MrWhiteRabbit
Firefighter Gone Awry
- Sep 23, 2007
- 1,122
Personal experience, bias, opinions, and a shameless plug follow. These are not the opinions of the forum, but meant to spark conversation and serve as a reference point and directions for other buyers in the central MD area.
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After reading in another thread about all the gun shops on the Rt 2 corridor, I decided to see what's out there. Since the girlfriend and I both had short days today, we drove through Glen Burnie to see what's available. Here's a short synopsis of what we found.
Headed southbound from 695 onto Rt 2, just as 2 and 3 split, Bart's Sports World (6814 Ritchie Hwy) is the first building in the median area. They were pretty busy (~4 guys behind the counter, one on the showroom floor, and ~8 customers). They have a surprisingly large selection of O/U and side-by-side shotguns, they have several dozen handguns under glass and a healthy supply of rifles, too. Some new, some used. I'd never seen or handled an FN FS2000 before (same unique FN style, but chambered in .223, and safe for lefties to use!), but they were able to speak intelligently about it.
A bit further south from Bart's is A&D Pawn (706 Crain Hwy). Again, a pleasant experience with talkative and knowledgable staff. Obviously salesmen, but they weren't pushy at all - just ready to put a gun in your hands and tell you all the wonderful things about it. There were a few other shoppers in the store, about an even mix of one customer for each of the three guys that I saw behind the counters.
Continuing south from A&D is Otto's Police Supply (514 Crain Hwy), or so I'm led to believe. I couldn't find it. The 514 building is actually a series of buildings off of the main drag and I didn't see anything to indicate which was Otto's. While cruising the road that connects all the 514 buildings, I asked one guy where Otto's was and he didn't know, but suggested "further back" and when I get to the end without seeing it, I ask another fellow who suggests "first building back up at Crain, but be careful stepping over the homeless guys." So I went back up to that first building, stepped over a homeless guy (carefully!) and still didn't find it.
Continuing south, and a right turn later - Arundel Firearm and Pawn (7427 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd) was my best experience of the day. (Well, best firearm-related experience, that is!) Once you find the correct door into the place, there's about a 70/30 mix of firearms to other, more typical, pawn shop stuff. The man who greeted us was friendly and chatty, and after a few minutes of telling him about MDShooters, he pointed out that they have plenty of other weapons in the back if I had something in mind. "What do you have for someone interested in making some long-range shots... maybe in a .50?" I asked, expecting to be scoffed at, or given the typical "Barrett's the only one that can do that" line since I can't imagine a pawn shop gets many of those in. I was wrong. He brought out a true beast of a rifle (McMillan bolt action) and was able to discuss its details as if he'd built it himself. I'm going to start calling this place Mecca.
Back down Crain for a bit, then right on Quarterfield is Scott's Gunsmithing at the corner of Quarterfield and Thelma (231 Thelma Ave.) It was another pleasant experience, but a small shop. I gathered that they do more gunsmithing than selling (good name for the company, then, eh?) but they have a few dozen rifles on the back wall and a good handful under glass, too. Most of what I saw were show pieces (paired and sequentially numbered third-generation Colts - a 1972 Colt 1911 commemorating the end of WWII hostilities in Europe, etc) but they were helpful with honest answers to a few newbie questions that I threw their way. I got the warm fuzzies when I saw the owner was carrying (but not concealing well at all) but then again, it's a gun shop, it's to be expected. A small shop, we were the only patrons I saw at the time, but they had some good, straightforward answers.
Accurate Pawn (from Hwy 100, turn north on 1 and it's on your right near Duckett's Rd.) probably had the best deals on firearms but I didn't get very good service while there (or see many firearms). Two salespeople (one newbie, one probable owner) were working, but the more senior salesperson was busy showing the newbie how to unpack boxes and display items while simultaneously getting ready for a large show this weekend and trying to answer our questions. Between all the tasks he was trying to accomplish, and add us to the mix ... we got the short end of his attention. Short answers, a little bit of sales pitch (November's sale is on Kimber and some other manufacturer that slips my mind at the moment - just $50 over their price) but I didn't see more than a dozen handguns in the shop. He pointed at a couple rifle cases that had been sold as an example of the rifles he usually carries but most of his inventory had already been boxed up for the show. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was busy with a new salesperson, it was ~30 minutes before closing, and he's got a big show this weekend ... so he's allowed being a little short on chattiness with two customers coming in just to ask questions.
At the end of the day, I'm looking forward to spending my money at Arundel Firearm and Pawn. Most of the places I went to were courteous, knowledgeable, and helpful (except Otto's that I couldn't find and Accurate Pawn who was just too busy while I was there). I'm glad we still have these kind of mom-and-pops kind of pawn shops and gun stores. You wouldn't get this kind of attention and customer service from some big box store.
-----
After reading in another thread about all the gun shops on the Rt 2 corridor, I decided to see what's out there. Since the girlfriend and I both had short days today, we drove through Glen Burnie to see what's available. Here's a short synopsis of what we found.
Headed southbound from 695 onto Rt 2, just as 2 and 3 split, Bart's Sports World (6814 Ritchie Hwy) is the first building in the median area. They were pretty busy (~4 guys behind the counter, one on the showroom floor, and ~8 customers). They have a surprisingly large selection of O/U and side-by-side shotguns, they have several dozen handguns under glass and a healthy supply of rifles, too. Some new, some used. I'd never seen or handled an FN FS2000 before (same unique FN style, but chambered in .223, and safe for lefties to use!), but they were able to speak intelligently about it.
A bit further south from Bart's is A&D Pawn (706 Crain Hwy). Again, a pleasant experience with talkative and knowledgable staff. Obviously salesmen, but they weren't pushy at all - just ready to put a gun in your hands and tell you all the wonderful things about it. There were a few other shoppers in the store, about an even mix of one customer for each of the three guys that I saw behind the counters.
Continuing south from A&D is Otto's Police Supply (514 Crain Hwy), or so I'm led to believe. I couldn't find it. The 514 building is actually a series of buildings off of the main drag and I didn't see anything to indicate which was Otto's. While cruising the road that connects all the 514 buildings, I asked one guy where Otto's was and he didn't know, but suggested "further back" and when I get to the end without seeing it, I ask another fellow who suggests "first building back up at Crain, but be careful stepping over the homeless guys." So I went back up to that first building, stepped over a homeless guy (carefully!) and still didn't find it.
Continuing south, and a right turn later - Arundel Firearm and Pawn (7427 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd) was my best experience of the day. (Well, best firearm-related experience, that is!) Once you find the correct door into the place, there's about a 70/30 mix of firearms to other, more typical, pawn shop stuff. The man who greeted us was friendly and chatty, and after a few minutes of telling him about MDShooters, he pointed out that they have plenty of other weapons in the back if I had something in mind. "What do you have for someone interested in making some long-range shots... maybe in a .50?" I asked, expecting to be scoffed at, or given the typical "Barrett's the only one that can do that" line since I can't imagine a pawn shop gets many of those in. I was wrong. He brought out a true beast of a rifle (McMillan bolt action) and was able to discuss its details as if he'd built it himself. I'm going to start calling this place Mecca.
Back down Crain for a bit, then right on Quarterfield is Scott's Gunsmithing at the corner of Quarterfield and Thelma (231 Thelma Ave.) It was another pleasant experience, but a small shop. I gathered that they do more gunsmithing than selling (good name for the company, then, eh?) but they have a few dozen rifles on the back wall and a good handful under glass, too. Most of what I saw were show pieces (paired and sequentially numbered third-generation Colts - a 1972 Colt 1911 commemorating the end of WWII hostilities in Europe, etc) but they were helpful with honest answers to a few newbie questions that I threw their way. I got the warm fuzzies when I saw the owner was carrying (but not concealing well at all) but then again, it's a gun shop, it's to be expected. A small shop, we were the only patrons I saw at the time, but they had some good, straightforward answers.
Accurate Pawn (from Hwy 100, turn north on 1 and it's on your right near Duckett's Rd.) probably had the best deals on firearms but I didn't get very good service while there (or see many firearms). Two salespeople (one newbie, one probable owner) were working, but the more senior salesperson was busy showing the newbie how to unpack boxes and display items while simultaneously getting ready for a large show this weekend and trying to answer our questions. Between all the tasks he was trying to accomplish, and add us to the mix ... we got the short end of his attention. Short answers, a little bit of sales pitch (November's sale is on Kimber and some other manufacturer that slips my mind at the moment - just $50 over their price) but I didn't see more than a dozen handguns in the shop. He pointed at a couple rifle cases that had been sold as an example of the rifles he usually carries but most of his inventory had already been boxed up for the show. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was busy with a new salesperson, it was ~30 minutes before closing, and he's got a big show this weekend ... so he's allowed being a little short on chattiness with two customers coming in just to ask questions.
At the end of the day, I'm looking forward to spending my money at Arundel Firearm and Pawn. Most of the places I went to were courteous, knowledgeable, and helpful (except Otto's that I couldn't find and Accurate Pawn who was just too busy while I was there). I'm glad we still have these kind of mom-and-pops kind of pawn shops and gun stores. You wouldn't get this kind of attention and customer service from some big box store.