Coal Creek review

[jgrauman]

went to coal creek on saturday morning in knoxville. indoor range, custom shop, and high prices. their organization skills left much to be desired. we walked in right behind a big group of which half were shooting (about 6) and they were going to allow the rest to stand on the range and watch (which i did not agree with) two men behind the counter, one asked for our name and said we'd be called when a lane opened. after about a 20 minute wait the other guy calls our name and says we're on lane one. he asks how to spell my name and puts it in the computer. "have you ever been here before?" i reply "no" and in a huff he says, "well you have to fill out this paper work!" turns to the other guy "these guys have been standing here this entire time and haven't filled out the paper work?!" nobody told us we had to fill out paperwork! so we fill out the paperwork, range safety and whatnot, then he basically re-reads all the rules to us out loud and says "okay, we'll call you when we have a lane available!!" so the other guy says "i thought we had a lane for them?" he replies, "we DID have a lane, but their paper work wasn't done." and walks off to do an intro for another class. other guy goes back over the paperwork as guy one did and then we finally get on to the range, which is crowded with a group of 12, 6 of which are shooting. all this took an hour! we get to our lane (against the wall) and they have lights set up at 7, 15 and 25yrds. but they are only on one at a time, ie. if you want to shoot at 7, you turn the knob to 7yrds. there is general lighting upto 7 yards, but it's black everywhere else. you literaly cannot shoot at any other distances because it is so dark. the targets (which you tape onto a piece of cardboard) are tough to get into the light because they dont' stop the moment you let go of the switch, they run a little bit. i heard a few people complaining that their 15yrd lights were out and the guy told them, "yeah, we've ordered new ones." so they could only shoot at 7 or 25. the last thing was that you didn't pay until you were done, which meant that we had to stand back in line when we were done. all in all the shoot took 2 and a half hours for about 350 rnds. not the most efficient shoot i've ever been on. the range cost was $15 a lane for as long as you wanted $7.50 per additional shooter up to three. i thought my range was bad, but after this im glad i'm a member.

http://coalcreekarmory.com/indoor_range.php

[towerclimber37]

dang...I thought I had it rough..I had to shoot in the snow/rain yesterday! Gman, you have more patience than I do..I would have walked out and found an alternate venue.

then again..I can "hillbilly" it if I have to and shoot at my brothers' property..no target range but there's lots of land to shoot on!

[jgrauman]

by the way, tungsten, your xd9 shot great! first time shooting the xd in 9, as with my .40's i loved it. tyler was extremely pleased. thanks again man

[Guest Boomhower]

I was in there the back of this just to check the place out. Overpriced was a good word to use and as well as over rated. I didn't find the atmosphere friendly at all, especially since all 6 guys in the store were dry humping the nearest object since I had my wife with me. Costumer's and attendants alike. I just got the vibe that I didn't belong in there even though I was looking at merchandise. There's another indoor range in Knoxville, but I've not been to it yet. I'll probably never go back to Coal Creek unless its a last resort.

[Smith]

I was reading about these guys on another forum about there Melonite CPQ refinishing. Did you happen to get any info on that while you waited a round a ridiculous amount of time? Do they seem reputable smiths or just know it all jerks?

[Guest RobTN]

... There's another indoor range in Knoxville, but I've not been to it yet. ...

If you are talking about this place, Guncraft Sports Inc., 10737 Dutchtown Rd, Knoxville, TN 37932 I was there a few years back and had a good experience. Friendly staff, nice facilities, & rental of some full auto weapons is available. Kinda pricey, if I rember right, but I'm cheap so YMMV.

[jgrauman]

I was reading about these guys on another forum about there Melonite CPQ refinishing. Did you happen to get any info on that while you waited a round a ridiculous amount of time? Do they seem reputable smiths or just know it all jerks?

very expensive as far as there internet pricing. $200 but that said for a "gun" i was going to ask while i was in there if there was just a slide price, but to answer your second question, they seemed like a bunch of know it all jerks. four of them were in a corner on the other side of the shop telling stupid stories as loud as they could to look like they were smart while the other two were standing around with their thumbs somewhere trying to organize the range

[Guest Phantom6]

Re: Coal Creek Armory, back when Mic Weist and family owned and operated the gun store and range (Gun Crafters Sports) off Lovell Rd in west K-town the prices were not out of line, the gunsmithing was high quality and the place was always clean and hoppin'. There were always loads of guns, loads of customers and a good clean range. The place was absolutely packed with merchandise and customers. Sadly, after Mr. Weist's death and the place being sold to Johnathan Pirkle, son of Johnny Pirkle, local radio pioneer and bazillionaire (after selling out to Las Vegas-based Citadel Communications) radio station owner, the wheeles seemed to come off the place almost immediately. Very few guns for sale. Very few accessories for sale. An un-professional customer service attitude on the sales floor, in the gunsmithing dpt., and regarding the range rental and upkeep of the range (it is always smokey in there). It really is a pitty. I had a membership there for years and dropped it.

[dkd83]

I have visited CCA many times during the last 4 months. Their staff varies as the staff does at most businesses. Two employees there are friendly, knowledgeable, and extremely helpful. There are two more that I loathe and avoid when I enter the store. Prices are steep (think Gander Mountain) but there are not many choices within Knoxville proper.

I had a set of XS Big Dots installed there a few weeks ago. Turned in my pistol and XSs on a Thursday and picked them up on the next Tuesday. Work perfectly with no scarring or blemishing of slide etc. They apparently have a large backlog of smith work and only one smith who is onsite only a few days each week.

As far as groups of BSers within the store, I have encountered some there but I do not believe this is generally the employees. Range is dim and wait times can suck unless one of the two great employees are working the range counter.

[Guest Glockman]

The review from dkd83 & Phanthom 6 are right on it!! like phan said the other people were nice. One other thing if you buy a gun there & have problems w/it. guess what You bought a gun there & you have problems with it. it's all your baby!! i know i might now be important but i have bought atleast 12 guns from them! if you want good customer service in knoxville Guns & more are tops in my book!! my.02

[dkd83]

jfglock,

I need to check out Guns and More sometime soon. Does it have a range?

[Guest Glockman]

Just good folks, i wish they did! but they are very fair people to deal with

[highshot]

were is guns a more located at on kingston pike?

[Branket]

The address is 5612 Kingston Pike, it's in a shopping center just east of Northshore Dr.

Here's a map: http://www.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=guns+and+more&near=Knoxville,+TN&cid=0,0,4115477739947207213&ll=35.934717,-83.994863&spn=0,.02&sa=X&oi=local&ct=image

Hope that helps some.

[highshot]

thanks that heped

[gunslinger]

Behind Atomic pawn shop

[J Smith]

When Coal Creek first opened it was not bad,but the last couple times I have been there I got the same feeling as you.The only person I have ever been able to talk to is Tamara.

A guy I work with has shot there a couple times and he talked about it being to dark.

BTW heres Tamara's web site.

http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/

[Landogie]

While on the topic of CCA. who is that genderly confused person working there? Seriously.

[Guest Phantom6]

That would be Tim ... er, ah... Tamara. I knew it started with a T

[Branket]

I haven't purchased any guns from CCA but I have used the range several times just because it's the closest place to me. At the times I've shot there haven't been any incidences to mention that would keep me from returning other than the price seeming a bit steep to me. Even with gas the way it is I think an annual pass to the Norris range would easily be cheaper than $15 a pop at CCA. Maybe I'll look into joining a members only range like ORSA or JSHEC.

[Guest Tamara]

You have me at something of a disadvantage, sir, since I am assuming that "Phantom6" is a handle or screen name, but I will be happy to cure some of your misconceptions, as well as answer any questions posters may have about the Armory.

Re: Coal Creek Armory, back when Mic Weist and family owned and operated the gun store and range (Gun Crafters Sports)

While it's nitpicking, on the order of correcting someone saying "Mossenberg" or "Smith & Western", the name of the business was "Guncraft Sports".

off Lovell Rd in west K-town the prices were not out of line, the gunsmithing was high quality and the place was always clean and hoppin'. There were always loads of guns, loads of customers and a good clean range. The place was absolutely packed with merchandise and customers.

Well, yes and no. When I moved to K-town back in '00, Guncraft was one of the first places my roommate took me to visit, and it was indeed fairly well stocked and busy for a weekday night, but the signs of decay had already set in. Prices seemed high compared to what I was used to, and there was an unhealthy percentage of consignment guns in the stock, but I didn't become privy to the story until I became friends with their gunsmith and one of their salesmen, who both left to work at the ill-fated Montague Gunsmithing.

It seems that after Red Weist had passed, the family had a difficult time running the place. Too much credit owed vendors and too much payroll led to declining profits (or increasing losses, to be accurate.) In an attempt to boost profits, prices were increased, triggering lower sales, which meant less profits, and so on. Inevitably, this led to difficulties paying vendors, who refused to extend more credit, and making payroll, which triggered defection of employees. If you had been in Guncraft in '03 or '04, you would have seen empty showcases, save for a few consignment guns and some Hi-Points. Facilities maintenance had fallen by the wayside. It was sad. They wanted to sell the business, but nobody was willing to assume the debt.

Sadly, after Mr. Weist's death and the place being sold to Johnathan Pirkle, son of Johnny Pirkle, local radio pioneer and bazillionaire (after selling out to Las Vegas-based Citadel Communications) radio station owner, the wheeles seemed to come off the place almost immediately.

In the end, Guncraft never was sold, they simply went out of business. Coal Creek Armory bought the building and its contents. They seemed like a young company with big dreams who believed in aggressive pricing and marketing, and I left Randy's in late '04 to come work for them.

Very few guns for sale. Very few accessories for sale.

In point of fact, CCA has more guns for sale than Guncraft ever did. The accessories selection is smaller, since we want to avoid the pitfalls of winding up neck-deep in left-handed shoulder holsters for Colt Pythons and skeet chokes for Ljutics, which contributed to the decline of the previous tenants, and concentrate on certain items that sell well, while special ordering whatever a customer wants. In these days of small specialty stores v. big-box stores v. the internet, it's important to specialize, since one can't be all things to all people.

An un-professional customer service attitude on the sales floor, in the gunsmithing dpt.,

Most of the staff and management is present and active on various internet gun boards, maintain personal blogs, attend gun shows, et cetera. I can't think of an easier way to contact people and make your concerns known. As far as the gunsmithing department, Joe and Bob never left, and one of CCA's first acts was to bring Shannon Jennings back from Randy's, so it's pretty much the same gunsmithing department Guncraft had during its salad days.

and regarding the range rental and upkeep of the range (it is always smokey in there). It really is a pitty. I had a membership there for years and dropped it.

The range rental guns are maintained somewhat more frequently than under the old store, since the addition of an ultrasonic cleaner in the gunsmithing department makes weekly or bi-weekly cleanings doable. Before, time constraints meant they got cleaned when they stopped running. Some of the new rental guns we've added, such as the DE .50, are maintenance hogs, but we accept that, since folks want to be able to shoot them. Regarding range upkeep, by the time CCA bought it, it had fallen into such a state that what it really needed was to be shut down for six or eight months and rebuilt. In the interest of not depriving K-town of the indoor range for that length of time, repairs are instead being done during downtimes on Sundays and such. Ducts and baffles have been replaces, filtration upgraded, et cetera, all on the fly while disrupting normal range business as little as possible. The hard stuff's been done, but there's still cosmetic work to do, and we hope to continue to be able to do it without depriving the shooting community of the use of the range.

The new manager has been aggressively seeking out new services to offer to our customers, such as Melonite QPQ refinishing, Brommeland holsters, LKT micarta grips, and many more in the works. He's very responsive to customer needs, and would no doubt listen to and attempt to address any concerns brought to him. You should give it a try.

Respectfully,

Tamara

[Guest DaG]

So why not bring back IPSC on the 3rd Sat. of the month? This falls on the same day as Oak Ridge and all those guys want to shoot. $15.00 per person ain't bad considering you can get 20-30 people. We used to shoot and almost immediately after CCA took over the matches stopped. We were told they wanted to cater to the CCW classes. Yes, it's more money per person, but most likely, those people will never be back. OTOH, IPSC shooters want to shoot every month. Sometimes less is more......

DaG

[Guest dotsun]

Is there or is there not a sign on the door at CCA denying HCP holders the right to carry in your establishment?

[Guest Tamara]

DaG,

IPSC continued for about a year after we bought the building. The problems were with dwindling attendance and finding someone willing to "mind the store" almost 'til midnight one Saturday a month. In the end, it all boiled down (as these things always do) to simple economics; if the IPSC crew had been enthusiastically buying stuff as well as coming to shoot the match, we'd have dragooned some poor salaried staffer (probably me,) at gunpoint if necessary, into staying and manning the register, but the small turnouts and lack of jingle at the register there towards the end made it economically unfeasible. There's been talk of getting either bullseye or IDPA cranked up in the near future and seeing how that works out. We'll see...

dotsun,

Is there or is there not a sign on the door at CCA denying HCP holders the right to carry in your establishment?

There is no such sign. There is a sign stating that no loaded weapons are to be handled on the sales floor, NO EXCEPTIONS. (This goes for staff, too.) Loaded weapons must be left in a case or holster. This is just basic gun safety. If you must show someone your CCW gun, we will let you take it on the range to clear it where there is a safe backstop.

[Marswolf]

We have a local gun shop that has that policy. It just makes sense. The sign just says that loaded guns must remain in their holster.

We had another gun shop and range that had a sign saying that no loaded guns were allowed. They are now out of business.