Knoxville Gander Mountain Madness

[frankmako]

Yesterday I went to Knoxville for work.  Things went faster than normal so I had a few minutes to kill.  Went to Gander Mountain to take a look at some guns, ammo, and reloading supplies with the ideal of I might buy something.  Got the "got to have something new" thing going on for about a week now.  Not knowing what I want, just want to look to see what catches my eye.  Now, it has been several years since I have been in one of their stores and it did not take me long to remember the reason why.   Prices!!!  They are proud of their guns and ammo.  I don’t see how they stay in business.  Yes they got a good selection, but who is going to pay the price.  Need to say that "got to have something new" feeling went away fast and a bad taste came in my mouth.  So on the way back home I made a stop at Fugate Firearms to see the gang and to get the bad taste out of my mouth.  Looks like it will be several more years before I go back into a Gander Mountain store to kill sometime.  I am going to put them in the same box as Benton's Shooters Supply, a store to stay out of. 

[Guest nra37922]

Been to the Knoxville GM ONCE saw their prices and left.  Coal Creek, Frontier and others have better prices on firearms, Academy and Walt-Mart are better on supplies. 

[Lumber_Jack]

Gander Mountain is for "gandering" only.  "spending" is done elsewhere :D

[Erik88]

Gander, Bass Pro and Dicks are all the same. Absolutely terrible prices and usually piss poor service.

 

One thing will never change though, uninformed buyers will always shop there. That is how they sell guns.

[Lumber_Jack]

Gander, Bass Pro and Dicks are all the same. Absolutely terrible prices and usually piss poor service.

 

One thing will never change though, uninformed buyers will always shop there. That is how they sell guns.

 

 

yep, Ive had to stop myself many times from yelling "noooo" when people agree to buy guns from those places

[Hozzie]

Completely agree although there are times where by some miracle I have found a gun at Bass Pro for even less than Buds.  Doesn't happen often, but it does once every 10 years when all of the planets align correctly.  I have never seen 1 gun at Gander I have even given consideration.

[Wingshooter]

I'll go into Gander to look around, but rarely ever buy anything there. I did score a sweet deal on a Nikon Monarch scope once that they had on clearance, but I think the stars must have been aligned or something. Lol.

[JAB]

Yesterday I went to Knoxville for work.  Things went faster than normal so I had a few minutes to kill.  Went to Gander Mountain to take a look at some guns, ammo, and reloading supplies with the ideal of I might buy something.  Got the "got to have something new" thing going on for about a week now.  Not knowing what I want, just want to look to see what catches my eye.  Now, it has been several years since I have been in one of their stores and it did not take me long to remember the reason why.   Prices!!!  They are proud of their guns and ammo.  I don’t see how they stay in business.  Yes they got a good selection, but who is going to pay the price.  Need to say that "got to have something new" feeling went away fast and a bad taste came in my mouth.  So on the way back home I made a stop at Fugate Firearms to see the gang and to get the bad taste out of my mouth.  Looks like it will be several more years before I go back into a Gander Mountain store to kill sometime.  I am going to put them in the same box as Benton's Shooters Supply, a store to stay out of. 

 

I used to stop by Gouger Mountain because they had all of their long guns out on the sales floor (tethered to the displays and with trigger locks but on the floor) where I could just pick them up, look them over, get an idea how they felt, etc. and not have to deal with asking to see this or that gun.  I never bought any firearms there because their prices are simply too high. 

 

Also, when I decided to get in to reloading, I would stop by there sometimes to see if they might have some supplies I wanted/needed.  Their reloading supply prices weren't that far outside the 'norm' I saw, elsewhere and - as I work just off of Lovell Road - it was convenient.  In fact, the last small pistol primers I found/bought were from there.  It was right at the very beginning of the current 'shortage' and such primers had become a little scarce, elsewhere.  I bought 1000 Federal Match small pistol primers for just under $40 so not too bad.

 

Then the Knoxville store changed everything around.  They now keep all the guns - including the long guns - behind the counter.  They have also gotten rid of most of their reloading supplies (and seem to be trying to get rid of what little remains.)  So now I very, very rarely even bother going in there.

Edited August 16, 2013 by JAB

[vontar]

Academy is cheaper.  I found some mags at Academy, then found the same mags for like 10 more at gander. 

[Old Man]

The last time I went to Gander Mountain, and it was the LAST time, I was looking for a recurve bow.  The guy behind the counter told me "Nobody shoots thoose anymore!"  He treated me like I was an idiot.  Bought one somewhere else.

[Guest sL1k]

Academy is cheaper. I found some mags at Academy, then found the same mags for like 10 more at gander.

Was at gander the other day 7 round mags for a p238 $49
Academy 8 round mags were $37

Gander did have a Dan Wesson valor that I drooled over.

[runco]

Considering their physical location, and their obvious clientele, I say they do well.  In other words, close to a populous with good expendable income, and targeted men and women who are likely not going to not shop around to compare prices, and are impulse buyers after reading a magazine article about an item. 

[Guest TankerHC]

Bought one gun from a Gander, and if it were not a Bday present for someone and we could have found it somewhere else, I would have got it somewhere else.

 

3 years ago, I was looking for a certain Model of a Savage MKII. Saw one on Gunbroker from a  dealer (Whos still on there) for $249. Had to go to Hattiesburg, stopped in to see if Gander had it. They did, for $429. I dont even bother stopping in any longer. I already know that the prices will be way over actual value. I was driving up to either Nashville or Knoxville last month from Chattanooga and saw Gander there on the right. Thought about stopping in, changed my mind, not worth the gas to get off the Interstate.

Edited August 17, 2013 by TankerHC

[fourteentwo]

I have bought a few guns from Gander Mountain, the only one I've regretted buying there because of the price was my AR (about 100$ more than at Academy) but at the time I bought it they were selling online (and at LGSs) for twice what I paid...

I have gotten a couple very very good deals on 2 used guns I got there and have seen and regretted not buying many others. I missed out on a Browning Hi Power for 499 for example, stopped by and they had it, went in the next day to get it and it was gone. Also saw a Kimber once for 499 was also gone the next day. So it's been a matter of luck and doing your research (the 2 guns I got there were still there when I went back the next day after I'd looked up the prices and slept on it.)

They price match but I don't know if that's for guns and ammo but I suppose so... but it's got to be in stock wherever you're buying from.

Ammo has been also a hit and miss, but heck right now as hard as it is to find it at least they have some. I haven't bought much from them but when I'm looking if its 30 c/rd for 9mm I buy and they regularly have 9mm at that price. They get 22lr and it was 1$ more for a brick than what I paid at walmart, and minimags were .50 more.

I live 5 minutes away so good or bad they're the closest gun store I have so I guess it makes them my LGS.

14-2 cambio y fuera

[peejman]

Gander Mtn is like everything in Turkey Creek..... Subject to the mandatory 20% mark-up.

[Major Kong]

A little thread necromancy here but I didn't want to start another "Gander Mountain sucks" thread when there were already a few here.

 

I went in this morning to look at a Beretta 20 gauge O/U shotgun. I stood at the gun counter for about five minutes. The sales guy is standing and watching another sales guy help the only other customers at the gun counter. Finally he looks up and says "#34, customer #34". I look around to make sure there is no one else there then kind of give him a "hey bud, no one's here but me" look. He looks away from me and in a loud voice says "If you'd like help at the firearms counter please take a number and wait to be called". Surprisingly I didn't wait. In fairness to that jackass though he saved me a good bit of money. When I got home I called Whittaker's in Kentucky and they had the same shotgun for several hundred dollars less.

 

Screw Gander Mountain.

[MacGyver]

Fred, I've walked into Gander Mountain several times in the last couple of years with money in my pocket to spend. I've walked out without buying a thing each time because their staff makes it seem like you're interrupting them.

I'm sure they'll have plenty of time to fill out their unemployment apps in a few years when that attitude causes them to go out of business.

[hipower]

I stopped in on a trip to Knoxville a couple of years ago. (Yes Major, that trip.) My brother-in-law and I were just killing time til the next meet we had scheduled and I thought it might be nice since I had never been in a GM store.

 

It was an eye-opening experience to say the least. I was looking for a 1.5 in gun belt to fit my oversize waistline. 65 bucks. For that I got a Chinese import piece of leather from some unknown exploited worker.

 

For a few bucks more I got a good high quality piece from a local leather shop.

[Guest TankerHC]

I dont know if they do this in TN, but this is the other reason I wont buy from a Gander, but this was in Virginia. And they did this in Dicks in MS as well, but they do not do it anywhere else.

 

Instead of filling out the 4473, running the check, and getting my gun, I had to sign 3 pieces of paper. (Keep in mind this was Virginia and I havent been in a Gander in TN), one of course was the 4473, two was the paper that said that Gander would not be held responsible if I did something stupid with the gun and the third one was a paper saying that I understood gun safety and was not buying the gun for criminal purposes.

 

To state, neither of the other two forms (other than the 4473 were Government forms, they were clearly marked Gander Mountain at the top and as mentioned a Dicks in Jackson, MS had those exact same forms to sign.

 

The REAL reason I dont buy there or stop in is the prices, and I also understand if frivolous lawsuits have been filed against a Company they may decide to "try" to protect themselves this way, but between the CS in the several I have been to, the high prices and filling out three forms to justify that I am not a criminal and will not use a gun for nefarious purposes, not worth the effort of even stopping, at least for me.

 

But I will say about 6 months ago a cousin of mine in Pa went to Gander and bought a used Xd40 that looked like it had never been fired for near $150 less than what it was actually worth (According to the Blue Book). So I suppose there are deals to be had, I have just never seen them.

[TripleDigitRide]

My first visit to Gander Mountain was my last. Gander stays in business for much of the same reasons as The Outpost Armory and Franklin Gun Shop. They generally have an impressive inventory, and it seems there's never a shortage of buyers who are willing and able to spend more money than necessary. Admittedly, I'm not a frequent visitor of the three locations I've mentioned, but I don't recall seeing much of anything in any of them that I couldn't easily find cheaper, even locally. I've always been willing to pay a premium for hard to find items, but I can't bring myself to do the same for something that can be found at most other local and online retailers.

[hipower]

.... I've always been willing to pay a premium for hard to find items, but I can't bring myself to do the same for something that can be found at most other local and online retailers.

 

That about sums it up for us all I think.

[Guest Hauli]

I'll be the dissenting voice here...perspective changes everything. When I lived in Knoxville I felt the same way most of you do about GM. After being stationed in Rhode Island, Florida and now Hawaii, I can honestly say their customer service is far and away better than ANY gun shop in the aforementioned states.

All gun stores in my current state (The People's Republic of Hawaii) are run by the most disrespectful, condescending group of "professionals" I've ever met. Asking any question at all...even, "do you guys have X gun or X ammo?" is met with such rudeness, I no longer buy local. I wait until I go home to visit family to buy from shops in Tennessee, or California if I'm there for work.

And for the record, for all the Coal Creek Armory lovers out there, I've extremely unimpressed with their customer service as well. Rude and impatient at best.

Bought a Ruger LCP from one of GM's newest employees. Hands down the most professional and genuine gun buying experience I've had.

[Guest Riciticky]

You can find cheaper used guns just about anywhere.

[Spiffy]

The only things I have bought there was a crossbow and a Remington 700. Both were in line with what is considered normal prices.

[battleop]

Screw Gander Mountain....  I'll continue to boycott them just like I do Dicks.   

 

 

I once stopped in the Gander Mountain in Valdosta GA with my wife and son.  It's was a fall day and we were all wearing some sort of Alabama shirt.  They couldn't take the time to help me with a gun I wanted to buy but they made sure they let us know how much they hated Alabama.