St. Louis Gun Shops

[dyna962007]

range

The only thing I dont like about Ultimate is the 18 year old limit.
My 13 year old son and I love to shoot and he cant come with me only at that range. Its a St.peters thing.
Otherwise, nice place, mike

 

[ErikO]

The only thing I dont like about Ultimate is the 18 year old limit.
My 13 year old son and I love to shoot and he cant come with me only at that range. Its a St.peters thing.
Otherwise, nice place, mike

Actually, it's 16 since St Peters assumes that the gun is owned (or at least able to be legally owned) by the shooter. I have 6 more years to plan my kiddo's B-day party there. lol

A good Saturday for me is M&M followed by a trip to UD. Finish that off with dinner @ Culver's for a perfecta. Best part is that my wife has as much fun doing this as I do.

These days I only really go to Cabela's when there is a VERY good sale on something that makes it cheaper than M&M or UD or at least cheaper than mail order.

 

[dyna962007]

Actually, it's 16 since St Peters assumes that the gun is owned (or at least able to be legally owned) by the shooter. I have 6 more years to plan my kiddo's B-day party there. lol

A good Saturday for me is M&M followed by a trip to UD. Finish that off with dinner @ Culver's for a perfecta. Best part is that my wife has as much fun doing this as I do.

These days I only really go to Cabela's when there is a VERY good sale on something that makes it cheaper than M&M or UD or at least cheaper than mail order.

Actually for us its traveling down south to gun shows and seeing what kind of deals we can find. We love the hospitality and flexibilty of the folks down in Arkansas and other southern states in buying and selling and talking guns,

 

[pearsonm]

We settled on a house in St Peters and are moved in. Before I plunk down money on a membership at Ultimate Defense, are there any outdoor ranges in the area?

Also, are there any deals on ammo out there? What I've seen at Cabela's and Graf's seems pretty average, at least for .38 and .357 ammo. I assume the market's competitive enough to where there are no bargains to be found.

 

[CZguy]

Before I plunk down money on a membership at Ultimate Defense, are there any outdoor ranges in the area?

Yes, I'm a member here. http://www.shootingstl.com/drupal/

Very nice range.

 

[pearsonm]

..I'm a member here. http://www.shootingstl.com/drupal/

God I love this thread. Thank you! That looks exactly what I had in mind.

 

[ErikO]

Looks good to me as well. Now to schedule a range visit with some folks that are members there.

 

[Hotshot10]

Also, are there any deals on ammo out there? What I've seen at Cabela's and Graf's seems pretty average, at least for .38 and .357 ammo. I assume the market's competitive enough to where there are no bargains to be found.

Graf's is great for reloading supplies. If you shoot handguns a lot, which I assume you do because of your calibers, you really ought to look into that. It can save you a bundle, and you can customize your loads for your gun. The staff there ought to get you started.

 

[pearsonm]

If you shoot handguns a lot, which I assume you do because of your calibers, you really ought to look into [reloading].

Yea, we've got to settle into a platform. My wife and I are sharing a GP100 as our first handgun but we're second-guessing ourselves - we both shoot much better in single action than double.

We didn't like the complexity of an auto for our first gun, but that's becoming less of an issue. If we trade for an auto I anticipate going 9mm, which I'm not sure is worth reloading.

 

[CZguy]

If we trade for an auto I anticipate going 9mm, which I'm not sure is worth reloading.

9mm is well worth reloading for. It's also a really good cartridge to start out with, due to the lower cost, and mild recoil.

 

[ExTank]

We settled on a house in St Peters and are moved in. Before I plunk down money on a membership at Ultimate Defense, are there any outdoor ranges in the area?

There's also August A. Busch Conservation Area Shooting Range.

Low cost ($3/person/hour), targets are provided (they only allow bullseye-type targets, no man-silhouette), 3 seconds between shots (so tactical shooting is pretty much out), but they provide range safety officers and run a very safe range.

Considering some of the horror stories I've read here on THR about unsupervised/unregulated ranges, I'm quite grateful for Range Safety Officers, even if they won't let me rip off a hi-cap mag as fast as I can pull the trigger.

If I want to do that, Ultimate Defense, Top Gun, On Target, or Metro will suffice. Since Metro opened, they're the closest to me, but I get "out-and-about" all over the greater west-side metro on the weekends, so any of them will do, really.

 

[pearsonm]

There's also August A. Busch Conservation Area Shooting Range..

Thank you for that link. They’re next on our list.

We shot at Ultimate Defense Sunday morning. We felt rushed with the one-hour time limit but it seemed like a well-run facility with friendly people and reasonable prices.

I know what you're saying about unsupervised ranges. There's one back in Springfield (Busiek) that we never visited because it has such a bad reputation.

 

[ExTank]

No problem! Busch Wildlife is really my go-to place during warmer months due to its low cost and safety (not that I've ever had, or even heard, of any safety issues at Ultimate, Top Gun, On Target, Bullseye, or Metro).

Be advised that restroom facilities at Busch Wildlife are one step up from "outhouse," so it may be a good idea to "do your business" at, say, a convenience store (there's a Jack in the Box, as well as a McD's/gas station/convenience store on MO 94 about a 1/4 mile east of 94 & US 40) or somesuch before heading out.

They can get pretty busy on weekends, so plan accordingly. IME, they're less busy at opening, so earlier is better.

On the plus side, if they aren't busy, they don't really hold your feet to the fire on your range time. I shot for 1 - 1/2 hours one morning about 3 weeks ago, and they didn't charge me for the extra time.

 

[murphys_law]

Love this thread, I'm moving from lower Jeff county up to St Charles/Warren county area and this is going to be a great help.

 

[pearsonm]

Love this thread, I'm moving from lower Jeff county up to St Charles/Warren county area and this is going to be a great help.

Almost everyone I know who are also transferring with the company I work for are winding up in the St Charles, St Peters and O'Fallon areas. So far everything we need is here, although the traffic sucks. Picking a location with an alternate route to I-70 is highly recommended.

 

[CZguy]

Almost everyone I know who are also transferring with the company I work for are winding up in St Charles, St Peters and O'Fallon areas. So far everything we need is here, although the traffic sucks. Picking a location with an alternate route to I-70 is highly recommended.

And if you can't do that...........at least pick a place with a nice LGS on the way home. You can stop in and let traffic die down.

 

[murphys_law]

And if you can't do that...........at least pick a place with a nice LGS on the way home. You can stop in and let traffic die down.

I'm going to try, that's for sure

 

[GWARGHOUL]

Festus - Show Me tactical

Owned by Steve Lednick, attorney from The Lowry Law Firm.
good dude, good looking startup.

Free transfers for customers. Has a lot of AR15's, various pistols, Saiga 12's and 20's etc.

(636) 465-0741

107 Walnut St

Festus, MO 63028


Next to Magic Market

 

[wow6599]

Check out Pacific Guns. New owners (Nick & Debbie Adams) have really made the place a fun store to go to. Wide selection and prices that are in-line with Bud's. IMHO, they are the best in the STL metro area.

 

[Wetz]

Thanks for all the advice in the thread.

The only place in St. Louis I have purchased a gun is Pawn King in Arnold. Actually I just used them as an FFL for my Budsgunshop.com purchase. The gentleman I dealt with was very nice and offered to match Buds price, but I had already made my purchase. I noticed this thread relates more to gun-only shops but figured I would post my only experience in a St. Louis retail setting to date in case it was helpful to anyone else. I plan to stop in there again today to check for used .22's before I go anywhere else.

I will post about my experience once I have made a purchase.

 

[hercdog]

Thanks for the great posts, I've learned of several additional shops I need to check out. I do have a few that I have done business with that I want to add to the list:

My sister used to be a Sheriff's deputy and she told me that a lot of the city cops like to go to Lemay Pawn and Gun in South city. It's a pawn shop, so they have a decent selection of used guns of all types, but they also carry a good selection of new guns (mostly pistols) as well as ammo and accessories. I bought my lightly used PF-9 there this past April for $250. They are definitely willing to deal.

While you're down there, you might want to wander right next door to Alamo Military Collectables and check out their selection as well. I bought a "used" (never fired) 870 Express shotgun and a Norinco SKS from these guys. They are not very chatty, but they know their milsurps and have a selection of used long guns and pistols that's always changing. Last time I was there they even had a reproduction of a German rocket launcher. The owner told me they buy a lot of estate gun collections so you never know what kind of gems they will have. They are willing to deal and especially like it if you bring cash. I just got my SKS there in March, which had never been fired, for $275 cash, tax included.

Finally, a new shop called Southside Guns has just opened up on Gravois, right next door to Mid-America Arms (another favorite of mine). They are affiliated with and share a space with Southside pawn, but they have just expanded their gun section to be a full fledged stand alone gun shop. I was actually pretty impressed with the selection (they even had one of those new Kel-tec tactical shotguns that nobody can get) which included a lot of used guns of all types, some of which were models that I usually don't see at other shops. The guy who helped me took all kinds of time to show me a lot of guns, even though I had told him I was just looking around, and seemed to genuinely want to earn my business by building a relationship. He also told me they are in the process of building an indoor shooting range across the street from their shop, which is supposed to open by this fall. They have a growing selection of accessories and a lot of ammo as well.

I hope these contributions help.

 

[Bohemus]

Any photos for us, gun-deprived Europeans?

 

[ExTank]

Finally, a new shop called Southside Guns has just opened up on Gravois, right next door to Mid-America Arms (another favorite of mine). They are affiliated with and share a space with Southside pawn, but they have just expanded their gun section to be a full fledged stand alone gun shop. I was actually pretty impressed with the selection (they even had one of those new Kel-tec tactical shotguns that nobody can get)

Before anyone runs out to Southside to try to grab up the Kel-Tec KSG, they should know that it's listed in their dispaly case as "Display Only." It's not for sale.

When I asked the staff the reason for this, they said that because they are going for so much online, up to $1,800, that they didn't want to put a price on it and sell it and have someone think that they got cheated/robbed.

 

[Wetz]

Ended up buying my new Taurus PT-22 from Southside Pawn. They were excellent. The price was better than what I have seen asked on used models. They had to order it and the gun arrived a week after ordering. There was no additional charge for ordering. The price they quoted was what I paid plus tax. The people were friendly, great selection, and the store is really nice and clean.

I was unable to get to Pawn King for this purchase because their hours weren't convenient but still would buy from them.

I drove out to JW Firearms one night after work. It was about 20 minutes out of the way in both directions. Their website said they were open until 7pm. I arrived at 6:15pm. I opened the door and the lights were off. The guy behind the counter said they closed at 6pm. I asked why their website said 7pm. He pointed to the door and said "says right there". There was a paper taped to the door that noted the summer hours were in effect and they closed at 6pm. The guy wasn't necessarily rude but certainly did not seem sympathetic or in any way interested in selling me a gun. He just wanted me out of his store so he could leave. I won't be back.

I also stopped by Mid America Arms which is right next door to Southside Pawn. The people here weren't rude either but not nearly as friendly as Southside Pawn. Additionally, there were a lot of regulars in there enjoying talking with the staff like old buddies. It was hard to get anyone's attention since I'm not a regular or some know-it-all, bragging, loud-mouthed, gun-guy. Their selection was slim unless you want some high profile firearm like an AR or Glock. It was hard to find a gun on the wall less than $400. Also, the store is packed with shelves and racks. Not easy to maneuver and very cramped feeling. I did not even waste time comparing prices with Southside Pawn on a new gun since I knew I wouldn't buy from these guys anyway.

Bottom line is that I'll be back to Southside Pawn. It will be the first place I look and the first place I recommend to anyone.

 

[pearsonm]

We've been shooting at Ultimate Defense. My wife fell in love with their rental M&P9C. Their price for a new one was within $30.00 (the cost of a FFL transfer) from Bud's, so we bought from them.