Tour of 6 gun shops in one day
Posted: Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:52:09
I had some time on my hands yesterday so I thought I would hit several of the local gun shops. Being that I did all this traveling I thought I would give everyone my impressions of these shops. I went specifically looking for 2 things, a 1911 (Springfield of Kimber) and an Advantage Arms conversion kit for my Glock.
Here is the list of stores in the order that I visited them:
Virginia Arms Co - Manassas
Guns & Ammo Warehouse - Manassas
Dominion Arms - Manassas
Blue Ridge Arsenal - Chantilly
Purcell Guns - Purcellville
Loudoun Guns - Leesburg
Virginia Arms Co. - 1st store visited and by far the one I liked the best out of the 6 I went to. When I walked in I was impressed with the layout of the store. Things were very organized and neat. I was greeted by courteous sales person asking me if I needed any help. They had a very good selection of handguns though some were hard to see the way they were displayed in the cases. Their gun prices were good, the best of the 6 stores I went to. Their selection of other items (ammo, belts, cases, etc.) was quite extensive. I would rank them #1 out of the 6.
Guns & Ammo Warehouse - This store left a little to be desired for me. Their selection of handguns was quite sparse. They seemed to have more used guns than they did new ones. I could not get a sense for their prices since they did not have any of the type of firearm I was looking for. I was greeted by a sales person shortly after being in the store. Their selection of other items was haphazard. They did seem to have more reloading supplies than any of the other stores. I would rank them #3 out of the 6.
Dominion Arms - Not doing it for me. The store was horribly disorganized. It seemed to be a lot of left over stuff just randomly thrown on the shelves. I did not see any new guns. It appeared they sold only used guns but I could be wrong as things were so disorganized I was having a hard time telling what was what. I was never greeted by any one even though one of the two sales guys was doing nothing. I see no reason for me to return to this shop. I would rank it #6 out of the 6.
Blue Ridge Arsenal - To be fair, I guess this is more of a range that has a few items to sell. Their selection of handguns was very slim and they did not have any 1911's so I could not get a sense of their pricing. Their selection of other things was not all that great either. As a gun shop this one did not do it for me. They were very busy trying to check people into the range so no one was available for the retails sales. I would rank this shop #5 of the 6.
Purcell Guns - This shop is in an old house so it was very cramped and dark. The store seemed to specialize in antique guns though he did have some modern handguns for sale. They had a nice collection of Kimbers. There was only one person working in teh store and he was working with someone else the whole time I was there so I never got a chance to interact with him. Also never got a chance to see any of the prices so I don't know how competitive he was there. Overall I found the store very hard to get around in and not so inviting. I would rank this one #4 out of the 6. I may have given them a higher rank if there were more sales folks to speak with.
Loudoun Guns - This shop is very well laid out and the guns are displayed so its very easy to see them and their prices without having to take them out of the display case. They have quite an extensive array of handguns, about equivalent to Virginia Arms. Their prices we some of the highest I saw all day. I was not immediately greeted by a sales person but as I was looking at some of the guns through the display case I was approached and asked if I needed assistance. They had a very decent selection of ammo but not a lot of other stuff. This is the only store where I bought something though. I bought a handgun rack to go inside my gun safe. These guys were also the only store that had any of the Advantage Arms conversion kits but not for the model that I needed. Quite expensive though as they wanted $350 for the kit. List price directly from Advantage Arms is $265. I would rank these guys #2 out of the 6.
So there you have it. My adventure for a Wednesday hopping around NoVA going to gun shops. I can think of worse ways to spend an afternoon.
Here is the list of stores in the order that I visited them:
Virginia Arms Co - Manassas
Guns & Ammo Warehouse - Manassas
Dominion Arms - Manassas
Blue Ridge Arsenal - Chantilly
Purcell Guns - Purcellville
Loudoun Guns - Leesburg
Virginia Arms Co. - 1st store visited and by far the one I liked the best out of the 6 I went to. When I walked in I was impressed with the layout of the store. Things were very organized and neat. I was greeted by courteous sales person asking me if I needed any help. They had a very good selection of handguns though some were hard to see the way they were displayed in the cases. Their gun prices were good, the best of the 6 stores I went to. Their selection of other items (ammo, belts, cases, etc.) was quite extensive. I would rank them #1 out of the 6.
Guns & Ammo Warehouse - This store left a little to be desired for me. Their selection of handguns was quite sparse. They seemed to have more used guns than they did new ones. I could not get a sense for their prices since they did not have any of the type of firearm I was looking for. I was greeted by a sales person shortly after being in the store. Their selection of other items was haphazard. They did seem to have more reloading supplies than any of the other stores. I would rank them #3 out of the 6.
Dominion Arms - Not doing it for me. The store was horribly disorganized. It seemed to be a lot of left over stuff just randomly thrown on the shelves. I did not see any new guns. It appeared they sold only used guns but I could be wrong as things were so disorganized I was having a hard time telling what was what. I was never greeted by any one even though one of the two sales guys was doing nothing. I see no reason for me to return to this shop. I would rank it #6 out of the 6.
Blue Ridge Arsenal - To be fair, I guess this is more of a range that has a few items to sell. Their selection of handguns was very slim and they did not have any 1911's so I could not get a sense of their pricing. Their selection of other things was not all that great either. As a gun shop this one did not do it for me. They were very busy trying to check people into the range so no one was available for the retails sales. I would rank this shop #5 of the 6.
Purcell Guns - This shop is in an old house so it was very cramped and dark. The store seemed to specialize in antique guns though he did have some modern handguns for sale. They had a nice collection of Kimbers. There was only one person working in teh store and he was working with someone else the whole time I was there so I never got a chance to interact with him. Also never got a chance to see any of the prices so I don't know how competitive he was there. Overall I found the store very hard to get around in and not so inviting. I would rank this one #4 out of the 6. I may have given them a higher rank if there were more sales folks to speak with.
Loudoun Guns - This shop is very well laid out and the guns are displayed so its very easy to see them and their prices without having to take them out of the display case. They have quite an extensive array of handguns, about equivalent to Virginia Arms. Their prices we some of the highest I saw all day. I was not immediately greeted by a sales person but as I was looking at some of the guns through the display case I was approached and asked if I needed assistance. They had a very decent selection of ammo but not a lot of other stuff. This is the only store where I bought something though. I bought a handgun rack to go inside my gun safe. These guys were also the only store that had any of the Advantage Arms conversion kits but not for the model that I needed. Quite expensive though as they wanted $350 for the kit. List price directly from Advantage Arms is $265. I would rank these guys #2 out of the 6.
So there you have it. My adventure for a Wednesday hopping around NoVA going to gun shops. I can think of worse ways to spend an afternoon.
I've been to Dominion Arms several times and I don't think this guy knows what he's talking about. I've always found the staff to very helpful every time I have visited them, and unlike the other shops I've been in, they are welling to explain things to you. And yes, because they also sell military surplus it can look a little disheveled, but they have a large selection of new guns as well as used that are displayed just fine. I guess, that this as well as other forums, everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I's put Dominion Arms right at the top of the list.
