Why will some places not ship any mags to CT, even 10rds or less?

[AllaSnackbah]

hoffmans is a joke, i actually heard a rumor that they aren't even allowed to sell glocks anymore as glock realized how much of a slimy snake hoffman is and told their distributors to stop dealing with them.

 

[dcmdon]

hoffmans is a joke, i actually heard a rumor that they aren't even allowed to sell glocks anymore as glock realized how much of a slimy snake hoffman is and told their distributors to stop dealing with them.

I doubt that. They are the biggest game in the hartford and even new haven area.

 

[Carl in Ct]

I was in Newington yesterday so I stopped in Hoffmans and they had plenty of new Glocks but I was looking at other stuff. A new salesman came over who was cordial but asked to see my pistol permit before showing me anything. Never had that before. Is that another new part of the law? Nobody else asked me to do that. Anyway, I told him what I was looking for and he showed me guns well out of that price range and proceeded to tell me all about how he wanted the guns he was showing me. Great, good for you buddy but I don't really care what you want, I'm the customer. Then we went to the other side of the counter to look at revolvers, again, not what I was looking for but I guess he liked revolvers.

I asked him if I could see some used guns and pointed me to that section. I was surprised to see he didn't come with me. He had gone back to wait on new people who were standing by the expensive guns he wanted. I waited at least 15 minutes before an older guy finally reluctantly came over and showed me the used guns with about as much interest and enthusiasm as a three towed sloth coming down from a tree but at least he didn't ask to see my permit.

I had been over to Newington Gun Exchange first, so much better there. They had Bersa, SCCY, Taurus, etc. as well as the bigger names and a much, much better selection of used guns. I did see something I liked but the state had closed so I could not buy anything. I had time to kill and figured I'd check out Hoffmans for the heck of it. I hope to be able to get back to Newington Gun-ex this week if what I liked is still there.

Don, it bothered me a tad that you said I had "whored myself out with a Buds purchase". I respect your knowledge and value your opinion but when nobody has the gun in the same configuration as Buds I fail to see how that's whoring myself out. If I bought the same gun from Buds that local shops had to save a lousy $10, yes that would be whoring myself out but that's not how it was. I called Hoffmans, Newington Gun-ex and Brooklyn Trading Post before ordering from Buds. None of them had it and they didn't think it was something they could even get in that configuration so I simply went with the one place that did have what I wanted.

 

[dcmdon]

Carl,
Maybe I use that term too lightly. I am sorry if it came across as an insult. That was not my intent.

Often, people who purchase online don't realize that once they've added the shipping and transfer fee, you don't save much buying online.

In the case of guns that LGS don't have it makes perfect sense.

It also makes perfect sense when you are buying an expensive gun. If you are buying a $3000 SCAR 17, you are looking at $200 in sales tax if you buy locally. Sad but true.
Finally, places like GB offer a huge marketplace for used guns. You just have to watch your enthusiasm. I've gotten ahead of myself bidding and only after winning something found out that Newington Gun Exchange had the same gun for less. Oops.

Don

 

[Carl in Ct]

Hey Don, thanks for the clarification, I appreciate that. I really do prefer local transactions. Small businesses have it really rough, especially gun shops in this state so I like to help them out and I don't even haggle much, sometimes not at all, if it's already a fair price.

I have done well selling a couple of things on GB but have only bought 1 gun there and it was a local guy so we handled it face to face anyway. One of those deals where I tossed a bid on something, figured I'd never win it at that price but did. Kinda of an oooops, I just won an auction moment but at least it was a very good deal and I still have that gun and he was a good guy.

I am excited to get back to Newington Gun-ex soon, I hope the gun I liked will still be there. Tommy helped me and he was a wicked nice guy, very patient and helpful. Big dude, wouldn't want to mess with that guy. If I get the gun then I will let folks know what it is (I don't want anyone running down there ahead of me and scooping it up, lol).

 

[dcmdon]

NGX will usually hold something with money down if you don't want to use a CC.

I try to be civil all the time. What I said was not meant to be uncivil, but now in retrospect, it would most likely be interpreted that way. Again, I apologize.

GB is a crap shoot. If you are looking for something like a new Glock, a commodity gun, then you are usually better off local. If you don't know what you want, local is great also. I gave a pistol permit class to a guy who had acquired a Kahr CM40. I laughed when I saw it. He decided that he wanted the smallest gun he could find that shot the largest round. Even a counter guy at Hoffmans would have talked him out of that gun. I suggested he not shoot it until he had some more experience. Within 1 mag he was utterly totally afraid of that gun. He'd have been better off waiting until he had some more experience.

My last GB purchase was a Les Baer 1911 4-5 years ago. I wanted a used one, and found one with a claimed 100 rounds through it for $300 less than the best new price I could fine. When i called Les Baer and gave them the serial number, they told me it had left their shop 3 months prior. So I paid used price for a perfect gun that was probably 2 months old. I got lucky. That kind of scavenger hunt is fun.

Prior to that it was a rare Ruger Mk1. New guns are commodities. Every dealer can get one. But used guns are almost all unique in some way.

 

[Carl in Ct]

Actually NGX held the gun for me until Friday with no money down, no CC. I just said over the phone I was looking at it the day before and was coming back for another look. Well, I did go back but didn't buy it. It was a Bersa Thunder .380 in excellent condition for $220. Fit my hand nice, heavy for a .380 so might not be too snappy for the wife but a blow back system which some say are snappier (I dunno). What killed the deal was the almost total lack of .380 ammo availability. Hoffman's was the only place that had it, Federal Home Defense or some such thing, for $1 per round. Holy crap! So that's why they held it for me so easily, it's not likely to sell too quick.

I know 9mm is the better round anyway with similar felt recoil and better performance but that little Bersa was calling my name. Good thing I did some ammo research before I answered its call. So instead I came home with a used Kahr CW9 in excellent condition with hard case and extra mag for $335 out the door. I hear generally good things about Kahrs if you get the one that fits your needs and experience level, unlike the newb with the CM40. I hope it will work out, it fit my hand nice and is the perfect size for what I want and they supposedly eat any ammo you feed them so plinking costs should be reasonable.

 

[dcmdon]

The CW9 is a GREAT choice.

Recoil is very manageable. They shoot better after they loosen up a bit. And they're surprisingly accurate.
My wife likes shooting my P9, which is the same gun, but fancier. Although with the very stiff recoil spring, she has a tough time "running" the gun.
Her Glock 34, with a heavier slide, has a much softer spring.

 

[EMitch]

First, sorry to side track this...again...but does anyone know what is required for person-to-person mag sales?

By the way, Wal-Mart in Waterford had quite a bit of 9mm the other day (white box, of course)

 

[dcmdon]

Mag sales are very complex.

You give him money. He gives yo the magazine.

Finished.

Thats it.

 

[Carl in Ct]

First, sorry to side track this...again...but does anyone know what is required for person-to-person mag sales?

By the way, Wal-Mart in Waterford had quite a bit of 9mm the other day (white box, of course)

I can never get ammo in the Windham Wal-Mart because a couple of the local gun shops know when it's being put out and they buy it all up while I am at work. I guess they can't get much from their suppliers. They mark it up about 10% or so, they aren't trying to get rich off of it, they just want some on their shelves.

It makes me made because I usually can't get to the gun shop except on weekends and the ammo is usually long gone by then. I ended up buying a red box of Federal bulk .22 hollow points, 550 rds at the gun shop for $32 plus tax the other day when there was still some left. My buddy said it was from Wal-Mart where it was $29 or so.

Wal-Mart only sells a few boxes per person but the shops get two or three people to buy for them. The Windham Wal-Mart never seemed to have much ammo even before the panic and now they sell out instantly. I think the manager there might be a flaming liberal who doesn't really want to sell ammo. I don't really know that, it's just a hunch.

 

[dcmdon]

Last year there were several retirees "working " for Rons Guns of East Lyme. They'd show up at the Old Saybrook Walmart and wait for the sporting goods folks to put out the ammo, then buy their limit in everhthing that had any commercial value. (Oh look honey, they have .264 Roberts FMJs in stock!!!)

 

[Len-2A Training]

Don, not surprising.

Back 1971-73 when I lived in Groton CT, gas stations used to send employees and family members to buy cases of oil at Bradlees during their weekly sales. We were in an "oil embargo" by the Arab nations and Bradlees sale prices were below wholesale cost to the small independent gas stations.

During the recent 2008-current run-up of ammo costs, gun dealers have done the same wrt ammo at Wal-Mart.

When I sold computer HW & SW back in 1993-2003ish, I frequently bought items for resale at Costco and Sam's Club . . . cheaper than my wholesale accounts (and I was paying $1k/year to be in a buyers club where we got cheaper pricing from distributors) with the top 3 US distributors of computer gear. In fact, in the early days of these wholesale clubs their primary market was resellers and small businesses/restaurants.

 

[dcmdon]

Len,
Totally off topic but do the following names ring a bell: Merisel, Ingram, Tech Data???

Don

p.s. I sold hardware from 93-98 for HBM who then became Ikon Tech Svcs out of hartford

 

[Len-2A Training]

Len,
Totally off topic but do the following names ring a bell: Merisel, Ingram, Tech Data???

Yes, I had accounts with all 3 (they are the ones I referred to), plus a bunch of smaller ones.

ETA: I've seen SW in the shipping boxes at Costco, they had Ingram Micro shipping labels on them.

 

[AllaSnackbah]

I doubt that. They are the biggest game in the hartford and even new haven area.

could be bs, but i did hear it from a reliable source at glock.

 

[Carl in Ct]

could be bs, but i did hear it from a reliable source at glock.

Either it's bs or they patched things up because they had a bunch the other day.

 

[EMitch]

Cheaper Than Dirt has apparently still gone completely anti-CT. Which sucks, because they have the best price I've found for my mags: $21 for XD45 Compact.