Stopped in earlier this week to Classic arms on the north side of Lansing.  Learned they are in the process of closing.  Not guns left, a few muzzleloaders (Non-forearms?), and a bit of ammo left.  I was looking for powder and they normally have a good selection.  They did have lots of powder left, but had it marked at 45 per pound.  

I think I may have found the source of their failed business model.  The last time I was there before this week, I was looking for a Walther PPQ.  They did a search, and quoted me 20 over MSRP.  I drove across town to another dealer who ordered me one, at 60 under MSRP.

That's too bad.  I used to buy a lot of power there in the late '80's and early '90's when I lived closer.  They were quite reasonable and had one of the best selections at that time.

was only in there once, saw their prices, and walked out.

I'm a slow learner I guess.  Walked in and out, many times in the last 15 years.  May have bought a bottle of Hoppes once.

No longer an issue now.  Just one less dealer in the local area.

Yeah, they put themselves out of business with their prices. I have gone in there many times looking to buy something & their prices were so out of whack that I just walked out.

Been on both sides of the counter there.

I was critical of Vonnie's pricing a decade ago. She didn't care at all. She inherited it when her father died and never had his talent for business.

A real shame.  

That Gun shop had been in business for many years.  From what I understand it was founded by Carl Evanoff who was also an Ingham County Commissioner.  Six or seven years ago Carl Evanoff died and after his death,  his daughter took over.  Over the years it was a great gunshop with excellent personal service.

He died in the early 90's.

While I hate to see ANY gun shop close, their prices make it less of a loss. The ONLY thing I ever found there worth while was a raw A1 upper receiver forging. It wasn't actually on display, but I happened to see it shoved back on a high shelf (I'm way taller than most people, so I see things others don't ). I asked if it was for sale and the guy turns it over a few times in his hand and says, "How much ya give me for it?"
I say, "$25?"
"Sold!"

He claimed it cam from one of the local GM plants that made M16s during Vietnam, a claim of which I am highly dubious. The markings on it tell me it likely came from Kaiser Aluminum, but that's all I can gather. I tried emailing Kaiser for some history and never got a response.

Looks like an A2 upper forging, so not from Vietnam unfortunately.

I bought a few guns there but once I was wanting to get a holster for concealed carry and they didn't want to sell it to me?!?!

This was way before shall issue and I was in my mid 20's.

I have been there many times, but found their prices didn't even compete with those of large retail outlets like Gander Mountain let alone the prices available through other retailers like Total Firearms or lately Not Just Guns in Mason.

They had an excellent location as well with the opening of the Eastwood Town Center shopping complex. Heck, the traffic through there alone and their sign was enough to qualify as advertising.  I can't imagine their overhead was very large as the they've been there forever and I'd be amazed if there was still a mortgage on the place.  Taxes in Ingham County vary (in my opinion far too high for what you get living there), but I doubt their taxes were a whole lot higher than their competitors.  So, I never could understand why their prices were so high, sometimes even above MSRP.  That kind of business model is simply unsustainable. They also never took the initiative to do things like Total Firearms with the Gun and Knife Show or Not Just Guns that do their online auctions on consignment firearms.  They also never seemed to make the shift from a firearms shop that caters to hunters to one that caters to self-defense and competition shooters.

It's sad to see it go, but in all my time living in this area I never spent a dime there.

My favorite shop, by far, is "Not Just Guns" in Mason although it would be nice if they had an indoor range and rentals like Total Firearms.  Mike and the entire staff at Not Just Guns are pretty darn knowledgeable on the what they sell, they sell at a price very competitive to what it would cost you to go through an online retailer with transfer and shipping factored in.  Total Firearms I find doesn't have the most knowledgeable staff behind the counter when it comes to defensive firearms, but they sell a lot of other stuff so I can see how some may be more knowledgeable about some products and less about others.  I will say that the attitude of employees at Total Firearms has improved vastly over the last year as well and they're a lot more friendly than they were.  

I really like Not Just Guns, even though they seem to never have what I want when I walk through the door with cash. (Magpul stuff) Someday they'll have Magpul BUIS in FDE when I bring cash through their dooor! If they would stock Lancer mags I'd be there every payday!

Total's prices on handguns weren't much better than Classic's. Still, I bought my son's Glock from them. Their rangemaster is very touchy. He'll start talking to you and just sorta keep his hand on your shoulder, completely oblivious to the other person's discomfort. He's the "grown man with a pony tail" guy. He's done it to me and a couple of my friends. So long as he's there I'll stick to doing my shooting at Family Shooter's Corral.

I agree with the comments on Not Just Guns and Total. When I went into Total to get a little education and help on buying my first AR, it was like, "We have this one and this one." When I went down the street to NJG, Tom spent a long time patiently and honestly answering all my dumb questions. I learned a great deal. They do not seem to have a very large inventory, but they'll get stuff in for me pretty quick. I like giving them my business.

When I was at Total's range a couple weeks ago, they had a much less clingy range master. He just asked a few questions when I entered to make sure I knew what I was doing and then left me alone.

I actually stopped in at Not Just Guns for the first time last night, just to check it out.  It was good to see a store that stocked AR parts.  I know Total Firearms carries some, but last time I was there and asked about something I was told, 'the gunsmith was not in, and I would need to come back when he was there, to make sure they got me the right part'.  I was looking at grips for what its worth, and wanted to feel the texture of the Houge grip, not sure how that requires a gunsmith.

I did like the atmosphere at NJG.  As others have said, stock was a little thin, but I did catch part of a conversation, with two guys and the cashier, and they had ordered items and they just come in (The customers seemed happy with the turn around time).  As for prices, after seeing the Anderson lower at $89 in the display case, I was not looking that close at the tags on the handguns.

For NJG is just depends on when you go in there really in terms of their stock. I've seen them cleaned out and I've been in there where they had a lot on hand.  It's either feast of famine with their stock, but they will order you things and give real good pricing on them.  FYI, if you ever want Glock or M&P slide modification done they have a deal worked out with ATEI for reduced pricing for their customers.  Their ammo seems to be priced high for me, but everything else has always been good-to-go. I have even seen Lancer mags in there before.

I've never purchased a firearm through Total. I've bought a few odds and ends there, but mostly I use it for the range when my wife doesn't want to use the outdoor range because it's -10 degree out (honestly neither do I when it's that cold).  So far the pony tail guy has completed ignored us other than asking us if we're familiar with the rules (I think he recognizes us and just leaves us alone since he knows we're good).  Maybe you're a better looking guy than me though?

Family Shooters Corral, is that the one in Eaton County?  What do you think about that range? I've never been, but I've been pretty happy with going to Centerline, which 20 minutes from my house.  I like Centerline, because they have these horseshoe berms and you basically have a little mini-range to yourself without having to worry too much about idiots.  

I'd really LOVE it if we had a nice indoor range or at least another alternative. I've heard that there is something up in St. Johns, but that's a bit of a drive for me. I'd love it if we had a Gander Academy or a "guntry club" type place, but with this economy no chance of that happening.

It's benchrest shooting out to 300 yards. Around deer season you can't use your AR as intended. I think the noise upsets the Fudds sighting in grampappy's old slug gun.

Other than "slow fire" season you can pretty much shoot how you like so long as nothing goes over the berms.

Russ Nelson is a very outstanding fellow. He's definitely one of us and worth supporting.
http://www.familyshooterscorral.com/

Since we've migrated into ranges and such:

Capitol Area Sportsmen's League has been good for me that last several years.  Indoor shooting would be nice for this time of year but the it gives me a chance to catch up on my reloading.

http://micasl.org/

Capital Area Sportsmen's League is located in Williamston right?

I've known a few guys that belonged to it and had good things to say.

Delta Township.  At the far North end of Canal Rd.  Shotgun games are open to the public on weekends, rifle/hand gun ranges are members only (+ guests) 100/50 and 25 yard ranges.  Most evenings when I go, I have the range to my self.  They also have indoor and outdoor archery, and an indoor 22 range (That after 8 years I still have not figured out how access works)  Member price went up this year to 125, with an additional 15 for the range key each year.  140 for the year for as much shooting as you care to do, and rarely have to deal with other shooters, and no range Nazis  err... range masters.

I wonder how much Vonnie wants for the cannon out front?

Many years ago Luba mentioned that it may actually work.

I had that same thought yesterday, but there's no way I could afford it, I'm sure....

harmanrk where are you located? I live in GL and have a membership at Capital Area Sportsmen's League. We might have to try to meet up there and shoot sometime.

Not to mention they charge by the half hour. That place is a complete rip off to shoot when you have other options like Centerline and Spectacle Lake Outdoors in Albion for $10 all day. FSC has one line and you can only go down range when the whole line is clear so if you are shooting handgun on the right, you have to wait for the old guy walking 300 yards down to his target and back before you can start shooting again...

I used to shoot at FSC a lot and actually took my CPL class there 7 years ago but the info they taught was out of date and some just plain wrong (as I found out later) and with the pricing too high to shoot, I haven't been there in years.

Modern day with the online gun sales pricing, and more and more home based FFL's popping up offering competitive pricing, the brick and mortar stores are having to either compete in pricing, or fall to the wayside.  Usually get better service from the home based guys, as they aren't trying to talk you into anything, buyers come to them with a specific want/need, and that is what hey are ordered.