How many of you bought airguns at a physical store vs online?

[willy]

Well im kinda glade they don't have a brick &Morter store around here? could you image living around Air guns of Arizona ,ya go in and handle it go home try to sleep go back next day i think ill take that one" then go home and maybe i should have got that other one? O well i think i can still pay my rent? Ya ever try to quite smoken??

 

[JoeRJr]

A year ago I was just getting unto Ham Radio. I had no idea what I wanted to buy for a radio or an antenna, because I didn't know one from another. Most Ham stuff is sold online. It's not exactly a popular hobby, so there aren't a ton of stores around. I knew there was a store in Atlanta area, and while I was traveling through there I visited them. I ended up walking out with an entirely different radio than I was thinking about getting. I got to sit down and play with a few of them, and compare them head to head. I'm happy with my choice.
Yesterday my first PCP arrived from Pyramid Air. A new Avenge X. I wish there was a store nearby that I could have gone to to check them out in person, but there isn't. While I like my gun so far, I'm betting I may have chosen a different one had I had a chance to play with some. Other than Crossman and Gamo, I see few other brands available in any sporting goods store.
Joe

 

[Airgun Al]

A year ago I was just getting unto Ham Radio. I had no idea what I wanted to buy for a radio or an antenna, because I didn't know one from another. Most Ham stuff is sold online. It's not exactly a popular hobby, so there aren't a ton of stores around. I knew there was a store in Atlanta area, and while I was traveling through there I visited them. I ended up walking out with an entirely different radio than I was thinking about getting. I got to sit down and play with a few of them, and compare them head to head. I'm happy with my choice.
Yesterday my first PCP arrived from Pyramid Air. A new Avenge X. I wish there was a store nearby that I could have gone to to check them out in person, but there isn't. While I like my gun so far, I'm betting I may have chosen a different one had I had a chance to play with some. Other than Crossman and Gamo, I see few other brands available in any sporting goods store.
Joe

If your new purchase is a .25, relax!
I know a buyer (me), should you decide to re-think your recent purchase!
Its difficult to shop online, and make a purchase blindly, based on only seeing who has the absolute best price, delivered to your door.
Especially true if a exotic wood stock is involved.

Walking into a store, where you can actually touch, feel, pick up,shoulder, and actually shoot a new toy would be like visiting Disneyland for me!
I can not even tell you where my nearest brick and morter store would be for airguns.
Short of driving (or flying) out of state, and turning it into a 3 day experience, its online only for me, unfortunately.
I wish that were NOT the case.
I would LOVE, welcome, and gladly pay 10% more, for such a hands-on experience.

 

[John "spysir" Blount]

1st 3 from printed news letter/phone call & P.O. Money order. Then 100+ used off Brad's site (and people still gave a 3 day inspection 99% of the time & M/O-Cash only). Then discovered FT so that was another 15 or so face to face.
Thankfully I am now totally rehabilitated ( not being able to shoot a quality airgun offhand anymore - weight, may have helped re-harb so don't y'all new folks worry's you too will be able to stop if you live long enough!-. Only purchase 2 last year (TOTALLY rehabilitated dont ya know) , one here and one you can only buy using the phone - NO Sunday call's-.

BUT. Now we live 16 miles from Coleville WA a small town in E. WA near the Idaho border and last time we went to the hardware store I notice a store with Airforce written on the side, hum.

SO, at the same price as online if I "needed" one I would be very inclined to just go to the store. But, I am rehabilitated so just ammo, accessories and maybe one of their rare trade in/consignment rigs (ya that's it). That Avenger ("Here go outside and try this trigger just aim at the building") which I had never seen was used and nice and if actually buying I could have used the 25 yard indoor range. Legitimately needing some JSB .25's I'll be back in there this month hoping that Low priced avenger is sold.
Some of the best hunting/fishing and camping in the U.S. so ask the wife if she wants to see the PNW on vacation sometime. Kidding!

John
(cant get the best totally inventory pic to load but ya'll get the idea)

Life is better in the Mountains.

 

[Airgun Al]

1st 3 from printed news letter/phone call & P.O. Money order. Then 100+ used off Brad's site (and people still gave a 3 day inspection 99% of the time & M/O-Cash only). Then discovered FT so that was another 15 or so face to face.
Thankfully I am now totally rehabilitated ( not being able to shoot a quality airgun offhand anymore - weight, may have helped re-harb so don't y'all new folks worry's you too will be able to stop if you live long enough!-. Only purchase 2 last year (TOTALLY rehabilitated dont ya know) , one here and one you can only buy using the phone - NO Sunday call's-.

BUT. Now we live 16 miles from Coleville WA a small town in E. WA near the Idaho border and last time we went to the hardware store I notice a store with Airforce written on the side, hum. View attachment 422283View attachment 422285View attachment 422286View attachment 422287

SO, at the same price as online if I "needed" one I would be very inclined to just go to the store. But, I am rehabilitated so just ammo, accessories and maybe one of their rare trade in/consignment rigs (ya that's it). That Avenger ("Here go outside and try this trigger just aim at the building") which I had never seen was used and nice and if actually buying I could have used the 25 yard indoor range. Legitimately needing some JSB .25's I'll be back in there this month hoping that Low priced avenger is sold.
Some of the best hunting/fishing and camping in the U.S. so ask the wife if she wants to see the PNW on vacation sometime. Kidding!

John
(cant get the best totally inventory pic to load but ya'll get the idea)

Life is better in the Mountains.

View attachment 422288

I believe you just said "My name is John, and I am an addict"!
Personally, I would be broke and in trouble, if that were in my backyard!
Very nice!

 

[John "spysir" Blount]

I believe you just said "My name is John, and I am an addict"!
Personally, I would be broke and in trouble, if that were in my backyard!
Very nice!

Well okay I am still a recreational user.
John

 

[tdh1971]

All online for me. Nothing close to me for retail.

 

[willy]

1st 3 from printed news letter/phone call & P.O. Money order. Then 100+ used off Brad's site (and people still gave a 3 day inspection 99% of the time & M/O-Cash only). Then discovered FT so that was another 15 or so face to face.
Thankfully I am now totally rehabilitated ( not being able to shoot a quality airgun offhand anymore - weight, may have helped re-harb so don't y'all new folks worry's you too will be able to stop if you live long enough!-. Only purchase 2 last year (TOTALLY rehabilitated dont ya know) , one here and one you can only buy using the phone - NO Sunday call's-.

BUT. Now we live 16 miles from Coleville WA a small town in E. WA near the Idaho border and last time we went to the hardware store I notice a store with Airforce written on the side, hum. View attachment 422283View attachment 422285View attachment 422286View attachment 422287

SO, at the same price as online if I "needed" one I would be very inclined to just go to the store. But, I am rehabilitated so just ammo, accessories and maybe one of their rare trade in/consignment rigs (ya that's it). That Avenger ("Here go outside and try this trigger just aim at the building") which I had never seen was used and nice and if actually buying I could have used the 25 yard indoor range. Legitimately needing some JSB .25's I'll be back in there this month hoping that Low priced avenger is sold.
Some of the best hunting/fishing and camping in the U.S. so ask the wife if she wants to see the PNW on vacation sometime. Kidding!

John
(cant get the best totally inventory pic to load but ya'll get the idea)

Life is better in the Mountains.

View attachment 422288

 

[willy]

That is not even fair"

 

[drjjpdc78]

Well okay I am still a recreational user.
John

John,
So glad to hear from someone in that area. I drove Xcountry with 2 pals in my Silverado in 2015 when I was 61 from NJ. It was a powder burning and vacation trip. Our ultimate destination was Tonasket near Omak. I had a friend who had a piece of property where he could hang metal plates out to 1,000 yards. I also got to fish Omak Lake and caught a beautiful Lahontan cutthroat trout about 24". I have a lot of friends I met out there from all over WA. The Northern Cascades are unbelievable and beautiful. That is a great looking store for air guns, wish I had one of them in NJ.

 

[drjjpdc78]

Jo

Well okay I am still a recreational user.
John

John,

Thank you for showing me that store near Colville. Because of that link I actually found a store in PA, Grady's Air Gun World, near Harrisburg. It is not a huge store, but it has some good brand names.

 

[AirRanger]

All of my air rifles have been ordered online except through classifieds buying/trading/selling, all except for my latest Daystate Huntsman Revere.22cal which I purchased directly from AOA while on vacation in Arizona and they agreed to ship it to PA for free and through in a free male foster fitting for the fill probe!

 

[drjjpdc78]

All of my air rifles have been ordered online except through classifieds buying/trading/selling, all except for my latest Daystate Huntsman Revere.22cal which I purchased directly from AOA while on vacation in Arizona and they agreed to ship it to PA for free and through in a free male foster fitting for the fill probe!

Same with me almost all my guns (no air guns yet) were purchased online except for 3 or 4 purchased privately before NJ changed the private purchase law. NJ never allowed gun shows and now even a private purchase has to go thru an FFL.

 

[AaronKrebs]

I live within an hour of Utah Airguns. However, most of my guns were purchased online. My first PCP came from Pyramid Air ( a Diana stormrider). At the time, money was tight. Regardless, I craved more accuracy, so I bought a "Calibr", at the time, Hooligun from the Yellow classifieds. Was able to talk to the seller over the phone. It made me somewhat more comfortable about sending money to a complete stranger. Next was a Zoraki pistol, online. THEN, my first REAL gun, Taipan Veteran, came from UAG. Bought an Impact on eBay. No issue there... And so on.

 

[Mike-K]

I live in the sticks and online is a necessity, even airguns and supplies, but plenty of places to shoot.

 

[jetpopt]

Sportsman Warehouse is the WORST.
Used/broken guns get put back on the shelf.
Same with scopes and red dots.
With the cost of time and fuel now I don't go into brick and mortar anymore.

I agree, based on the handheld GPS I bought from them. The sales guy first said what I wanted was sold out, but they had a demo unit to look at. Then he changed his story and said they might have a new one in the box out back. He took the demo back with him when he went to check, ostensibly to make sure it was the same model.

He came back and announced that yes, indeed, there was a new unit in stock, boxed in his hands. But he had difficulty getting the battery compartment cover to stay clicked in, which should have been a red flag to me. I should have asked him where was the demo? You can guess what he had done.

I bought the “new one”. That night when I was changing settings and figuring out how to use it, I noticed that someone had added some restaurants and other businesses in the Denver area, about 450 to 500 miles away. The battery hatch cover turned out to have been broken, with a tiny plastic part snapped off. No wonder he had struggled to latch it.

I had to make another 150-mile round trip to return the thing and get a refund. When I arrived, the woman at the Returns desk immediately noticed an orange unprinted sticker had been put on the bottom of the box.
she exclaimed, “This was returned already and should not have been resold!”

My guess is that someone else had bought the GPS for a road trip, broke the part, and returned it.

I won’t buy anything from them again.

 

[tnt68]

I do live in Italy and here is forbidden to sell online whatever airgun, firearms or firearms cartridges because all the shipment of those must be between a factory/distributor and the final retailer. In case two persons, living at long distance each other, whant to have a deal the shipment must pass trough a shop for the vendor and a shop for the customer.
In Italy we can buy online all the rest as airgun pellets, optics etc.
Maybe this is the reason there are still a lot of phisical shops in my country.
I bought my RTI Priest2 new from a friend of mine shop and my HW977, HW50S and HW30S used from private persons.

 

[John "spysir" Blount]

Jo

John,

Thank you for showing me that store near Colville. Because of that link I actually found a store in PA, Grady's Air Gun World, near Harrisburg. It is not a huge store, but it has some good brand names.

Excellent! I certainly have No connection to Jennes in Colville but we all need to let others (esp. nice for new people, those needing ammo TODAY...) but we all need to share any local store just in case it helps someone. I (strictly as a recreational user) had to look up "PA, Grady's Air Gun World, near Harrisburg". Looks very nice, you are lucky and price allowing one should support our local (good, also let people know if they are not for some reason) business.
I personally have driven 4 hours one way often just to shoot a match and would darn sure drive that far to look at any airgun I think I might desire if I had not already seen one. Good to know for vacation planning ..... .

John

 

[Caliber 22]

I always try to support local, privately owned shops. But, If I have to ask a guy 3 or 4 times just to get me a price on a rifle and still don't get it, I buy somewhere else. If I want to buy scope rings and he is double the price the online dealer ask, including courier, then I buy online. If I actually get a price for a scope I want and it is comparable but still a little bit more expensive than the online shop, I ordered the scope from him. But if I still did not get a phone call within a month to inform me that it arrived and I ask him where it is and he don't know, then I buy online and have it on my Rifle in two days time. It is not that I want to buy online, I sometimes just don't have another choice. Now I will only buy from him if and when he has the item on the shelf for a reasonable price. I need him to stay in business for the convenience of it and when I need something in a hurry, if he has stock of that item.

 

[drjjpdc78]

I was planning to buy an HW 50S but some places didn't have them in stock. So I went to Airguns of Arizona and for a few bucks more I got an HW95 Luxus. I like to shoot Levergun Silhouette with the metal animals. I wanted an airgun to knock down the rams at 50 yards so the 95 seemed a better match.