I almost always buy in person. Ammo, guns - for sure. Typically shipping costs negate any savings. If it is something I cannot find locally, then I will order. I ordered my P99 holster thru Midway USA because no one had a Bianchi locally. And, I order HK mags thru the mail, because of great deals on them.

My local shop can order many things - so I often just let them do the ordering.

Originally Posted by tnoisaw

To preface this thread I do not own a gun store nor work in one.

Do you buy guns and supplies from your local gun shop or online? Why?

The cheapest place possible. I hope it's local, but if not, so be it.

I only by guns if I can handle them and inspect them first hand. I might one day gamble if I find a super great deal online but other than that I prefer to inspect them myself, I have read too many horror stories about online purchasing of guns. I have ordered a lot of holsters and mags online though, but no ammo yet.

I buy small things at the local shop, but that's about all. He is just to high on the guns, and reloading supplies. He's hooked up with Davidsons on the internet, and their prices are not cheap. I have saved as much as $200 on a gun by buying at the gun show. He is as much as 25% higher on his reloading supplies. I wait untill I have to place a big order, and we go to Melbourne.

The closest gun shop is 38 miles away, so I buy most things on-line. I try to stay as local as possible.

Looking for a glock right now.

Local...

$540.00
$37.80 tax

$577.80 Total
*******************
Online….same gun…

$459.00
$ 18.00 shipping

$477.00 TOTAL
******************
$100 less on line is a no brainer for me.

As Maximo said, I NEVER buy a gun sight unseen. I have almost bought new guns at gun shows and guns tores, only to change my mind because it is either scratched up, a loose rear sight, or I find some other problem. If those are problems buying the gun new and I am checking it out, ain't no way I'll buy one w/o seeing it.

Before I got my Walther P99 compact - my local shop told me they could only get the S&W version. I said ok, and the one that came in had rust. They ordered a 2nd one - same thing. They were out the $25 shipping charge for each. But, then he found me a P99 compact thru a different distributor.

Had I ordered that gun on my own, I may have had some issues or out of pocket expenses of my own.

Originally Posted by Shipwreck

As Maximo said, I NEVER buy a gun sight unseen. I have almost bought new guns at gun shows and guns tores, only to change my mind because it is either scratched up, a loose rear sight, or I find some other problem. If those are problems buying the gun new and I am checking it out, ain't no way I'll buy one w/o seeing it.

Before I got my Walther P99 compact - my local shop told me they could only get the S&W version. I said ok, and the one that came in had rust. They ordered a 2nd one - same thing. They were out the $25 shipping charge for each. But, then he found me a P99 compact thru a different distributor.

Had I ordered that gun on my own, I may have had some issues or out of pocket expenses of my own.

Wow! Rust on a new gun? Man..

For the mostpart, I buy things from local gun stores. When I first started looking into guns, there were, 2 in particular, shops that were very helpful. They were more concerned that I be aware of all the different models and their different featues rather than trying to sell me a gun. They took time out to show me almost every gun in the cases and go over the pros and cons of them so that I could make a good decesion. I may pay a little more, but I dont mind because of the service I got and will continue to get. Customer service is HUGE in my book.

Plus, I like knowing that if I have a problem with something, I can go down there and they'll take care of it. I dont have to pay/wait to ship things back, etc, etc....

My GI was the first NEW gun I ever bought, and I have a nice range\gun-store not 5 minutes down the road. with a good selection of new and used guns to choose from and being able to pick their brains at any time, I got it from them.. it was about 30 bucks more than I could have gotten it online but I felt better getting it local..

I only buy used whenever I can so the prices are usually alright. There's something to be said about an "old" sidearm. Ammunition selection is horrible(another reason I reload) and NO ONE stocks anything that can be used on, in, or with my sidearms. We all know revolvers are "outdated" anyway. Only old Elmer Fudd's use them. Because they're not "tactical", an apparently essential attribute for any weapon or holster to be worthy. So I have no choice but to deal online for those products.

I buy online and @ the one local shop by me and the gun show.
But for guns like the other guys I only buy what I can hold. I make it a point to take cash to the shows & that really helps in the $$$ negotiations & I seem to have pretty good luck "most of the time" hammering out a good deal with the vendors & private sellers @ the shows.

Being here in mostly rural Kansas, I spread it around. 'Bout have to. When they have what I'm looking for, I've bought several from local store-fronts, (pay more but that helps keep them around). I've bought two from CDNN, one from an individual through SIGFORUM, and one from Buds Gun Shop. Parts and accessories I've bought mostly via internet.

I like to buy from an in state dealer face to face. I like to have a look at the exact product I will be getting, not a photograph, not something in a store that I will buy online later. I want the hold and see the exact piece I will be taking home with me that day. I have three guns all from three different local dealers, and my mom bought her rifle from the dealer I bought my first gun from (which happens to be where I work now, also). I just like being able to support local gun shops and also know what I am getting before I slap the cash down.

Parts and accessories online but Arms and ammo only in person.

I've bought alot of guns on-line as well as locally... The only bad purchase was a KT P-40 from Wild West Guns in Alaska... the barrel rattled like a bb in a soup can, and they would only take it back if I paid shipping both ways.

I learned to never do business with them again... and instead sent the gun to Kel-Tec for service... they fit a new barrel to the gun and replaced the springs, all without charge.

KT: Good, Wild West Guns: Suck!

I usually buy locally - I have three good dealers fairly close by. I have bought off the internet when it was something I couldn't easily get locally - usually something that's out of current production. I haven't had any problems with either method.

I run across a lot of face-to-face gun deals because of my (civilian) job and location in Free America. I mainly buy guns through buddies. I've bought two rifles online, seeing only pictures. Both were as represented, so I'd do it again. I have bought a few guns, a shotgun and a couple of pistols, at a local shop (Bear Arms in Scottsdale) because the customer service is absolutely top shelf, at least every time I've shopped there. I bought one shotgun at a pawn shop due to exigent circumstances of my deployment here in Yuma.

I buy practice pistol ammo at WalMart (WWB), defense ammo at Sportsman's Warehouse or Bear Arms. Accessories I generally buy online or at Bear Arms. I'll let you guess where I get my holsters and gunleather.

Originally Posted by 9x19

I've bought alot of guns on-line as well as locally... The only bad purchase was a KT P-40 from Wild West Guns in Alaska... the barrel rattled like a bb in a soup can, and they would only take it back if I paid shipping both ways.

I learned to never do business with them again... and instead sent the gun to Kel-Tec for service... they fit a new barrel to the gun and replaced the springs, all without charge.

KT: Good, Wild West Guns: Suck!

I actually think I bought two guns from Wild West in Anchorage when I lived there years ago. It's been so long that my memory is clouded but that name sure rang a bell. I think that is where I bought my .44. I had no problems at the time but that was twenty plus years ago.

Guns are all touchy-feely. Just like a shirt or pants, I try it on before I buy. Everything is locally purchased, except for the obvious..."we don't carry that" item. Reluctantly, I go on-line. I HATE shipping and handling. The ranges I've seen are between $6.00 up to $10.00 +. So we both lose. I don't buy the item and the company loses a sale. Living in a large city, most products can be found in the store. Of course, I HATE going to Wal*Mart, but their ammo is usually cheaper.

I always buy locally when ever possible. And I prefer to buy at gun shops as opposed to super stores like Gander Mountain.

I always buy guns locally. I wont buy a gun I have not seen, touched, inspected and smelled. I'm not going to buy online and take a chance of getting a weapon with problems like rust or something obvious.

Supplies - almost always online, much cheaper. If it wasn't for online retailers and gun shows more than likely I would only be able to outfit and shoot one gun instead of several. I would rather support local gun shops but cant afford it.

I only buy what I can handle and try to buy from the local shop as much as possible.

I buy locally when I can, though the closest gun shop is around 35-40 miles from here. I just found a Pawn shop less that 2 miles away that will order for me though, so I'll have to try that. A Bass Pro will be opening in '07, about 25 miles from here.