Is there a reason for gun shops looking grotty?

[Zanx]

Only been to 2 of them so far, Manor Arms in Manor Park and Mays in Buckhurst Hill and they'e both looked like abandoned shops from the outside, is there some deep psychological reason for this or is it just London shops that are skank?

[SteveH]

Yeah, we don't spend enough...
SteveH

[Pat...]

If you want chrome and pink cushions try top shop

[clubshot]

Might be due to past visits from the Anti Shooting Brigade.

Aware that Pax has had his windows and doors damaged , painted and glued etc in the past.

Also expect that as they are a dying trade No one is willing to waste further funds tarting them up

Also for security reason the fronts need to be grilled , then if passers by can see the grills , they think there is something worth the trouble of nicking.

With the Majority of today's Shooting goods obtained via Mail Order for Best Prices

The remaining shops will not be going overboard to bring attention , as you do not get many passer by trade in the Shooting Game

BOB/R

[BoNeS]

mays is undergoing a major refurb by all accounts according to someone who works there and are going to be a major retailer in the airgun industry if all goes according to plan watch that space be nice to have a big shop nearby that stocks more than 1 of each rifle totalling 8 air rifles and 40000 shotguns

[gaazzz.t]

try the gun shop in Chatham

[MikB]

When shooting was the sport of the landed gentry and the officer class, going to a plush gunsmith's to choose your revolver, big-game rifle and grouse moor gun was part of the pleasure of the sport. How things have changed.

The current situation is society's fault for making shooting such a low-status, barely-tolerated sport, meaning gunsmiths make so little (<sob>) that they can't put on a decent display after they've financed the massive security needed. Also, they often have to site their shops in run-down parts of town because shopkeepers in the posh areas whinge about gunshops lowering the tone.

It affects them psychologically too, being legally restricted into making ends meet by having to sell a ton of pretend crap that doesn't really do the gun thing for every pound of real guns'n'bullets they can shift. Considering the people they often have to deal with it's no wonder some of 'em end up bitter, contemptuous and neglectful of their surroundings.

So I reckon it's time society took a hand in raising the level of esteem for the shooting community, and standards of display in gunshops will inevitably follow upward.

In my dreams...

Regards,
MikB

[TEXASPROUD]

If you ever find yourself in Dallas for business, pleasure, or both, you owe it to yourself to go to the Beretta Gallery. There are only two in the U.S. and Big D has one of them. They don't even mind an old cowboy coming in once in a while to buy his shooting irons.
I'm pretty laid back, and am not known for drinking my tea with a pinky in the air, but I do enjoy stopping by the Gallery one in a while. I guess the word I'm looking for is Posh, Very Posh, but very friendly service.
Check it out if you get the chance.

[Dirty-Harry]

If it's run-down you want to see, then have a gander at the Birdwell Armoury! The place is all but shut with just the ranges and club in full operation.
Even the ranges look a mess. Mind you, if you're looking at the decor then you're not looking at the target.
At least that's my excuse for missing the Alpha........

[draftsmann]

Originally posted by gaz gun man
try the gun shop in Chatham

If you mean the one you walk past going from the high street to the railway station, that was a sheeite hole 20 years ago when I lived in Kent, so God alone knows what it is like now. That shop used to have some of the best examples of trying-to-make-customer-feel-an-idiot staff I have seen in any gun shop; wonder if they are still there asking newbies "Now why would you want to do that then, Sir" in best Cha'am sarky tone?

Adrian

[Troubledshooter]

My local gunshop never looks grotty, but they rarely have a gun on display. It's all Barbour clothes, green wellies, shooting sticks & hip flasks!
Inside is not much different, but in between the 'posh frock' stands, one can find quality shooting equipment in class displays.
Their Air Gun selection is somewhat limited & is mainly Weihrauch.
They are gun makers, so much of their business comes from the landed gentry, of which there is a fair sprinkling in this area.
Their bespoke shotguns require a second mortgage.

[daystateman]

As Mr. Bones has rightfully said in his post, Mays Of London will shortly be completely refurbished and expanded by the new owner who took over the shop and engineering workshop only two years ago.
he is out of the country most of the time on business but please be paitent and as Mr. Bones says " watch this space".
as for any other shop that may look a bit drab on the outside, try inside!!!
Once completed it will not have a front entrance but a side entrance so it will be out of sight of the public gaze, and yes there has been trouble with anti's there before and this is quite possibly the reason why it is like it is.

long live the Queen!!!

[manxteddy]

Monk's in Chester is very tidy but there again it is a poor shop for air gunners as they prefer the landed gentry I think.
Service can be fair .It's pretty boring as shops go though.
Graham

[gaazzz.t]

Adrian, that'll be the one, mate!

they guy in there is nice enough, seems to open when he wants and for example sells a Beretta 92 for £150!

how he knows where everything is i'll never know

[stevew]

Originally posted by manxteddy
Monk's in Chester is very tidy but there again it is a poor shop for air gunners as they prefer the landed gentry I think.
Service can be fair .It's pretty boring as shops go though.
Graham

Monks' of Chester used to be a VERY posh shop; only the Duke of Westminster was allowed inside, everyone else stood outside and hoped! Typical of the "good gun trade", they've had to try and survive on crumbs of their old business.
Remember spending hours with my nose up against the window; a day when this happened:-
Me and my mate looking in the window, tongues hanging out; posh geezer stops, joins in the window shopping. chats. (What response would that get nowadays?) Hands over his walking stick saying something like "what do you think of that?" It's a shotgun in disguise; he shows us how it all works - REMEMBER, this is in Chester's main shopping street - and no-one blinks an eye.
Happy daze.....