User Panel
Posted: 2/9/2006 8:21:31 AM EDT
Last week, at my local Gander Mountain store, I filled out the paperwork and paid for a transfer of an AR. Yesterday I got a call from the gun deparment informing me the corporate office had denied my transfer because the rifle was "an assault rifle".
I called customer service today to complain and attempt to reason with them. Lena, the lady I talked with, didn't want to hear it and just kept repeating the coprorate mantra that GM does not sell or transfer assault weapons. I tried to explain to her that an AR is not an AW but I got nowhere. I then asked for her supervisor but she refused. I did get out of her the CEO's name which is Mark Baker. I will be writing him a letter tomorrow and I'm sending some material I printed off the Internet explaining what a real assault rifle is and ask him to remove this ridiculous policy. Would anyone like to join me? Here is the address: Gander Mountain Corporate Office, 180 East Fifth St., Suite 1300, St. Paul, MN 55101. |
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the one nearest to my location closed recently
could it be that they routinely price themselves %20+ higher than comparable online outlets (Midway, CDNN, even Cabelas) neat store to brouse, too expensive to make any purchases |
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You're just pissin' in the wind, my friend...pissin' in the wind. I like my local GM and the guys at the gun desk know their stuff when it comes to hunting guns, but the Black Rifle is not mentioned. |
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My gander mountain has no black type rifles, but they do have, for around here, a great selection of pistols and occaissionally have defensive type shotguns, they had a load of Rem 1100 combat type guns they got used from somewhere awhile ago, and they have had some other, similar shotguns here and there.
I asked them about sending an AR to have it "Mossy Oaked" through the contractor they use for hydrographics. I got a definite "Oh boy do I not want to get into trouble over this!" look, but they called me at the office a day later and said they would do it. I hate to be namby pamby about them being idiots about defensive guns, but it might be worth mentioning that a lot of people are using ARs for coyote and bobcat hunting. I suspect they would be more afraid of the "hunters" getting mad at them than AR owners in general. Also I think these types of companies underestimate the number of AR owners. ARs are now usually in the front of the Brownells catalog AHEAD of 1911s. I suspect that Brownells has a reason for that change. |
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They don't stock them; but they will do a FFL transfer for one. I personally witnessed the transaction. No it was not my transaction. |
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No AR-15 at Gander Mountain, and Bass Pro, but Cabela's has them, they also have the 50BMG...
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The one down here has all 3 Baretta storm rifles (9,40, and 45). I may have to go inquire about ordering an AR and then just stir the pot about the Baretta's just for grins .
Well, they ARE black rifles too!! Doc |
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Academy's now sells all models of Bushmaster XM15E2S, yes including the "Mossy Oak" version.
Am I the only one that hates "Mossy Oak" everything? |
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I hate it, too...RealTree Advantage is WAY better... |
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Mark Baker is not EBR friendly from what I hear. He does not even want the CX4 Storm in the stores.
Gander has zero AR15s, M1As, or anything that is a "Military Style Rifle" and they will not even look at used ones. It has been brought up before about getting ARs in the store because of the ammount of people that want to buy them, but they still will not be getting them soon. It has been brought up before about varmint hunting and long range shooting, but that also did not make a difference. It has also been brought up about how they are loosing that part of the market, but well, that didn't change anything eather. I don't think that you letter will make a difference in their rule book (ie, no EBRs or whatever) but it can't hurt to try. BTW - I have been told that sometimes special cases were made for LEO. |
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Go to a local Sportsmans Warehouse if you have one around. They have pretty good prices and do handle EBR's.
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I go into our local Gander Mountain for misc ammo, targets, gun cases, etc every once in a while.
That will end today. |
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I hope so, I'd like to be able to get some Cabela's good without having to drive a few hours... On a side note I was an Gander Mountain some time ago and asked them about AR's and they said that they don't deal with "Assualt Weapons" and that they were family oriented store. First I told them that AR's are not assault weapons because they are not select fire and I also mentioned that men with "Assault Weapons" are right now protecting us and our freedoms and if that isn't good for our families I don't know what is. I also looked at the pistols in the case and told them I noticed they were selling "Assault Pistols" because I've seen the Glocks being portrayed as in use with gangstas and criminals. Plus the Glocks were black, high capacity and sem-automatic so they must be evil like the AR's. I asked why they didn't just stick to selling family oriented revolvers. As you can guess my question was met with blank stares... |
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well, some of the handguns they sell could hardly be said to be 'hunting' guns..interesting hypocrisy.
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I thought by definition an AR "was" an assault rifle? A magazine fed rifle with an adjustable stock, bayo lug, pistol grip and flash hider? Please correct me if I am wrong, I hate to have bad info.
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Because the people that work at the store don't care... it is not like they made the rule on what Gander does and does not sell. Stupid rule yes, I don't like it eather. |
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Please inform Gander Mountain that their beloved hunting shotguns deliver 12 or more deadly projectiles faster than any AR-15 "assault" weapon is capable of with the single pull of the trigger! Not to mention their semi-auto versions with the 5 shot magazines. OO buck can kill.
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I'm only a handgun owner, but I've had good experiences with Gander Mountain in Houston. They treat me nice, and their ammo prices are actually cheaper than Wal-Mart. $9.99 for a box of WWB 100 count.
I will continue to shop there. |
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I think what you're talking about an "Assault Weapon" as defined by the now dead AWB... Either way it's just a bunch of bullshit twisted around by people who don't know one end of a gun from the other... |
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Not unless its FA. |
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While technically, under the old AWB AR15s were called an "assault-rifle" (making your statement above true) to my way of thinking, because the AR15 does NOT have the extra option to flip to "FA", it never was an assault rifle. IMO, the government's use of the term "assualt rifle" falls squarely under the heading of "double-speak" in Orwells 1984. Mike |
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Thank you for the correction, I am confusing Assault Weapons, with Assault Rifles. Sheesh, what a world!!
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I found that one out too... Buncha wankers.
I will still shop there though... They've got more and better reloading equipment and cleaning supplies than the local Bass Pro does, and Cabela's is over an hour from me. |
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Thats weird my local GM sells mini 14's and 30's.... and has been.
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I think that the extent to which ARs show up in adverrtising in American Rifleman is also an indication of the upsurge in interest. GM should be paying attention, but....... |
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Wood stock, no pistol grip... Clearly a family-oriented gun, as opposed to any rifle with black plastic and a pistol grip which is pure evil. |
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But now Ruger even changed the name to try and make them less Evil - "The Ranch Rifle" |
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Gander Mtn...have one near me. I'd like to like that store, but just can't quite get there. I'd wondered why there were no "evil" black rifles around. Now I know why. A buddy buys most of his firearms from there, but he is only interested in hunting/target type rifles. He has been very happy with them. I tried to buy a $800 Springfield 1911 there back in December. Waited 20 minutes for help, but there were other customers ahead of me. I left and spent my money elsewhere. The clerks at Gander don't give a damn, and if they don't, then I don't either.
Jeff |
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Just a bit of information, and anybody can correct me on this if they know better......
Last November I walked in to a neighborhood tavern, and was wearing a GM sweatshirt. A fellow who appeared to be home on leave from the military hug.gif commented rather snidely, "Gander Mountain, huh?" Not wanting a confrontation with anyone...ho the price was right," not knowing his retort or what his grievance with GM was. He proceeded to tell me that GM is actually owned or held by a Middle Eastern group (as I will put it in PC terms; he did not, but I appreciate that...he I left the conversation at that hing |
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Thas wrong, because my local Gander Mountain carries ONE assult rifle, which is the Beretta Cx4 Storm. I will join you though. Your best bet is dealing with your local gun broker. |
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Ok... they were owned by the Ericsons who live here in Minnesota and own Holiday Companies (Like the gas stations if you have any around you, I don't know where they all are) and now Gander is publicly traded, just like Cabelas... GM is all based in MN So, Bass Pro must be owned be "The East" too? |
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Just like Target is owned by the French... |
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I've bought a few guns there. I had excellent luck with 4 of the 5 clerks I dealt with. Very nice guys, fairly knowledgeable for that type of store, remember me when I got back etd-BUT! I went in one day to buy a pistol. I had called ahead to make sure they had the model I wanted, a guy I knew there set it aside, but I had never actually seen it. They were very busy and the girl brought out the transfer form and said "fill this out blah blah blah" I was stunned. I said "Can I see the gun first?" and she snapped back "I thought you knew what you wanted" (I thought "Yeah like I trust you to know enough about guns to cough up almost a grand without making sure you got the right one off the shelf" but did not say anything). I was kind of stumped, if a man had talked like that to me I'd have dressed him down pretty bad for it, but I (bizarrely) was uncomfortable reeming out a young woman in front of her other customers and maybe her boss, so I bit my tongue. Busy or not, I should have told her to get her supervisor or have someone with manners handle the transaction. |
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Thanks for being so gentle with me over that post...h.gif... The young man must have been the victim of propaganda against GM.......I'll have to file that information away for the future. Thanks for the feedback on that....
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Am I the only one who caught the sarcasm in the original post? |
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Hunting camo is gay. Even for turkey and waterfowl hunting. I've killed a couple of gobblers and lots of ducks wearing nothing but solid browns, tans, and greens. ETA: my decision to patronize local gun shops for supplies instead of gander Mountain just got a lot easier. |
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I disagree. Handguns are good for hunting and trapping |
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So are they taking the CX4's out of the stores they're already in? |
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You apparently have little-hunted, dumb ducks & turkey if you don't have to wear any camo & no, it's not gay. |
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I went in to Gander Mountain to order a CX4 Storm when they first came out. I was informed that it was an assault rifle and they would not order it. They were concerned about their reputation and image. They sell only "hunting firearms". I asked him what he considered the Beretta 92fs to be. His reply was "Lots of people hunt deer with that gun".
I have not gone back. |
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That's too funny. I'm living near, that term is relative as it's over 30 miles away, a GM and the last time I was in there, about 6 weeks ago, had a CX4 in the case. |
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We only have Sportsman's Warehouse, Academy and Cabelas here in Centex.
Cabelas is a nice store and the prices are pretty good. But they are about an hour drive from me. The store in Buda is quite a bit bigger than the original in Sydney and I have seen AR's in the store the couple of times I have been there. The Academy stores around here usually have one or two Bushmasters and Mini's that's about it. They are the best for WWB ammo when they put it on sale. Paid 4.83/box for 9mm. Sportsman's Warehouse has an excellent gun counter with fairly knowledgeable staff here in Round Rock. The only problem is there are usually too few employees for the number of customers they have in the store. They carry a good assortment of Bushmaster rifles including a couple of .308's but that is the only brand of AR they carry. Their pricing on firearms is quite good as well. You can beat their prices online or at a gun show sometimes but their are competitive enough to not rule them out on most stuff they sell. Ammo pricing they can't beat Walmart and Academy for plinking ammo but they have good pricing on defensive and hunting ammo. And lastly, their pricing on safes is very good. They are cheaper than even the internet dealers on Browning safes. Knowing that GM has such a anti attitude towards a class of weapons makes me glad I have never been in one of their stores. |
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