Gander Mountain

Reviews 3

RY

Ryan Wolbert

I have been looking for a new 9mm pistol for a while so about a mouth ago I went into the store to look at a few guns that I had seen. I talked to Robert (Ricky Bobby) for a good hour and he was incredibly knowledgeable and showed me guns that I hadnt even considered, he talked me through all their features and benefits, downfalls and did his best to compare the guns and give me his opinions. After all the new information I decided to wait a while and think on it. this brings us to last week, I went in with my mind set on a p226. I went to the gun counter and talked to Geoff who helped me checkout and get the gun ordered because the didnt have one in stock. All in all I am happy with my experience and would highly recommend that you talk to Bob or Geoff if your looking for a new gun. However I do have some complaints with Gander and I hope that someone from the store can make changes that would better the store and consumer shopping experience. first, when I went to buy the gun the store didnt have the gun in stock so I had to order it online in store but the price was more online than in the case so I got over charged, this was resolved later but in my opinion should not happen in the first place. Secondly as I was looking for reloading supplies and stumbled upon the shot shell reloading stuff but didnt see rifle/pistol reloading supplies so I just assumed they didnt have it, then when I went back I found the rifle/pistol supplies... halfway across the store. I dont know who set it up like that but its just stupid, in my mind all the reloading supplies should be in the same spot. As a shopper I dont want to walk around the whole store to find something, especially when can go across the street and find what I need in a store that is logically organized. next, lets talk about gun organization, right now from what I can tell all the guns are organized by manufacturer, Which looks nice but is just illogical. like I said earlier Bob was very helpful and showed me a lot of options but that involved literally walking from end to end of the gun cases to hit every worthy 9mm. by now I probably just sound lazy but what Im saying is it would be nice if all the guns were organized by caliber so the customer (me) could have a few guns in front of them the get a feel for all of them side by side instead of the "look at a gun, put it away, move and repeat system in place now. Also, a side note, whoever decided to put the optics case right in the middle of the handgun cases deserves to get fired, optics defiantly deserve a nice case to show then off but that place and case is not right in the middle of all the handguns. finally, it seems to me that you guys dont listen to your employees, I say this because all the people I have worked with were very knowledgeable and given that they work in the store everyday could probably greatly improve the store if you listened to them. Obviously this doesnt happen because if it did I wouldnt be writing this. In my opinion with some simple changes to the store and and a way for employees to voice there concerns without getting blown off there could be a much better experience for everyone.

JO

John Scott

Unfortunately, its been my experience that since theyve remodeled the store and the business model has obviously shifted to servicing the firearms customer primarily, this store has completely gone down the tubes. Once in a blue moon I have a positive experience here, and that typically is at the firearms counter. That being said, Id NEVER trade in a gun there due to the low-balling that seems to be company policy (every time Ive considered doing so the rep has explained that this is company policy). Shooting range staff arent crabby, but most are extremely arrogant. I brought my neighbor there once, who himself was a youth shooting instructor for 10 years, and was embarrassed by the treatment. The way the staff wanted to go through our gear, particularly ammo, was on par with TSA service. They raised a big stink because we had some older ammo that was obviously not new and shiny, but nothing wrong with it, and damn near demanded we buy new ammo at the store. Then they got smarmy over brand new 9mm ammo because it was steel and not brass casing. Im a younger guy, my neighbor has been hunting/shooting for 45+ years. Guns were never handled incorrectly nor was there any reason to have the "lane supervisor" constantly breathing down our necks and routinely criticizing ammo only to stop and have someone inspect our ammo and insinuate that the place was going to blow up if we shot a certain cartridge. I get safety, but this was completely over the top nonsensical B as in B, S as in S. If youre looking for fishing gear beyond the basics, forget about it. I admit, Im typically looking for something more obscure that I need because I already own most of the nuts and bolts, which is a lot. But I cringe every time I walk in because I know there is an extremely good chance that they will not have what Im looking for. I remember when they used to be in Bloomington off of 98th, they were awesome. Great staff, great selection, wonderful people. I bought my first shotgun there, and I was a complete novice at that time. These guys treated me like gold and I swore that Id be a customer for life. Unfortunately, that perception has drastically changed, Im sorry to say. While its nice to have numerous shops in the area (because Im a fishing/hunting junkie), I dont see how they can maintain. Most people in my circle would agree and share the same apprehension about shopping here. As for the staff, with the exception of the smarmy "Academy" folks, I cant blame them. Theyre understaffed, have to cover a lot of territory which may not be their area of interest, and I imagine, have to routinely say, "No, Im sorry we dont have that. But, I can order it online for you." If I wanted to do that, Id have done so in the first place with the company that started doing mail order in the 60s.

JA

Jason R

This review mostly focuses on the LIVE FIRE RANGE, and more specifically, the personnel that staff it. I have been a customer several times at the indoor gun range they have. In terms of indoor ranges, it is actually really nice. It is very well kept, uses modern equipment, and the ventilation is superb. There is always a range safety officer present behind the firing line, which ensures everything stays on the up-and-up; I really appreciate this, since there are plenty of modern-day-John-Waynes out there that I wouldnt trust with a dull pencil in their hands.... Anyway, the range is great. However, as with most gun ranges, you run the risk of being supervised by "that guy". You know, the guy who knows everything about every gun ever made and makes it a point to let you know... His way is the only way, his opinion is the only one thats right, and his experience trumps anyone else. I got "him" last time as our RSO. All was well until I was loading my gun back into the holster at the end of our range time. He noticed a slight issue I was having with one of my magazines- the extended base plate I bought was made a tad too thick, so the mag takes a bit of extra effort to securely engage the lock when the mag is full and slide is closed (I carry one in the camber with a full mag underneath). He suggested, er, rather lectured me about the fix. I knew what the issue was and explained it to him, but of course I was wrong. After all, who knows my gun better than him, right?! Again, I explained what was happening and what the remedy was, as I had been working on it just the day before: I just need to shave a tad bit off the top of the polymer base plate. Nope, I was still wrong. When I patiently explained to him one more time what the real issue was, he proceeded to continually interrupt me with, "stop putting cheap $#it on your gun!" (expletive was NOT censored in his rant). Seriously, he said it at least 3 times while I was trying to finish a sentence. I stopped even trying to explain, took my range bag, and we headed out. It is experiences like this that would turn a lot of people off from shooting sports. Luckily Im an avid shooter and have run in to (many) people like this before and can brush it off. But I was coaching a brand new shooter that day and his first experience at a range was "that guy". Hopefully he didnt think too much of it, but I fear for the day that he might be at the range on his own and have the same experience... Its a great range. Just wish they would invest in their employee customer-relations a bit more. I get it: you work at a gun range. But your customers arent all former-military grunts that cuss and chew and open-carry their guns in their thigh holsters...