I just moved to Northern Virginia (Herndon), and am looking for a good gun dealer where I can get a pistol after I get a Virginia license. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

What's your orientation? Sporting use? Pro-type targets? Military/Tactical/Police? Self-Defense? Hunting? There's a lot of shops, but they tend to be somewhat specialized, and they carry different brands. So, what kind of gun do you have in mind?

Hands down, no debate, the very best...IMHO, of course:

http://www.virginiaarms.com/

Bernie is not only a great dealer, he is a great guy. Excellent stock, fair prices, cheap transfer fees, and none of the typical gunstore BS. You will not be disappointed.

I drive 4 hours round trip to deal with him and his excellent staff of sales people.

Tell them Greg from Richmond sent ya...they will know who you're talking about...

Good luck...

quote:

Originally posted by varoadking:
Hands down, no debate, the very best...IMHO, of course:

http://www.virginiaarms.com/

Bernie is not only a great dealer, he is a great guy. Excellent stock, fair prices, cheap transfer fees, and none of the typical gunstore BS. You will not be disappointed.

I drive 4 hours round trip to deal with him and his excellent staff of sales people.

Tell them Greg from Richmond sent ya...they will know who you're talking about...

Good luck...

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to check that place out. I went to a place that I saw as I was driving around today and was completely disgusted. I asked the guy at the counter his opinion on the 9mm vs. .40S&W debate and he said that while he preferred the .40 that "the 9mm was used in the most massive school shooting ever so you know it works". Referring to the Virginia Tech shootings as proof that 9mm is a good choice just pissed me off and struck me as totally inappropriate.

As for what kind of gun I'm looking for, I'm probably just looking to get an M&P or Sigma for home defense as well as shooting at the range (the NRA HQ range is pretty close so I'm thinking of getting a membership there).

Circle the wagons! Injuns!!! (couldn't help reacting to the William and Mary avatar. I rode the Green Machine, myself, held hands on the bridge at Crim Dell, and learned canoeing on Lake Matoaka. But that was long ago and far away.)

Echo that re: Bernie Conatser: he wins for most professional and knowledgeable staff. Dave, who owns Guns & Ammo Warehouse (both have a somewhat military/tactical/police bent with a strong self-defense showing) on the other side of Rt 28 and the railroad tracks, going S. from the Pr. Wm. Circuit Court, is also a very nice guy, and his wife recently redecorated their expanded space to very good effect. I visit them both a good bit.

I also like Clark Brothers', Rt.29 S. of Warrenton in Opal, Va., but theirs is more aimed at hunting and sporting.

Loudoun Guns, in Leesburg, is a bit smaller than any of those, but equally friendly.

Tony Wilcox, in Warrenton, is a wonderful person, but specializes in historical, collectible, and "curios and relics".

Others in the area are way too much into something I'm not interested in (e.g., Blue Ridge Arsenal in the area of Dulles Airport, not to far from Herndon, which is big into Glocks, and everything tactical/police. Almost no revolvers at all), or places I haven't been in, yet.

MattB,

Welcome to Northern Virgina. I've been here about 10 years now. Good dealers are few and far between. I haven't been to Virginia Arms in about 5 years so I can't tell you much about them. I deal with Gilbert's in Springfield. Not the best prices, not the worse. But they have sold a lot of my guns on consignment over the years as I go through my different phases and their transfer fees are very low. The indoor range is so-so but I used to shoot there 2 or 3 times a month until gas got so high. (45 mile round trip for me) There's a dealer in Leesburg, I can't remember the name, but I remember their prices were high but they had plenty of selection.

If you can wait, there's a gun show coming to the Dulles Convention center off of Rt 28 near Hwy 50 in Chantilly I think the 25th of July. There will be more dealers and choices but I'm afraid only a few have great prices. You must have a VA driver's license at least 30 days old and another form of proof of address that matches you driver's license. I use my voter registration card, but your vehicle registration or utility bill works.

I occasionally shoot at the NRA Range too. You don't have to be a member to shoot, just take their written safety test once, and pay as you go. Range membership will give you unlimited shooting vice about $14 and hour for NRA members without yearly membership at the range.

I think you'll find the atmosphere here on firearms refreshing considering Massachusetts.

Enjoy the shooting here, I do.

Chris

You could also just wait for a promo, or rebate, and buy a Sigma from Gander Mountain. They always have them in stock. Right now they're running a promo where you get 20 dollars in Gander bucks back for every 100 dollars that you spend, effectively a 20 percent discount.

(If you just want a .40 Sigma, drop me a line after you're a legal VA resident, as I have one that I never use.)

If you're getting as far afield as Warrenton, which really is no longer NoVa as Quantico is more or less the divider between NoVa and the rest of VA, then there's a transfer dealer that I use there who does business as T&R Firearms there. If you order anything from Davidson's Gun Genie, he has the lowest fees/prices of anyone in the area. I also used him for all my purchases off Auction Arms. You have to drive right by Clark Bros to get there, so you can make a trip of it.

quote:

Originally posted by user:
Circle the wagons! Injuns!!! (couldn't help reacting to the William and Mary avatar. I rode the Green Machine, myself, held hands on the bridge at Crim Dell, and learned canoeing on Lake Matoaka. But that was long ago and far away.)

Echo that re: Bernie Conatser: he wins for most professional and knowledgeable staff. Dave, who owns Guns & Ammo Warehouse (both have a somewhat military/tactical/police bent with a strong self-defense showing) on the other side of Rt 28 and the railroad tracks, going S. from the Pr. Wm. Circuit Court, is also a very nice guy, and his wife recently redecorated their expanded space to very good effect. I visit them both a good bit.

I also like Clark Brothers', Rt.29 S. of Warrenton in Opal, Va., but theirs is more aimed at hunting and sporting.

Loudoun Guns, in Leesburg, is a bit smaller than any of those, but equally friendly.

Tony Wilcox, in Warrenton, is a wonderful person, but specializes in historical, collectible, and "curios and relics".

Others in the area are way too much into something I'm not interested in (e.g., Blue Ridge Arsenal in the area of Dulles Airport, not to far from Herndon, which is big into Glocks, and everything tactical/police. Almost no revolvers at all), or places I haven't been in, yet.

I just graduated from William and Mary about a month ago. Good to see that there's a few fellow alums on this site.

Blue Ridge Arsenal was the place I went to today where an employee made the distasteful and disrespectful comment about the VA Tech shootings. I won't go back there after that.

I'm not sure I'll be able to get a VA driver's license by the 25th of July. I'm in a temporary apartment now provided by my employer and thus can't get a license until I get a permanent apartment at the beginning of July (which will make my MA LTC invalid, much to my annoyance).
What do I have to do to get a Virginia LTC? The people at Blue Ridge Armory claim that my having a Massachusetts LTC won't be enough to qualify me for a Virginia LTC, but I think they were just trying to get me to sign up for their course.

quote:

Originally posted by MattB:
I'm not sure I'll be able to get a VA driver's license by the 25th of July. I'm in a temporary apartment now provided by my employer and thus can't get a license until I get a permanent apartment at the beginning of July (which will make my MA LTC invalid, much to my annoyance).
What do I have to do to get a Virginia LTC? The people at Blue Ridge Armory claim that my having a Massachusetts LTC won't be enough to qualify me for a Virginia LTC, but I think they were just trying to get me to sign up for their course.

You can obtain a non resident VA carry permit, though it might make more sense to wait until you are a resident. The county where you are a resident will issue the permit, and there are some subtle variance in terms of how various counties act. I don't see why a MA permit wouldn't suffice, but you can simply pay $40 to a take a one day class offered by Tom Perroni through Gander Mountain that will give you a piece of paper that is acceptable. Or you can do a hunter's safety class for free.

quote:

I just graduated from William and Mary about a month ago.

My daughter is a rising Tribe senior...hence the avatar...

Check this site out - I believe a CHL from another State - or in this case, Commonwealth - is one of the acceptable criteria for a VA CHL...

http://www.handgunlaw.us/

Actually you can get a Va. driver's license immediately, and in fact are legally required to do so within thirty days of relocation, regardless of the permanence of your accommodations. Same grace period on license plates & title on your car.

Just go to the DMV and give them your current address, and when it changes, go through a change of address procedure. I don't know whether they'll give you a whole new card or not, but if they don't they'll give you an official change of address card to go with it.

It doesn't have to, but generally does, take at least forty-five days in which to issue the concealed carry permit. That's something else you can do with a temporary address, as long as you give a change of address when appropriate.

Here's a link to everything you wanted to know about getting a permit in Va.:

http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Firearms.shtm

quote:

Originally posted by user:
Actually you can get a Va. driver's license immediately, and in fact are legally required to do so within thirty days of relocation, regardless of the permanence of your accommodations. Same grace period on license plates & title on your car.

Just go to the DMV and give them your current address, and when it changes, go through a change of address procedure. I don't know whether they'll give you a whole new card or not, but if they don't they'll give you an official change of address card to go with it.

It doesn't have to, but generally does, take at least forty-five days in which to issue the concealed carry permit. That's something else you can do with a temporary address, as long as you give a change of address when appropriate.

Here's a link to everything you wanted to know about getting a permit in Va.:

http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Firearms.shtm

I'm getting a permanent apartment in the next week or so, so I'll be able to get a driver's license and be within the 30 day window. One thing that surprised me about the Virginia gun laws is the "one handgun per month" thing. Not that I plan on buying more than one handgun per month, but even Massachusetts lets me buy as many guns as I want per month.

quote:

Originally posted by MattB:
I just moved to Northern Virginia (Herndon)SNIP

You are now authorized to change your location in your profile

quote:

Originally posted by jeffsmith:

quote:

Originally posted by MattB:
I just moved to Northern Virginia (Herndon)SNIP

You are now authorized to change your location in your profile

Haha, yes I should update it to reflect that I've moved to a non-communist state.

Just go over to Gilberts. Explain your situation. Follow their advice. You'll be fine.