small gun stores

[NOTABIKER]

the small family owned gun store is fast diapering. yes you pay more than all the discounters but their is something nice about going in the door and chatting and looking at guns. i just bought a 1944 Russian M-44 from a small gun store. the DROS is 35 bucks and the rifle is about 100 dollars more than J&G or turners on sale. he also had some real nice chinese SKSs that are not cheep. But he let me put 60 bucks down to hold the M-44. nothing formal TRUST. he has old military rifles and pistols you will not see anyplace else. this gun store is only open 1/2 day and he has another job in the morning.i hope he stays in business. last summer he sold me a 1905 M-91 tula . picked it up, looked at it and bought it. the good old days.

[wait_one]

If you don't mind me asking, what and where is this small gun store you speak of ?

[NOTABIKER]

hacienda heights, corner of Colima and hacienda blvd. after 1 pm 6 days a week.

[knucklehead0202]

been meaning to pop in there! that's it, next time i'm off early i'm goin' in. never knew if it really was a gun store or not. awesome, gotta go check it out.

[NOTABIKER]

the owner is not chatty, old Asian guy. but if you treat his rifles with respect [ no dry firing] you will get along. he is a old importer and knows a lot .

[rm1911]

I think it's more a kalifornia thing than nationwide. it's near impossible to run a small business here anymore. he's probably gotta carry all kinds of liability insurance, pays enormous taxes, and is paperworked and regulated up to his eyeballs. that he's still operating is surprising. if he's an old guy my guess is the business is just making rent and he's doing it because he loves it and wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

[littlejake]

Having a gun shop in California involves so much more than having an FFL and a business license. The extra burdens put on gun shops by CA in the early 1990's drove many out of business -- and that was exactly what the state wanted to happen. Once they're gone; they never come back. Local governments don't want to issue business licenses.

Also, very few pawn shops want to be involved in all the regulation involved in guns.

It's all part of the plan of "death of the 2A by 1000 cuts."

[yatzee982]

Yeah Ling's in Hacienda Heights. He is a little pricey for my taste ... and on c+r's I will prefer cash and carry until the end of the year.

[knucklehead0202]

say he's not the HMK enterprises guy at the costa mesa show is he?

[NOTABIKER]

say he's not the HMK enterprises guy at the costa mesa show is he?

no that is Harry. he is the other guy that takes my money.
i just paid off my 1944 izzy m-44 yesterday so it is all mine in 9 more days.un like mail order i got to hold and look at it before buying it. yes it cost more that way. the only rifle i ever bought without seeing it was one of those turners alby SKSs. my local turners only had one to show the rest came in later that we bought. it shot ok and the metal was good but it was still a beater SKS and i just never bonded with it. sold it.
this m-44 that i bought has 90% bluing, nice bore and a very nice laminated stock. when i went back to pay it off he had already increased the prices on the other M-44 50 bucks. i always wanted a russian M-44 so now i have one. i do not feel i wasted my money at 350 bucks. they will get scarcer and only go up in price.

[knucklehead0202]

absolutely right about that, although they seem to trickle in here and there. i bought mine for 79 bucks at big5 about 7 years ago. i won't claim skill in that one, just luck. i bought 3 rifles in a month, the m44 for 79 on sale, when i went to pick it up they had 91/30s for 69 and m95s for 79 so i bought one of each, lol. if i come across an m44 or even a type 53 at a decent price i'll buy it at this point, because the mosin carbines seem to keep getting more desirable. fun little rifles. where does HMK run out of? are they local here as well?

[yatzee982]

I think I prefer private party over commercial sales now ...even if the commercial is from a small gun store. Though I have made some pretty decent purchases from local pawn shops so I guess that would be one way I would still consider buying commercial. Last year around Oct. I picked up a '44 Izzy M44 and a '30 Tula 91/30 from a local pawn shop for $249 DROS included. I was able dis-assemble the rifles both to check everything ... and then HAGGLE ! ! .. I love that about pawn shop, I will have to go back to that shop again to see if they have anything interesting

[SKSer45]

Yeah I miss my neighborhood Gun Shop. The Owner passed away and the ATF did not allow his FFL to be transferred over to his next of KIN who are also gun enthusiast. He only sold C&R and his prices matched pre-panic Online says. A shame he passed away and his shop closed down. 25 years strait too.

[NOTABIKER]

absolutely right about that, although they seem to trickle in here and there. i bought mine for 79 bucks at big5 about 7 years ago. i won't claim skill in that one, just luck. i bought 3 rifles in a month, the m44 for 79 on sale, when i went to pick it up they had 91/30s for 69 and m95s for 79 so i bought one of each, lol. if i come across an m44 or even a type 53 at a decent price i'll buy it at this point, because the mosin carbines seem to keep getting more desirable. fun little rifles. where does HMK run out of? are they local here as well?

he is retired and works out of his home in san gabriel. i love to go over to his house and look and listen. one time he was fixing a war capture k 98 sniper a guy had from his father in ww 2. he gets good money for his guns but also will help you out with info and parts. he is not money motivated. he will trade and cash and carry on C&R.

[BrokerB]

Randy at Lincoln Gun Exchange is a good guy and shop. Lincoln, CA outside Sacramento/Rosevilel area going towards Tahoe.

He had a ishapore 2a1 I picked up for $190 a year ago- very nice russian sks was there not too long ago.

limited days open..i think Tuesday-Friday or Saturday 10:30am