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Purchased a gun inside Fair Oaks Mall

sst0185

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Last night I was at Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake Va, my son asked me "can you have a gun shop inside a mall?" I was kind of thrown off by his question so I told him someone would not be allowed to open a gun shop in the mall.

Today I remembered when I was 18 years old I bought a .30-30 rifle at Herman's sporting goods inside Fair Oaks Mall in northern Va, this was back in 1988.

I'll be sure to let him know.

I don't remember if they sold handguns or not, but we bought plenty of .357 and .44 mag ammo there.:)
 

nova

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there's a Dick's at New River Valley Mall in Christiansburg, they sell guns :)

eta: Quantico Tactical closed their Woodbridge store and just recently opened a new store in Potomac Mills. They're still tossing around the idea of getting back their FFL and sell guns there, last I heard.
 
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sst0185

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Forgot about Dick's, guess I was thinking more along the lines of a store inside the mall not an anchor store. I cant remember since then seeing a small store inside a mall with guns and ammo especially since you had to carry your purchase around inside not right out to the parking lot through a private entry, exit.

Be interesting to watch the one in Potomac Mills.
 

TFred

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There is also a Dick's at Spotsylvania Towne Centre (formerly Spotsylvania Mall) in Fredericksburg. There is no outside entrance, although the entrance to the store is only about 10 steps away from an outside mall entrance. I doubt I would ever buy a gun there, but if I did, I think I'd purposefully park on the far other side of the mall, just so I'd have to walk through to get out! ;)

TFred
 

TFred

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About 8-10 years ago, there was a Sports Authority in Springfield Mall that sold guns.
Sports Authority used to sell guns? I don't remember that. :(

Walmart used to sell long guns and handguns, but now only the "rural" stores sell long guns.

I assume Dick's used to sell both long guns and handguns, but now only long guns.

We need to compile a list of general merchandise stores that "used" to sell guns and handguns, but now do not.

I suppose Sears would be one to start. Does Sears sell any guns at all now?

With the pro-RKBA tide swinging back our way again, we need to encourage and look for stores to start to bring back both long guns and handguns.

TFred
 

sst0185

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Here we go,

My father bought a M1 carbine from the Sears catalog in the 50's, need to find out if they mailed it to him or he had to pick it up, let ya know.

Sports Authority in that strip mall by Lynnhaven Mall and at Janaf shopping center sold handguns, rifles, in the late 80's early 90's not sure when they stopped. In fact they had a nice selection of handguns at good prices.
 

Wolf_shadow

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Jul 5, 2006
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Accomac, Virginia, USA
I bought a S&W revolver and a Western Field 12 Gage (Mossberg 500 in disguise) from Montgomery Wards at Iverson Mall in southern Md. in the late 1970's BMGRS (Before Md. got real stupid)
:D
 

zoom6zoom

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Dale City, VA, Virginia, USA
Quantico Tactical just opened a new location inside Potomac Mills (near Marshalls). Haven't been there yet but they supposedly have a lot of accessories and supplies. No guns yet, they had an FFL at their old location in Dale City but not sure if they will actually have firearms at this outlet location.
 

peter nap

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A&N stores all sold guns at one time. I bought a couple of 6,5 Carcaino's for $15.00 and a 98 for $30.00.
Good old days.
 
K

kittyhawk63

Guest
Sports Authority used to sell guns? I don't remember that. :(

Walmart used to sell long guns and handguns, but now only the "rural" stores sell long guns.

I assume Dick's used to sell both long guns and handguns, but now only long guns.

We need to compile a list of general merchandise stores that "used" to sell guns and handguns, but now do not.

I suppose Sears would be one to start. Does Sears sell any guns at all now?

With the pro-RKBA tide swinging back our way again, we need to encourage and look for stores to start to bring back both long guns and handguns.

TFred

I haven't looked in some time, but Walmart in Redding, CA used to sell guns...they may still. I had a friend that worked the counter. Redding has several good places to buy both long guns and handguns.
 
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Grapeshot

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Some will remember that Sears Roebuck sold guns and that Montgomery Wards did too, but how many will remember that J.C. Penny also contributed to many a rabbit and bird hunt?

Western Auto was the place to comparative shop and a 12 year old buying shells wouldn't raise any eyebrows.
http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.gun-cross-reference-index.html

I got to see and touch Ted Williams and Hawthorn models w/o adult supervision. Many a young shooter started on a H & R Topper .410

Life was much simpler then.
 

TFred

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Just an additional note on Walmart...

There are four Walmart Supercenter stores in my area, three of which I frequent on a regular basis. Only one of those three sells long guns, so late one night I ran into a guy who looked like he might know the answer why.

He said Walmart has two styles of sporting good sections, the "outdoors style", and the "exercise style". He may have used slightly different words, but you can assume the rest from there.

Besides long guns, the other difference that I noticed early on was that the outdoors style store regularly stocks the 250 count bricks of handgun ammo, while the other ones never have anything bigger than the 100 count boxes.

TFred
 

Dreamer

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Sep 23, 2009
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Grennsboro NC
WalMart started backing off on firearms sales after Michael Moore's movie about Columbine demonized them. He essentially says in the movie that WalMart selling guns CAUSED the "trenchcoat Mafia" to kill all those people, and WalMart subsiquently stopped selling guns altogether in some locations because of the pressure they were getting from frothing soccer moms...

Michael Moore is a fat, stupid idiot...

And the first shotgun I owned was purchased for me by my father from either Western Auto or JC Penneys, in the early 1980's.

And I used to buy .22LR ammo at the local Western Auto all the time when I was young. I'd ride down there on my bike when I was 13 or 14 and buy a box or two every few weeks in the summer months, in the late '70s/early '80s...
 
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Grapeshot

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May 21, 2006
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35,317
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WalMart started backing off on firearms sales after Michael Moore's movie about Columbine demonized them. He essentially says in the movie that WalMart selling guns CAUSED the "trenchcoat Mafia" to kill all those people, and WalMart subsiquently stopped selling guns altogether in some locations because of the pressure they were getting from frothing soccer moms...

Michael Moore is a fat, stupid idiot...

And the first shotgun I owned was purchased for me by my father from either Western Auto or JC Penneys, in the early 1980's.

And I used to buy .22LR ammo at the local Western Auto all the time when I was young. I'd ride down there on my bike when I was 13 or 14 and buy a box or two every few weeks in the summer months, in the late '70s/early '80s...

WalMart's agreement with Hizoner Bloomie didn't help either. In both cases they capitulated to the vocal pressures of a few. They drank the Kool-Aid right along with the soccer moms. I see some improvement in their attitude locally - middle and store management changes. Perhaps we are beginning to get through with the point that we are normal, responsible citizens.

Remember the infamous 16 gauge - it was pretty much the standard of the day.
 

67GT390FB

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Mar 2, 2007
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860
Location
Richmond, Virginia, USA
Galyans in the Stony Point mall sold handguns until someone quoted some old Richmond City law that said they had to record sales and report them to the city or some crap. Then Dick's bought them out and didn't sell handguns.

Galyans never quit selling handguns. When dicks took over the store they still had handguns for sale marked down to clearance prices.
 
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