No more Guns at Walmart
 

I was at my local walmart last night and all the guns are gone. I heard the tall end of the conversation that the clerk was having with another customer. Sounds like they are just doing it to be more politically correct. Does anyone out there have anymore information about them getting rid of the guns? Are they also getting rid of the outdoor section?

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

Same with my local walmart. But for now it isn't all walmarts - only selected ones. I'd prefer to buy from my local gunshops anyway.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Wal-Mart's+out+of+the+gun+business&articleId=6d047 754-d2fc-4490-bc11-c339825b1300

There is a link to an article about stopping sales in New Hampshire It allso talks about sales nation wide.

My wife works for walmart. Our understanding is it is based on the community, and competion in the area. Target does not sell firearms or even have much of an outdoor dept to begin with. They have become a big competitor to Walmart over the years. Partly responisable for Walmart removing layaway in all its stores. If the competition is doing good without firearms, layaway, and catering to a more (I use this term loosely and i am truly sorry if i offend anyone) Yuppie crowd.

Basically Walmart no longers wants to be considered a Redneck store, They areworkingon changing there image to appeal to the Starbucks drinking, Granola eating crowd. Like Target. This last statement is of course my opinion.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

http://vpc.org/press/0604walmart.htm


http://www.mainehuntingtoday.com/bbb/?p=1685


http://www.ftrain.com/walmart_petition.html

http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2005/09/11/halted_gun_sales_infuriate_customers/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12316692/


Here are a few more links found doing a google search about Walmart stopping gun sales.

A search revealed well over 10 pages of articles and post related to walmart gun sales.

I did a Google for walmart stopping sales of firearms

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

There is one advantage to buying a gun at wal-mart. The sales associate didn't know crap and charged me $300 for my 11-87. Can anyone say - Half Price!

The dudes at the gun store wouldn't make that mistake...

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

That's EXACTLY what I noticed, only I didn't benefit from their incompetence. My super-stripped-down 870 was still $249, but it took 3½ hours (I left for lunch, came back, & still had to wait nearly another hour!) to complete the transaction. There was another instance where it took me 25 min. to buy a box of .40 S&W ammo, because I had to share the guy with someone who wanted to buy paint in the next aisle.

I contend that WalMart never "sold" guns, they merely carried them. I'm not saying that a gun store should have cart blanche to charge whatever they want, but I'm willing to pay a bit more for customer service. And selection. And gunsmithing availability. And ammo availability. And...

For those of you who work for gun stores, or own them, or do gunsmithing, there are still a few of us out there who appreciate what you do. If you're competent at what you do, and are passionate about it, you'll always have a job.

FC

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

Hmmm, Hillary has a LOT of stock in walmart and a big cheese at Walmart's HQ is, along with hillary, a prominant person in the anti-gun HCI. Go figure.
Not a big deal to me as I've been spending an extra few dollars to support my local gun shop. guess others will have to do the same now too. Shame it took this for them to do it though.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

I wish I just had to put up with yuppies at my Walley world! Come to my part of Texas and you will know how they felt at the Alamo! It's also used as a day care for their little darlings.Madre and padre pull up in a new vehichle and unload 3-5 apes,cut them loose and when the "Lone Star "card (welfare) is maxed they load back up in the custom 4x4 they drove up in and leave! Geez sorry for the rant![:@]They didn't sell many firearms here most the customers aren't legal aliens to qualify anyway!

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

A-MEN to what Maine Shooter said I will always pay A little more to my local dealer rather than give Walmart a single dollar of my hard earned money as you can probably tell I do not care much for Walmart they have had A negative impact on my local community by undercutting all of the local mom&pop stores. just my 2 cents chad

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

There are3 Walmarts within a 6 mile raidius near where I live. All 3 stopped selling guns about mid to late December.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

Something really changed with that company after old Sam Walton died. I think he was as down to Earth sort of fellow as they come, no matter how big his bank account/stock holdings grew to. I heard that when someone met him at the landing stripe of the plane he flew in there'd just as likely to be a bunch of his hunting dogs jump out of the plane and into the limo, as anyone else.
Bean counters and lawyers have no doubt brought about these changes, as with any other company.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

according to a manager at my preferred area walmart, only the top grossing stores in each area are going to keep firearms.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

[/align]Go to my local Walmart and the tatoo to tooth ratio gets a little to close to even. I have never and would never buy a gun at Walmart. Alot of manufacturers cheapen up their guns to sell them at Walmart's price.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

My brother and his duck hunting partner both bought aRemington Express from there and had nothing but trouble with them. They both traded them in at local gun shop bought new guns and never had any trouble.
Could be just a fluke.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

this is a rediculous statement. gun manufacturers would not tarnish their name by doing so andthis would also open them up to even more liability in this already sue happy country. Wal-Mart may sell a gun manufacturers low end gun but they are definately not going to change the gun by "cheaping" them up for lower prices. Wal-Mart bought in bulk at lower cost so they could sell at lower prices and still make a profit.

back on topic, i quit shopping at Wal-Mart because they are getting away from that "redneck" image. nothing wrong with a redneck and matter of fact, this country would be better off with a few more rednecks.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

CC - I agree. I don't think manufacturers changed them just to sell at Walmart. They may have generally carried the less expensive firearms. But yeah, if a fellow or gal is X number of $ and it's either buy a less expense shotgun or rifle at Walmart or other place or no not be able to hunt at all, I'd take the later. Or I'd buy used as good a quality firearm as I could afford, save and buy up at some later date. Putting $15-20 / paycheck in a drawer or someplace it won't get spent over a year or so, can buy you a decent firearm.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

The guns at Walmart are no differnt than the ones at dealers with the exception of the speacil variants made just for walmart. even then, they're the same quality as regualr run guns. The gun companies aren't going to risk the liability of a lesser quality product just to satify a single retailer. Too much at stake for them. regardless of what the LGS guys will spout off the Walmart stuff is ordered through distributors just like everyone else. they simply buy in such large quantiies that they are given a lesser cost which they in turn can pass along to the consumer. It's how large business works.
I'm still in the frame of mind that one should forget the extra few dollarsthey save at WM and be a loyal customer to thier local gun shop(s). After all, at these shops, they're a person not just a faceless number like at WM. It's these shops that'll be wiling to talk with you, help with problems and hopefully be there after Wm drops thier firearms.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

While I'm not sure this isn't the case, I wasn't implying the guns are made differently. I was saying they take some of the extras away. Exp. : a gun that would come with three choke tubes would only have one at Walmart. A cheaper price but less gun. I have heard something about a gun maker using different materials on a gun to meet Walmarts required price. I think it was a Savage. But, it was just a rumor. I have no proof,and wasn't talking about that to begin with.


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RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

They've been slowly eliminating their guns section in the more populated cities where Walmart is present. Been going on for the past three years. In a few more years, all gun cabinets will be gone from what I term as ChinaMart.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

Last year they had some great deals on the the T/C Omega Z-5. My buddy bougth two of them for $169. each. One for him & one for his son.

I know they were seeling them off below their cost because I got in an argument with a gun dealer over the cost. He bascially called me a liar that they were selling them for $169.00

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

There is another discount outlet cqalled K-Mart. When they first opened up, they were really doing well for maybe 20 years before Wally World showed up. They once had a GREAT sporting goods operatiuon, including guns!

Then K-Mart decided to be politically correct, andd stopped selling guns, ammo, etc.

Now, K-Mart is for all intents and purposes, bankrupt.I realize their plight is due to manythings besides not selling guns anymore. Wal Mart helped put them out of business. But Wal Mart was a redneck store, started by a redneck, in redneck country, and essentially catering to such folks-the heart and soul of America, no less! So now, Wally World is going to abandon us common folks, and get snooty?? NOT a good idea. They could just end up like K-Mart too! Besides, there are people other than us red necks who buy guns now and then. Hell, even John Kerry has his "trusty 12-gauge" that he carrieswhile "sneaking around on his belly, looking for a deer....." Bet he didn't buy his at Wal Mart!

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

I honestly believe that Wal Mart has gotten as big as they ever will and are probably about to start the long decline... They have completely gotten away fromt heir roots and we all know what a tree without roots does at the first sign of a storm..

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

I'm curious. Does anyone live near a Wal-mart in a rural area that has stopped selling guns? I live in Memphis. Two of the three Wal-marts in my area have stopped selling them in the last year. They have also cut back on the amount of hunting equipment that they carry in season.

Wal-mart's statement was that they were going to discontinue sales in stores where the space could be used for more profitable items. I'm sure that has been true in the two stores around me. One store down the street from my work stocked a lot of hunting stuff the first year they were open....and they ended up with a LOT of stuff on clearance at the end of the season. They didn't stock near as much stuff the next year.

I think the "they stopped selling guns to be politically correct" statements are bogus. Keeping unprofitable items in stores just to keep the NRA and other gun owners happy is just as "politically correct" as not doing it for the Brady Bunch & Co.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

Wal-Mart has not carried guns in California for several years butup until recently my local Wal-Mart did carry a fair amount of other hunting related products, including ammunition. However, recently they have substantially cut back on hunting related productsfor sale in the store. I am afraid it is just a response to the declining number of people who hunt. Hunting license sales have been steadily declining in California for many years despite continued strong population growth.

Caldoc

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

Walmart voluntarily surrendered its permit/license (whatever) to sell firearms in California around 3 years ago. The idiot sales associates were not following the regs, were failing to do background checks, etc. They were going to lose the right to sell them anyway, so they took the easy way out.

A friend bought an 870 shotgun from them when they did sell firearms. Aside from being a drawn-out and painful experience he had to give the gun back to the sales associate when she handed it to him and explain to her that there's a waiting period.

Regarding Walmart's in other states, the company announced that they would be phasing our firearm sales in the areas where the business didn't make sense. If the product doesn't turn we can't expect them to stock it. They're not selling a lot of snow shovels down here either. They can make more money selling crap made by Chinese virtual slave laborors.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

The Wal Marts here (Hagerstown MD, Chambersburg and Waynesboro PA) are surrounded by rural areas in four different states within 25 miles of all three stores. I believe everyone around here in PA, MD, W. VA and VA are deer hunters! I'm going to watch closelywhat happens in these three stores....

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

Yes once in a while I noticed a good deal on a new gun a W-M but usualy something I didnt need .
Our local Wal -Mart got rid of there guns around the end of December .
I didnt notice any big sale or nothing .
I asumed they shipped them top another store ?[:@]

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

So here is the scoop I got. I asked the guy at our local Wal Mart what was up and he said that the company is taking guns out of all the stores EXCEPT the stores with the top 1000 sales. It was planned to be out of all except the top 500 but they changed it recently to 1000. There are 2 reasons given 1) not enough sales to justify keeping the guns 2) lot's of stores are not keeping proper paperwork on what guns are being sold and to whom. The Wal Mart I go to has the largest gun sales in the south east regon and he said he is being shipped guns from all over for him to sell. He said his ability to sell guns will probably last about another year or so. So it all depends on sale volume.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

I can see it being both a poltically correct move on there part-& also economic. They will likely notmake bad press or be suied for selling horseshoe sets- ball bats, golf clubs that are used in a criminal manner to kill someone - as they might selling firearms & ammo?

They have 2 walmarts in town - incasper now here- the older store still sells firearms( except handguns are no longer for sale(and why is that??))- the new store about 8 miles from the other does not sell firearms but does still sell ammo( for now).

There is no shortage of hunters or persons wanting to buy all types offirearms in this state- including handguns & others not used for hunting nessarlly.

I see from a old story on walmart( below)& items on the local news thatthey have a few reasons given- lack of sales in the comunity ( - there marketing plans etc



If there plan is to sell in more urban areas why are they even in this state? If there plan is to market to upscale urban/metrosexuals[:'(]-[&:]- i could see where that may effect gun sales in other places to (Dc, nyc, nj,ma, ca etc etc-& that therelocal firearms restrictions& lack of hunting areasin urban areas- will Obviously mean lower firearmsales in those places. Those factors dont come into play in this state. They are obviously not going by demand or overallsales numbers here....

And if thats the plan -I think there cutting there own necks in this case& there will be more of there stores not selling firearms in the future here& elsewhere i think.

I have bought a number of firearms in there stores in the past( most all American made)& many other places in town-including a few atthe new sportsmans warehouse store recently....sales that would have prob went to walmart.

They git rid of there sporting goods( guns, hunting -fishing, reloading)at walmart -as seems to be part ofthere marketing plans/stradigy here.... i will have many less reasons to vist there stores at all.

..( last yrs story)............................................ ..................................................

Wal-Mart to Stop Gun Sales at 1,000 Stores


AP Business Writer
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has decided to stop selling guns in about a third of its U.S. stores in what it calls a marketing decision based on lack of demand in some places, a company spokeswoman said Friday.
The world's largest retailer decided last month to remove firearms from about 1,000 stores in favor of stocking other sporting goods, in line with a ``Store of the Community'' strategy for boosting sales by paying closer attention to local differences in demand.
``This decision is based on diminished customer relevancy and demand in these markets,'' said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Jolanda Stewart.
Stewart declined to specify what stores were affected.
Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., has about 1,200 discount stores and 1,900 Supercenters, which include a full grocery section, in all 50 states. Wal-Mart says it sells rifles and shotguns. In Alaska, it also sells handguns.
``As with all merchandise decisions that we make, our decision to remove guns from Wal-Mart locations is simply based on the lack of customer purchase history of firearms in a given community,'' Stewart said.
Wal-Mart's experimental new Supercenter for more upscale shoppers, which opened last month in the affluent Dallas suburb of Plano, does not carry guns.
As Wal-Mart seeks growth by moving from rural America into cities and suburbs, it finds it needs to retune its inventory to appeal to more urban consumers.
The Plano store is a testing ground for ideas, from trendier products to more subdued interiors, that are part of a broad effort at Wal-Mart to rekindle sluggish growth by luring more affluent shoppers away from faster-growing rivals such as Target Corp.
Chief Executive Lee Scott has said that in communities like Plano, Wal-Mart's sports department should shift from a traditional emphasis on hunting and fishing to more home fitness and exercise products.

04/14/06 14:17

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

Here in Idaho all the Wal-Marts I have been to sell firearms (long guns only). Some have that spinning case, but think they are all moving to behind the counter.
I would not make a SERIOUS gun purchase at Wal*Mart. I did buy a Ruger 10/22 for my kid, and was about $50-$75 less than I could find anywhere else.
More serious purchases = Sportsmans Warehouse or Cabelas depending on price comparing exact model/caliber, latest was a place called Impact Guns.
I know Gunsmiths are great and do alot, which is why I will use them if I ever need gun work, but am not paying idiotic prices to support them. There is a place here a mom and pop gunshop, and the guy is great (super friendly, and great service) but he wanted about $125 more for a Browning A-Bolt I bought at a Sportsman's Warehouse (Actually over $170 I saved at Sportsmans Warehouse as they also gave a 5% military discount). I like the smile and great service, but I like the $$$ in my pocket more.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

Since when has walmart cared about being politically correct:D I know our walmart still sells guns, but it does seem like their sporting goods section has decreased quite a bit from when it first opened (I live in a pretty rural community). I read where walmart was beginning to separate their stores into like 3 different types: rural, urban, and I forget the other two, and market their stores for those specific areas.

RE: No more Guns at Walmart
 

like mentioned above, it's not just the guns. Wal-Mart's in my area have cut back in ALL of the "outdoor" sporting sections. they went from selling guns and having 4-5 isles of nothing but hunting supplies to no guns and only 1/2 an isle of hunting stuff. the fishing section also took a big hit and i live in Florida....fishing capital of the world. bottom line is Wal-Mart is going down hill fast and i refuse to give them anymore of my hard earned money.