Gun Store Setup

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Quick question for everyone in here from various states… We’re in the final stages of getting a store set up here in CA just waiting on state and local permits. My question for everyone here is what are some things you like to see in gun stores near you or things you wish stores did better?

I want to incorporate information from the Backfire channel and other similar channels to help educate hunters and shooters more than most salesman would. This channel was very helpful for me when I was first getting into hunting a few years ago and I’d like to be able to do the same for people in my area who might be new to the community or those who were given bad information from other stores near me.

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Make of this what you will, here’s a few of my wish list items and/or things I like. I have no idea what would be viable and practical, but here we go…

-Scheels and Al’s sporting goods do a really good job of letting you get hands on with rifles without making you wait for the guy behind the gun counter. Most of the time, I just want to check a new rifle out without talking to the sales guy or waiting to be served. I’ll find you if I have a question.

-Carry Sako and Tikka, they just dominate a lot of what’s out there for the money in a factory rifle and Sako, at least, is harder to find.

-Reloading classes

-Brass in popular cartridges from ADG/Peterson/Alpha/Lapua

-Best value for money reloading equipment in general, maybe a starter kit of some kind.

-MTM ammo boxes

-Variety of stocks and other rifle components. I would LOVE to have someone create a MicroCenter for gun parts. I’m a hands on person, I want to see how different stocks and parts feel in person before I use them in a build. I would apply this to even triggers. What’s the difference feel like between that Triggertech curved or pro curved trigger?

-FFL and letting others know if you perform the service and how much to have a gun shipped to the store. Just a general list of services available and prices would be great to see hanging somewhere.

-This sounds obvious, but ammo sorted properly and all together makes a big difference. I don’t want to look all over because the 270 win ammo is in 6 different spots/shelves.

-If you are also doing a range - make it simple to book and operate, preferably online, and allow me to reserve timeslots

-Concealed carry classes are probably a good idea if you want to include that service

-Gun people can be CRAZY defensive and confidently incorrect. I had someone literally have a come apart in a gun store because of how I pronounced Sako. I’d just say be careful, try to advise and educate where you can. I hope the new store works out great for you!

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That’s exciting. Here are a few ideas I’d like in gun stores.

I would love to have a station set up in gun stores for scoping up a rifle. A simple bench with a vice to hold the rifle and a wheeler fat wrench. Then a plumb bob across the room to level the reticle and a laser bore sighter to get rough sighted in. If you aren’t busy when someone buys a rifle and scope, take the time to help them get it properly set up and they’ll remember your store forever. Oh, and a little vibratite for the screws.

I hate that stores always have the rifles 5 feet behind a counter with tiny little tags that say what each rifles chambered in. Like, how in the world are we supposed to even shop? Am I really gonna just keep asking the clerk what cartridge each rifle is? Have a big sign above each rifle with price and cartridge.

Don’t do dumb stuff like zip tie all the triggers. You can dry fire guns thousands of times without a problem, so don’t act like your customers are an annoyance.

When people walk in, don’t ask them what they are looking for and force them to say “ oh, just browsing.” Just say hi. They already know they can ask you for help.

Curate what you carry. When I go into a shop and see savage axis and Christensen and other obviously crappy guns, I know the owner just doesn’t care. When I see a carefully curated selection of the good stuff, I know the owner wants me to have a good experience and won’t just push whatever he gets a better margin on.

Oh, and email us at help@backfireshop.com about carrying Turret Tags! They sell like hot cakes.

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My local gun store has all the rifles on a wall that is NOT behind the counter. You are free to look and pickup as you like. The only guns you have to ask for assistance with are the pistols. I love this set up, but it is the only one like it I’ve seen.

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Carry reloading supplies, specifically powders and primers. I can buy projectiles, cases, dies, etc… online for good prices and without fees. As someone who lives in Central Florida, the only places I can buy powder/primers without paying hazmat fees is at Bass Pro. It would be nice to have more options locally.

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If you happen to have a Modern Warriors near you, I feel like they do it right. All guns are well displayed, and can be easily handled and seen. Scheels does a good job as well. Like Jim said, the most frustrating thing to me is not being able to see the tags or any info about the rifles, regarding chambering, price etc. A simple “Hi, let us know if we can help you out” is more than welcoming enough, without intimidating the guy who just wants to come browse around for something to do. Gun shops can be really intimidating for new shooters; keeping a friendly staff who truly wants to help people and is patient when it comes to questions, goes a very long way.

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Lots of good advice, which I wont repeat. Here are two bits of advice that has made our local store, Cape Gun Works (in Hyannis MA) a powerhouse. First, make your store friendly to newbies and especially to women! If a store is a hang-out for just an old-bpy’s network it’s doing something dumb, and therefore something wrong. Second, offer a wise array of defensive and concealed carry classes.

Check out their website (https://capegunworks.com/) to get a sense of the classes they offer.

All the best to you

John

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Thank you all for the input. We’re going to be mostly home based starting out but hopefully we’ll have an actual shop in a few years. It sounds like the most important thing is being accessible to everyone but not standard. My goal is to identify each person’s wants or needs and meet them individually. I think big stores often fail when it comes to each customer being unique with different circumstances.and instead treat everyone as another transaction.

@backfire Good idea with curated stock. I definitely agree with your thought that owners pushing whatever brands make them the most profit don’t care too much about customer satisfaction. Selling good products with smaller profits seems like the better path towards building long term relationships with people who will hopefully bring in other friends and family. We’ve got a long way to go before we’re fully operational so I’ll probably be asking for more input at various stages in the process.