Gun Shop Report

MrsZ surprised me last week with a couple gift certificates to a gun shop in the next city over. I hadn't been there before, but with gift certificates in hand, it was worth checking them out.

I headed over this morning and decided to take the Bersa along to see if he was interested in a reasonable price on trade. Found the shop (tucked in the back end of a strip mall with a small sign) and it was ... sparse. The front half of the store was taken up by a couple folding tables covered with blue guns and snap caps - I think he does Basic Firearms classes there as well. Racks of long guns wrapped the back three walls, perhaps 50-60 in total. Two cases of pistols with an emphasis on Taurus in the new case.

Asked about the Bersa - he wasn't interested in my asking price and didn't counter offer, but did offer to put it on consignment for me ($35 flat fee). I decided to do that, and if it hasn't moved in a month or two I'll jam it back into the safe and eat the $35.

Looking over the offerings, one thing struck me:
Overpriced.
A used-in-good-shape S&W 34 snub (.22LR), nickel, with Pachys - $700.
A Ruger 10/22 International, stainless/laminate - $495.
EAA Bounty Hunter .45LC Single-Action wheelie ("You're going to leave here with that gun today!" he told me) - $495.
Generic .380 FMJ - $46/box of 50.

I ended up buying three boxes of Hornady LeveRevolution .44Mag. 225gr FTX, the box claims 1400fps and 993ft-lb at the muzzle. Should be a nice boom from the Dragoon. $21/box of 20, which is a bit higher than Midway ($20/box) but without shipping it all works out. I expect I'll use the balance of my gift certificate on ammo as well, and probably never spend another dime in the store.

Good to know he's there, and I wish him well, but his pricing is VERY optimistic and his sales technique is ... aggressive.

ETA - one plus in his favor. I was waiting for my credit card to process, and picked up an older Aimpoint he had lying on the register. I started fiddling with the knob, and he said, "No batteries. The guy who dropped it off said it works, though. You want it?" I looked up. "How much?" He kinda shrugged... "I haven't bothered to find batteries, but if you want it, it's yours."

So I've got an Aimpoint 1000 (discontinued in 1991!) sitting in the truck, and I need to find a DL1/3N battery to see if it actually does work. Then find a gun to put it on!