My sporting dollar

A friend of mine recently asked me why I bought my ammo at Gander Mountain, instead of going to Wal-Mart or Meier where I would pay $2-4 less per box than I pay at Gander Mountain.

It’s actually a pretty straightforward decision for me – I know that Gander Mountain supports my right to keep and bear arms from both a financial and political standpoint.  The same goes for Cabelas and MidwayUSA – two more places where I pay more for ammo than I would at WallyWorld.

Wal-Mart (as an example)  has gotten into bed with Mayor Bloomberg of New York, doing that meant that they lost my sporting dollars forever.  Meier I have no specific beef with, but I don’t know what their stance on the 2nd Amendment is, so why risk it?  I’d rather that money go somewhere I know it will support the shooting sports than take a chance that I’m just lining the pockets of some anti-gun executive.

Voting with your dollars is a key part of being a gun owner and sportsman.  The firearms industry generates more annual revenue that the golf industry; literally billions of dollars are spent every year on guns, ammo, and accessories.  When you take those billions of dollars and push them to companies like Gander Mountain or MidwayUSA, you know that your money isn’t going to wind up in Mayor Bloomberg’s hands.

12 Comments

  1. All good points. I wish I could say they were my reasons. Let’s face it, all the Walmarts in Mass no longer cater to gun owners, and the times when I visit them in Vermont and Maine, usally the desk where the ammo is stored behind is empty, and they don’t let you pick through the boxes to check out the selection.

    Plus the last time I bought ammo at one (several years ago in vermont…some .22 Shot shells that I couldn’t find ant any local shops, that happened to be there, and a fat kid was manning the desk) they asked me all kinds of stupid questions first.

    And we’re not talking crazy-gun-law Mass here, VER-fucking-MONT!!!

    I don’t get it…so I don’t bother with them.

  2. I too don’t buy ammo at Wal-Mart.

    Honestly, I can buy a case of Fiocchi 9mm for $203 which is no worse than what it’d cost me to buy 100 round value packs of WWB. Not to mention getting ammo shipped to my door is super convenient.

    I’ve actually never bought WWB.

  3. I broke down, rushed before a range meet, to get ammo and bought some white box .45 at WalMart after finding out the small FFL in town closed early that day for a family matter.

    It was the ONLY time I’ve ever had a squib in the Sig. Ever.

    That will be my last “white box”.

    I’ll pay a couple dollars more to put the money in the hands of someone who makes their living off of it and isn’t just making up for a short sales week of Sam’s Club Slug and Snail Bait.

  4. Sorry about that Tam – your name was still in my “Leave a comment” box in my laptop you used. . . .

    Try it again.

    I broke down, rushed before a range meet, to get ammo and bought some white box .45 at WalMart after finding out the small FFL in town closed early that day for a family matter.

    It was the ONLY time I’ve ever had a squib in the Sig. Ever.

    That will be my last “white box”.

    I’ll pay a couple dollars more to put the money in the hands of someone who makes their living off of it and isn’t just making up for a short sales week of Sam’s Club Slug and Snail Bait.
    BRIGID

  5. That sucks. I do agree that it’s often worth the cost to pony up and buy better ammo than Winchester White Box or Remington’s bulk stuff – I’m also kind of wondering now if the failures I had in my Para .40 weren’t related to the gun or magazines, but rather to the Winchester White Box ammo I was using.

  6. I used to occasionally buy Federal 12 gauge at Wally-World for trap and clays shooting, back when I was in college. But that was pretty much it.

    In Dec. 2007 I was trying to do some Christmas shopping at the Wal, and was so disappointed in their crappy selection I walked out without buying anything.

    Then, when they got stupid and got their heads up bloomberg’s butt and started talking about running serial numbers from crimes to find out if firearms were purchased in their stores along with keeping videos of all sales, I said enough and went on a permanent boycott of Wal-Mart and have not gone back for anything.

    Hi, I’m Petey and I haven’t set foot in a Wal-Mart in 10 Months.

    Everyone else in support group: Hi, Petey

  7. I agree… support those who support you! We heart Cabela’s and the local firearm stores. Wally World can decide any minute to stop carrying something, then that puts a ripple into the supply and demand equation.

    A great book on Wal-Mart is The Wal-Mart Effect… it’s not pro or against Wal-Mart, it is just a great report on how much influence Wal-Mart has on the US economy. One tiny decision can rock several industries (e.g. Wal-Mart insisted deodorant manufactures stopped packaging their product in a box in order to save the customer money. The paper industry took a big hit and so did the lumber industry). I know, I know… geeky book, but absolutely fascinating.

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