It was too far to be a regular hang out, but I stopped a couple times as I would be passing by. I bought a Remington 30-06 off of them, that I can remember.Thought I was the only one that remembered Norms
It was too far to be a regular hang out, but I stopped a couple times as I would be passing by. I bought a Remington 30-06 off of them, that I can remember.Thought I was the only one that remembered Norms
The Gun Room, Steve was the owner. Nice guyThere used to be a gun shop in Twelve Mile. I remember my dad taking me a few times, I fed the shop "guard" dog a few too many treats.
Galyans when they were in the old red barn in Plainfield. Real pot bellied stoves and wooden barrels with surplus trapdoors at $12.95 and Mausers for $11.95. Say 1964?
Who can forget Scott Albro ? The guy was a one of a kind. I bought my "perfect" 77/22 Ruger from him. I was picking at it, trying to find some blemish. Scott just grinned at me and kept repeating "its perfect". Yep, full price. A long time ago was $225 . Best shooting 22 I own. Or Miles Wyatt buying recent trade-ins by the box full. BTW miss stopping in at Wyatts in Cicero after the Tipton gun show too.If Paul were still running it, it would be doing just fine. He had an established clientele, once it changed hands, the new owner started ordering in a different (cheaper) line of firearms. The regulars liked going in there because they could buy nice Smith's, Sigs, Kimbers etc. Once Randy took it over he stocked Taurus and built a Milsurp section reminiscent of Bradis. It brought in a different crowd that didn't spend as much money. Paul used to have the occasional Milsurp on the rack mixed in with his selection of higher end shotguns and lever guns. Albro's did have a group of regulars that would buy the type of guns that Paul stocked. Once the cheaper guns became the norm, they went elsewhere to buy their guns.
It's too bad really, I'm sure there was more than that in play. Only the owners know what really happened, and few that were close to them. I was in a small group of regulars that met there on Wednesday evenings to see what had been traded in or what was new.
We would hang out, then some of us would go out for dinner after the shop closed. I have not been a regular in a shop since. I primarily play in the private secondary market. Most of the time I am not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on an impulse buy, or to be pressured into buying something. I don't go into shops, because I am NOT buying, so I do not want to waste their time by coon fingering their inventory and then walking out without buying. And really I'm sure shops would appreciate it if more people that weren't buying would not come in and waste their time either.
We're all different, this of course is my opinion, we all conduct business differently and we all have different shopping habits.
E. Christopher Firearms in Miamitown, Ohio. Started going there with my Old Man as a kid. He always had a fantastic collection of classic guns in the place.
I made my first gun purchase there on my own when I was 16, a Berdan style black powder rifle from the old Replica Arms Co.
Lengels Gun Shop in Wabash IN. Family run business & I knew everyone that worked there.
+1 I remember the first time my Dad took me to Galyan's as a kid.....wall to wall Guns.....all I could say was WOW!!
Jim and Kathy were good to me. Used to talk about food and cooking with Kathy and the old boys in there used to tell me this was a gun store.Range Master in Chesterton. Really nice indoor range. Bought one used pistol there.
Shema's in Merrillville. Jim and Kathy are still around. Bought Kimber when he was closing up shop.
Wanamaker.
+1 for Outdoor Specialties in Columbus. I purchased a 12g Winchester 1300 w/laminate stock from there in the late 80s- early 90s. It still resides in my safe. Also Gross Hardware, I loved going there with my grandpa. While he got what he needed, I would check out the guns in the back of the store.Outdoor Specialties in Columbus.
What gun shop have you frequented in the past that is no longer in business that you miss most?