First purchase at Reddings in Gettysburg!

[Dave Baird]

MrsB. and I were on a long weekend in the Gettysburg area and as always, had a great time. I thought I had visited every gun shop around Adams Co. the past several years and all with little luck. We happened to walk in a terrific Mil Surplus store downtown on 30W, and while buying a fresh set of Swiss camo and an import M9 bayo for my 590-A1, I asked the great owner if he knew of any gun shops around that sold modern stuff. He said no, the only one I can think of is Reddings Hardware just a couple blocks away. I asked if they had just opened, never heard of them. He laughed and said, well, you haven't been looking in the right place! They've been there for for decades and have hundreds of guns! I about fell over! I said I guess I had been searching over the NET for "Gun Shops" and Reddings Hardware never came up! We ran over just before they closed. They were all busy and the the guns were difficult to see. When my turn came, I asked if they had a SAM Commodore. They said no and because they were busy, I figured I'd come back another time. Wise choice!

We went back the next day, 30 minutes after they opened. I was the only gun customer so had a chance to look at the guns a bit. But, to be honest, they have so many crammed in the cases, I couldn't tell what any were. When asked by a nice clerk, instead of asking for a specific gun, I told the fella I was shopping around for an affordable 1911 commander-sized 45. He immediately went to a specific location and pulled out several for me to look at. In this store, that's the way to start communication instead of asking for specifics. One of the guns was the Regent (TISAS) R350CR Commander. It was $100 more than what I could get a Commodore for, but I hadn't jumped on the Commodore prior to now because of the high combat sights. I prefer the Novak-style, the style that are on the Regent! The Regent also has Hogue grips, the Commodore hard plastic. So, the $100 difference could work out just fine. The clerk looked closely at the pistol and seemed impressed at the tightness and finish. He even snapped it in his personal holster because he carries a Commander. I told him thanks and left. We drove over to the Library and I got online immediately. I read numerous reports on the Regent (plus, I already own a Regent R200S in stainless and it is just fine with a new safety and mag). Reports were overwhelmingly positive so I started checking pricing and availability. Seems they are not all that easy to find and the price at Reddings is PAR with anyone else, not a penny more. We ran back and I bought it. Ammo prices were just a tad over what I spend, so I passed. Registration is just $5!

Summary: Remember when NET searching for shops, try hardwares! Reddings is a very busy place and it is difficult for the numerous staff members to operate behind the tiny space without walking all over each other. I would imagine tempers have flown and will until they get more space. It is virtually impossible to view any guns in the cases. They have as many guns as any Cabelas, but jammed in an area no bigger than my livingroom including long guns and shelves and counters. I am very happy with the service and pistol I got at Reddings. But, I bet if they moved either the gun store or the hardware to another location and give the workers room to move and the customers space to be able to view all the guns (and not have them jammed together), sales would improve by a good 25%-30%. Once sales improve, maybe they could offer slightly better prices too, not just MSRP. Maybe 10% on your birthday month, or for military, or whatever. I will stop back!!!!

Dave

[gghbi]

Congrats on the find! You have experienced both the best and worst of Reddings in one weekend. The guns jammed too tight and lack of lighting make browsing difficult. You also caught them on a good day as service can be spotty. (look them up in this thread)

Their pricing could use some help generally, but sometimes they have what you want at a price you can accept. I like to stop by and browse when I get a chance, you never know what you might find. I have not been by for a while and it has been even longer since I bought a gun there. Glad to hear they only wanted $5 for the paperwork.