Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    York, Pennsylvania
    (York County)
    Posts
    330
    Rep Power
    10829

    Thumbs up Euro Optic - Montoursville, PA

    Just had a positive experience shopping here yesterday. I think part of what attracted me to this shop was that they figured out how to build a serious online presence, with up-to-date inventory, which gave me the impression that some genuinely tech-savvy people work here.

    That, and they're one of the few retailers in Central PA who carry Sako, Blaser, Mauser, and other high-quality, premium gun-makers. Noticeably absent from their inventory are the sub-$500 "Wal-Mart special" bolt-actions-- not that those are a bad thing in and of themselves, but I was definitely saving-up for something engineered and built to a standard, not a price point. I believe I found such a rifle-- for a very reasonable price-- in the Mauser M12 Extreme, chambered in 7x64 Brenneke.

    Why 7x64? Because if you know where to look, PPU, S&B, Remington, and even the odd Winchester 7x64 cartridges can be had-- with somewhat-decent-quality brass, no less-- for well under $1.00/round (I've found some 140gr PPU boxes for as low as $0.74/round). With the run on ammo the past few months, I'm having difficulty finding bare-butt-basic soft-point factory .280 Remington, or even 7mm-08, for less than that!

    Not only that, but European rifles chambered in 7x64 typically sport a fast twist rate, usually 1:8.5-8.7", letting me use "low and slow" loadings formulated with meat preservation in mind.

    But, back to the retail experience. I called ahead and asked the young man who answered the phone about their online inventory versus what they actually have on property, and he said that everything they sell online is stored on the premises-- if I wanted to see something I saw online that wasn't in the showroom, all I had to do was ask for it and give them a few minutes to retrieve it from storage. The Mauser M12 in 7x64 was the last one in stock, and was marked with a rather deep discount-- I knew darn well I was not likely to see a Mauser M12, or even its' Sauer 101 equivalent, for that price again any time in the near future, so I figured I'd drive up to Montoursville (I live in York), cash payment in-hand, and check out the shop! I spent most of my childhood in Williamsport, so I knew the area, and it had been years since I was last up that way. The location was surprisingly-easy to find, being adjacent to the Lowe's and just down the road from the Wal-Mart in Montoursville.

    The storefront was very clean and well-maintained, with a canister of sanitary wipes visible behind the counter. The display case layouts were very logical and intuitive (except for a bit of a mix-up in the scopes-- more on that in a bit). The shop was not busy at that time, so I walked up to one of the counters and a young fellow was ready to assist me right away. I told him what I was looking for and he retrieved it after about 30 seconds or so of checking the inventory in the computer to see if it was in the storefront or elsewhere on the premises. I cycled the bolt a few times, got a feel for the trigger and made up my mind to buy it. I then asked about scopes.

    Admittedly, I know very little about scopes-- my main rifle up to this point was a .30-30 with iron sights, an early-1950's-vintage Winchester 94 Carbine I inherited from my late grandfather. I knew what the elevation and windage turrets were, and I knew I wanted a second-focal-plane scope so that the crosshairs won't get bigger or smaller as I adjust the magnification, but that's about the extent of my knowledge. I told the young fellow as much, and said I was looking at something around a certain price point. I also made it a point to say that the land our hunting cabin was on is densely-wooded, with only a few clearings between 100-150 yards wide, so a high-power scope would probably not suit my needs. He recommended a 3-9 power Vortex, I gave that a try and liked it, but was willing to try a few others before making up my mind. He then pulled-out a 4-16 power Vortex, which was a little higher than the price point I quoted, but not exorbitantly-so. Sure enough, it was a noticeably-nicer scope, with excellent clarity. I was ready to buy it, despite being about $150 more than the price range I stated. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the Vortex scopes were not arranged in order, and some had the wrong tags next to them, so not only was the scope I liked the last one in stock, but was already spoken-for.

    The guy then showed me a 2.5-10 Vortex with an illuminated reticle, placed in on a chassis, and let me take it outside to try it out, mentioning the approximate distances of several nearby landmarks, so I could put the scope picture in spatial context. I liked it well enough and agreed to buy it. Again-- this is my first scope-- I'm pretty sure I'm going to upgrade in the future. This one was not only a magnification range that would work well for the area I'll be hunting in, but was also less than my stated price range. So, he and one of the other employees ran a selection of rails and scope rings by me-- I agreed to a 20 MOA rail (a rail was required because the scope was fairly short, and the rifle was a long action) and a nice, sturdy pair of Steiner scope rings. The guy asked me if I would like him to sight it, quoted me a $30 charge for that, and completed that process in about 25 minutes.

    During that time, I talked to a few of the other guys working the shop. They were all friendly and, when not assisting other customers, were happy to talk shop about reloading, custom rifle parts, and all other kinds of technical stuff I geek out about. When the guy came back with my rifle, he took my payment, printed my receipt, and also sent a digital receipt to my email.

    Despite the slightly-annoying hiccup with selecting the scope, the experience was overall positive, I got fair prices on my purchases, and felt like I wasn't treated like an idiot, even though it was pretty clear I was not the slightest bit knowledgeable about rifle scopes. When the time comes for me to upgrade-- I have a custom action and barrel coming to me in the not-too-distant future, but not in time for buck season, hence the purchase of this Mauser-- Euro Optic will be at the top of my list of dealers. They're knowledgeable about the products they carry, have a great selection aimed at customers willing to spend a bit more for top-quality products, and know how to run a retail operation with both storefront and online purchasing options.

    Recommended!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Tioga County, Pennsylvania
    (Tioga County)
    Posts
    4,951
    Rep Power
    21474852

    Default Re: Euro Optic - Montoursville, PA

    They do have a nice storefront with a lot of high quality pricer items which is a bonus for this area in north central PA.

    A lot of the sales staff is good but I did have a guy helping us early this year that was a bit combative. Wasn't a big deal, I think he thought himself very knowledgeable, but I'm very knowledgeable so I think he saw that as a threat as he was attempting to sell various guns to a member in my party.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Lock Haven & Southern Ohio, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    451
    Rep Power
    6318624

    Default Re: Euro Optic - Montoursville, PA

    Anther thumbs up for Euro-Optics and their sister operations called Scopelist. (scopelist.com)
    A little shocked at the price they charged the OP for a simple bore sighting. Should be free for purchasing the scope there!
    I have purchased four scopes and a red dot from scopelist over the years. Very good service. They stand behind what they sell. They ship fast and they communicate well. Last but not least is their pricing. They are always offering sales on different manufacturers that they handle. And on scopelist.com, in state shipping from Montoursville is a lot cheaper than out of state venders.
    I have been in the store a few times but if you know what you want, you can skip Euro-Optics brick and morter store and buy from their operation under scopelist.
    Engineers make things idiot proof! Evolution makes better idiots!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Doylestown, Pennsylvania
    (Bucks County)
    Posts
    1,048
    Rep Power
    21474852

    Default Re: Euro Optic - Montoursville, PA

    I need to get into this store. I bought my Vortex micro magnifier to sit behind my AR*s red dot at the Harrisburg sportsman show last year, or year before, who can remember. I like their prices are competitive with a lot of on line retailers and they*re here in PA.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Moscow, Pennsylvania
    (Lackawanna County)
    Posts
    4,026
    Rep Power
    21474853

    Default Re: Euro Optic - Montoursville, PA

    This is a store I’m dying to go to. I’ve bought several items online but never gone in

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