This post in purely informational for members here to use in making their own decisions where to shop.

I work in a mostly rural area of Indiana north of Bloomington. We have stores in this area called “Rural King”. They are mostly farm stores, but also have always had a sporting goods department. I drive by 3 of them every day I work, and while I am not a farmer obviously, I have purchased hardware, tools, a compressor, and some clothes there over the last 10 years. In general it is a decent place to shop. I heard that they had recently started selling firearms in addition to the ammo, accessories, safes, etc. that they had always carried.

While I was off today, I stopped by one in a community near home to see what they had. They had a selection that was better that some of the smaller gun shops in the area. Prices were not great, but not bad either by “post-recent idiocy” standards at least. They had some ammunition that I could use in stock, so I had about $200 worth ready to purchase when I decided to ask to see a lever gun that I have been thinking about picking up.

When I asked about seeing it, the salesperson, who was very polite and professional about it, gave me the low down on their procedure for looking at any firearm. Every firearm of any type, had a trigger lock bolted on. Customers are not allowed to open the actions. Customers are not allowed to check the triggers or safeties. Basically, you can hold it, and look at it. If you want to check the trigger or safety on that $1000 SIG 1911, you buy it first and check it after you leave the store. But before you can even look at it, you have to give the sales clerk your driver’s license. He will first copy it, then file the copy, then open the rack and hand you the firearm while retaining your license in his possession. When you have finished looking at the firearm (without making any moving part move in any way!) you give it back to the salesperson, and he will return your license. The copy stays with them.

When I asked why the ridiculous rules, I was told that it was company policy. Rural King is based in Illinois. This is what they are required to do in Illinois, so it is company policy that they do it in every one of their stores. Is it truly company policy? I don’t know for sure, but that is what I was told.

Again, I am not trying to sway anyone toward or away from any retailer with which they wish to do business. I am only reporting what happened to me today and what I was told, in a Rural King in central Indiana, not Illinois.

My response was to purchase my ammo at a small privately owned shop on the way home where I am treated as a customer, not a potential criminal. I am sure the very polite and professional sales person was not happy about restocking the ammunition, but he will not have to do it again.

Thanks for listening.

We in Il are ruled by anti-gun democrats out of chicago. What more do you expect? Believe me we hate it more than you do. Sadly many chain type stores enforce such silly rules as this , but our Il. State Police are the ones enforcing this type of made up rules.

Wow. I grew up in IN, and have a lot of family still there. I'd not heard that about Rural Kings, and appreciate the info.

Joe, here's hoping that things get a lot better for you fast with your new shall-issue rules.

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Now go make God proud...

Since Il. law doesn't pertain to you, you might want to call your chapter of the BBB and complain.
I highly doubt they want that kind of attention, especially since Illinois rules don't apply in Indiana! Dale

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"Long live the S&W 3rd. Gen.!"

Thank you for your VERY informative report. I am originally from Indiana and went to school at IU in Bloomington but I am unaware of the Rural King chain. I think Rural King might as well send all their "for sale" firearms to their Illinois stores as I can't imagine any self respecting Hoosier putting up with such Draconian store policies.

Also, I don't really know what to say to all our friends in Illinois. I didn't realize it was THAT BAD even in the rural counties. I feel for ya!

Some of our local pawn shops require an id on the counter while handling a fire arm. The clerks barely look at it and they certainly don't make a copy and retain.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Being over in Terre Haute, I've had to put up with minor inconveniences pertaining to Illinois and guns. When I pick up ammo, especially in Clinton, they ask to see my ID, not because they worry about me not being of age, but because they worry about me being from Illinois. I was told rural king was a good place for shotgun ammo. I wasn't impressed with their prices anyway, but I won't be giving them any more money for sure.

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Just the opinion of a kid

The Academy store that I DON'T shop at anymore had trigger locks on all their handguns:I didn't notice on the long guns. I was shopping for a M&P40C, & I asked the salesman how someone would be able to tell if they might like a gun or not, because the trigger feel is so important. He just shrugged his shoulders. I left & headed over to a LGS that i frequent & checked one out there. They has no problem with me racking the slide & dry firing. So, even though it was about ten dollars more expensive at the LGS, I bought it there.

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

WOW

next time I'm in Indiana, I know one chain that I'll never stop in... thank for the heads up

if we had to do all that NONSENSE when we gave a customer a gun to look at our sales would be ZERO

We have a Rural King nearby also and i have bought ammo there
but no guns. As of the last time i was in there they did'nt sell any.
Good prices on ammo when available.
Hearing this however i will refrain from giving this chain any more
of my money. I can understand wanting to "see" your DL but they don't
need to keep a copy of it unless you are a buyer.
Glad i'm east of you guys in Chicago.
Lord help the gunners in Illinois.

Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

There is a lot of incorrect information in this thread. Illinois does not require a store to make and retain a copy of a person's drivers license before they are allowed to handle a gun. We are required to ask to see the customer's FOID card if they are an Illinois resident or DL if they are from out of state, we do not copy or record that information unless they purchase the gun as required by Federal law. We do Zip tie the actions closed and put trigger locks on the guns that on the racks for customers to peruse. We are more than happy to undo the tie and remove the trigger lock to allow the customer to work the action and inspect the gun. You are welcome to dry fire the gun and we will provide snap caps if appropriate. We will provide bore lights, magnifiers etc. if the customer wants to inspect a gun more closely.

What is happening with "Rurul King" is their company policy and has nothing to do with Illinois state law. I have worked for 6 years for a large firearms retailer in Illinois and have bought and sold thousands of guns for the company and am very familiar with the legal requirements of this state. The state is not very gun friendly but much of the information contained in this thread is false and does not reflect the reality of the situation.

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John. SWCA #1586

I had never heard of them before either, but they opened one a few miles from me here in FL. is it perfect? NO. but being in an ammo drought for so long and walking up to a fully stocked ammo dept with no lines was awesome. the only place I could find 22 lr's without driving an hour each way or ordering online, was charging 20$ for 100 cci stingers. Hopefully the competition will bury them quickly. 22 lr availability is still spotty with brands and prices kind of all over. #500 bricks of 22 lr's from 20-40$. bricks usually sell out in a few days and the 1400-1500 round buckets for 60 something $'s only lasted a few hours. firearms knowledge of sales assoc's is dimwit to OK. this am I asked if they had any high brass 20 ga 7 1/2 shot, and got the deer in the headlights stare. luckily I found some mistakenly mixed in with the trap 8 shots and got all 5 boxes I could find for 5.99 each. guns are not in the store yet. IMO competition is good & I'm glad they are here. to the retail gougers, me and a lot of others won't forget, so you better start working on your resume's. NO SYMPATHY from me when you go out of business, YOU EARNED IT!

The OP was not intended to imply, nor do I think it does, that any of the rules I was informed of were Illinois law. I was told they are the processes followed in Illinois Rural King stores and being based in Illinois, they have adopted the same policies for all RK stores. This, again, is information conveyed to me by the sales person.

I too have purchased ammunition from them many times over the years. Before they put in the gun counter they actually had all ammunition out on a self serve counter where I could get what I wanted and take it to the registers in the front to purchase.

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BT
EGO VOLUNTAS HAUD OBEDIO

and if you don't have a driver's license.... Weird but I've got a LGS here in NJ that won't let you see a gun without first giving them your FID card.

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Back to back World War Champs.

It seems to me that having a copy of someones driver's license would be a great start for an identity theft scam.

It's not only a great start it's the whole shooting match.

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Back to back World War Champs.

I'm a faithful Rural King shopper and they are a great asset for our community. They have ammo on the shelf that isn't under lock and key. They have a fine selection of gun accessories, archery equipment, fishing gear, complete line of camping equipment, lodge iron skillets, full line of Carhartt, $10 5 pocket jeans everyday and this week they are offering a 12% rebate on any in store purchases. Rural King is a GREAT STORE!

My store doesn't sell guns. I've heard if you buy a gun at Bass Pro they walk you to your car and then give you the gun. What I'm saying is the liability associated with selling guns causes a family owned business to err on the side of caution. I don't like it but I wouldn't risk my business in the climate a business must operate in, these days. And Rural King has had ammo on the shelf throughout the panic. Not 22lr often but 40 S&W, .357 mag, 44mag and just the other day I showed the clerk stocking the ammo aisle how to open a spam can of Russian .223.

Here's a link to this week's ad.
http://www****ralking.com/salesflyer/20130825/page1.html

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God spelled backwards is dog.

I also have a local RK and they do not sell any guns that I know of but sell just about anything else you'd need for 1 and when they have ammo they are pretty cheap on the same brands that the LGS carries and gouges you for. When I found some .40 ammo on the shelf and went to pay they only asked to see my FOID and that was it. I don't think they should copy anything but to be honest most online sites want copies of your DL and FOID card in order to purchase anything if you're from IL and all though I understand that it may upset some people it really don't bother me because I don't want the bad guys getting guns too easily myself. I also go to Gander Mountain from time to time and they just ask to see your FOID and you can check any gun out as much as you want, new or used ones. IL does have some really anti-gun rules but if you live here what can you do ? My wife has about 5 years left to work and we are already talking about moving, looking to go to Tenn or MO and trust me it won't be too soon.

I have looked at and fondled numerous firearms, ammunition and gun supplies in Illinois stores for several years and NEVER have any Illinois business retained ANY personal information of mine.

got to keep the record straight.....

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There's nowt so queer as folk

Indiana now requires a NICS check on firearms bought from retailers. If you choose to put your SS# ( never never never) on the 4473 and the store in question has a copy of your DL, you might as well pencil in mom's maiden name, your firsts GF's name, and the name of your first parakeet when you were a kid.

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SOS USA

And yet, you can vote.....oh well.

As far as RK goes, their store their rules. I would imagine that they loose a lot of business that way though.

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Even older, even crankier....

Illinois is bad but it's not that bad YET. What you descrige at Rural King is Store Policy not Illinois law.

I am about 40 miles from Chicago but thankfully NOT in Cook County. At the local shop you show a valid FOID card when entering ( they only look to verify it's not expired) then you can ask to see and / or handle anything. If you want yo try an action you may ( under the eye of the salesperson of course)

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

Bloodythumb, was this in Martinsville? Just curious because I do purchase some ammo at Martinsville when it is on sale.

I haven't made it to the new Bloomington store recently but about 3 weeks ago one of the sales employees there indicated they were planning on selling firearms.

No doubt its store policy, no state law in Indiana that would require any type of ID to "look" at a firearm.

Not relevant at all. It's store policy that they are following. Store can set their policy. BBB will respond with "and....?"

If they are holding your drivers license,you are less likely to bolt for the door with one of their guns.It happens.

hsguy is correct. Many business's in IL, especially if from Chicago area have many "store rules". In downstate IL we usually have a much more relaxed experience. I will relate that when I visit in Colorado and go shooting in a local range/gunshop they hold your drivers license while you are shooting in the range. Just one of their rules.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Store rules are sort of like coming to my house....You will wipe your feet before coming in...You're welcome to come, but it's my house and my rules.. If you don't wish to visit...that's ok too...

If you're just coming for a drink of water and rest for a spell....Well, as I said, my house and my rules. I understand there is a neighbor down the road that may be more accommodating. But please don't ostracize me for the way I am with my house rules.

How's that for a comparison?



WuzzFuzz


I better add, your information was received Bloodythumb. Thanks for informing us of their rules before I go to their place to visit.

I agree that it's their store and they can set the policy....providing it is within the law. I would have some real concerns with them making a copy of my license just to look at a firearm. What happens to the copy? Where is it stored and for how long? How is your information kept secure? How is it destroyed? This seems like a huge privacy issue that just might violate Indiana state privacy laws if your information is not secured and destroyed properly.

I don't know about other Rural King Stores in the area, but the one in Martinsville DOES NOT copy customer's driver license. When they give a customer a gun to look at they put the license in the spot where they removed the gun from so they can keep tract of who has what gun. When I asked why they did that the sales clerk said "We are an unarmed gun store, so if someone takes off with the gun, we have their license".

Here is Rural King's response to an email I sent the owner this morning about this thread. I edited the spelling in case of wierdos:

Dave,

My name is Jeremy Mxxxxx and I am a VP in the purchasing department at Rural King and oversee our gun sales and policies. Alex forwarded me a message that you had sent to him regarding a post made on a Smith and Wesson Forum by a customer of ours. First thank you for sending this on to us, all feedback is great and helps us improve and make the shopping experience better for our customers. The customers post is correct that we do have trigger locks on all of our guns and we also keep them locked behind a counter. This is not to give the impression that anyone is a criminal but to simply help keep everyone safe while shopping in our stores. We understand that this may cause issues for some but we hope they can oversee that, with the prices, service and hours of operation that Rural King offers. This customer also mentions that they gave us their drivers' license and we made a copy of it before allowing them to handle the gun. I am going to be following up with our stores to make sure they understand our policy on this but what we ask for is to just look at the drivers' license to verify who they are but we do not do any coping of this or filing of it.



Dave again thank you for the information and I hope my short response to you helps you better understand our process and I will also be trying to make contact with the customer that made the posting on the web to clear things up and with our stores to make sure they are all on the same page and operating correctly.

If you ever have a question or a concern please feel free to email or call me at anytime. My contact information is below.



Have a great day.



Thanks,



Jeremy Mxxxxxx

Rural King Support

Vice President of Purchasing

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God spelled backwards is dog.

Kudo's to you doublesharp, for going the extra mile straightening this out.

Extra thanks for posting Mr. Mxxx's reply.


WuzzFuzz

Living in "free" state I don't put up with BS that creeps across certain borders. This has made me VERY unpopular at car dealerships when I look at the Monroney sticker and say "I am not taking one with California SULEV emissions". I had one vehicle so equipped and it had no part throttle response in hot weather and once it was broken in I found it had a distinct delay built into the ECU that stopped it fuelling up when you dropped the hammer on it. NEVER again.

there is a rural king near me. I love it. the only thing they ask for when I look at firearms is my foid card. no copies and nothing else.

OP probably shopped around Bloomington where the tree huggin pinkos are.

As i said before, Rural King is a great store. They are an authorized Stihl dealer/repair center as well as Husqvarna, they carry Amsoil synthetic oil on the shelf in about 5 varieties. they've got live chicks in the aisles for sale, they welcome your dogs into the store, you can buy 1 bolt and 1 nut if you want - pick til you win @ $1.49lb. you need 7 ft of rope or chain - measure it, cut it and pay for it. And they do all this in a K mart that set vacant for a couple years and it's local people drawing a much needed paycheck. And I'm pretty sure the only day the store closes is Christmas. Opens at 7am and closes at 10pm during the week and a little shorter hours on Sunday. Hard workers.

I'm thankful to have a store like this 5 miles from home and I want to see them have as much success as possible. The way the owner dealt with this little problem shows that they are business minded.

It's hard enough to survive in the business climate of today and when I see a business that I know to be well managed maligned, I want to hear their side of the story. Retail is tough enough without distortion.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

Good job doublesharp straight from the horses mouth.

I stopped by the Bloomington store today just because I had seen this post yesterday and needed some chicken scratch.

Employee behind the counter said he had not heard of a policy requiring him to take a photo copy of a persons ID if they wanted to look at a firearm. He did tell me that he will ask for ID if he suspected someone was under 18, for long guns, or 21, for pistols, if they wanted to look and handle one. He did confirmed, according to store policy, to never take a trigger lock off of a firearm for a customer.

It's their store, merchandise, property and policy. No one has to purchase a firearm from Rural King. Rural King can refuse to show and or sale any firearm to anyone at anytime, if they feel the need to do so.

I actually thought they had a pretty nice assortment. The employee even offered to get out any firearm for me to inspect if I wanted. I was kinda excited they also revamped their entire hunting section as well, big selection of stands, blinds, hunting gear and accessories.

There is more than corn in Indiana, at Rural King.

I've done online business with Rural King and they treated me well.

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Back to back World War Champs.

A Rural King opened in Wentzville, MO. They started with ammo, fishing and hunting gear. They added guns last winter. A co-worker bought a Sig 400/M4? and it had a RK rebate, the rebate allowed him to add 60 bucks to buy a 10-22.

They ask to see your DL and do have guns locked. My wife and I went there for fathers Day to look around.
She ended up buying a Ruger LCP.

We've bought quite a few items there since they opened.

I will say that their prices seem to be good and every time we are there the are busy and have added more help in the gun dept.

One never sees crowds like this at my favorite LGS......

Alas, I'm from IL too. I sure wish Chicago would just break off and float into the lake. I live in South Western Illinois and this part of the state is quite conservative and friendly towards the 2nd amendment.

Fine, then why can't the Indiana store have a different policy from the home office in Illinois?
The BBB could ask why they need to have Illinois rules in an Indiana store. Store policies can be changed. Dale

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"Long live the S&W 3rd. Gen.!"