into this one, but that is still expensive and kind of far. If Gilbert’s close-by range was only $150, I’d be there now. The Sykesville range does have some LONG target lanes. I think 400 yards or more.

NRA headquarters is in Fairfax Virginia, about 25 miles from home. I definitely will go there to see, now that I am member. Its disadvantage is some gawd-awful traffic getting there after work hours, when I’d want to go. If I had to guess, I’d say it was a range as nice as Gilbert’s, but with more lanes. This will be a future blog entry, when I get off my arse and hoof it over to Fairfax.