Best Area Stores

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I'm completely new to the Boise area as of June 3rd. I've gotten to know my way around Garden City and Eage quite a bit and know the main roads through the rest of town. I've also found myself out in Kuna once or twice. Can anyone recommend the best gun stores in the area? I bought my SP101 from the Boise Gun Company. They special ordered it for me and gave me what I believe to be a fair price, but they don't seem overly helpful when it comes to customer service or helping a newbie pick out equipment. Currently I'm looking for a good IWB holster for my snub; I've checked out Impact Guns and Joe's but I haven't been able to find a good quality holster with the traits I desire. I'll also be in the market for a new shotgun and possibly a rifle soon. Thanks for the help guys (and gals).

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If you want great service go out to Nampa on the blvd to Zebra 12. He may not have everything in stock, but he can order anything if you don,t mind waiting a week or so. Right now he has a good supply of shotguns(home defence kind) and about 4-5 complete ARs for around $900. Iv'e dealt with Frank for years and he is a stand up guy. Its worth the drive.

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Kudos to Frank at Zebra 12 in Nampa.

Impact Guns in Boise is the other good store.

You might try Ponderosa Sports outside of Horseshoe bend. He has weird hours though so look him up on the internet first.

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Impact guns is a great place and very OC friendly (most of their staff OC's)

Ponderosa Sports is also fantastic but a little difficult to get to some time's due to location and hours of operation.

DO NOT SHOP at Joe's Sports if you can help it. They asked myself and 2 other OCDO members to leave the store when we OCed in there, stating that their policy was not to allow ANY firearms what-so-ever (Open or concealed)

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More KUDOS to Frank at Zebra 12.


Personally I say stay away from the Cop Shop, they sell the same stuff as Frank for the most part, but all they seem to care about is making the sell, whether( sp? ) it will do what you need it to or not. Every time I buy something there, I usually go to Frank for something to replace it within a few months.

It never hurts to check out Sportsman's and Cabella's, they carry mostly hunting gear but they have a decent supply of pistols, and a good supply of Uncle Mike's holsters if that's all you're looking for.

Also don't forget to look online, I know it's nice to get to go in and look at what you're buying but Boise is still a fairly small place and you can get better deals and a wider variety looking at Brigade Q.M., U.S. Calvary, and even Galls or Streichers although the ones designed exclusively for police gear get a bit spendier again.

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More KUDOS to Frank at Zebra 12.


Personally I say stay away from the Cop Shop, they sell the same stuff as Frank for the most part, but all they seem to care about is making the sell, whether( sp? ) it will do what you need it to or not. Every time I buy something there, I usually go to Frank for something to replace it within a few months.

It never hurts to check out Sportsman's and Cabella's, they carry mostly hunting gear but they have a decent supply of pistols, and a good supply of Uncle Mike's holsters if that's all you're looking for.

Also don't forget to look online, I know it's nice to get to go in and look at what you're buying but Boise is still a fairly small place and you can get better deals and a wider variety looking at Brigade Q.M., U.S. Calvary, and even Galls or Streichers although the ones designed exclusively for police gear get a bit spendier again.

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Interesting about Joes...I've been there twice now, both times OC, and while I got a few looks (the armored truck was there to pick up the cash!) no one asked me to leave. I bought some ammo and the guy behind the counter in the back put it in this plastic container to take up front. I don't know if this is because he saw my gun or if it's normal policy but it didn't bother me any.
I'm definately NOT looking for an Uncle Mike holster. I have one I occasionally use for OC, but CC is my main mode of carry and I'm looking for one of the better quality holsters, leather or horsehide. I'm definately going to head out to Zebra 12 and see if they can't help me find something with the qualities I'm looking for. What are the better brands to look for? I use Unlce Mikes stuff occasionally, but its mostly cheap stuff and not something I want for my daily carry weapon, though they work fine with some set ups.
Out of curiosity, what do you all normally carry? Different for CC and OC or same weapon?

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I carry in Aker holsters. I have a Serpa, but its for camping. I just prefer leather for OC or CC.

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I don't know how much you are wanting to spend, but a guy I work with just had a custom leather holster made here in town and he loves it. If you are interested I can ask him at work on Thursday where he got it. I'm pretty sure it's one he uses for CC.

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I'm sure it's a Milt Sparks holster. They are top notch, but pricey and you'll wait 6-8 months for it.

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Hey, new to the forum here, but I thought I'd add a bit about my experiences with stores in the Boise area...

Definately stay away from Cliff's Guns Safes and Reloading on Five Mile between Fairview and Emerald/Executive, as it has been my personal observation that Cliff, the store owner doesn't want the business of anyone under the age of 21 (more like he doesn't want people younger than him in the store). The employees are fine, but a friend of mine was having a revolver he had inherited appraised and asked about the possibility of using it for partial trade for a newer auto pistol. Cliff asked my friend (age 20 at the time and 3 weeks from 21) how old he was, and when he answered, Cliff slammed the appraisal book shut and said that he was "wasting my time." Really it's unfortunate because it's nice to support the mom and pop type shops rather than some big warehouse store.

Impact Guns on Executive has been alright, though if you're under 21 and want to use their range with your own handgun and ammunition, expect to be hassled and told that you cannot even posess a handgun (untrue, but I was told this before presenting my 'under 21' Idaho CWL at the time). Same friend as above open carried a pistol he had purchased from Impact and was told that guns had to be unloaded (including his OC weapon), though he was able to convince them otherwise.

Sportsmans Warehouse in Meridian is pretty good about taking care of their customers, though the guy who's 40 and wants to do no business will be helped and paid much more attention to than the guy who's 19 and actually wants to spend money...

Cabela's in Boise won't bother you for the most part, though I've dealt directly with two very unhelpful clerks at the gun counter. I was ready to buy a new shotgun and was told that what I saw was all I was going to get (though guns can be ordered). It took some persuading to have the guy check 'the back' to see if they had the one I wanted in the right gauge. On another occasion more recently I noticed that they had a Sig CPO (certified pre-owned) P229 in .40S&W there for sale, so I asked if they had any CPO P220's (.45) or would be able to get them. I was told that "we got it from the cops". I said, well, Sig got it from 'the cops' and refurbished it before selling it to Cabela's. I asked if they would get another one of the same or if they could check and see if a P220 was available. The idiot clerk told me he wouldn't check and that there was no way to know what they had or to even find out what they could get. Again, I asked him where he got the P229 under the counter and he said he didn't know other than it 'just showed up'. I asked him if it magically appeared in the freight for the day or was left by the gun stork, to which he replied, "I guess so..." I guess it depends on who you end up with to assist you (really anywhere you patronize...)

Hope this helps