Bud’s Gun; Sevierville, TN- Verdict

Mr. Mosin said:
On a visit to the Great Smoky Mtn.’s and Gatlinburg for the first time in years, and swing by Bud’s Gun in Sevierville… frankly; I was not impressed. Don’t mistake me- respectable selection of firearms, helpful staff; but… not what I personally expected. Limited ammunition selection, limited reloading supplies, no snap caps and limited related esoterica. Handled a few odd specimens I’d not gotten the chance to handle elsewhere, but I’d almost state that Sevierville Pawn next door had a better firearm selection. I did not expect a literal *warehouse*, but Good Lord… I expected a better use of floor space than the tourist trap it boiled down to.
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That store is pretty terrible. The only good thing about it is watching people shoot through at the range behind the glass. Huge disappointment IMO. I go 4-5 times a year when I take the girls shopping at Tanger but I can't think of anything I've ever bought.

Drive 3 more hours to Charlotte to Hyatt. They have 20x the selection of buds and smokey mountain...combined
hso said:
SMGA at 6221 Riverview Crossing Dr, Knoxville, TN 37924 will make up for your disappointment.
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There is a smokey mountain guns and ammo in the same parking lot as the buds that the OP went to. It's equally disappointing though. A 40x40 dimly lit hole in the basement of the knife works store
RetiredUSNChief said:
All this talk makes me wanna take a weekend trip back to Sevierville again!
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What in heck for. Lol I go when the boss tells me and I despise it. Tourist trap. When your local gas station has 120 pumps and they are all full and lined up a mile and a half back......there is just too damn many people in too few acres. Lol. And what the hell is a beaver nugget anyways.....


Been going since I was a kid riding go-carts in the 80s. Its declined more and more since then. And the funny thing is my neighbors who LIVE at the tri-state corner and have FAR better views spend 75k on a camper, 75k on a truck to pull It, 200 a night for a camping space... to drive to Gatlinburg and pull in between two other campers and look at the highway... lol

They have the best Tanger outlets ive seen if you like that type thing. I take the kids there for school shopping and such. The Titanic is pretty neat once. Wonder works is neat once. Smoky mountain knife works has an amazing selection of knives but if it's not on sale you can buy it online for 20% less most anywhere and the store is a madhouse with absolutely no rhyme or reason to what booth is where as far as I can tell. 10k people handling the same knives that next to nobody actually buys. Lol. Wood grill buffet is a decent buffet stop too.
 
The SMGA in SMKW was absolutely pathetic. I literally stood there *looking* at a Bianchi OWB pancake for a PPK, walked around a bit; asked the clerk if they had an example holster of what I’d found.

Without lifting a blasted finger to help, barely acknowledging me “No sir, we don’t carry such a holster.” Asked again to be sure I heard correctly- “No sir, we do not carry any holster to fit a Walther PPK.”

Aight then… don’t lift a finger to help then.
 
Mr. Mosin said:
The SMGA in SMKW was absolutely pathetic. I literally stood there *looking* at a Bianchi OWB pancake for a PPK, walked around a bit; asked the clerk if they had an example holster of what I’d found.

Without lifting a blasted finger to help, barely acknowledging me “No sir, we don’t carry such a holster.” Asked again to be sure I heard correctly- “No sir, we do not carry any holster to fit a Walther PPK.”

Aight then… don’t lift a finger to help then.
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I didn't even speak to them. Wrong state to buy a handgun for me and between the sorry lighting, piles of ammo and crap strowed about in no particular order, and the smelly hippies looking at the magical rocks over beside the guns....I just can't stay down there long. Lol.

The whole store needs to be gutted and redone in some logical order. Do the knives by alphabetical order. Bring back the surplus stuff down stairs and build a building for the guns in the massive empty parking lot behind the store.

Or put them in Buds.....they need more. I have as many guns at home as buds has for the last year or so. Lol

Then Put the 12 knives buds has in SMKW and call it good.

All the buildings beside buds are vacant now. Or was a month ago anyway. Moved over between Marilyn, Chaplain and king Kong about the time they took out the muscle car museum. Not far from that God awful hotel that plays Christmas music all dang year.


MAN I HATE PIGEON FORGE/GATLINBURG. If it weren't for Dolly the whole place would have went broke.
 
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crestoncowboy said:
I didn't even speak to them. Wrong state to buy a handgun for me and between the sorry lighting, piles of ammo and crap strowed about in no particular order, and the smelly hippies looking at the magical rocks over beside the guns....I just can't stay down there long. Lol.

The whole store needs to be gutted and redone in some logical order. Do the knives by alphabetical order. Bring back the surplus stuff down stairs and build a building for the guns in the massive empty parking lot behind the store.

Or put them in Buds.....they need more. I have as many guns at home as buds has for the last year or so. Lol

Then Put the 12 knives buds has in SMKW and call it good.

All the buildings beside buds are vacant now. Or was a month ago anyway. Moved over between Marilyn, Chaplain and king Kong about the time they took out the muscle car museum. Not far from that God awful hotel that plays Christmas music all dang year.


MAN I HATE PIGEON FORGE/GATLINBURG. If it weren't for Dolly the whole place would have went broke.
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So. Much. STUFF. that GPS couldn’t direct us to an apparently popular eatery… gah
 
Mr. Mosin said:
On a visit to the Great Smoky Mtn.’s and Gatlinburg for the first time in years, and swing by Bud’s Gun in Sevierville… frankly; I was not impressed. Don’t mistake me- respectable selection of firearms, helpful staff; but… not what I personally expected. Limited ammunition selection, limited reloading supplies, no snap caps and limited related esoterica. Handled a few odd specimens I’d not gotten the chance to handle elsewhere, but I’d almost state that Sevierville Pawn next door had a better firearm selection. I did not expect a literal *warehouse*, but Good Lord… I expected a better use of floor space than the tourist trap it boiled down to.
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I think their marketing strategy is internet sales. I wouldn't expect them to have a yuge inventory. Cabela's uses the same strategy theses days. We don't stock it but order online and pick it up at a local store in 5 days. There are zero stores in my area who have any inventory. If you don't see it on the website, it means the distributors can't get it. How hard is that?

I know. Buying a firearm without having it in your hand for inspection sucks, but it's reality these days.
 
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I wonder what happened to the Smokey Mountain catalogs. I used to find them regularly in my mailbox although I had never requested one. They slowly dribbled away to one only at Christmas time and are completely gone now.
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If you place an online order they will continue to send them. I get 4-5 a year. I almost never open them though, I find it easier to use their website.

Just got back from that area today. Was in SMKW Monday and visited with an Aunt in Knoxville for the last 3 days. I always end up in the store and almost always buy something. Got this Monday.


I've been in Buds once and didn't care for it. Better gun shops locally and certainly better in the Atlanta area. SMKW, and the Nantahala Outdoor Center are literally the only businesses we ever go into other than a restaurant.

Everyone has different priorities. When we go to that area, we spend our time hiking in the park. Climbed to the Lodge on Mt Leconte Wednesday. It's a butt kicker at my age. 5 miles up with a 2800' elevation gain, then 5 miles down with 2800' elevation loss. Plus, we had to park 1/2 mile from the trailhead. Throw in some time at the lodge and we covered almost 12 miles. I'm hurting a bit today.

The lodge

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=mt+leconte+lodge&form=HDRSC3&first=1

The trail

www.bing.com

alum cave trail - Bing

Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.
www.bing.com www.bing.com
 
Uhh… question here; to prevent another thread.


What are TN’s laws regarding carrying of a handgun (openly) for recreational use (hiking) ? I’m from MS, but plan to return in several months for hiking and outdoor recreation.

Anything up here a well-placed hardcast .38 Spl from a Mdl 10 can’t handle, outside of bear ?
 
I
Mr. Mosin said:
outside of bear
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I've been hiking/backpacking in the Southern Appalachians (mostly the area of the GSMNP) for decades with black bears within 10 feet many times and never needed more than "Hey bear". People are the only real concern unless you camp with food in your tent/hammock.

The TN half of the park follows the TN state laws on open and concealed carry.
 
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hso said:
The Knoxville address is where Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo is. The remnant in the basement of the Knife Works is what's left after the move.
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They still advertise it as "smokey mountain guns and ammo located conveniently inside smokey mountain knife works, the world's largest knife showroom".

I hear the commercials all the time. And it's still on their website. And I didn't count but I'd bet the total guns is pretty close between that buds and that SMGA. The nearby cabelas/ bass pro has far more.

As far as knives, my daughter bought a small bear and son and the wife bought a couple pair of victorinox flat folding nail clippers. I looked at some zero tolerance but knowing they ran a 50% off sale from black Friday to New years last year made me hold off
 
hso said:
You would be prophetic if they hadn't done that already, just at the Knoxville address provide earlier. https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/bud’s-gun-sevierville-tn-verdict.923253/post-12720001
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But I said build a building in the big vacant lot they own behind the store. Lol. Not Knoxville.

I can ride my motorcycle to pigeon forge. If be crippled if I rode to Knoxville. Went there years ago to the zoo.

As my dad always said about every city we went to......"I didn't lose anything there". Not going back
 
Buds is kinda like the TARDIS in Doctor Who: bigger online than in reality.

I've been in their store a couple times and wasn't really impressed, compared to what I've seen of them online.

SMKW is almost a staple when driving through the area, though. We can easily spend a couple hours there entertaining ourselves just walking through. Swiss Army knife selection is awesome, and makes for nice gifts any time. And it's just neat to see all the different knives available out there.
 
Nice knife, but I prefer the Farmer X
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I prefer any of the aluminum handles to the plastic handles. The Farmer X is just too big for me. The Pioneer is my favorite, but I was just looking for something smaller this time.

What are TN’s laws regarding carrying of a handgun (openly) for recreational use (hiking) ? I’m from MS, but plan to return in several months for hiking and outdoor recreation.
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In National Parks you have to follow the laws of the state you're in, and it is legal as long as the state the NP is in recognizes your home states permit. Since GSMNP is in both TN and NC there may be some differences depending on where in the park you are. Both TN and NC recognize my GA permit, so I have no problem carrying in the park.

There are some restrictions. You can carry outdoors anywhere in the park, but not inside of any Federal building. My wife and I were both carrying Sig 365's loaded with Buffalo Bore 147 gr hardcast bullets on our hike Wednesday. But before entering the gift shop at the lodge we placed the guns in our packs and went inside one at a time while the other watched the packs.

And while open carry is legal, I've never once seen it happen. 90% of the people hiking there don't know the law and will assume you're illegal. My advice is to keep it concealed.

I've seen bear multiple times hiking there and elsewhere. Up close with cubs at times and I've never felt threatened. But incidents do happen. There have been 2-3 people killed by bear in, or just outside of the Park in the last 20-30 years, several other minor incidents. Considering the number of people there the odds are incredibly small. But it doesn't hurt to be prepared.
 
crestoncowboy said:
That store is pretty terrible. The only good thing about it is watching people shoot through at the range behind the glass. Huge disappointment IMO. I go 4-5 times a year when I take the girls shopping at Tanger but I can't think of anything I've ever bought.

Drive 3 more hours to Charlotte to Hyatt. They have 20x the selection of buds and smokey mountain...combined

There is a smokey mountain guns and ammo in the same parking lot as the buds that the OP went to. It's equally disappointing though. A 40x40 dimly lit hole in the basement of the knife works store


What in heck for. Lol I go when the boss tells me and I despise it. Tourist trap. When your local gas station has 120 pumps and they are all full and lined up a mile and a half back......there is just too damn many people in too few acres. Lol. And what the hell is a beaver nugget anyways.....


Been going since I was a kid riding go-carts in the 80s. Its declined more and more since then. And the funny thing is my neighbors who LIVE at the tri-state corner and have FAR better views spend 75k on a camper, 75k on a truck to pull It, 200 a night for a camping space... to drive to Gatlinburg and pull in between two other campers and look at the highway... lol

They have the best Tanger outlets ive seen if you like that type thing. I take the kids there for school shopping and such. The Titanic is pretty neat once. Wonder works is neat once. Smoky mountain knife works has an amazing selection of knives but if it's not on sale you can buy it online for 20% less most anywhere and the store is a madhouse with absolutely no rhyme or reason to what booth is where as far as I can tell. 10k people handling the same knives that next to nobody actually buys. Lol. Wood grill buffet is a decent buffet stop too.
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I live and work here. You nailed it succinctly. Folks we know and love visit, and first thing they want to do is go to Gatlinburg. Not the Park, the city of airbrush, taffy and bikinis.

I like the trails and the views and the Park, but sometimes the traffic and lack of common sense in some folks ruins that for me.
 
Mr. Mosin said:
So. Much. STUFF. that GPS couldn’t direct us to an apparently popular eatery… gah
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Holstons in seveirville is good. Graze Burgers too. I wouldn’t eat on the “strip” at all. The 441 strip is like express lane food and services. About the only spot I’d go to is Alamo on 441 in Seveirville.

If you’re inclined to go to Knoxville off I40 west exit 380 has Big Kahuna Wings. Best wings I’ve ever had. They have other good food too. Kingston pike has about 3 months worth of food up and down the pike and I’ve never had anything bad.
 
I started ignoring them when they sent me an email announcing that they had only 59 of the new Marlin 1895s in stock and I could have one for the bargain price of $2000. At that price ther are more than doubling their money. That isn't the kind of customer service I will support.
 
EMC45 said:
Holstons in seveirville is good. Graze Burgers too. I wouldn’t eat on the “strip” at all. The 441 strip is like express lane food and services. About the only spot I’d go to is Alamo on 441 in Seveirville.

If you’re inclined to go to Knoxville off I40 west exit 380 has Big Kahuna Wings. Best wings I’ve ever had. They have other good food too. Kingston pike has about 3 months worth of food up and down the pike and I’ve never had anything bad.
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Bennets BBQ is another big one. And that BBQ place out beside goats on a roof too

I like the wood grill buffet. For the money I don't think you could beat it if your hungry.

They also still have a Fudruckers as of a month ago. The only fudruckers in a 200 mile radius that didn't close down. Even the myrtle Beach locations closed.

I'm more of a Tuna fish sammich kind of guy. When a meal for my Wife,, Me and my 3 kids costs more than 100 bucks I get frustrated at how stupid we are as consumers. I take a cow to sell and it brings a dollar a pound. The I go buy leather boots for 200 bucks and pay 40 for a steak and baked potato.....its Ludicrous really.

We can't go to McDonald's and eat cheap for under 40. Lol
 
If you want decent reasonably priced food, Buddy’s Bar-B-Q on Winfield Dunn and Ham N Goody’s on Dolly Parton Parkway in Sevierville are good.
 
Also in the area is Tennessee Silencer, 1471 Shiloh Church Rd, Seymour TN 37865. They have 25 or 30 machine guns for rent from an Uzi up to a Browning M2. Some are pretty pricey but others not too bad.
 
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