Your favorite TN gun shops?

[Monkeyleg]

What shops in TN do you consider to be high quality in terms of service, selection, etc? (Besides Carters and Coal Creek Armory).

Thanks for any replies.

[TnRebel]

I would say Mohonny's in Johnson City In North East Tn.

[bhp31]

dont go to Guns N Ammo on Summer Ave. in Memphis. They have a great selection, but horrible prices and even worse attitudes.

[disneyd]

Sportsman's Warehouse in Chattanooga is A+ in my book. Their firearms prices are great and every time I have stopped there the salesman has been friendly. They have a pretty large and varied selection inventory too.

[cslinger]

Franklin Guns in Middle TN has a GREAT selection but tends to have very high prices.
Guns and leather has a decent selection and tends to have decent prices but the staff isn't that great.
The Reloaders Bench doesn't have a great selection and prices are hit or miss but the service is spectacular. They are very knowledgeable and stand by their sales.
Specialty Arms II has a good selection and at times very good prices, while other times stupid high prices. Staff is hit or miss.

[22-rimfire]

In East TN, you have Legends in Athens and Benton Shooter's Supply in Benton which are both very good for new guns.

[tn-dave]

I don't think I've bought a gun from a shop since before Craig's in Knox County went Law Enforcement Only. That was a great shop.
Except for a 10/22 and a shotgun at Walmart.

I've been meaning to get to Frontier Firearms in Kingston. I've heard good things about those guys.

Smoky Mountain Outfitters in Morrstown is a nice little shop. I've done a few FFL transfers there and they're a great group of guys. Has that small town gun shop "feel" that is getting rare to find. Decent selection of firearms and safes too. Last time I was there, I heard the owner say "I can get one but your could might find one cheaper on Gunbroker" and "check gunparts.com. It will be faster and cheaper than me"

I've also got Gander Mountain and Bass Pro Shops to visit but I consider them more like museums than shops.

[allmons]

two really great stores. Both have knowledgeable employees and a HUGE selection of guns.

I also have a soft place in my heart for a small mom & pop Gun store in Calhoun, TN called Fugate's Firearms. Carmen Fugate has a small inventory but can and will order you almost anything you can think of. Nice indoor range out back and incredible prices for such a small store. Lots of LEO and military types like to hang out there. Great service and occasional sales on accessories that keep me well supplied. And, No, I am not related to them nor do I have any financial ties to them ( other than the money I spend there! ).

[sgphoto]

+1 for Fugate's. Nice friendly service, occasional used guns. Good prices. I've got several guns from Carmen-special orders and she was happy to do it.

Reminds me of guns stores from 30 years ago.

It's also a great place to get your CCW. Only $50.00.

Steve

[PottyDoctor]

Frontier Firearms, exit 356 on I-40, near Kingston, TN. Knowledgable and freindly folks to deal with.

Guns n' More, 5612 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN. Very knowledgable and friendly folks to deal with. Predator Custom Shop next door for gunsmithing services.

Gander Mountain, Turkey Creek, Knoxville, TN. Have not bought any firearms here, so cannot comment on them other than having a large stock.

[GreenFurniture]

Randy's Guns & Knives.

[Nightcrawler]

I've been meaning to get to Frontier Firearms in Kingston

I was there once in the summer of 2005. Nice selection, nice prices. Long time ago, though.

[Barr]

Crowders in Johnson City (East TN) have very good prices but service can be shoddy.

Reloaders Bench in Mt. Juliet has very good selection and decent prices.

The Gun Rack in Kingsport has pretty good prices and carries some reloading supplies.

[fishingjld]

+1 for randys guns and knives in halls, tn.

[BryanP]

I'll agree with cslinger about Franklin Guns and Specialty Arms II. (I haven't been to the other two places he cites). FG has a huge selection, but they are overpriced on almost everything. SEII has a decent selection and their prices vary. I've picked up good deals there and I've goggled at ridiculous prices on others. I go to SEII by default simply because I live 5 minutes from them. I've heard others gripe about their staff occasionally. I guess I must be lucky or something. I've been going there for about 15 years or so and I've never had a bad experience with the staff.

[selector67]

Is there any in west TN.

[taliv]

The Reloaders Bench doesn't have a great selection and prices are hit or miss but the service is spectacular. They are very knowledgeable and stand by their sales.

hit and miss is a good description. only decent prices i've seen there have been primers. the rest is normally astronomical. it's not the friendliest place i've ever been, and bring your own oxygen


frontier firearms has best selection of guns by far, and friendly service, but they have some goofy policies.


S&R guns in algood is a good store. selection is slim, but very friendly and great service.


Tenn Tactical in cookeville is ok. handful of pistols, no rifles, but a lot of accessories, particularly holsters/flashlights


edit: there's also Hero Gear. I haven't got to check it out yet, but have heard a lot of good things about it. the owner posts here too.

[teCh0010]

Is there any in west TN.

The people at RangeUSA on whitten in Memphis are very nice.

I really like the Guns and Ammo in Southaven MS. If you are buying a pistol they will send it to the one on summer for you to pick up.

There was one on Germantown Rd. in Memphis I used to go too. I haven't been there in several years but it is called Classic Arms. If they are still open they are nice people.

I went into the Sportsmans Warehouse on Winchester in Memphis and they were nice and have a good selection, but you better know what you want because the people behind the counter have no clue.

My favorite gun store closed several years ago. East Park Sporting Hardware. You had to get buzzed in and were met at the door 3 Labrador retrievers who checked out everyone who came in. They were great people and the older guy did incredible trigger work on revolvers.

[Seminole]

dont go to Guns N Ammo on Summer Ave. in Memphis. They have a great selection, but horrible prices and even worse attitudes.

You can say that again! I live about a mile from them and no longer even go in. When I moved here 5 years ago I would drop in occasionally--not once was I ever greeted or my presence even acknowledged. On several occasions I walked in with several hundred dollars in my pocket and ready to buy but walked out again after waiting around for someone to look at me like they thought I might want to spend it there. On each occasion I went elsewhere and spend a good change either at Classic Arms on Germantown Road or Sportsman's Warehouse.

My wife is getting ready to buy--I've already decided that when she decides what she wants, we'll purchase it at RangeUSA. They don't carry a wide selection, but they appear willing to order for you and will charge a small markup over their cost. Nice folks there, especially Scott Kilby, the owner. He's always dealt with me in an honest and aboveboard fashion--I doubt he will be any different when it comes to selling me a gun. I had him give me a price on an FN FNP for a friend and he gave me a good quote. Too bad the friend still hasn't made up his mind, but that's his problem, not Scott's.

[erict]

The folks at Hero-Gear in Winchester, TN are members of the board and they're great to deal with. One visit to their shop and I could tell they love weapons and it is their hobby as well as a business.

[rangerbill]

Daves Pawn and Gun main street Crossville TN 38555

i know his mama she said he was a good boy!

[Kevshan40]

This is my first post by the way.

Lawson's is a great place to shop. Pretty decent selection and prices. The service is what sets it apart from other gun shops I've been to. Sig dealer, Browning dealer, Smith, Glock...

They're 10 miles north of the Alabama state line on highway 43.

This is a great board. I've been a long time lurker. Hope to post more.
Thanks,
Kevin

[hso]

Coal Creek Armory in Kvile has a variety of EBRs and a good knife selection. The owner is a posting member here as well as several of the folks that work there.

[rchernandez]

I have to chime in on RangeUSA - great place! With the founding father membership, you get "free" transfers and NICS. They will order any handgun or rifle for you and rates are very competitive with Sportsmans Warehouse on Winchester. Sportsmans is where I get most all my reloading supplies, hard to beat their prices and they have quite the knowledgeable staff (for reloading).

Guns and Ammo on Summer...I get along with the guys out there! They do have their busy days...when I just walk away. I stop in during lunch every so often and will find interesting "yellow" tag guns (used) that I've purchased. They do have the most diverse stock of guns...

[Monkeyleg]

Thanks for all of the replies.

erict, I saw the post from the owner of Hero-Gear, and talked to him briefly today. I also sent him an email inviting him to take advantage of the free trial offer that I have for my site. I think he'll give my site a try.

I don't think that anyone here needs to be introduced to Coal Creek Armory, our member Green Furniture, or to the (in)famous THR/TFL member Tamara, who works at CCA.

Coal Creek Armory gets a very respectible number of page views on my site. Folks are definitely interested in that store, or at least interested in a gun store in Knoxville.

What I do not for the life of me understand is why other stores in TN don't get that same kind of interest. Coal Creek dominates the other TN stores on my site when it comes to visitor interest.

There are stores in other states that get paltry numbers of page views. Stores in Idaho, for example, do very poorly, with the exeption of Impact Guns in Boise.

Stores in AZ, NY, CA, TX and a few other states get fantastic numbers of page views per month.

But not all of those page view translate into sales.

I've tried to figure out the rhyme or reason, but I can't come up with any. I have Larry, the owner of Pontotoc American Arms, 15 miles west of Tupelo, MS. He runs a very, very small shop. But he's had enough success with my site that he's delighted, and never questions paying to renew.

OTOH, I've had very large shops in very large metro areas say that they didn't think their advertising on my site was doing them any good. Perhaps the owners/decision-makers are too far from the sales floor.

I have one shop in a large metro area of a very populous state whose page has received nearly 4,000 views per month. Yet the owner isn't sure if his $8.33 a month is worth it.

I have another shop in the middle of southeastern Nowhere Nebraska who gets more than enough inquiries and sales from my site that he never even questions renewing. It's almost automatic.

When I did my initial post, I didn't want to mention my website, as I feel that I've been abusing Oleg's hospitality in the past by doing so.

But, for the life of me, I cannot figure out why some shops get so much attention, and others don't, regardless of where they're situated.

At any rate, thanks again for the replies. I'm thinking that I need to get more TN shops near the "Oleg Triangle."