61henry

Hi all,
All the talk about keeping the money local confuses me, I believe that most of the employees of a particular wal mart are local to the area the wal mart is in, they in turn spend that money in their area etc. or are we talking about keeping the money local as long as it goes to a "certain class" or group of people in an area and not the lower forms of life that work for the evil corporation? I know that in our area wal mart seems to employ a large number of people.
That being said, I cant see myself buying any more guns from them, I have in the past, but recently I went there with the intent of laying away a rifle, they wanted me to put 50% down and was only going to give 30 days to pay it off. Needless to say I told them to stick it and left. Just because I am a gun owner I didn't have the same option as other buyers who only need to put 10% down with 90 days to pay it off. So wal mart will never see me buy a gun from them again no matter how much I can save.

Todd1700

I've never heard of that before. I have placed guns on layaway at Wal-Mart and only had to pay 10% down and had 60 days to buy it out. Now if you order a gun from them they require you to pay 50% up front but thats just to prevent people from ordering a gun and then never coming back to get it.

KonaBoy

I was just wondering if Wal-Mart only stocked guns in the States because I've never seen one here in Canada?

kevmo

i dont see nothin wrong with wal-mart guns......... thats where i got my .270 win. & i have nothin wrong with it well for at least i do for now but other than that it shoots great & i only gave $450 for it cuz do too all tha tax and stuff you gotta pay

USMC PMI

No such thing as a Wal Mart gun. There was some scuttle butt floating around a while ago that went something like this "Wal Mart sells guns so cheap because they buy and sell factory seconds" or something to that effect. This is not true, Wal Mart has made deals with certain manufacturers to purchase bulk guns which does save money, but they are not "factory seconds". When have any of you ever seen a "factory second" gun for sale? Maybe a gun with closet damage (scratches and the like). A small gun shop owner I deal with on occasion repeated this same song and dace to me when questioning his prices. I have no great love for Wal Mart in particular, nor great hate for small gun shops, but the fact is both are trying to take some of your hard earned money, Wal Mart can do that more effectively. If your local gun shop made the initial investment and purchased guns in even semi bulk numbers they could lower their prices a fair ammount but most are unwilling to commit. On top of that gun shops do not purchase the guns directly from the manufacturer, they purchase them from a distributer, who has to earn his dollar as well, so the price goes up. If it is a matter of $20 or so, I say support your local shop if they are decent folks, if more than a $35 - $40 increase go to WAl Mart because the gunshop is doing you no favors. I also live in an area with limited shops and most have that same arrogent attitude thinking that because they sell guns, they know everything about guns, not the case fellas. Some do and some are full of BS, be careful not to step in the crap folks, do your homework before even walking in an unfamiliar store.

HighDesertWolf

Look at it this way, Walmart could care less about your gun rights, Local gun stores do care about your gun rights and local gun stores help us keep our gun rights. So paying a few more dollars more for a box of ammo and paying 20 or 30 dollars more for a rifle or shotgun from a local gun store is a small price to pay to ensure our gun rights are protected. I always buy my shooting supplies from a mom and pop gun store. I make a big point of it with all my friends if i hear any of them bought anything from walmart they will never hear the end of it.

Todd1700

If it was only 20 or 30 more then you might be right. In my area however the difference in price is so much that I would equate it to being anally sodomized with a baseball bat without even the common courtesy of a little KY application. If they didn't have some competition from Wal-Mart it would be even worse.

Then you must hang out with some whimpy little panty waists if they put up with that. If you gave my friends any s##t about where they did their shopping you would wake up somewhere with a doctor shining a light in your eyes to check you for brain damage from the beating.

USMC PMI

Now that was a talking to. I agree, the local shops do go way above and beyond. I think everyone would pay the extra say 10% - 12% markup, but a 25% markup or more, that crosses the line from making a living into robbing me blind!

As far as protecting your gun rights, take a long look at the Communist Dictatorship of Maryland. Most local shops folded right in and watched as Maryland's no longer in office political officials practically banned new handgun sales by creating obscure laws. The new officials are reluctant to repeal the horrible plain out violation of our rights, maybe they will not be in office for long either. The fact is Wal Mart brings shooting and gun ownership to more folks through convience, affordiability, and environment. You all know that the "new guy" at Billy Bob's gun shop is treated with a little destain and is expected to follow old Billy Bob and his five cousin's advice. Wal Mart doesn't care what you buy, it's up to you to do the research. They will sell whatever you want, you will know you are not paying twice the actual value, and if you don't like being hassled the pimple faced kid doesn't care why you are buying the gun or what for, as long as line 12 is complete on the form.

Wal Mart is among the top sellers of firearms in the country. More people owning guns=continued gun rights. 50 people fericely devoted to thier local gun shop getting the "special" price while everyone else gets soaked=bad press, bad word of mouth, doubt, and general disinterest in gun ownership because of the hassle. It is sad but the good old days of great service, continued support, and a decent price have faded away. People that own guns are more willing to fight for the continued right to do so. We need every household to have a gun in it, who better to deliver this than Wal Mart. After you buy the gun and can't mount the scope yourself take it to the local gunshop and pay them $50 to do it for you, support all around, everyone wins.

Todd1700

Amen, a lot of lower middle class and minimum wage people out there can't afford to spend 700 dollars for a rifle/scope combo. If the lower prices at Wal-Mart puts a gun in their hand and gets them into the woods hunting I fail to see how that's a bad thing.

It sure has in my area. For details see my earlier posts.

You have hit on the number one thing I like about Wal-Mart. When I walk into a store I already know what I want and how to use it. At Wal-Mart I don't have some loud mouthed know it all psuedo-expert trying to talk me out of what I want and into what he wants to sell. (Usually something that costs more or something he has an overstock of) The pimple faced kid at Wal-Mart may not be a gun expert but he says, "yes sir" and sells me what I want and just what I want without a hassle.

USMC PMI

As middle class working men only we can lookout for ourselves, you can bet no one else will.