Posted: 2/4/2007 5:07:59 PM EDT
| Are there any good shops down there? |
| roanoke firearms would not be my first choice although i visit regularly and buy regulalrly. my first choice would be trader jerrys in salem. you also got brinstines on peterscreek. they got this new guy working there and he's nothing but an @$$. sometimes you can find some ok firearms at the pawnshop in vinton next to the hess gas station. were do you usually go shooting? |
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I still stand by Trader Jerry's. Though it is kind of difficult to get passed the straight up lie he told me about the ATF telling him it was illegal to do from the mail transfers from one private citizen to another. Also, my bone to pick with Roanoke Firearms is that they seem to only know the laws that pertain to them. IE, federal laws and not state laws. Also, they almost refused to transfer a $550 gun for me because they had one on the shelf for $925. They only let it pass because the $925 gun was 9mm and I wanted .40. There's also a place down 220 called Guns and Ammo Warehouse or something similar. Haven't been there yet, but plan to. |
are you talking about franklin rod and gun in rocky mount? the one under walmart and kroger beside the mexican resturant. mallcop: yeah i hear that. we have our own 200yd range in boones mill. i always get strange looks when i go to roanoke rifle or the potts mtn shooting range. 
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My bad, I should've been a little more clear. This particular shop is on 220 north towards Fincastle. |
| I've bought plenty of stuff from both Bryansteens and Roanoke Firearms. Bryansteens is more hunter-oriented, and a little short on the tactical stuff, not to mention pretty overpriced. A good friend of mine worked their for years, but he left and I haven't been there since. |
| I have lived in Roanoke all my life and I am within 7 miles of all the shops mentioned. FWIW the only place I would deal with is Trader Jerry's . Aaron has the BEST prices by far. He also is into the tactical side with the best selection "usually" (He moves alot of rifles). The shop you are talking about on 220 south is Shooters Discount Warehouse. Mike Hodges is the owner and for the longest time is was just him and Bryansteens . Mike used to be a fair person to deal with but here lately he doesn't want to do any trading and if you are not looking for a Remington,Ruger or Browning he is not much help.He also has the smallest selection of the 4. Don't get me wrong his prices are not that bad he just comes across that he doesn't care much for the tactical side. As far as Bryansteens and Roanoke Firearms I do not deal with them period their prices are REDICULOUS.Bryansteen's does have the best selection of used firearms but they think highly of them. |
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I bought my SSR from Trader Jerry's. They usually have a great selection, but their customer service is lacking. I stood there at the counter for a good 10 minutes with the brand new SSR sitting there while he was casually chatting about the weather with another man. I was 5 seconds from walking out with my money. Anyways...Bryansteens is way overpriced. Bought a good condition Maadi AK from them last summer at one of their sales. Non-sale price was around $450 hock.gif However, they did have a very good condition Russian SKS there for $230. Told my friend about it and he bought it. Roanoke Firearms is pretty good. Average prices and a couple good people there. A very big selection of rifles, postols, and accessories for the size of the shop. |
| any of yall ever been down to martinsville to a place called town gun? and also what ever happened to southern gun? town gun has a real good selection of police trade in pistols and other nice pistols. prices are really great also. atleast on their pistols. i usually don't come back from there without a police trade in. |
Franklin Rod and Gun is going out of business, if they're not closed already. They were one of that dirtbag Bloomberg's whipping boys, and decided to close rather than fight it, or make a deal with the devil.  Roanoke Firearms ain't half bad, but it kinda depends on who you talk to. If you can get John (the shorter guy with the sort of blond mustache, a little thinning on top, usually carries a G23, plus 3 other guns you don't see), he's good to talk to. He was also the instructor for my CHP course that they taught there. Good guy. The rest of them are sort of hit or miss in terms of knowledge and friendliness. I haven't been to Trader Jerry's, but I got a G17 from them at a gunshow once for $475, which is way better than any of the local shops, and they didn't hit me with a fee for using plastic to buy. Sounds like a good place. Town Gun in Martinsville has some good selection, decent prices, and occasionally some really nice sales on stuff. It's a hike from Roanoke, but an option. Usually pretty decent service, though a guy there was less than courteous to my Dad and baby sister when she went shopping for her G19 there. (Two G19s had various problems with them, and Dad wanted to make sure my sister got one that worked, which generated a lot of eye-rolling and unpleasantness from the guy helping them.) They also have an annoying sign that forbids loaded firearms except law enforcement. |
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The few times I've been in Bryansteens, I walked out with the impression that they felt they were doing me a favor by being there. Sorry, but that don't cut it. The guys at Roanoke Firearms have treated me well and haven't hesitated a bit about telling me where to look if they don't have what I'm looking for. |