best shop in the Twin Cities to buy a used rifle?

[Carl_Spackler]

can anyone recommend a shop somewhere in town that has a good selection of used rifles at reasonable prices? I haven't had a chance to check out anything besides some of the big box stores like Gander Mtn, Dick's and Cabela's, but their prices seem a little too high for used firearms. are any of the smaller shops in town worth checking out? I'm thinking of places like Metro Pawn & Gun, Gunstop, Joe's Sporting Goods, Bill's, etc. I'm looking to buy my first hunting rifle, and while buying new is certainly an option i'd rather keep the spending to a minimum. Thanks!

[photogpat]

Frontiersman, St Louis Park -- always a perennial favorite of mine for used long guns! Don't be intimidated when you walk through the door!

[Carl_Spackler]

what are their prices like?

[spkriegs]

I second the recommendation of the Frontiersman. That place is great, the staff is very knowledgeable & friendly, and they have a really good selection. It's kind of hard to navigate the parking lot if you drive a bigger rig though, but that has nothing to do with buying a gun

[Pezhead]

Fronteirsman would be a good place to start.

[spkriegs]

Price-wise, it seems good. I bought a new Ruger LCP there, and it was the cheapest price I found anywhere...

[1911fan]

What kind of a rifle do you want? Prices are going to be pretty fair all over, as the gun buying boom of last year has tapered off.

Gander has new 700 rem ADL's for 400 with a scope, awful hard to beat that.

All depends on what you want. The era of the 100 dollar winchester 94 is gone,

[LarryFlew]

depending on where you are there are many. Just checked out H&H in Maple Lake myself (West on hwy 12) and purchased a very good priced CZ 75B (#6 CZ for me) and their rifle/shotgun selection was good and prices seemed to be decent. You will find that many are close to the same but a lot of the time it depends on what they have into it. IE on the handgun I bought value is higher than it was priced as it was a "glossy blue" made in 2003 and never fired. Even the blueing was on the rails and all original plastic bags, loader, snap caps, factory target and box etc where all there. No blemishes whatsoever. They probably had a low number as a trade and that left room for me to make an offer and get it cheap. So the same gun may cost you more if you bought it somewhere else if they had more into it as a trade.

Look around, decide on what you want and then start checking and/or calling. Today it might be best price at Gander and tomorrow might be Frontier. Use places like Gunbroker.com to see what the typical selling price has been by searching for your gun under completed auctions.

[tacticalninja32]

Gunstop, metropawn in richfield

[Carl_Spackler]

What kind of a rifle do you want? Prices are going to be pretty fair all over, as the gun buying boom of last year has tapered off.

Gander has new 700 rem ADL's for 400 with a scope, awful hard to beat that.

All depends on what you want. The era of the 100 dollar winchester 94 is gone,

I'm looking for either a Remington 700 CDL or a Winchester Model 70 Super Grade. I think the latter will be harder to find used and the former I can get new for $750. i'm not looking for cheaply made rifles and I use the term 'inexpnsive' lightly when I refer to used rifles.

[1911fan]

Try Al's in WBL< or look at the used Featherweight pre 64 model 70 that MinnesotaTV has listed for sale here.

[mnglocker]

Did you ever gather up enough coin for that hi-point carry gun?

[Carl_Spackler]

Gunstop, metropawn in richfield

i've been to Metro Pawn and Gun before and wasn't sure what to think. the guys that worked there were friendly and helpful but I wasn't so sure about their used gun prices. keep in mind, I don't really have a frame of reference as far as price is concerned so I don't really know what to expect. for example, they had quite a few Remington 700's ranging from BDL's to CDL's, but they weren't all in pristine condition as I had hoped (a lot of cosmetic defects were noticeable). they ranged in price from $400-600 and while that is certainly a decent price I could easily spend a few hundred more and get a CDL brand spanking new. I'll keep checking them out though

[photogpat]

@ Metro Pawn - every price is a "starting point" for the negotiation process. Bring cash and expect to haggle down 10-15%. YMMV. It sounds like you're well-educated on what the price "should" be - be polite with your offers, but don't necessarily expect to educate them on the price.

If nothing else, examine a rifle on the counter...let them now you're interested, and let them make the first offer.

[wrench]

Metro Pawn dickers hard on used guns, I've gotten a few real nice deals from them when the sticker was, "wow", overpriced.
Gunstop and Frontiersman would be the others on my list.