I live in Ireland and am travelling to San Francisco on a short holiday next week. I have been sending some bits of kit for my new 686 revolver. By mail order. I bought Lots of goodies. All this is being sent to my holiday address. My query is..... Are there any really good Gun Dealers that would keep a good stock for the shooter to buy. Your prices are waaayyyyy better than ours. The shipping costs are awful. There does not appear to be a Cabela,s. Would Walmart, say, keep 357 brass for example?
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Gun dealers in San Francisco
- Thread starter nagantino
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nagantino, a quick Google search indicates there is only ONE gun store in the city of San Francisco, and I'm surprised that there is still one. Google also indicates there are several in the general East Bay area and several south of the City. The ones located south of the City, may be easier to reach if you are driving. Just a straight shot down the 101 or El Camino Real.
Best of luck and enjoy your vacation.
Best of luck and enjoy your vacation.
Best bet is to do a search online for gun shops in the San Francisco bay area. There are at least 4 or 5 shops including an importer/exporter of firearms. Contact them online to see their inventory. Enjoy your visit. Hope this helps.
You mean F. Bob Chow is no longer there?
ruggyh
SWCA Member
I would suggest you post this on calguns.net to reach a larger group. Lots of shops in the bay area; not so many in SF an anti-gun community.
I googled and found, I think, 3 dealers but no website to see inventory of their stock. One is in Pacifica where I'm staying. Years ago I bought stuff in the San Fracisco Gun Exchange, sadly long closed. On this side of the Atlantis we imagine that your gun stores have a huge stock but I know that's not true. They can't keep everything I know,but seeing I'm there I wanted to take advantage. Cabelas was a shock. No store in all of California.
Inside the city San Francisco I believe is almost non-existent to find a shop. High Bridge on Mission Street might be the only remaining one. You must go out of the city to find a shop. The surrounding Bay Area has some good ones: Peninsula Guns in San Mateo, south of S.F. perhaps. Triple A Sports in Vallejo is very well stocked. Walmart just has loaded ammo. No Cabela's in CA. Nearest is in Reno Nevada. If you were to be near there...Scheels in Sparks NV (Reno Area). has virtually everything. Great experience too.
There are some very good gun shops in the Sacramento area and a Sportsman Warehouse in Rocklin (Sacramento Area) That's a couple hours north east of the Bay Area.
Coming up in the Bay Area 7/11-12 Fresno Gun show. And Valljeo show 7/18-19. You could find brass, ammo etc. there.
What about ordering what you need online and have it delivered to CA. I don't know of any legal situations to be aware of and what difficulty and cost to get your stuff back to Ireland.
Check out Amazon for brass .357, 33.00... 250 once fired etc. Ammoman.com; TargetSportsUSA.com; plus many others. There are many shops in the Bay Area that have brass. Primers are available and powder is becoming available
There are some very good gun shops in the Sacramento area and a Sportsman Warehouse in Rocklin (Sacramento Area) That's a couple hours north east of the Bay Area.
Coming up in the Bay Area 7/11-12 Fresno Gun show. And Valljeo show 7/18-19. You could find brass, ammo etc. there.
What about ordering what you need online and have it delivered to CA. I don't know of any legal situations to be aware of and what difficulty and cost to get your stuff back to Ireland.
Check out Amazon for brass .357, 33.00... 250 once fired etc. Ammoman.com; TargetSportsUSA.com; plus many others. There are many shops in the Bay Area that have brass. Primers are available and powder is becoming available
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bigggbbruce
Member
Head east to Modesto or Stockton not that far. More choices and better deals I'd bet.
Someone already mentioned calguns.net. Those guys will be very helpful. Lots of shooters in the area and good ranges despite being a very anti-gun place in general.
Finding .357 brass at a good price locally may be difficult. A lot of shops don't keep a lot of reloading inventory since it's so hard to compete with the internet on those items. If anyone has it in stock the guys on calguns will know where.
Finding .357 brass at a good price locally may be difficult. A lot of shops don't keep a lot of reloading inventory since it's so hard to compete with the internet on those items. If anyone has it in stock the guys on calguns will know where.
Professor Frink
Member
You might try Traders in Castro Valley. About 40 min drive from San Fran. It was well over a decade (more than that actually) since I went there, but at that time, they were very well stocked with firearms and accessories.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Just a thought on the 357 Mag brass-if you got right on the ordering you could buy it from Starline and have it shipped to your holiday address and it should be there before you. All orders I have made at Starline have arrived at my house within a week and the brass is very reasonably priced.
I see 357 Mag. brass is currently available, I'll PM you a link.Ed
The closest thing to a Cabela's in magnitude is the BassPro Shop chain store in Manteca, which is East of S.F. and about an 85 mile drive from Pacifica (where I used to live). For sheer variety and inventory, it is probably the best bet option for you if your time here is limited and you need to maximize results. Rather than wasting a day driving around to the smaller local shops hoping to find what you're looking for, make it a day going to BassPro.
California has such restrictive laws governing firearms sales that Cabela's doesn't want to play here, the best they could do is set up shop in Verdi, Nevada which is not far across the CA state line and West of Reno.
It is hit and miss and all depends on what you're specifically looking for, but in any case, you're going to need to get away from the locations immediate to S.F. in order to find something decent.
Many local shops concentrate mainly on the "tacticool" stuff... AR-15's, AK's, Glocks and the accessories geared towards them. Revolver stuff?? You'll get funny looks... no one uses THOSE anymore.
Almost everything that's around here pales in comparison to what was the S.F. Gun Exchange... now that was one heck of a gun candy store!!
Also... instead of doing a Google search, use YELP.COM, which has customer reviews. When I needed to find a shop some 45 miles North of me in Sacramento to do a transfer for a private firearm purchase, a Yelp search really helped me narrow down the field to select a good one, which was MTG Firearms (shameless plug).
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He sold it in 1988 and it is now S.F.'s only gun store called High Bridge Arms.
I remember F. Bob Chow from the 70's, I went to his shop when I hit the legal handgun age for owning one in CA, looking to buy my first pistol and almost fainting at the sight of the prices for his match guns. I sure wish I had bought one way back then.
He was a Gentleman in all respects... the last of a breed and sorely missed.
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HarrishMasher
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I guess it really depends on what you are looking to buy? If you have some specific things in mind, someone might be able to point you in the right direction.
calguns.net is a great resource for Cali shooters. If you tell those folks what you are looking for they can point you in the right direction.
calguns.net is a great resource for Cali shooters. If you tell those folks what you are looking for they can point you in the right direction.
Pizza Bob
SWCA Member
Off topic, but relevant(?)...
Just doing some quick research and Wikipedia says (Re: Irish Gun Law)...
All other pistols, unless they were licenced before 17 November 2008, may not be licenced; even if a Garda Superintendent or Chief Superintendent were willing to grant such a certificate, statute law prohibits it and such a certificate would be null and void. However other pistols which were licenced before this date may continue to be licenced by their original owners. The licences may not be transferred to other people, however.
The all other pistols refers to all but .22 LR single shot or .177 air pistols that conform to IOC and ISS rules. So how do you have a "new" 686? I was also wondering if there are any problems hand carrying ammunition components or firearm accessories into Ireland from the US?
Just asking because I know there are some rather strict laws regarding export of firearms and components and, again looking at Wiki, it seems that Ireland is a subscriber to the UN Small Arms treaty, that has gotten so much play in the 2A media here in this country.
My understanding of International laws and firearms regulation is minimal at best, so I may be totally mistaken, but I'd like for someone more knowledgeable to set me straight - and maybe help keep the OP out of a Jackpot.
Adios,
Pizza Bob
Just doing some quick research and Wikipedia says (Re: Irish Gun Law)...
All other pistols, unless they were licenced before 17 November 2008, may not be licenced; even if a Garda Superintendent or Chief Superintendent were willing to grant such a certificate, statute law prohibits it and such a certificate would be null and void. However other pistols which were licenced before this date may continue to be licenced by their original owners. The licences may not be transferred to other people, however.
The all other pistols refers to all but .22 LR single shot or .177 air pistols that conform to IOC and ISS rules. So how do you have a "new" 686? I was also wondering if there are any problems hand carrying ammunition components or firearm accessories into Ireland from the US?
Just asking because I know there are some rather strict laws regarding export of firearms and components and, again looking at Wiki, it seems that Ireland is a subscriber to the UN Small Arms treaty, that has gotten so much play in the 2A media here in this country.
My understanding of International laws and firearms regulation is minimal at best, so I may be totally mistaken, but I'd like for someone more knowledgeable to set me straight - and maybe help keep the OP out of a Jackpot.
Adios,
Pizza Bob
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RudyN
Member
On the Peninsula side in Pacifica there is City Arms and they have lots of revolvers. I am not sure if they have any 686s in stock though.
ridgewalker
Member
Dear Irish Friend,
I am a little confused. Your English needs translation to American. I believe you already have the 686 in your native land and want to buy some reloading components for it, right? That is good because I highly suspect that you cannot purchase a firearm in CA unless you are a resident or have a FFL in an other state to ship it to.
As far as shells or ammo or such, there are many online retailers who will ship to CA. Here is one I have used: https://www.wideners.com/itemview.cfm?dir=278|282|908|923
Good luck and have a nice trip.
I am a little confused. Your English needs translation to American. I believe you already have the 686 in your native land and want to buy some reloading components for it, right? That is good because I highly suspect that you cannot purchase a firearm in CA unless you are a resident or have a FFL in an other state to ship it to.
As far as shells or ammo or such, there are many online retailers who will ship to CA. Here is one I have used: https://www.wideners.com/itemview.cfm?dir=278|282|908|923
Good luck and have a nice trip.
Snapping Twig
Member
Since I live on the border of San Francisco, here's where I go.
City Arms in Pacifica and Krausewerk in San Mateo on 20th St.
Jackson Arms in South San Francisco has a range and sells guns and some supplies.
Otherwise, there's Imbert and Smithers in San Carlos. They have everything and are probably the closest to the SFGE (I miss them too) with reloading supplies in addition to guns and supplies.
City Arms in Pacifica and Krausewerk in San Mateo on 20th St.
Jackson Arms in South San Francisco has a range and sells guns and some supplies.
Otherwise, there's Imbert and Smithers in San Carlos. They have everything and are probably the closest to the SFGE (I miss them too) with reloading supplies in addition to guns and supplies.
I live in N. Ireland which is part of the UK. All calibre pistols and revolvers are banned in England, Scotland and Wales. In N. Ireland we are allowed all firearms except semi automatic rifles. .22 is ok. I own a 15-22. I also own a 686 so I'm only buying gear for it. Comp111 jet loaders which cost you lucky guys $20 cost use much more.......if you can get them.
I'm staying in Pacifica so City Arms looks good. I might even ring him from here.
I'm staying in Pacifica so City Arms looks good. I might even ring him from here.
