Dick's Sporting Goods

[MillCreek]

I have just read in the local paper that Dick's Sporting Goods will soon be opening its first store in Washington state.  Apparently they are expanding onto the West Coast. 

Having never heard of or been in a Dick's Sporting Goods, is it a good store?  Do they carry firearms and related accessories?

[makattak]

Having never heard of or been in a Dick's Sporting Goods, is it a good store?  Do they carry firearms and related accessories?

Often and yes.

It's a large, chain Sporting Goods store. It tends to have a good sized hunting/fishing/outdoor department.

I can pick up pistol ammo there but they only sell long guns. (No black guns as far as I've seen).

In all, it's like most large sporting goods stores- some employees are good, many are clueless.

If you already know what you want, it's a good place to get it.

[Jocassee]

We have a store in my area. They have OK inventory in all areas but service is just about non-existant. The gun counter does seem to have someone close by at all times (this is SC after all) and they seem fairly knowledgeable about the items on the rack.

I guarantee your mileage will vary. I went to the new Academy across the street the day they opened and there were helpful people EVERYWHERE and they had EBR's, Benellis, lots of nice things on the rack.

[mtnbkr]

They're pretty crappy IMO.  Poor gun/hunting section, mostly low end gear.  They've intentionally lied to my wife in order to make a sale. 

Chris

[HankB]

When Dick's opened near me, they had a grand opening with lots of coupons, discounts, etc.

No pistols or EBRs, and case-lot "sale" prices on ammo were no better than WalMart standard prices, so I came out empty-handed.

Dick's coupons in the newspaper usually exclude guns & ammo.  

On the other hand, a week or two back, while looking through their ad in the paper, I saw they had an "almost" EBR, one of the AR-based Remington .223s with camo finish. And 200 round bulk packs of Remington .223 55 gr. FMJ were around $80, or $20 less than Academy or Cabela's.

Maybe, just maybe, they're beginning to get a clue . . .

[brimic]

There's a Dick's fairly close to me but I never go there as there isn't anything really interesting there for me considering that there is a Gander Mountain and a Cabela's 5 minutes away from my house, and a Sportsman's Warehouse about 1/2 hr drive away.

[mtnbkr]

Brimic, with Cabelas and SW nearby, I wouldn't even bother with Gander Mtn.

A SW and GM opened in my old hometown.  Unfortunately, that SW was part of the downsizing and closed after a year, leaving the GM.  The town got the short end of that deal.

Chris

[AJ Dual]

There's a Dick's fairly close to me but I never go there as there isn't anything really interesting there for me considering that there is a Gander Mountain and a Cabela's 5 minutes away from my house, and a Sportsman's Warehouse about 1/2 hr drive away.

If you mean the Sportsman's Warehouse in New Berlin, off of I-43, it's closed. 

[Jamisjockey]

They're pretty crappy IMO.  Poor gun/hunting section, mostly low end gear.  They've intentionally lied to my wife in order to make a sale. 

Chris

I concur.  Crappy selection of gear for the most part.  A little more than a good Wal-Mart might have.  Pretty much a carbon copy of a Big 5 or small Sports Authority.  Once in awhile, I do get something good on sale.  Otherwise,  :rolleyes:

[zahc]

Dick's coupons in the newspaper usually exclude guns & ammo.

Not in Texas they don't.

They aren't a "gun" store, but for an "outdoors" store you can often find in the same mall with all those other stores that wife's find so alluring, you can't do any better. It's great to be able to theoretically go to the mall and buy a case of shotgun shells to go with your dress shoes and ties.

[HankB]

Not in Texas they don't.

Read the fine print - unless they've changed lately, the coupons I've seen locally do. In fact, when the Dick's opened up near me about a year ago, one of the gals they had handing out coupons during grand opening rolled her eyes theatrically when she said ". . . SOME people told me they were disappointed that the coupons didn't apply to guns and ammo . . . "

When I told her "Well, that's understandable . . . after all, those are some of the most worthwhile things the store offers . . . " she was taken aback, and gave me a look that said "Oh, so you're one of those . . . "

Darned right I am.

( Wonder what her reaction would have been if she knew she was standing next to a man with a loaded BHP on his hip under his shirt . . .  )

[Gewehr98]

Not terribly impressed with the Dick's Sporting Goods in my neck of the woods. 

I usually defer to the Mountain of Geese or Cabelas, although for reloading supplies I either use the Ammo Box (Sun Prairie) or Bill's Sporting Goods in Lomira. 

[lee n. field]

Do they carry firearms and related accessories?

Rifles only, and no EBRs.

Not terribly impressed with the Dick's Sporting Goods in my neck of the woods.

Yup.

[GigaBuist]

Every now and again you'll find some good ammo deals there.

A couple of years ago (2007) I got 1,000 rounds of 9mm at $7 a box when the normal price was $10.  Wish I bought 2,000.

25 round boxes of Remington Gun Club shells are $5.50 a box right now.  Kinda hard to be that and the hulls are decent enough for reloading a few times.

[AZRedhawk44]

Pretty much a carbon copy of a Big 5 or small Sports Authority.

^^This.

The ones we have here in AZ tend to be anchor stores at malls, which I find kinda weird.  We have one up at Arrowhead in Glendale, and another at Fiesta Mall in Mesa.

It's basically a double-decker Big 5.  A bit more REI feel to it, but the gun counter is pretty small and to any shooter that actually participates in gun forums, competitions or is otherwise a "gun culture" type of person they'll find it lacking unless they're there for something very basic.

[TechMan]

If you have an Entertainment Book, it usually has coupons for Dick's Sporting Goods.  I looked the fine print over and didn't see any exclusions for ammo or guns so I decided to use it.  The kid at the register balked a little bit until is told him to read the fine print himself as it did not specifically exclude guns or ammo.  He agreed and I walked out with $20 off a 10-22.  I used another one from the Entertainment Book to purchase ammo and didn't have a problem either.

[MillCreek]

Interesting comments above about the malls.  This very first Dick's is going into a mall in Puyallup, about 35 miles south of Seattle.  It is taking over a vacant Linens n' Things and a Circuit City that have been sitting empty for over a year. 

It would be a 120 mile round trip for me, so with the price of gas what it is, it doesn't sound like it is worth a special trip until one gets built much closer to me.

[Jamisjockey]

^^This.

The ones we have here in AZ tend to be anchor stores at malls, which I find kinda weird.  We have one up at Arrowhead in Glendale, and another at Fiesta Mall in Mesa.

It's basically a double-decker Big 5.  A bit more REI feel to it, but the gun counter is pretty small and to any shooter that actually participates in gun forums, competitions or is otherwise a "gun culture" type of person they'll find it lacking unless they're there for something very basic.

Only the big ones are REI-ish.  Some of those will have a little more selction on hunting stuff.  Out here they are strip mall fodder mostly.  Downtown one in Salt Lake is an anchor in an outdoor mall, double decker, climbing wall, etc.  You can go get your golf clubs wrapped, buy some running shoes, get a bicycle, baseball gear, and an overpriced rifle.

[Harold Tuttle]

mine has remington AR pattern EMORs
evil mossy oak rifles

[Tuco]

I don't think much of Dicks.  Their prices are not all that great, selection is only fair.  Not worth me walking through the mall.

I'm still a strong proponent of supporting my local independent merchants.  Let Dicks go the way of others that came before (e.g. Eddie Bauer, LLBean) - Clothing stores with a smattering of hiking gear and an odd kayak here and there.

Dicks anecdote:
The one closest to me gave Glennie quite the scare.   Glen's a good ole UP transplant, never been to the mall, needed a boresighter for his muzzleloader.   Looks in the phone book under "guns and gunsmiths" and calls Dicks.  They said "Bring it on over.  Come in the main door and check it in at the counter."

Imagine a 50 year old 5'-5" county boy wandering through the mall in circles looking for the gun counter.  Smack, the SWAT team tackles him and holds a nine to his head.

Glen told me his side the day after it happened.
"I just needed to get my muzzlegun on the paper"

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2007/12/man_with_rifle_alarms_lakes_ma.html

[brimic]

If you mean the Sportsman's Warehouse in New Berlin, off of I-43, it's closed

Crap, when did that happen?
We had one up by me near West Bend a few years ago, but it was only open for about a year, haven't been to the New Berlin one probably a year.

[cosine]

Crap, when did that happen?
We had one up by me near West Bend a few years ago, but it was only open for about a year, haven't been to the New Berlin one probably a year.

It happened a pretty long time ago. I think it might have been 6 months ago... That place was 5 minutes away from where I live, and I thought wasn't quite as pricey as Gander Mountain. Their Spyderco selection was decent, which I liked. Gander Mountain's isnt.

[AJ Dual]

It happened a pretty long time ago. I think it might have been 6 months ago... That place was 5 minutes away from where I live, and I thought wasn't quite as pricey as Gander Mountain. Their Spyderco selection was decent, which I liked. Gander Mountain's isnt.

Yeah, you can often do better on the net, but SW's prices were decent when you factor in shipping, and the convenience of "gotta have it now" etc. They had a very nice knife and Surefire flashlight counter, optics, all sorts of goodies. And I know there's better places in WI, but it had the largest reloading section I've ever personally been in.

Apparently the Canadian company that was taking over SW did not take over all the stores, and New Berlin was not on the list. 

[Unisaw]

MillCreek, I have been in lots of Dick's stores and there is no way that I would drive to Puyallup to check it out.  If I'm looking for any serious shooting gear or anything handgun-related, I wouldn't bother to go into one if it were across the street.

[AZRedhawk44]

I don't think much of Dicks.  Their prices are not all that great, selection is only fair.  Not worth me walking through the mall.

I'm still a strong proponent of supporting my local independent merchants.  Let Dicks go the way of others that came before (e.g. Eddie Bauer, LLBean) - Clothing stores with a smattering of hiking gear and an odd kayak here and there.

Dicks anecdote:
The one closest to me gave Glennie quite the scare.   Glen's a good ole UP transplant, never been to the mall, needed a boresighter for his muzzleloader.   Looks in the phone book under "guns and gunsmiths" and calls Dicks.  They said "Bring it on over.  Come in the main door and check it in at the counter."

Imagine a 50 year old 5'-5" county boy wandering through the mall in circles looking for the gun counter.  Smack, the SWAT team tackles him and holds a nine to his head.

Glen told me his side the day after it happened.
"I just needed to get my muzzlegun on the paper"

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2007/12/man_with_rifle_alarms_lakes_ma.html

Stores that deal in firearms and don't back their customers to the hilt when $#!+ like that happens, don't deserve my business.

According to your friend:

Looks in the phone book under "guns and gunsmiths" and calls Dicks.  They said "Bring it on over.  Come in the main door and check it in at the counter."

According to the story:

"Our rules are they have to bring (the rifle) into the main customer service counter. If they come in the front mall entrance, they have to wait there and ask someone to walk them in," Bean said.

Once a customer is inside the store, the gun must be checked in at the customer service desk and "green tagged." The tags include the customer's contact information, including a phone number. The gun is then trigger-locked if it wasn't when it was brought in, Bean said.

Bean said the store has a strict policy about gun purchases and in most cases the items are "broken down" or in a case.

"If someone comes in and buys a gun, we tell them they can't walk through the mall with the gun," Bean said. "When a gun is sold, a customer is walked out to his or her vehicle."

Sheesh, a mall-sold product isn't even welcome in the mall.

That's just stupid.  Talk about a culture-clash waiting to happen.  Which it did.

if Dick's isn't willing to be a front-line soldier in the culture battle and aggressively lobby mall management and the local PD in favor of things like CCW and rational discrimination used when encountering a long gun versus the zOMG heezgottagun!!11!eleventyone!1! reaction... the hell with 'em.

If your friend is to be believed, Dicks even set him up for the SWAT tackle by telling him to come in the main door.

What "Dicks."