Iconic Gun Store's that are OOB

[mmaher94087]

A recent thread brought up memories of the iconic San Francisco Gun Exchange that was located on 2nd Street in San Francisco. Nate Posner was the owner and eventually his sons ran the store. It was one of, if not the last, gun store in San Francisco that I frequented in the '60's.

There are many memories of this store and other San Francisco establishments such as the Wells Fargo Headquarters with their display of WF firearms and other memorabilia.

Ellingson's was another great Sporting Goods store just down the Peninsula in Burlingame.

What are your memorable places that are no longer in business?

 

[redlevel]

Davis Sporting Goods, Phenix City, Alabama.
Literally right across the Chattahoochie River from Columbus, as in right on the bank at the west end of the 13th Street Bridge.

 

[sigp220.45]

Montana Gun Works in Great Falls, run by Mike Stuckslager who was known to many in Smith and Wesson community. I was stationed on the Blackfeet Reservation up north and would always stop in after court. That was an old time gun shop, with a wood stove, table full of gun mags, and couch full of old coots busting balls. He died in 2003 and the store died with him.

 

[growr]

mike

Montana Gun Works in Great Falls, run by Mike Stuckslager who was known to many in Smith and Wesson community. I was stationed on the Blackfeet Reservation up north and would always stop in after court. That was an old time gun shop, with a wood stove, table full of gun mags, and couch full of old coots busting balls. He died in 2003 and the store died with him.

I knew Mike .....lived in GTF for about 20 years. And you are so right, his shop was a true old timer shop.

Randy

 

[ancient-one]

Andy Anderson's n OKC. The .22 that I used before I went into the service was not available when I got back. It took awhile before I could even think about buying one and when I did, I bought a Winchester Model 74. It was a jamomatic, most were not. Andy let me trade it back for the full price that I had paid and I bought a Remington 121A and was very happy. Andy let me buy the gun on credit, both the Winchester and Remington and I paid five bucks a month, no interest. Some of the used doubles that he had would bring tears to your eyes because you couldn't afford them, even though they started at about eighty dollars. That was a 20 ga. Ithica quail gun. Their gun repair shop was upstairs and they also stored some Evinrude motors up there. I remember thinking that the 33 HP Speedi-four was as big as I would ever see. What a mistake.
Later on they moved to a new building, new area and it was never quite the same.

 

[rwsmith]

RPM

RPM on John's Island. Far away from anything, low overhead, huge place with an outdoor range. One of the last old time gunshops in these parts. I bought my first rifle there, a 30-06 Savage 110 that I still have.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

My mind is old and weak, but Fred Davis had a gun store in Falls Church VA, IIRC. He was a bench rest shooter and was one of a small group who started up a high-quality gun magazine in the very early seventies. AFAIK, it was he who brought Franz Marktl to the US. Franz worked out of Fred's shop in the early seventies.

I left the DC area in 1975. In 1998 I returned to Fairfax VA and learned that Fred had been killed in an automobile collision many years before.

Sad.

 

[bushmaster1313]

Ray’s Sport Shop — North Plainfield, New Jersey

My understanding is that the children of the deceased owner sold the land for millions of dollars to the auto dealership next door.

 

[ContinentalOp]

King's Gun Works, Glendale, CA. It's been gone for a while now. I remember going in there and seeing autographed photos of Chuck Norris behind the counter. Well known and respected, at least before the current millenium. I'd read that the quality of their gunsmithing had declined towards the end, and that they had started contracting out some of their work.

Fortunately, my Series 70 Gold Cup (original grips, FYI) was worked on by them when their quality and reputation were still quite good.

* Apologies for the poor photo quality.

 

[Bob L]

Barnard's Gun Shop, Lansing MI. It was a small shop that ran a lot of new and used gun's through it. If I saw something that I wanted, Jim would fill out a bill of sale, and let me take it home. I would stop in weekly and make payments until it was paid for. Most of the time, I would have two of three open slips going. For pistols back then, I would have to go and get a permit to purchase from the Sheriff and take it back before I could take it home. Just a neat little shop that I fully supported.

 

[31FordA]

Colosimo’s in Philly. Used to get .38 wadcutter there for $5 a box. Put out of business by a hostile city gov’t, protestors, and some very bad choices. They made some sales they shouldn’t have, giving those who wanted them gone the legal leverage they needed.

 

[ancient-one]

Another gun shop in OKC was Mashburn Arms, located a few doors from Andy Anderson. He also moved and it was never the same. He made some wildcat rifles.

 

[Golddollar]

Bixler's Hardware Store, Carlisle, PA. I bought my first centerfire revolver there, a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt back in the late 1970's or early 1980's. I still have it. I think it was one of the longest operating hardware stores at the time.

Walter's Gun Chamber in Baltimore. A little hole in the wall shop with tremendous inventory. The owner retired and I contributed mightily to his retirement fund. I got some good deals there, ended up having to sell a lot of them when I lost my job, but I still have the Colt Python I bought there back in the 2000's.

 

[JM4151]

Old Gun Shops

An old gun shop that I used to like in the 1960's was Irv Joffies on South 52 street in Phila. A great old shop that used to have old used guns on racks that you could browse over. He moved to West Chester Pike in Upper Darby in 1968 and stayed in business until the 1980's. A good salesman and gun smith.

 

[johngalt]

Gil Hebard Guns, Knoxville IL.

 

[Golddollar]

An old gun shop that I used to like in the 1960's was Irv Joffies on South 52 street in Phila. A great old shop that used to have old used guns on racks that you could browse over. He moved to West Chester Pike in Upper Darby in 1968 and stayed in business until the 1980's. A good salesman and gun smith.

I remember that shop! I used to live in Clifton Heights in Delaware County, PA and I went in there a lot at the West Chester Pike location.

 

[Fishinfool]

There are a couple. The "Sportsmans Den" in Stratford CT used to be my fathers favorite gun shop. I remember feeling like a kid in a candy store going there with him, and its the shop where I got my first real hunting boots when I was 11 - a pair of Sorel Pack Boots.

The Conn. Gun Exchange in Monroe. Still in business, but in name only. My old man bought me my first shotgun there on the morning of opening day of bird season when I was 12 after I managed to split the barrel on an old .410 single shot my dad was loaning me. It was also Stan's first day in business, and his first new gun sale. We became friends with Stan until his passing. The gun was a sweet Savage model 67 pump in 20 ga.

One more. Old Norman Islib ran a gun shop out of his basement in Shelton, CT. Hunters Corner was the name, I think. A buddy and I did our best to support Norm in his old age, but he still decided to retire in about 1982. He had a wall display full of Colt SA's - SAA's and New Frontiers - any barrel length, finish, caliber - $500.00 until gone. That's where I got my Colt New Frontier .44 spl.... If the weather was nice, and Norm was in the mood, we would shoot a round of clay birds in his back yard, or help him test fire any used guns he got in before putting them up for sale.

Fact is, I can think of a lot of gun shops that have come and gone over the years. Even here in PA, there seems to be less and less mom & pop type guns stores anymore as times change. But, I am still lucky there are a few shops left around the area where I can go in, sit down, have a cup of coffee, and tell a few tall fishin tales.

Larry

 

[mbliss57]

There are a couple I knw that are stil in existance. Mayfield Gun in Mayfield Ohio has evrything you want and more. He is just chuck full of older S&W and Colt revolvers.
The other one is just over that PA border from OH near Youngstown. I was there 1x with Bam Bam to do a transfer. I do not recall the name. His shop was in a building behind his house. He has as many used guns than new AI. Also all kinds of assorted things to buy. Bam Bam knows the name of the shop.
As far as past stores the Outdoor Store in Wellsville, NY was an all aound private sportsmans store long gone. Fishing and firearms. I miss that one.

 

[squidsix]

Abercrombie and Fitch NYC. My grandfather put the breakroom kitchen cabinets in that store back in 1959, and they had tons of guns on the shelves, he said.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I miss Newly's in Dodge City . . .