gun buying in AZ

[Mike.357]

So me and my son went gun shopping Thursday.

It was a lot of fun. How could it not be? Sunny AZ, guns, more guns, bullets, more bullets, gun accessories. What's not to love?

We were shopping for a handgun for him and a long gun. (either shotty or .22)

I had done some research on the internet about local gun shops. Well local to him anyway. Found a couple near Mesa that had good reviews. I picked one called AJI Sporting Goods in Apache Junction. I also had another store as a back up in case AJI was overpriced or did not have enough selection. Selection and price was not a problem.

He wanted a 9mm, as he had shot a couple a few weeks ago with his buddies. We walked into the store about 15 minutes after they opened.

The clerks there acknowledged us but let us in peace to browse. I like that. wait until I seek help, always works for me. The store had a great selection of handguns, all kinds. Old used stuff, NIB from most of the major gun makers. We had discussed his needs and wants previously. He has not shot a lot so I wanted him to look at pistols that are safe and reliable out of the box, and also have a fairly simple manual of arms.

We told the clerk we were ready for some help, I aksed him to show us the XDm, Glock, M+P, and a CZ ( just for comparison). The clerk did not rush us at all, spent ample time letting us compare, and helped us make an informed decision.

My son is now the proud owner of a XDm in 9mm, a full size service model. 19+1. He got a real good price.

I had also looked at their .22 offerings but did not find what we wanted. We ended up going to of all places, Walmart and picked up a simple Savage .22 bolt rifle with a polymer stock. I will tell the Walmart story in another post when I have time. It was a hoot though.

But back to AJI. They had a great selection of milsurp rifles. I wanted to pick up a Mosin Nagant to take and shoot with him that day. I was just going to leave it at his house. I saw a Chinese marked 91-30, but the bolt did not match the receiver so I passed on it. Settled on a pretty good looking hex receivered model. I filled out the 4473 and he called it in. I was "delayed". The clerk told me that he was not suprised. He guessed that almost 75% of out of staters get delayed. He took my phone number but I have still not heard back. At any rate I told him it was not a big deal and I was sorry to have caused him work that ended in no sale. He was not put out in the least and told me not to worry about it. I pretty much explained that if he did not get the approval in an hour or two to just let it go. So no new 91-30 for me. But it all worked out great anyway.

We went shooting ( that too in another post when I find time). Shot the crap out of the XDm9 as well as the Savage bolt .22. What a shooter that rifle it. No accu-triger but I think it shoots better than my Savage bolt .22 that I have done work on to accurize.

So that is our pistol buying experience in a nutshell. It was a real good day!

[Guest eyebedam]

Sounds like you had a blast.