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Long-Gone Gun Shops of New England
- Thread starter NeverMiss
- Start date
fencer
NES Member
madmas1208
NES Member
I bought my first rifle at Service Merchandise in Saugus probably around 1987ish it was where the square one mall is now. Marlin 60 .22lr with a scope. About 6 months after that I bought my first Mossberg. You would get it at the pick up counter. Walk out to the parking lot, toss it in your car and drive home. Nobody gave a crap back then.
VetteGirlMA
NES Member
They're gone. They moved to a new location just down the street from the original store, and then Morgan sold the company and a few months later it was gone
. I liked going there, they were great.one-eyed Jack
Manufacturer
Many moons ago I bought shotguns for two of my teenage sons at Woolworths in Boston. Was that a straw purchase? Jack.
Eric H
NES Member
They're gone. They moved to a new location just down the street from the original store, and then Morgan sold the company and a few months later it was gone
After a couple of years, the shop moved about 100 yards down the street to a better location. The original owner sold the business just under 2 years later to a local gentleman who was also involved with the shop since it opened.
About a year and a half after he bought the shop, the coronavirus pandemic hit, he decided it was a convenient time to close the shop as he no longer wanted to run a retail establishment.
Very much quite the shame. I miss the shop big time.
Disclosure: I worked part time there for several years.
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It's probably been mentioned already but Ames, The Fair department stores and Spags sold guns. Although if I remember correctly at Ames and Spags it was only long guns. Also Sparky's gun shop in Webster.
Sparky123
NES Member
Back in the mid to late 70s, Ivanhoe's in Watertown was my go-to gun shop. I bought my first revolver there, a S&W Model 10, BNIB for $95 bucks plus tax. Those were the good old days.
one-eyed Jack
Manufacturer
They sure were. 70 years ago, when I was 15, I bought (via my dad's FFL) my Colt Woodsman there for $70. Gave it to Little Jack on his 8th b'day. If the world holds together and if Jack has a son sometime , I know what his b'day gift will be some day. Jack.
one-eyed Jack
Manufacturer
After WW2 you could buy mail order Colt 1911s for $35 used and $40 new. Jack.
madmas1208
NES Member
The Sears catalogs sold guns, those catalogs where awesome, you could literally order a build it yourself house from Sears.
Oh yeah, Sparky's. I went in there, and felt like a Martian. People did not seem to want "an outsider" in their little club.
I worked at Spag's in the early 90's. They sold ammo in the front along with nails and hardware a long time ago. They sold it in the sports shoppe when I was there. I NEVER remember them selling guns. I remember Prime Value Mart in Worcester, over near Union Place, before the Centrum. Of course, in the old days, there were a lot of people who were gun dealers out of their house.
Spags was before the 90's selling guns. Yes at Sparky's he tended to have his group of people that hung around the shop. He was alright with me but not everyone from what I've heard. I don't remember Prime Value Mart selling guns but I do remember they sold good camera equipment. The Gun Room in Shrewsbury near Spags was there for many years but I don't remember anyone with real positive comments about them. I went in there a few times and got attitude. Yes, they were able to be FFL's out of their houses back then. I bought my first 9mm from an FFL out of his house.
D
Deleted member 67409
And prior to the 1930s, you could wipe your ass with the Sear's catalog.
It has, but the Gun Room had 3 locations and 2 owners. First location was ~1 block before Spags (going Westbound) on the same side of the street. There was a huge bear in the window there. Later it moved across the street to that little strip mall. Peter Dowd owned it at both locations and it was pretty decent. I bought my first Ruger 10/22 there in the 1980s. Later Peter sold the location/name to John with the big mustache and had a 10 year non-compete clause.
After the 10 yrs was up, Peter opened in Northboro near Wal-Mart.
dwarven1
Lonely Mountain Arms
Really? His name is Richie. Very nice guy, very knowledgeable, very fair on pricing. He doesn't deserve your disrespect. Richie's shop is one of the few things I miss about Marxachusetts. I did hear that he closed up shop several months ago, but he was never in the best of health.
Edit - I both purchased guns from Richie, and I'd stop in and shoot the bull with him on a frequent basis. I also learned a LOT from him.
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D
Deleted member 67409
This one's really long gone, D. Kirkwood of 23 Elm Street, Boston, Mass:
Billhead for D. Kirkwood, gun and rifle maker, 23 Elm Street, Boston, Mass., dated September 25, 1899
I was perusing Gunbroker for old side-by-sides and saw a Damascus-barrel 10-gauge of theirs for sale.
Billhead for D. Kirkwood, gun and rifle maker, 23 Elm Street, Boston, Mass., dated September 25, 1899
I was perusing Gunbroker for old side-by-sides and saw a Damascus-barrel 10-gauge of theirs for sale.
fencer
NES Member
I'm sure it's been mentioned. but Zero Hour in Easton was a pretty cool shop.
What was the little shop in Brockton, right near the fair grounds? It was run by a retired cop. He had a trash can of old holsters that I couldn't help but rummage through. It was like the $3 movie bin at WalMart
What was the little shop in Brockton, right near the fair grounds? It was run by a retired cop. He had a trash can of old holsters that I couldn't help but rummage through. It was like the $3 movie bin at WalMart
BarnBuilder
NES Member
It was Fairgrounds Trader. Spent a lot of time there back in the 80's
I bought my first rifle and handgun from Glen's Gun shop on Main Street in Everett in 1978 and 1982. Sumner Green was a good guy and back then there was a crazy amount of used stock for decent money. I bought a 10-22 from Service Merchandise in Saugus, strapped the box to my luggage rack on the back of the bike and cruised home, then did the same for my 870.
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