It's a mixed bag. I went in today looking for .38 spl. bullets for reloading for target practice. They didn't have any.
Had Speer Gold Dots (nice to know when I'm wanting to reload SD ammo, but that wasn't what I was there for). They didn't have a primer attachment for my reloader either. So I had them order one.... almost two weeks and still waiting.....
OTOH, when I bought my first handgun, they were brand new in the area, and they had the best price by about $40 on it, so they got my business. When I wanted a snubbie, they were the ones that had a few of those m37's that were made a couple of years ago without the internal lock...and I got one. Nobody else around had them. They had the best price by almost $100 for my Kimber Ultra Carry II when I bought it. They're outrageous on Henry Big Boys, so we bought one online for Archerandshooter...and my Bersa Ultra Compact came from Academy, who was much cheaper than either Carter's Country or GM.
So it's hit or miss. If they weren't meeting a need they wouldn't stay in business. Also, they're like Bass Pro (another favorite complaint target) in that they are not a firearms store...they are a sporting goods store. While you and I may ignore everything else and head straight for the handguns or ammo, there are enough other people who buy the other stuff they sell (and on which they generally do have good prices) that they do fine.
Buy stuff when it's on sale there, or when they have something unique, and they're quite good. Shop around, go where the prices are.
Springmom