Best price on an M&P 9 Full Size?

[LifeInPa]

Well after 7 months of waiting and things happening I finally worked out my fiances to the point where I can afford my first pistol, I made a thread like this 6 months ago when I thought I could afford an M&P but things fell through. I just wanted to see if things changed since I asked my questions in that thread. Anyway, I am looking for an M&P 9 Full Sized and I am trying to figure out the best place I can buy it at with the lowest price. So my first question is with current deals would I be better served ordering from an online retailer and paying the FFL fee or do the local gun stores (In my area) have similar deals? I learned last week that Gander Mountain wants close to $550 for an M&P 9 so I feel like I will have to order online even though I rather buy in store.

Based on my travels and what I learned in my old thread the places I should check out are:

jetguns.com (They have the M&P 9 for $439 before transfer)

Wallenpaupack Sport Shop

Northeast Firearms (http://www.northeastfirearms.net/index.htm)

Pickerel Inn on Rt 402

I never bought from these places and I never used jetguns.com or ever visited Wallenpaupack Sports Shop so I don't know if they're worth giving my business. I was hoping you guys have used one of these places and could tell me, also if you could recommend other firearm shops within 30-40 miles of me I would be grateful. Tomorrow I am going to start giving these places a call and see what they can do for me, if I find a decent price I will buy the pistol tomorrow. Right now I am on armsdealer.net looking for additional options. Thanks for your time.

[LifeInPa]

So I found the following places on armsdealer.net, they're a reasonable distance from my home and if you guys have experiences with these places I would like to hear about them.

-Hemlock Gun Shop
733 Purdytown Tpke
Lakeville PA 18438-4019

-2nd Amendment Gun Sales Inc
Lake Ariel, Pa (Do they have a physical address?)

-Whites Crossing Sports Shop (They sell ammo, what about firearms?)
298 Canaan St
Carbondale PA 18407-1458
http://www.whitescrossing.com/index.jsp?parentId=1&id=1

-Six Guns (A bit far)
390 N Main St
Archbald PA 18403-1820

-K C Guns & Repairs (A bit far)
130 2nd St.
Childs PA 18407

-R J Schwenk Machine Shop (No Physical address and far)
PO Box 146
Elmhurst PA 18416-0000

-Carbondale Guns (A bit too far)
1420 Scranton Carbondale Hwy
Archbald PA 18403-0000

-Gun Toters Supply (A bit too far)
300 Betty St
Eynon PA 18403-1250

-Gold N Guns (If this is a pawn shop I have no interest)
601 W Harford St
Milford PA 18337-1232

-CPA Rifles Inc
1012 Emery Rd
Dingmans Ferry PA

[LifeInPa]

I am heading out in a few minutes to check out one of the local shops and ask a few questions, comments or suggestions would still be welcomed at this point as I will be coming home afterwards to make a few phone calls.

[Saddlerocker]

In my experience gun shops will have much higher prices. (Factor in Tax and a charge for PICS if there is one)

I would order from Jet guns and find a place that will do a transfer for $20-$30.
Jet should be no tax and free shipping

Im still kicking myself for trying to support my LGS and paying $100 more that I should have for my M&P9.
(The main reason is the service sucked and they acted like they didnt want to sell a gun)

[wwhite72082]

I've never dealt with Jet but $439 looks pretty good to me. The last time I was in my local shop (The Handgunner in Topton) I think they were priced around $479.

With a few phone calls to find a shop with a low transfer rate, you should be able to get yourself an M&P 9 Full Size for under $500, out the door. Good luck. I have one and have been very happy with it.

[LifeInPa]

Thanks guys, I checked out the Pickerel Inn and they didn't really have many choices. I also asked about the FFL fee and they wanted $25. I will probably end up checking out Northeast Firearms then Wallenpaupack Sport Shop if they cannot get within the ballpark of that figure I will just pay the transfer fee and get it from Jet.

[mslatter]

Quick gut check on why you want the pistol? If for defense, OK. But if it's just for range use, consider a Ruger or Browning .22LR pistol. Ammunition is an repeating cost that you have to factor into your decision. With, say, a 9mm, you can have 15 minutes of fun for twenty bucks. With a .22, for twenty bucks, you'll run out of things to shoot before you run out of ammo.

[renalp]

I ordered a S&W 642 from Jet Guns, via Gunbroker, for a great price ($300, free shipping). Service was quick and the gun was perfect.

[LifeInPa]

Update, I haven't bought my pistol yet since I am not too thrilled about the prices I have encountered. I went online to jetguns.com and they're sold out of the M&P 9. In fact all the online retailers that are selling the M&P 9 for under $500 are sold out, so I have to ask what gives? I gave a call to Northeast Firearms and Wallenpaupack Sport Shop and they will sell me the M&P 9 for $479 cash. I am going to do a little digging but I might just say the hell with it and buy it from one of them. I look at it this way, the Pickerel Inn wants $25 for FFL and the other two places I just mentioned wanted $30 for FFL so in the end with tax if I find an online retailer that can beat the $479 fee (Unlikely at this point) my savings are only going to be around $20-$25.

My last question is can I save money by buying my pistol down South and getting it FFL'ed to a local dealer? I am going on a family vacation next month and I will be in the Charleston, Hiltion Head and Savanna region. Maybe you guys had some experiences with firearm dealers in this area and can tell me if I can a great deal down in the South Carolina/Georgia region?

Quick gut check on why you want the pistol? If for defense, OK. But if it's just for range use, consider a Ruger or Browning .22LR pistol. Ammunition is an repeating cost that you have to factor into your decision. With, say, a 9mm, you can have 15 minutes of fun for twenty bucks. With a .22, for twenty bucks, you'll run out of things to shoot before you run out of ammo.

Well I want it for target shooting and HD/SHTF, eventually I really want to get a .22LR pistol so I can practice without killing myself on ammo but right now I rather get something that can be used in a defensive role. The thing I hate about .22LR pistols are the price, some of them are nearly as much as the M&P or even more in some cases. Plus I have been shooting a .22LR rifle for nearly 3 years now (Currently my only firearm) and I want something that's a little more interesting/challenging to shoot.

When I get my .22LR pistol it's also probably going to be a S&W .22LR, they have adjustable sights and retail in the low $200 range. That's what a good .22LR pistol should cost IMO. When it comes to target shooting with my M&P 9 I am going to buy a few 50 round boxes of Russian steel cased ammo, I have seen 9mm steel ammo going for as little as $6 per 50 round box which is great. So if my pistol can feed that stuff reliably I am going to start buying Wolf, Tula, Brown Bear, etc in bulk.

I ordered a S&W 642 from Jet Guns, via Gunbroker, for a great price ($300, free shipping). Service was quick and the gun was perfect.

I don't understand what's up with Jet, them and most of the other websites that sell my pistol are sold out.

[Saddlerocker]

$480 isnt too bad.

And all M&P's are hard to find right now.
S&W got a big overseas contract for M&P's and they are just now starting to catch up domestically. ( The overseas contract is certainly true, and the catching up part i heard from a S&W authorized dealer so take that for what its worth).

But I would buy the one for $480 or hold out a month or 2 and hopefully they will be back around