Best Gun Store(s) in Birmingham Area?

xCaptainC

Established Member
Dec 6, 2021
18
13
Birmingham, AL
Just moved and curious to know which has the best/most reasonable prices on firearms, mags, ammo, etc! Which do the best with giving good trade prices? Thanks!
 

mbelcher987

Established Member
Dec 12, 2021
14
18
birmingham
Depends on which side of town, Simmons in Bessemer, Marks in hoover/vestavia, Birmingham pistol wholesale on the Trussville side of things.

i tend to just buy online and ship to home or cheapest ffl though.
 

Fritz53

Veteran
Aug 15, 2021
43
77
Atmore
I almost forgot about Precision Tactical in Hoover. Both Nichols and PT are on Facebook and Instagram. Check the out
 

Fritz53

Veteran
Aug 15, 2021
43
77
Atmore
Went to another gun store in Birmingham the other day, it’s called Caliber and it is in the Homewood area. If you are in the market for the best of the best check them out. Fine shotguns and such for those of you that might have fat billfolds. I will say that I will be going back, I love the fine firearms that they have.
 

4CERTN

Established Member
Feb 2, 2016
697
613
Alabama
While most of my dealings have been online for a while now, I do like Simmons and Mark’s the most for brick-and-mortar retail.

I’ve also gotta give a shout-out to Hoover Tactical. I greatly enjoy their range facility and their admin / transfer folks have been great, but I have had a mixed-bag of experience on the retail side. They have had some truly nice used / consignment guns come through lately - it pays to give them a look.
 

Don75

Firearms Dealer… if can be got …I can get it.
Jul 30, 2021
16
3
Alabama
Just moved and curious to know which has the best/most reasonable prices on firearms, mags, ammo, etc! Which do the best with giving good trade prices? Thanks!
Do you want to pay retail or just over wholesale? I live in North Alabama and offer a couple of % over my wholesale cost.

Do Kennamer
Kennamer Firearms
Scottsboro, Alabama
 

mthebron man

Established Member
Jan 6, 2022
11
17
boaz al
Academy sports has best prices on ammo. They put new stock out on monday wednesday and friday. They sell 5.7x28 fn for $44 compared to $55-$65 at other stores. I do not know if all stores replace stocks on those days but you can ask them when they do.
 

The Mann

Established Member
Jan 19, 2022
20
11
Birmingham
If you’re into reloading Simmons or shooter’s warehouse. Other places would be Nichols in Pelham or Birmingham Pistol in trussville. Other small shops around that has deals but you have to have free time to check them all.
 

mhobtr

Established Member
Dec 15, 2016
15
6
Birmingham
I recently worked a trade with Redland Rifle Company on Hwy 280 near Inverness and couldn't be more pleased. Staff was great to work with and pricing was very fair.

I also like Nichols, Simmons and BPW. I haven't had good experiences with Mark's.
 

4CERTN

Established Member
Feb 2, 2016
697
613
Alabama
Can’t disagree with you on any points you made there @Tuscaloser - range folks at HTF are generally good to downright superb in my experience. I’ve found the transfer / office staff there quite helpful. On the Sales side - they sometimes will just outright ignore a person, unfortunately.
 

Tuscaloser

Established Member
May 20, 2023
10
10
Hoover
Can’t disagree with you on any points you made there @Tuscaloser - range folks at HTF are generally good to downright superb in my experience. I’ve found the transfer / office staff there quite helpful. On the Sales side - they sometimes will just outright ignore a person, unfortunately.
Their range staff is great... My wife and I took a foreign friend who was visiting to shoot for the first time in his life. They hit every safety point I would have expected, went over how to hold a pistol and rifle, and kept a close eye on him. He's already demanding range time when he visits next lol.
 

kwb377

Established Member
Dec 16, 2019
160
162
B'ham
I've spent untold thousands of dollars at their various location/iterations over the past few decades, but I'm done with BPW.


In the past, I've overlooked some of the inflated prices on some stuff and the tendency to pull the second magazine out of the box on new semi-autos and claim it only comes with one, then offer to sell you a spare. When you act like you know what you're looking at and call out the fact it should have two magazines, you'll get "Oh...yeah...it comes with two." and the extra one suddenly appears.

They've tried to slip in charging me a $20 shipping fee when I went by in person to pick up a gun I won off GB. "I don't think so, Scooter...". They've also tried to ring up guns for $20 - $30 over what the hang-tag shows. I've always understood going in that I would have to stay on my toes if I made a purchase....but I've finally had enough.


Ealrier this week, I got the itch for a 5.56mm AK and saw that they had Zastava M85 pistol's listed on their website, Gunprime, for a decent price (I'll be SBR'ing it). I completed the order online to reserve one until I could run by after work. Their checkout system adds a $19.95 shipping charge even if you select them as the receiving FFL. The last time I was checking a gun out on their site, I called to verify that I wouldn't pay shipping if I picked it up in-store and they acted like I was a fool for even asking, "Of course you don't have to pay shipping if you're picking it up...why would we charge you shipping?". Well...just making sure, Skippy.

So I arrive after work to pick up the gun and they're completely befuddled (I had a printout of my order showing the item and my order #). It took three people to figure out what I was talking about and to figure out how to walk back to the warehouse to find one (Gunprime...you know, y'alls website. Maybe you've heard of it?). I filled out the 4473, waited the 5 minutes for the approval and he rang me up...with the added $20 shipping. When I asked if they charged shipping on items picked up in store, they said "Yes." When I pointed out that I was previously advised I wouldn't be charged shipping, another employee then said, "Oh...that's a background check fee. We usually charge $35, but since you're LE we only charge $20". I've bought numerous guns from BPW in the past and have never been charged a "background check fee", there's no signage posted that they charge a fee, and they never mentioned this when I started filling out the 4473. And judging by the looks on the faces of the other two customers next to me in the process of completing their gun purchase, the fee was a complete surprise to them also. When I said "Yeeeaaah...no.", they immediately acquiesced and dropped the fee.
"That's a shipping fee." You don't charge shipping on picked up items. "No, wait...nevermind, that's a background check fee." :rolleyes:

Was it worth losing $$$$ of business over an attempted $20 flim-flam, BPW?

ps: I also noticed they're still selling ammo at Covid panic/shortage prices. They have Blazer Brass 9mm for $39.99/box...the same stuff I just ordered online for $11.99/box. Their other ammo prices are similarly ludicrous. They seem to be under the impression that competing LGS's and the internet don't exist.
 

BeardedNative

Established Member
Oct 24, 2022
30
11
Cullman,AL
BLOUNT COUNTY TACTICAL IN ONEONTA.
BLOUNTCOUNTYTACTICAL.COM
THE ARE LOCATED ON HWY 75, IN THE SAME SHOPPING PLAZA AS IGA GROCERY STORE.
THEY DO NOT CHARGE A SHIPPING FEE IF YOU ORDER OFF THEIR WEBSITE.
THEY ALSO HAVE A TON OF FIREARMS YOU CAN PURCHASE DIRECTLY ON THEIR WEBSITE AND THEN PICK UP IN STORE.
 
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