Walmart droping guns ??

[Johnch]

I was told today that Wallmart is planning to phase out the gun department .

He claims Wallmart isn't getting enough percentage of profet for gun sales and training sales people to do the transferrs takes 3 - 4 times anyother department .

I am not sure if he is full of BS or not .

But I though maybe someone else had heard the same thing or the truth .

Johnch

[imashooter2]

Here in SE PA the gun department is already next to nothing.

[Blacktail 8541]

That seems to be the trend here in N. Ca also.

[HotGuns]

We just had a Walmart Super Store opne up a month ago here in town. The sports dept, is much better than it used to be, if anything they are selling MORE guns, not less.

This is Arkansas. Every Wlamart here has a pretty healthy stash of guns. Maybe its a local thing ?

[mooman76]

Here in LV Nevada a couple years ago Walmart took guns out of certain stores and placed signs up. They don't get the bussiness to support gun sales at all stores but some of their stores do still carry guns so maybe that is what he is talking about. That and Walmart got burned in California a couple years ago because some people were selling guns without doing the paperwork correctly and even before the background check was done!

[abunaitoo]

Here in Hawaii Walmart caved in to the dam-a-craps and never carried anything to do with firearms.

[jaystuw]

The one I go to in simi valley, Calif. got rid of the guns some time ago but kept the display racks. I was told by the clerk that as soon as they got properly trained in gun sales they would be back. Now the display racks are gone to so I guess that is not a good sign!

[lovedogs]

Where I live in Montana my closest stores of any size, including a Walmart, is 120 miles away and I think it's probably small for a Walmart. It doesn't have much of a selection of guns but does carry some reloading components... powder and bullets. Doesn't seem to be either growing or shrinking.

[boogerred]

my little walmart never has had very much.270s,243s, a 30-30,a rem 870, a SS break open and the marlin 22s. ive looked at those guns so many times that i think theyre mine. about a year ago i went to the walmart website,found the gun i wanted,printed the page,took it to the store and they ordered it.you pay 1/2 down,the balance when it comes in.they have a time limit-when its delivered to the store you only have a few days to pay it off and pick it up.after that they ship it back and you forfiet your down money.ive bought 2 like that,tough policy, but it does weed out the shoot first nuts.

[snowwolfe]

Our wal marts still even sell handguns. But you have to order them.

[versifier]

Our local WallyWorld has shotguns & rifles, good selection of ammo year round, M/L's Pyro, pellets and accessories in the fall. No smokeless powder, bullets, or other reloading supplies. They also sell NH hunting and fishing licenses, but you can get those online and I do. They have "trained salespeople", but the sharpest one is about two points smarter than your average rock - you have to explain to them how the forms should be filled out, and they ask for an ID when you buy any ammo, although the only restriction here is 21 years for handgun ammo. I'm bald as an egg and grey in my beard and stash and they still wanted to see my ID to buy a brick of .22lr's! I refused, they refused the sale, and admit I used some pretty colorful language, but I don't think the brick would really fit where I told him to stuff it. I drive 100miles or 150miles round trip to the closest gun shops to get powder & stuff anyway, so I buy everything from them now and WallyWorld can take a flying F*** through a rolling donut. They pay minimum wage and only schedule people only 32 hours per week so they don't get any benefits. They put seven local hardware and sporting good stores out of business when they came here. I won't do business with them again. :takinWiz:
I could care less if they drop guns, I dropped them first. :razz:

[Buckshot]

................When they opened the Wal-Mart here in Redlands (So. Cal, 70 miles east of LA) they carried pistols. This shocked me no end. A couple months later they're burglerized one night and they're handguns got hit. I didn't find out until later from a guy at the range that they were practicly giving them away to get rid of them.

Then I guess it was 2 to 2-1/2 years ago Wal-Mart voluntarily halted the sales of rifles and shotguns because the paperwork in some instances was done incorrectly. They wanted to train up the 'hep'. A couple months ago the empty display cases had been shipped back to corporate.

Heck, half the time you went in their it was some girl from lingerie who was covering sporting goods, and the sporting goods dept manager was no better. All I go in there for was to buy Winchester Dyna-Point 22RF ammo. I decided to buy a case of it. The dept mgr is a lady and she didn't seem to be real up to speed on 22RF's. Like what they were or what they looked like?

So I wrote it out for her, which she thanked me for doing. She said that yes, they would call me day after tomorrow when it came about 11-ish. Well 3-ish rolls around and no call. Taking the initiative I called them. After many on hold sessions with "I'll try again's" and such, I got a guy to answer, and he was from the paint dept but he said he'd look, bless his heart. Surely an American male of his age has at least TOUCHED a 22RF before?

He can't make heads or tails of jack and is very apologetic and asks me to call back in a bit. I did that and this time I got a female person. She actually WORKED in sporting goods! And best yet she could READ and furthermore she said that all 10 boxes were there. Ten boxes!? You mean I had 10 loose bricks of 22RF ammo? She answers that that is a case, 500 rounds, right? Well the stuff doesn't come in 50 rnd boxes, but one box holding 500 rnds, with 10 of those being a case. She has 10 boxes for 500 rnds TOTAL?

Screw that! This phone deal wasn't working out, and I wanted my 5,000 rnds of ammo safely at home, so I drove the 5 miles to the amusement park. When I managed to make my way to sporting goods, no one was there. I waited a bit then went to automotive and asked them to please page someone to SG'd for me. They did that. In a bit I had them do it again. The 3rd time I went to automotive I asked to speak to the store manager or whoever in the heck happened to be curently in charge of this Godforsaken loony bin.

They did and said I should got to SG's because that's where he was going to go. Shortly this guy shows up and asks if I'm the one who wanted to see him. While I was explaining what it was I was wanting, and what was supposed to have happened, the SG's dept mgr happens to show up. She was in the back and didn't hear any of the pages. He said they have speakers in the stock room, but whatever, she didn't hear anything. What she had ordered was a case of Win Dyna-Point 22RF MAGNUM ammo.

So she AND the store asst mgr got on her little computer order thingie and ordered a case of the correct ammo, and both assured me that it would be on Friday's (this was Wed) truck, and yes they'd call me when it was on the floor. Well they never called, so I left for work early that Friday, and at 1630 I was in SG's and they found my case of Win D-P's. I paid and was out of there.

.................Buckshot

[Scrounger]

They have a pretty uninspiring collection of long guns at the WalMart here, but no pistols or reloading equiptment or components. Still, I'm grateful they carry what they do. They change clerks and managers monthly I think, so none of them know CarpetMan's old friend, Jack Schitt. But one thing they do know is to follow store mandated procedures. I bought one rifle there recently; the Dept Mgr did the paperwork and checked it twice. Then he called in a higher-up who checked it again. Then HE called in his boss who checked it again. They seriously don't want to make any mistakes. The final boss carried the rifle out to the parking lot before I ever got my hands on it. I have probably filled out a hundred times more Form 4473s than them combined. Is it any wonder that they're thinking they don't make enough profit to make it worthwhile to sell guns?

[eka]

It seems there are some pretty big differences in what certain Wal-Marts can carry. I found a Wal-Mart approx. forty miles from me in a more rural area carrying powder, primers, and reloading tools and accessories. Pretty decent prices too. The Wal-Mart in my city does not carry any type of reloading supplies. I asked one of the guys at the gun counter about carrying them. He said they absolutely will not allow it. He said one time they shipped some reloading components to the store by accident and he was told to send it back immediately. He had no explanation why the store forty miles away could carry it and at his store it almost seemed taboo.

[mooman76]

I primarily don't go to Walmart for gun supplies unless it is something simple like bullets or something but I do always check out their guns. Sometimes they clearance some of them for some unknown reason, I don't know maybe it sat there to long or something. But I bought a Savage 7mm mag that was marked down to $250 but when it rang up it was $188 so they gave it to me for that price. They were a pain in the &SS about the paperwork but for the price I figured it was worth it!

[Scrounger]

It just occurred to me that a lot of the new people here don't know Jack Schitt either, so I thought an internet reference might be of use:

http://home.pacbell.net/diana_do/knowjack.htm [smilie=l:

[Buck]

Guys - I'm A Newbie To This List. Question, Anyone Know The Psi Limits For An Sb2 Handi-rifle? This Is A 45-70 I'm Going To Use To Shoot Some Black Powder/cast Boolits With. Would Like To Know Which Set Of Loads To Use. Thanks.

[libbyman]

Wal-mart in Sandpoint Id. sells long guns, reloading supplies(bullets,powder,primers,
dies, and even has a RCBS Rock Chucker press). I asked a clerk working in that
dept. about there LOW pricesand he said , they charge 5% over there cost.
Very good sporting goods dept.
Only thing BAD about this store is there are NO CASTING SUPPLIES!!!!!!!

[Scrounger]

Guys - I'm A Newbie To This List. Question, Anyone Know The Psi Limits For An Sb2 Handi-rifle? This Is A 45-70 I'm Going To Use To Shoot Some Black Powder/cast Boolits With. Would Like To Know Which Set Of Loads To Use. Thanks.

I asked more or less the same question at Greybeard's NEF/Handi-Rifle Forum:

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=126&sid=4c61f468a7d3baaa4c9a4aef84aa6ca9

First response was I could load it to Ruger No 1 or bolt action levels. Cooler heads suggested lever action level loads. They also suggested I might well reach my recoil tolerance level before I got very far into the lever action load level. This is a pretty light weight rifle...

[JSH]

Ditto to what versifier said. The only thing I buy at wally world is on clearance. The Kmarts around used to have a very good SG department, but not any more. The wally worlds around here were fairly good years back also.
The Wmarts and Kmarts around here have pretty much quit handling much of anything. The Cabelas that they just built a couple of years ago has messed up the market pretty bad in these parts, I would say a 200 mile radius. Junk used guns have went to new prices. I do buy a bit every now and then from Cabelas. There have been several small gun shops and a fairly large one that have went out in the two short years Cabelas has been here. I know all of the shop owners fairly well and they all pointed there finger at Cabelas for the falling buyers.
Jeff

[wills]

Guys - I'm A Newbie To This List. Question, Anyone Know The Psi Limits For An Sb2 Handi-rifle? This Is A 45-70 I'm Going To Use To Shoot Some Black Powder/cast Boolits With. Would Like To Know Which Set Of Loads To Use. Thanks.

They make 30-06 barrels for those. Unlikley you are going to be able to load black to exceed the rifles' capability.

[Buck]

They make 30-06 barrels for those. Unlikley you are going to be able to load black to exceed the rifles' capability.
Wills - Thanks! I should have thought of that. Sent H&R/NEF same question, they said to call them. I will.

[Blackwater]

I'm not a big fan of Wal Mart, but I DID find their Triple 7 on sale, along with some sabots. I'd SWORN I was NOT going to use that newfangled stuff, but .... yeah, I got it. The Triple 7 was $5/lb. and the sabots were reduced 75%. Also bought some carbon arrows, too. I guess if I'm gonna' be a liar, at least it didn't cost me much.

BTW, I learned LONG ago to never ask any of the staff a question, unless I was just wanting to be mischevious and see that "doe in the headlights" look again.

IMO, if Wal Mart closes out guns, we'll all be better off. Then more people would go to gun shops where they could get some decent advice, and maybe learn something other than "how difficult it ought to be to access a gun." It's amazing how many folks learn their attitudes toward guns from spit like this. Positively AMAZING. Now that thinking has gone completely out of style, and ATTITUDE is the fashion of the moment, folks who're used to cerebral processes find frustration very commonly, and on most every level. That's just another thing I hate about Wal Mart, but I'm a small minority in that. I'm a lot closer to being "right," though, than many'd think.

[BAGTIC]

Why do so many insist on bashing Wal-Mart, K-mart, etc. for their imaginary threat to the local independent gun store.

I am old enough (63) to remember the times before Wal-Mart, etc. Things were not any better then. Most of the small gun stores I have observed folding folded because of poor management not too much competetion. Remember, before the 1960 firearms were readily and conveniently available by mail. Local gun stores would face much tougher competion under those circumstances than anything that Wall, et al could provide.

[Ed Barrett]

Here in Northwest Missouri Walmart and Kmart carry long guns and ammo. Tried asking to see the catalog for ordering guns through Walmart the salesman said I was the third person to ask to see it during the six years he's worked there. Walmart has pretty good selection of Ammo but nothing exotic. When I get the urge to break some clays in the air I buy 12 gauge shell for $13.50 a hundred for federal or winchester ounce and an eighth loads.

[waksupi]

I imagine there are twenty gun shops of various sizes within twenty miles of me. And some of the proprietors, don't know squat about what they are selling!

[Scrounger]

I hope WalMart keeps selling guns because that will get more guns into the hands of more people. No WalMart equals higher prices at the dealers and less people buying. There are some good, friendly, honest dealers, but there's a lot of the other kind, too. Heck, I wish the super markets sold guns; can you imagine weekly specials on guns and reloading components. And I don't care if the clerks know Jack Schitt about guns; I make it my business to know about a gun before I go in to buy it.

[Bass Ackward]

<<No WalMart equals higher prices at the dealers and less people buying. There are some good, friendly, honest dealers, but there's a lot of the other kind, too.>>


I would also add the internet to this as well. When a guy can charge $5 over cost on something that he has no money invested in and drop ship it to a dealer for sale once he get's an order, that is what puts on the squeeze.

But with this strategy comes the luck of the draw. You can't go in and paw over several. You get what comes in. You will then have to get your education from those magazines you all hate. The beauty of this to a dealer is the fact that you no longer have to have inventory complete or waste your time trying to make a sale. Instead, you hire someone reliable to complete transactions and you go do something else.

Just play along, to get along. You no longer are the bad guy when somebody wants top dollar out of something worn out. Or forced to feel pressure to pay up on a gun for good clients on something that won't sell in a year. Saves you time from having to load all that stuff up and going to gun shows to peddle it where you run into the same problem that forced you into this strategy in the first place. You simply put up a couple of computer terminals where the guns used to sit. Then you offer packing services for sales.

One thing to remember is that when you consolodate sales of anything down to only a few sourses, you can control a thing. Or kill a thing. Same thing happened to reloading components. How many people sell reloading stuff any more? Think surplus powder is going to last forever? Think computer sales transactions go away in time? The American theme today is, "I got mine! (at a discount)"

[boogerred]

i think internet vendors own the market on reloading tools.every time i go to a gunshop i find less and less tools.they still have lots of powder,primers,and bullets only because i think a lot of people dont want to pay the shipping and hazmat fees.as it stands now,for me,the hazmat and shipping are only about $2 more than the cost to drive my gasaholic truck to the GS. when i ask about reloading tools or casting stuff they all say "we dont have one,but we can order it."yeah,so can i.i think the internet will close a lot of stores.people want a good deal and they want it now.

[wills]

The internet may close some brick and mortar stores, but it allows people to live where they want and run a successful business over the internet.

[tom barthel]

Some people do like to knock Wal-Mart. I would much rather deal with a person who doesn't know anything but selling. I have visited far too many regular gun dealers who treat customers like crap for asking questions. I recently purchased a rifle from Wal-mart for $30-$40.00 less than a local dealer would sell it to me for. This dealer paid $10.00 more for the rifle than Wal-mart and wouldn't lower his price. HE COULD have made a twenty to thirty dollar PROFIT. He CHOSE to lose a sale. I never liked being treated like a neusance (sp?) for asking a question. I would rather deal with someone who will say "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" when I ask a question. As I see it these dealers shoot themselves in the foot every time a stranger walks into their store. I know not all dealers are like this. Yes, I would rather support the small dealer. I just don't like it when he counts on me alone for his retirent.

[buck1]

Guys - I'm A Newbie To This List. Question, Anyone Know The Psi Limits For An Sb2 Handi-rifle? This Is A 45-70 I'm Going To Use To Shoot Some Black Powder/cast Boolits With. Would Like To Know Which Set Of Loads To Use. Thanks.


HOWDEE! And welcome! Thats a good handle you got there! LOL!