Good gun store in San Antonio TX

S

StephenT

New member
Hello all:

I will be driving through San Antonio on my way to Laredo this weekend, and would like to pick up a nice used S&W 357 MAG on the way (perhaps a Model 66 police trade-in). Could anyone recommend a great gun store in San Antonio TX with good prices as well as a vast selection of used revolvers/autos? Thanks for any assistance.
 
Haven't seen such around. Sorry.

Most of the big name stores don't carry such.

If someone knows one that has a decent selection of Model 66s, I'd like to know.

I don't see them at our gun shows either.

As far as just a store goes, Champions
on DeZalva and I-10, near IHOP is ok
 
Thanks Glenn:

I'll check out Champions, as I'll be coming west on I-10 from Houston. With some luck, they'll have that perfect LNIB 357. This would be used mainly for target practice and apartment defense, though not for CCW. I've just picked up a Glock 27 for that purpose, and it is sweet. Does anyone have a favorite 357 for that general purpose? Terrific accuracy and of course flawless reliability. Thanks.
 
If you happen to be coming through Austin this weekend, there is the Saxet gun show at the old Best Products store. It is out just past the old airport NE of the city just off I-37 on the road to Houston. You can probably find what you are looking for there at a great price. They have a website www.saxetshows.com. I believe the hours are 9:00 to 6:00 Sat and Sun.
 
StephenT,

I’m pretty familiar with the gun shops in and around SA (200m) and what Glenn says is true. Nagel’s has some used guns but Bob is not cheap. If you want it you will pay. Don’s doesn’t have as many used guns and he is also high. The Powderhorn or Dury’s may be worth stopping in.

On a side note, I was in several gun shops in Houston about a month ago and one particular one stood out. I don’t recall the exact name, I think it was somewhere near Richmond? This place doesn’t look like much on the outside, is located in a small shopping center, but is absolutely loaded with goodies inside. Racks and racks and racks of used rifles and shotguns out on the open floor. Numerous large glass cases dedicated to specific pistol manufactures. Lots of memorabilia type stuff plus airguns, archery, and a lot of antique firearms. Maybe someone in Houston can identify the name and address? This place kind of reminded me of the good ol’ days when you didn’t have to ask someone to hand you a long-gun to look at it. In their rifle section they had an outstanding selection of black rifles and high-end optics. Prices seemed a little high but again, they had an almost unbelievable selection.

Good luck.


[This message has been edited by Skyhawk (edited February 18, 2000).]
 
Skyhawk: I think the Houston shop you are referring to is named Collector's Firearms (or something very close). They are a treasure trove as they often buy out the firearms collections from estates. In the past, I've seen a couple of Kolibris, a Kimball .30 Carbine pistol, several Obregon .45s, and other esoterica that you typically only read about in reference books.

I see that the San Antonio shops haven't changed much since I last lived there. Say, is Mike Falcone still the gunsmith at Nagels? He's a grand fellow, and I wasted a great deal of his time back when he worked at Greg Ferris' old shop.
 
if you are going through austin try mcbrides on lamar and 29 th. i've been to a lot of gun stores, there is only one mcbrides. joe marks prices to about 30% over msrp .... initially scares the hec out of you when you look at tags...they will haggle any price and take trades .... buy guns outright... haggle down to within about 20% over wholesale. they have lots of guns, new and used. if you wonder what kind of volume they have, when the first waiting period came into effect a few years ago, joe said they only sold over 11,000 handguns that year. he was griping, i don't know how many he thought he ought to have sold , but it must have been a bunch. yes 11,000 is the number i was trying to type.

[This message has been edited by blooch (edited February 23, 2000).]
 
You can do better than McBride's in Austin
as far price, even with haggling.

Personally, I hate gun stores that
mark high and haggle. That means they
are willing to rip off newbies and folks
they "choose" not to haggle with.

Just a rant.
 
Glenn--I have to rant a little concerning McBride's, too. I used to go there from time to time while visiting kinfolk who live near Austin. I stopped going when I heard one of the employees say that they charged higher than MSRP when they figured they could get away with it. It's their right to charge what they want, and mine not to do business there.

FWIW, my kinfolk have told me about a gunshop in South Austin, called Tex-Guns, which treats its customers like family and always charges *less* than MSRP. Too bad its store stock is so small. It lacks McBride's quantity and diversity. In fact, Tex-Guns takes a decade to sell what McBride's sells in a year. However, Tex-Guns customers leave with a smile.

Just my $0.02.

BTW, Skyhawk, I'm sorry to hear that Don's Gun Shop in San Antonio is high. I'd been meaning to check it out when in the area, but maybe I shouldn't bother. Has anyone tried Doc's in New Braunfels? Just curious.
 
I have to agree with the majority here S.A. Gun stores are so/so at best Nagels is a quality shop but by no means Lo-End.

I get most of my stuff on the first full weekend of the month at the Saxet Show
 
Yep at Saxet, I check out
AJC and Heritage for decent prices.
Heritage has a store front in Austin.
AJC can be cranky.

Sometimes Doc Avery does the Austin show.
But I've seen him jack up prices if the item
is hot. Usually though he is good.

There used to be an outfit from Houston
but don't see them anymore.

Collins is a smaller outfit with a
smaller selection but I've worked with them
on buying and selling and they've been OK
to me.
 
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