Back in the day, when you bought a gun ...

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Well you can buy used, from a private party. Often a used gun comes with some ammo, especially if the person is getting out of that caliber. I bought a Glock 27 that came with 100 rounds that was a steal because the person wanted to switch from .40S&W to .45ACP.

Sometimes (rarely) a pawn shop might throw in ammo to sweeten a high price otherwise.
 
The best I've encountered was this past Christmas Eve when I picked up a new AR-15 upper at Compass Lake Engineering. I also got a plant tour from the owner, loading recommendations (brass, primer, bullet, powder, charge weight and seating depth), cleaning recommendations for the brass and new barrel, and a box of primers.
 
Does anyone remember when Sierra packed 101 to the box of bullets?

Yep, and IIRC, it was so you could make up a dummy round to endure you had your seating die set correctly.

Before the internet, when no one really knew what others stores charged for guns, a local guy could up his margin to afford to throw in that box of ammo and look like a good guy who gave you a "deal",
Now, everyone can check for the lowest price in an instant, and the dealer now has to make enough margin on the ammo and accessories to keep the doors open.

As someone mentioned above, there is no free anything. Someone, somewhere, is paying the cost. There are a LOT of costs most non-retail folks fail to think about affecting the price a store charges.
 
I bought a new revolver last month at The Sportsman in Sonora, California. Nursed a beer as I was filling out the paperwork and as I was leaving, flipped me a token for a free beer on another day.

Yup, The Sportsman is both a bar and a gun store and has been there since the '40s. Place is for sale, the owners want to travel. Someone should buy the place and really run with it, very unique in today's day and age, especially for California!
 
Well, my intent in my original post wasn't to complain; rather, I was simply waxing nostalgic for the "good ol' days" ...

I certainly understand the realities of running a successful business in today's economic climate, but I also didn't fall off the turnip truck just yesterday and I'm not going to feel sorry for all those gun-shop owners because the "gun business is brutal" ...

Even back in the day -- without the internet (how'd we ever survive?), most of us figured out after a while which stores had the best overall prices. This comment:
the dealer now has to make enough margin on the ammo and accessories to keep the doors open.
Not in the gun business, but I'd think the dealers' mark-ups on ammo and accessories might be more extreme (based on what I observe in retail outlets) than on actual firearms (for those stores that actually try to move quantities of firearms).

It's just that the quaint old custom of "throwing in a freebie" for a customer buying an expensive product probably did go a long way in maintaining a successful business model by creating loyal customers. Lord knows that old model felt a lot better, from the consumer perspective, than taking a number at Cabela's gun counter ...

And yeah, it was Krasne's.
 
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don't think I've gotten free ammo, but at least my local store, during the AR boom, kept Magpul mags in the back so a customer who bought a gun could at also buy some magazines. He also kept a stock of .22 in the back so people who bought a .22 gun could also buy ammo.

At least my last couple of pickup trucks, at purchase the dealer filled the gas tank (36 gallons on my last truck). He told me the original owner of the dealership had a rule that the last thing he wanted a customer to have to do was to stop at a gas station on the way home.
 
I've bought 1 gun over the counter, new in person. That was last August and the gun was a Marlin XT22. The shop threw in a box of CCI 22LR and let me buy another 300 rounds that they kept behind the counter for people that buy a 22.
 
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Going back to the early to mid 1960s, I don’t recall ever getting any free ammo. But I do remember being able to pay for the gun and leaving with it after the only paper work was the sales receipt.
 
While I never received a free box of ammo I do remember getting a discount on any ammo or accessories I bought.
 
I never got ammo but almost every time they throw in a range pass...if they have a range that is. Where I lived range time was averaging $20-25 so I always used it.
 
I've only been buying guns since 1992. Only one time did I get a box of ammo thrown in with a gun purchase. It was during the buying panic of January 2013 and I paid MSRP for a rifle. I had to ask for it, but I was given 20 rounds to slightly ease the pain of the purchase.
 
I bought a Beretta ARX-160 from someone and he threw in about 100 rounds of 22lr since it was a FTF and that saved him the hassle of shipping the rifle.
 
"Back in the day" a box of ammo only cost a couple of dollars. Not any more.
 
I don't remember the last time I bought a gun from a store. Nice having friends with FFL's
 
I am too young to remember those times, but its funny you mention it. I was in a LGS the other day and an older gentleman come in and bought a nice AR-15. He asked if they would give him a box of ammo to go with it.

It really frustrated me the way the salesman ridiculed him for asking. There was a store full of customers and he made a big show out of it. After the gentleman left the guys behind the counter continued to talk about it, laughing. I was floored. They acted as if the man has asked for a free gun. They could have just said no sir we dont do that and moved on.

Havent been back since. Unfortunate really. They have the best inventory in town and actually manufacture some of their own weapons. I just dont want to give my business to someone who operates that way.
Man that's a shame. No need for that level of immaturity. Probably the last sale they'll make to that guy, too.
 
Dad had a little shop in the late 60s to early 70s and was always sweetening up the deal. Probably why he always showed a loss.
 
There was a rumor of a local ranch supply store giving away a box of 50 rounds with the purchase of a .22 and a small stash if you wanted to buy more a couple years ago. I didn't take them up on the offer but I thought it was cool.

At a local hardware store I was able to purchase several boxes of ammo at half price when I bought a pistol. Made me feel good.

Once, way back in the day, I was handed several rounds and given permission to take a rifle out to shoot to see if I liked it. I liked it well enough....
 
I'm relatively young, but it seems these days that most freebies or niceties come as a result of being a regular customer. I think it's just a trend in retail as profit margins have probably slimmed due to online competition.
 
I regularly visit two LGS. One for my NFA stuff and one for everything else. The "everything else" guy always throws in a t-shirt or a baseball cap. Usually Remington or some other manufacturer. I bought 2 Benelli's from him on the same day, close to $5k in one shot and all I got was a crappy t-shirt! It's the same guy I bought my Barrett M95 from and I got a hat that time.

It's my favorite LGS though. They know me by name. They occasionally will cut me price breaks. They special order stuff for me without a deposit. They hold ammo and powder for me when there is a "panic." I wouldn't change stores over a few box's of ammo.
 
Don't know the margins on gun sales, but can talk about other consumer products.
Outdoor power equipment and consumer appliances... I call tell you stores have
seen their margins cut to about 1/3rd of what they were ( it varies ).
Big box/chain stores, the internet, financing offers have eaten the margins.
There's usually nothing left to give away, and that's just the margin on the sale.
Not addressing the continuous rising costs of having a real store and employees.
Dave
 
Bought my first gun in 1962 and quite a few since but have never received anything for free other than advice, and you know how much that is worth.
 
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