If you got a good deal or great service from a shop or range and you want to brag about them, here's the place to do it. Likewise, if you are unhappy about someone's service or feel like you've been ripped off, we want to know that too!
NOVA Firearms continues to grow and is now looking for some additional folks to work part time- 1 to 2 days per week (5 hours per day). We are also looking for NRA certified instructors to help teach classes. We prefer retired folks looking for part time work- regardless, all applicants must be NRA certified instructors or have had past military experience and understand proper firearm handling techniques.
We are not the typical gun shop- We have "working mans" hours of operation:
Wed 5pm-9pm
Thur 5pm-9pm
Fri 5pm - 9pm
Sat 10am - 5pm
Sun 12pm-5pm
VA & UT Conceal Carry classes taught every other Sat night 5:30pm-9:30pm,
Basic Handgun Course (class and range) taught every other Sun morning 8am-2pm
We beat all in stock advertised prices and have a team of professionals that are he to support both yours (and our) firearm hobby. We are all part timers and do this to promote the sporting aspects of firearms and to keep our 2nd amendment thriving. If you are interested in working with us, send us an email to: sales@novafirearms.com
I am a member at VGF to read mostly, not to post necessarily. And I really don’t like the idea of my first post ever being negative, but I have to say that the word is out about NOVA Firearms among firearm instructors in the Northern Virginia instructor community. By posting here, I guess NOVA doesn't believe that we talk with one another.
If even a fraction of what I hear is true, it is no wonder NOVA is looking for instructors. $9.95 an hour under the table with no benefits of any kind is also likely the reason NOVA cannot keep store people either. Illegal alien day-laborers get 10 bucks an hour!
NOVA charging his CCH instructor a whopping $675.00 when he teaches a class of 15 through NOVA Firearms, is INFAMOUS at all the local ranges. No thanks, I’ll teach elsewhere. Dan
Thanks to all the instructors that have contacted NOVA Firearms. We now have plenty of instructors to handle customer demand. Regarding the previous post, I would encourage the poster to contact the shop and get correct information before posting incorrect information. NOVA contracts with team of professional instructors and they provide first class training to folks in Northern Va. Each instructor negotiates their own terms for the classes they offer to the customers of NOVA Firearms. So there is no substandard compensation as suggested above.
I've been looking for a bobbed 1911 in commander length for quite some time and the buying frenzy of late got me off the fence. I decided on a Sig 1911 Fastback carry with rosewood grips. So, I call 6-7 LGSs in northern VA and, no surprise, nobody has one (most have a few Sig 1911s) but they tell me what they have in stock. Every one.
So I call NOVA Firearms. A very harried worker, clearly swamped, picks up. I ask if they have FASTBACK Sig 1911s. He says they have do. I ask if they have rosewood or nightmare, he says they have both. I ask how much, and he tells me I'll have to come in as he's got 20 customers.
No problem! So, I drive 30+ minutes to Falls Church. No Fastbacks, no bobbed 1911s of any sort. Well damn! I get today off as a holiday gift from our boss and waste almost an hour and a half because they could not be bothered to actually know what they have in stock or take the 15 seconds to look. I was there, they all stand behind the counter and it is a matter of moving 6' tops and looking. Is is possible they had one or more and sold them all in the previous hour? I guess. But I'd bet they had 3-4 Sig 1911s and one had rosewood grips = "sure, we've got them." The man trying to help me was nice but could do nothing. I did express my furstration and he apologized. Well, better than nothing I suppose...
Folks, I *get* that they are ridiculously busy, but EVERY other store (and I'm talking 6-7) took to the time to check their inventory. NOVA firearms could not be bothered and wasted a big chunk of my time and $5 of gas. Cannot recommend.
I took my first trip to the store a few days ago. Bit of a mixed review for you to decide:
First the positives:
• Finally a good gun store inside the metro! I live in Arlington and having to hoof it out to Chantilly or Manassas (especially on a weeknight during rush hour) is annoying and time-consuming.
• The prices on some of their pistols were VERY reasonable. Some just a touch more than online prices.
A few negatives:
• I understand the political situation is driving up prices on a lot of items but there is some serious price gouging going on. Right now they are on backorder but you can get Mapgul 30 round pmags (the newest m3 ones) on MidwayUSA for $14.20. The price at NOVA? $90. I love free market capitalism but gun stores survive (long term) on treating their customers right and people are going to remember things like this.
• Batty67's post above is what got me posting. I overheard a conversation between a sales associate and someone on the phone. I understand that some people calling do not know a lot about guns but the sales associate was VERY rude to the caller. Telling them flat out "you don't know what you are talking about" and "I'm busy, I have to go". I am of the mentality that gun stores are almost like embassies for gun rights, they represent the industry and their actions can affect how people view guns. If you are patient and educate folks (especially gun neophytes) you will gain lifelong customers.
I hope some of the negatives above are growing pains for a relatively new gun store because Northern VA residents (including lifers like myself) need a quality store in the area!
Great post luckshot. Thanks for contributing. $90! Wow, the gunshop in Fredericksburg had them for $50. I thought that was gouging, but not the "hell with the consequences" gouging of NOVA Firearms...
dusterdude wrote:Perhaps two or three of you novamites pay the management there a visit and point out the errors of their ways
I tried, but they were just too swamped, and I was too ticked off at the time... I truly have zero interest in ever giving them any of my time or money again...
I went there a few months back to buy a Glock. They were priced well over MSRP. That being said, the shop was busy, so good for them. Capitalism is a good thing! Still, I easily found my Glock somewhere else for the "proper" price.
A while back (March or April I believe), a friend of mine and I wanted to pick up a pair of Mosin Nagant 91/30 rifles each. They had them in stock at $125. I figured that was completely reasonable considering online pricing was $100ish + shipping + FFL fees (I pay $25 per transfer). Tony decided to get only one, as he wanted to get an M44 with his M91/30 at a later date. I also wanted to price up a Beretta 92FS, Ruger, Smith, or Taurus .357, and an AR15 for purchase on my next visit.
It felt like a boutique shop. Good lighting, nice display cases, staff dressed in full suits or khakis & polo shirts.
Well, we picked out our rifles from their rack of cosmoline-covered commie blunderbusses, and we start our paperwork. Well... surprise! We found out that they wanted to charge us a $40 transfer fee on top of the price of the rifle! I've NEVER heard of a gun shop charging a transfer fee for a rifle in their own inventory. I said "F*** this noise" and reshelved my rifles & tore up the paperwork.
My friend had already put his paperwork across the counter, and they'd begun his NICS check... he was stuck as they wouldn't let him back out of the transaction. He ended up paying $180 for his Mosin after their BS fee, VA sales tax, NICS check.
We also observed their pricing for the spam-can 440 rounds of 7.62x54R... $199.99 + tax! Even with overnight shipping, you can get that delivered to your door for less - I paid $89.99 w/ free shipping on my last spam can! And the real kicker there? They charged another $15 for the f***ing can opener that is required to open the can (unless you're handy with a dremel tool).
The staff was professional and seemed knowledgable, but at no point mentioned the additional fees until it was too late for my buddy to stop the transaction. Shady to say the least.
I completely understand the need for a retail store to cover their overhead (Blue Ridge Arsenal marks their stuff up a bit from online pricing), and I understand that they are sitting on some expensive real estate in Falls Church... but our experience there was complete BS.
What NOVA Firearms will charge you:
$180 for a rack-grade Mosin Nagant, $200 for 440 rounds of surplus ammo
$380 total
What you can get that gear for online:
$99.99 + FFL fee (let's say $25) for a hand-selected hex-receiver Mosin Nagant from ClassicFirearms.net, $89.99 for 440 rounds of surplus ammo from palmettostatearmory.com
$215 total
Before observing all of this, I was also prepared to buy a Beretta 92FS from this store, a .357 revolver, and an AR15... but I didn't want to get suckered like my friend did. They lost ~$2000 worth ($650 for a 92FS, $500-800 for a .357, $500-1000ish for an AR15) of my business (well, $2500 with their hidden fees probably).
With Blue Ridge Arsenal up the road only 20 minutes with their better prices, an attached indoor range, free range pass with each gun purchased there, and no-BS hidden fees, I will continue to take my business elsewhere. Goodbye NOVA Firearms.
Interesting- thanks for all the posts. Positive and negative.. What I can say as the owner is that the ammo, firearms and accessories are priced with the same markup as before the events that led to the mass firearms buying spree seen across the country. The shop has been inundated with sales and calls lately and our guys have been swamped. While I don't condone rude behavior on the phone (heck it could have been me the last poster talked about- as there were times we were twenty people deep and we were trying to get to everyone as quickly as possible and it was hectic and frustrating at times) we take people's posts seriously and will look into who made the call and try harder next time. Regarding prices, WE PRICE MATCH any in stock advertised price so I know we are the lowest in NOVA. We also list our firearms at prices that are less than others in NoVA and if its not WE PRICE MATCH any in stock advertised price! Ammo prices are climbing thru the roof. Our wholesalers are jacking up the prices and the prices you see are a reflection of the prices we buy them at. It's quite possible that there are bulk wholesalers buying ammmo for online resale and can offer it at a lower price, but we only buy a few cases at a time of each caliber as we don't have the storage space, then we add a slight markup for resale. Recently ammo has climbed from 30 cents a round to 90 cents a round for small dealers (5.56) and most other calibers are seeing $5 to $10 a box jumps as well- if you find it online at a cheap price- buy bulk and buy quick- it's only going up. Just to be clear- we have at least 5 signs posted in the shop that says all prices are cash prices- credit cards add 3% (Even buds gunshop adds 3% to their orders for cc) However, WE PRICE MATCH any in stock advertised price.
NOW for the good news! NOVA Firearms is giving away another AR! No purchase necessary! Just come in and drop your name in the fish bowl and we will draw a name 1/31 (or sooner if it looks like a ban will be implemented) to see who wins. As prices climb on ARs this could potentially be a $2000-3000 free AR-15 for someone. We will give away a Windham Weaponry AR-15 in January and will look to give away another AR in March (Sig Sauer AR) or before the ban is enacted. We are doing our part in arming all the gun friendly folks in NoVA. (All age and gun regulations apply)
Thanks for the posts - both negative and positive. We will do our best to be the best gun shop in NOVA.
I only like Supporting small business in my local area and have bought 4 gun's over $5,000.00 in the last three weeks from them, including one of there overpriced Sig A/R's. (Didn't mind, felt lucky to find one) .. Bought a Rifle bag and wasn't pleased Still waiting for a response on a exchange for a range bag.I didn't care about price just the right bag. Said they would E-Mail me a link with some choices to look at later that night. That never happened. I have E-Maled them now twice and still with no response. My wife and I drove into Sterling today and found everything I needed including a few more firearm addition's to my collection and she purchased a new P229 40 cal. and a Revolver, I also ordered some Optic's & mount for the AR. I was looking forward to a local small business to support. I'm also a Local Business owner and Communication and follow up is everything to do with my credibility with my customers. Guess I'm just disappointed it didn't work out, they were so convenient for us.
I'm glad you found what you were looking for. The distributors that nearly all gone shops go through have empty warehouses. Unfortunately, we were unable to send you links as they did not have anything available. Right now we are advising people to search other shops and gunbroker for many guns as many items are out of stock. We are currently stocked at about 50% of what we normally carry. However, we are seeing some relief and starting to get more guns and accessories in a little at a time. And just as you had to pay higher prices for the ARs and ammo, so did the dealers. The middlemen (distributors) are either buying at higher prices are marking up prices to the dealers. We are noticing about a 5-10% increase on handguns and an increase of anywhere from 25%-100% for ARs. Unfortunately, most 9mm and 380 is out of stock at most shops. As well as 556/308. We did however get our hands on some 556 at .60 a round that will be available on Wed next week. We also received... a bit to late, more Sig range bags with backpack straps this morning. Sorry for the inconvenience but its been a trying time for all gun shops - and buyers as the regulators try and screw with our gun laws. Hope to see you around, but if not, I understand. Its frustrating for everyone right now.
Cons: Pricing ($65 for a steel AK mag you can order online for $24 even in the panic), small shop with limited selection, the website appears useless, shows every gun imaginable all sold out or not available and the stop itself has very limited selection
They are professional and seem to know their stuff, but a bit pricey
Yes, we admit that back in December January and some of February, our prices were ridiculously high... But that was because the wholesalers (distributors) that had any inventory to sell were jacking up the prices. We were able to obtain some inventory but it was higher - in fact I still have 2 100 round Glock 19 100 round mags that I paid 399 for from MGE Wholesale and the market has been dropping in price since mid February. Prices are dropping and we feel your pain as we have to buy at over retail from the distributors that have inventory... And that forces us to pass the cost on. I you notice cheaper than dirt is selling Pmags for $100 each - as of just last week. We have been selling them for $39 each for the past month and next week the prices will be $29 each. So, while prices have been a bit high lately, its only because the cost to buy the items have been steep- but they are coming back down slowly. We too look forward to steady pricing and more availability. We currently are only able to get about 50% of what we normally carry.
ALSO... NOTE>>> We just acquired a HUGE collection of collector grade firearms! We will be posting a link on our home page later this evening. Lots to choose from. We are logging them in and will be providing the low and high values- then providing our asking price. These are high quality firearms.
