Bass Pro and Green Top shops, Kuhnhausen manuals

[ruger22]

Went to Williamsburg VA, Busch Gardens, over a three day weekend.

Went to a Bass Pro Shop in Hampton, first Bass Pro I've been in, very disappointing. Looked good for long guns, poor for handguns. Only single action revolvers were off-brand replicas, only DAs were a handful of J-frames. Only one four foot case of autos, on two shelves. Two types of gun rugs, no leather holsters. Limited ammo selection.

Stopped at Green Top Hunting and Fishing in Glen Allen (Richmond) on the way home. I know a few of you live in that area. Best LGS I've seen outside of Houston TX. Bianchi and Galco leather, lots of soft and hard cases, cleaning gear, books, everything. Really good assortment of handguns, long guns, ammo. They have a website, but it only shows a small fraction of what they carry.

I squeezed a Caldwell Pistolero rest and a Plano hard`case into my post-trip budget. They had the Kuhnhausen Ruger manuals, and I was glad I got to flip thru the SA book. Most is way above "home gunsmithing" but lots of good info and diagnosis. I will order one in future.

[Coach1]

Thanks for the road trip report. I have never been in a Bass Pro store .. and your experiences don't exactly make me think I have missed anything there... Sounds alot like the Dick's Sporting Goods offerings.... - thin to say the least.

But the Green Top visit sounds like it was fun. I used to travel through Richmond when the girls were small - on the way to Busch Gardens, etc. That was way before I got hooked on shooting. I will have to keep Green Top in mind if I get another reason to run through Richmond.

[greener]

Green Top is a pretty good store with a pretty good, knowledgeable staff whether in the gun, fishing or bow hunting departments. Generally have a good selection. Currently, they have the Ruger LC9 for $369. Don't know if this is a particularly good deal since I haven't priced one anywhere.

http://www.greentophuntfish.com/

In the past 3 years Gander Mountain and Bass Pro built stores within a couple miles of Green Top and their stores have frontage on I95. Gander seems to have a pretty empty parking lot and Bass Pro seems to do more business than Gander. Both are proud of their new guns. Gander has a better selection. If you catch Gander when they have used firearms, you can get a pretty good deal. My Colt Lawman was $280 from Gander (they even gave me the military discount). If you like the deal at an out of state Gander, they will ship it to one in your state.

Green Top reacted to the competition by announcing their expansion plans.

So, if you are in Richmond, and are looking for a gun shop, I recommend Green Top and deGoff's.

[ruger22]

Thanks for the road trip report. I have never been in a Bass Pro store .. and your experiences don't exactly make me think I have missed anything there... Sounds alot like the Dick's Sporting Goods offerings.... - thin to say the least.

But the Green Top visit sounds like it was fun. I will have to keep Green Top in mind if I get another reason to run through Richmond.

Bass Pro was a little better than Dick's, at least having some handguns and a few more rifles.

Green Top was good. I wish I'd had more time, but it was roasting hot, and we had our three little dogs in the car. Wife was sweet in waiting on me in running car so they would all have A.C.. Green Top is about 2 miles north of I-295 on U.S. 1.