I am in an Airgun desert

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Iver

Iver

Member
Aug 19, 2022
15
3
Port orchard, Wa, USA
I live in Western Washington and There are no local airgun stores that I can find. Sure there are lots of online sources which I have used but I am a "touchy and feelly" kind of guy and I really wish that either there were brick and mortar stores I could brouse. I have checked at several PB gun stores but they want to send me to Walmart which is all right if I want break barrels but not for PCP or even pellets bigger than 22 cal. is there a listing somewhere that has airgun stores by state? I kind of wish that I lived in Ohio or Texas where airgunning appears to be very popular but as far as I can find the nearest store to me is Utah and that is a little far for me. Anyone in Washington state who has been airgunning for awhile got any better information than I do?
 
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Iver said:
I live in Western Washington and There are no local airgun stores that I can find. Sure there are lots of online sources which I have used but I am a "touchy and feelly" kind of guy and I really wish that either there were brick and mortar stores I could brouse. I have checked at several PB gun stores but they want to send me to Walmart which is all right if I want break barrels but not for PCP or even pellets bigger than 22 cal. is there a listing somewhere that has airgun stores by state? I kind of wish that I lived in Ohio or Texas where airgunning appears to be very popular but as far as I can find the nearest store to me is Utah and that is a little far for me. Anyone in Washington state who has been airgunning for awhile got any better information than I do?
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I don't know anything about airgun stores in Washington. I can't even find any in Central Fl. The closest to me is probably close to a 4 hr drive. I think you are correct in being a "touchy and feely" kind of guy. 2 of my 5 airguns that I bought I probably wouldn't have if I had handled them first.

See if there might be any airgun clubs or even shooting ranges where airgunners shoot near your area. Maybe you can visit and "handle" some of the guns you are interested in.
 
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Customcutter
I agree with the part about having an airgun you did not want. I recently purchased a Airforce Condor SS in .177 cal that I mistakenly ordered instead of a Condor SS in 25cal and when I tried to return it they wanted me to pay for shipping and a 20% restocking fee which would have been about $250 on top of the $950 I paid for the rifle in the first place. Needless to say I am keeping the gun And I will not deal with that online store in the future. This would not have happened at a brick and mortar store. And I have checked for local shooting ranges and airgun clubs and not luck so far. I think the biggest problem that causes the desert in my area is the initial costs for both the guns and the compressors scares a lot of people off since they don't know what they are missing.
 
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Iver said:
"touchy and feelly" kind of guy
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I hear ya.
I have to drive across the country to do it, fortunately not the entire with of little old Denmark, so it is just about a 2 hour drive to get to "my man "
Still for a guy on a meager pension, and with Danish gasoline not being as dirt cheap as American gasolin, well it is not a trip i can make for fun.
 
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I'm across the water from you, on Vancouver Island. Guns of any sort are largely "against the grain" of the dominant culture here. There's very few powder burning gun shops here, and no airgun shops. But there are airguns available at some places, like Canadian Tire, etc. Regular powder burning shops often carry a small selection of airguns, as well as gunsmiths -- they're often the default consignment shops for guns of all sorts.

So maybe try looking in some gun shops, and talking to your local gunsmiths. I do know you have some of those. Also, once you get into less gentrified areas like Bellingham and Tacoma you probably have some options.
 
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Many years ago you could get a nice gun at a local sporting goods ( my first Hw/ beeman was local bought like 40 years ago) . Then you had like Cabela's or bass pro and such . Now its like AoA or PA only kinda thing. I guess sole distributor and control is how you keep pricing control or kinda a monopoly.. ya, you got other places but you can tell there just for example a PA middleman at best . Its not like they price at competition pricing ..lol. All same ol same ol . If p.a says your paying $500 for it well too bad and good luck try to look elsewhere.. there way or no way.
(Opinion) .. ( P.A, airgun depot is air venturi front) .. more opinion.

Just about all you got left is a crosman or gamo at walmart now a days. And then there not even the better guns.. lol.. funny like the U.K seems every corner shop has noce and plenty to offer .. usa the cornerstone of capitalism, free markets, right..? 🇺🇲
 
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We have a local source here. Dang lucky too. They cannot keep air guns on the shelf if they are of any quality. The range is full at times. They carry Daystate and Brocock for new guns and an occasional Cricket. But they do have a good selection of projectiles as long as you don’t need large quantities and don’t mind paying a slight premium over online sources.
I buy from them whenever I can. I like having them here.
 
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The internet killed specialty, hobby retail. Most folks wouldn't pay the 5-10% premium for a high end PCP from a b&m anyways. It really sucks, because specialty retail like that used to anchor local communities, but I don't see it changing. The places that have made it have strong ecommerce business, or local service business of some sort.
 
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I live 20 minutes from Pyramyd Air. Sadly, the most you do is pick up your order and say good bye, no showroom, no touchy feely. Our sporting goods stores carry the typical Gamo and the likes and pellets. I have always enjoyed trips to stores of whatever hobby I was into just to see everything that’s available in case I NEED it.
I just don’t think there will ever be enough customer base to keep the lights on or the doors open to a high end airgun store. I belong to a gun club with over 800 members and to my knowledge there’s only one other member that’s into air guns. There’s a guy in the vicinity that holds field trials at his home and attracts a regular group of shooters. Beyond airgun stores, it’s nice to hang out with other airgunners to talk everything airguns. I’m currently not in to FT so I’m not in that loop. Probably best there aren’t airgun stores or I’d not have retired in July. 😃
 
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I live in suburb 40 minutes North of Toronto (driving on Hwy). Somewhere half way both side of Hwy two Asian communities/city's, well known for above average wealth people. They have stores developed for reach clientele: gun-stores, airsoft, archery, all with in-house shooting ranges, cars tuning shops, electronics and gizmos, you name it whatever reach people can spend some pocketchange. Very impressive experience if you walk around. But no airguns on their repertoire.
Around my place CanadianTire - PrincessAuto - WalMart - never planned to sell some quality products, especially no airguns, I am finding no interest entering those doors. BassPro or Cabellas mostly hunting oriented again no worth to mention airguns.
AirGunSource has a quality store front but 120 Km away that is 2+2 hrs drive. CanadianShootingSupply or Cibles online only, ocasionally I am catching some sales there.
 
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