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cloudcroft wrote:Some younger staff at Paul's helps (one of them packs a C-96 Mauser!), but even the older staff like Verle the gunsmith are friendly...

Ah, so you've met Wiley! He's got an Enfield No. 2 Mk 1* as well, that used to be mine (it was part of my trade fodder for the Colt-Sauer - yeah, I really, really wanted that rifle). Verle's the first person we go to when we need any 'smithing done. I don't think he does stock work, though.

Yes, some of the used gun pricing is a bit high, but a lot of those are consignment items, and he has to go by what the consigner wants to get out of the item. Now, that's not to say we haven't haggled a bit on an item or three.... (ahem, cough)

How often do you visit the store? we may have bumped into each other and not known it.

So which is your favorite candy?

cloudcroft wrote:What an unfriendly place Kirk's was to go/shop...I'm sure they've alienated plenty of potential customers.

Some people just don't know how to run a business "customer skills" wise.

-- John D.

I'm sorry you've had a bad experience with Kirk's... my experience, and that of my son, has been just the opposite. We go in sometimes just to "shoot the breeze" & visit without buying anything. Never had a problem with anyone there, & they've often gone out of their way to help me with a purchase even if it's only a box of ammo and they'd already closed the register for the day.

EP Gun Exchange, on the other hand, has new owners, and I've personally heard them yell at their staff "Who unlocked the door and let these people in?" a good half hour before their posted closing time. In front of the customers. Once might have been a fluke, but I've experienced that same attitude several times at that store & I don't shop there anymore. I'd be very glad if that's now changed - EPGE is almost as much a fixture in El Paso as Kirk's is, and we need all the good gun stores we can get.

I agree with you about Paul Lee at Collector's - he's probably our favorite proprietor to visit with on a weekend. I've lost count of how much $$ I've spent there... I've got a short "wish list" of guns I'd like to have, and Paul calls me whenever he gets something in trade or consignment that he thinks I might be interested in.

Both Kirk's and Collector's have chairs and coffee available for anyone who wants to come in and just visit for a while, as well.

There's also Custom Cartridge in Las Cruces, which is a very good place to go for reloading stuffs.

(You might be a "gun nut" if you're on a first-name basis with the owners and staff of three different gun shops... in two different states.)