The Marksman - Newport News

[Micro]

I have bought a number of guns here over the last several years, and two just a few weeks ago. The Marksman got me a CZ75B for $480 ($59 under Greentop) and a Sig Sauer P229R (with night sites) for $840 ($109 under Greentop). I had to order these since they don't stock a lot of new guns. But I got them in 3 business days. Given the prices, I simply couldn't justify paying more to have the gun that day. The staff was courteous and professional. Not only did I get two exceptionally good pistols at fantastic prices, I got two free ranges sessions with each gun. That's $60+ in range fees. The Marksman is under new management (as many of you are aware), The service was great under the old management, and just as good now. The tall, young african-american fellow (sorry, can't remember his name) was very helpful. If you want a handgun, and live in Tidewater, it is well worth contacting them to check the a price. They've got every other shop I checked beat - many by a great margin. Now, they don't stock a lot of new guns. And they don't stock a lot of ammo. But I guess that helps contributes to the low gun prices. But a 3-day wait for a special order is pretty easy given the prices.

[Unkn0wN]

You might want to use the search on the forums and read other reviews on The Marksman. Most of them say the opposite of what you just wrote, lol.

[Micro]

Why? Would using the search function change the experience I had there? I've had good experiences there. The experiences of others are irrelevant to that fact.

BTW, the last negative "review" turned out to be fraudulent.

[Unkn0wN]

I never said said it would change anything, was just pointing out that the others were negative. If you notice the "lol" I wrote at the end, it is because I thought it was funny of so many negative reviews, one good one was made. Good for you for having good experiences there, you must be special.

[Micro]

Not special, I just present myself in a respectful and courteous manner. Most people reciprocate.

[gunderwood]

Glad to hear you had a good experience. I haven't been there myself, but it isn't uncommon for people to have vastly different experiences in the same store. Different employee's, pace of business, personal issues, etc. all impact how people behave. Yes, we should all strive for excellence and be professional in our jobs, but that isn't always possible.

It is easy to write someone off as a jerk or as an idiot. We all have bad days.

I certainly hope things are as you say on average. We need all the good gun shops we can get.

[Yarddawg]

I have never been inside the place myself, but to micro's defense, he did say that its under new management. I don't know if that means the ownership has changed, but at least the management has. Sometimes, that's all it takes to get an attitude adjustment from the remaining employees.

I'm not quite ready to go check them out based on one positive review. There have, however, been more than enough negative reviews to prevent me from going there. I'll wait to see if this is truly a trend in the right direction, or merely a fluke.

[SgtBill]

No matter what the review was good or bad the MONEY saved won't change. If they have changed hands or have new people working there then we should see what the future brings.
Bill

[grumpyMSG]

Glad to hear you had a good experience. I haven't been there myself, but it isn't uncommon for people to have vastly different experiences in the same store. Different employee's, pace of business, personal issues, etc. all impact how people behave. Yes, we should all strive for excellence and be professional in our jobs, but that isn't always possible.

It is easy to write someone off as a jerk or as an idiot. We all have bad days.

I certainly hope things are as you say on average. We need all the good gun shops we can get.

+10 on that one, I have one business I go into, I like and respect all the employees but one, I think that guy is a donkey and unfortunately he claims to be a gunsmith. I wouldn't trust that clown to put BBs in a Red Rider...

[gunderwood]

No matter what the review was good or bad the MONEY saved won't change. If they have changed hands or have new people working there then we should see what the future brings.
Bill

+1

[Unkn0wN]

Yeah, money saved is a good thing. I wasn't knocking that. Just the place. I've been in there once and they were total buttholes. Then I started seeing more and more negative reviews.

Then it was about a month ago, my father-in-law said he was going to stop by there to check them out (he's not new to shooting, but has recently got into buying more guns). All I told him was that I didn't like that place. About a week later, he told me he had stopped in the place and his next words were "Man those people were rude, they made me feel like I was wasting their time with all my questions." I just told him again that I didn't like that place.

And it wasn't because me or my father-in-law weren't respectful or non-professional, as we both are. But whenever I get treated like that, I simply say Thanks and walk out.

So, I am not sold off one positive review of the place.

[Yarddawg]

No matter what the review was good or bad the MONEY saved won't change. If they have changed hands or have new people working there then we should see what the future brings.
Bill

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving money. I WILL NOT, however, give any amount of money to a business that has rude employees. I don't care if everything in the place can be had for one penny.

[Micro]

My understanding was that a guy named Harold Huber and a another fellow jointly owned the store. Harold left and opened Quartermast Police Supply. They are now competitors. I am under the understanding that it got a bit nasty. That's a shame. I liked Harold and like the current Marksman owner.

I've dealt directly with Harold in the past and he got me some exceptional prices on Glocks and a couple of Sig P220s. After learning that he left I was a bit apprehensive about going there again but was surprised that the they were still helpful and could get great prices.

Believe me, I won't spend a penny in a shop where people stike me as rude. I've spent money in just about every shop in Hampton Roads at one time or another, except Ron Hess's joint in Norfolk. The people at the Marksman have been pleasant and helpful whenever I've been in there. Maybe I caught them on good days.

[SigmaShooter]

I went down to the Marksman about a month ago, here's my experience:

Had to wait 25min in the parking lot for them to open. (They had an employee mtg, opened 25min late) Parking Lot was FULL by then!
Staff was very courteous and helpful, extended my military discount to my son and my 2 guests.
They dis-allowed my cheap-o Wolf ammo because they don't allow steel shot of any kind(box said steel casing, no other mention) so I bought 2 boxes of Remington .40 from them. It cost me a total of $82 for me and my boy to shoot for an hour.
The ventilation is AWFUL, and with all lanes full of shooters it was real hazy and thick. Filled the hanky with cordite when I blew my nose @ home. -ACK!

[Daholt757]

I shoot at marksman all the time and the guys in there have always been excellent. There's another range over on mercury that's nowhere near as nice and the people there are fairly rude. Maybe it's because I'm young though (21). At the Marksman however, the employees have always been really friendly and happy to answer all of my questions whenever I'm looking at new guns, even when I'm not really considering buying one, just checking them out.
+for marksman

[Moonduck]

I think it's a matter of who you deal with. There's an older fellow with a beard that works there that is just great. He's always friendly and happy to just sit there and jaw, and he's very willing to help out new shooters. There's another younger fellow with a moustache that I've gotten really solid service from as well.

That said, I've also gotten diffident service from others. No one has been outright rude, but the spotty and inconsistent nature of the service I've gotten tracks with the inconsistent reviews the shop is getting here.

[vahulltech]

I know this is my first post so take it with a grain of salt, but I was just there yesterday with my wife and found the staff to be friendly and helpful. One of the associates asked my wife it was her first time at the range and was nice enough to suggest wearing double hearing protection, which was great advice that I should have followed as well. I've only shot at one other range, A&P over in VA Beach, but The Marksman is much closer to my house so I will be going there for now on. I'm also considering purchasing my next gun there. My wife was asking a bunch of questions about classes and lessons (she won't listen to me, she needs a 3rd party coach!) and the gentleman working was very helpful.

All of my experiences in VA have been good though, I have shopped at Bob's in Norfolk and A&P and liked both shops as well. I always support local businesses over online commerce if I can do so.