Buying guns online

In guns, as in all things in this economy, it helps to shop around. Get the best price, the greatest value. I was reading one of the forums and they were discussing heavy barreled, .308 rifles. The lure of the heavy barreled rifle is easy to understand. They're normally accurate, heavy, easier to shoot with precision. A heavy barrel is less prone to heating and less prone to wobble. I get it, and I've bought a couple of heavy barreled rifles, both extremely accurate pieces.

So, we're talking about buying guns, and particularly, buying guns online. No, Virginia, you can't have a gun delivered to your house by the friendly UPS guy as a general rule. (With one exception. You can buy a gun from the Government and have it delivered to your house.) But, for a purely retail transaction, you can order a gun online, then do some paperwork, and the online retailer will have the gun delivered to a local gun shop, where for a modest fee, normally about $20.00, the local shop takes care of the paperwork and the background check and you can pick up your new toy.

If you're buying a gun online, it helps to first talk to your local gun shop and make sure that he'll accept the gun you want to order, and that he's willing to do the transfer. Some shops are willing to do this, some aren't. If your local guy is willing to do the transfer, he'll walk you through the process.

Now that we've gone round the world, getting to the point, I was reading a thread about two rifles specifically. The guy was wondering which rifle was best for his particular needs. He wanted a .308, heavy barreled rifle, and was researching two options. The Remington 700 Tactical and the Savage 10FP. I did a quick online search and found that Bud's Gun Shop stocks both of them. The Remington 700 is listed at $575.00 and the Savage is listed at $625.00. Both of these rifles are heavy barreled, synthetic stocked, pillar bedded rifles. If you order these rifles online, you'll pay shipping and a fee for the transfer and you can pick them up at your local guns shop.

I've never bought a gun online. I've got a great relationship with my gun shops and they generally are willing to work with me on price, which does two things. I'm buying their inventory and they're getting the sale price, which helps them stay in business. I have printed out the pages from a really great price on the internet and taken it to my gun shop, and asked them how close they could get to the price. Normally, the total out-the-door difference is just a few dollars. (If I can get great prices online, so can they).

I prefer to support my local gun shop, and when buying a gun online you need their help anyway. Get to know the folks at the counter and make the transaction less of a purely financial transaction and more of a personal one. You're sure to come out better in the long run.