Where to buy?

After a long period of researching and asking a million questions Ive come to the conclusion of purchasing the Ruger sr9c for shooting and eventually CCW. My only problem now is where I should buy from? Ive read a fair amount on other forums and Ive seen some talk of of buying online. I have no expierence with purchasing firearms over the internet. To be honest it makes me nervous. Ive always just gone to Cabelas/Gander/Alhmans and bought new from the major dealers(these have always been long guns). My overall goal is to shop around and find the best deal for me, whether its over the internet or through a dealer. Just asking for some direction and advice in the purchasing process of a first time pistol guy. Thought the guys on IDO would be the best for first help! Thanks

I have had two perfect experiences using these guys. And the price was right. It must be shipped to an FFL holder.

I would meet your FFL in person before choosing as well. Lot of guys doing it out of their house. I did not choose one of those guys. Here’s a handy tool to locate FFL near you. http://www.gunbroker.com/FFL/SearchForFFL.aspx

Major stores like Gander will provide that service too but I wont use them for fear some pimply faced punk might fondle my new piece before I do.

Not sure if the SR9 is on the hard to get list or not.

Get R Done Guns

3228 North 1075 West

Pleasant View, Utah 84414

Phone: (801) 624-0808

Fax: (801) 605-8832

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.getgunsonline.com

Check out gungenie.com. You can browse for the gun you want online and find out the cost from various dealers near you. You choose the dealer, put down a deposit to place the order, and they ship the gun to the dealer that you selected. You pay the remaining balance when you pick it up.

I bought my last handgun through them. They’re prices were excellent and I had the gun within a few days.

I would definitely just call around until you find a good price, the prices vary hugely from store to store.
For example
Arnzen Arms in EP had a S&W Shield for their grand opening they were selling for over $500, Bill,s in Robinsdale….when they have them are about $100 cheaper.

If we don’t watch out for our own $ no one else will either.

2 of my brother in laws have the SR9C and love them, I have shot it as well and it was fun to shoot.
Congrats on your decision!!

Element Arms in Becker. They will beat about anyprice.

Can element still get AR’s or at least take orders that might be filled soon?

Nevermind. I just checked their website and they are cleaned out like everyone else.

The problem is that your question assumes that you could get the pistol from any Ruger dealer. And 2 months ago, that may well have been the case. As the saying goes, that was then. . .

First, I’m assuming you have all your paperwork in order and have your permit to purchase if it is so required. If not, get on it! You can’t do anything unless you have all paperwork in the bag.

In reality, you can shop your boots off, and it will be HIGHLY unlikely you will find 2 dealers–or in fact even one dealer–that has this pistol in stock given the current buying panic. So the question of getting a deal is largely hypothetical because as good as Dealer X or Dealer Y may be, no dealer right now is sitting on large, comprehensive inventories they way they were 2 months ago. So the hurdles are first even finding a dealer who has one and only then does price become an issue.

Basically, if you want the gun in the next year, I would simply work your way through reliable local dealers. If you luck out and find one in stock, jump on it like an alligator on a poodle because it won’t be there for long.

I would AVOID internet dealers at this time. Sorry, but there are too many things that could go wrong, and in the current panic situation, I just see so many more things that could go wrong that I can’t see where it’s worth it. If you do go this route, I would pay the extra % and ONLY pay by credit card so that you dispute anything and claim your money back under a wide range of circumstances.

In the current environment, I’d go old school on this one and go to the following tried/true/tested bricks-n-motar options:

– Four Seasons in Red Wing.

– Joe’s in St. Paul

– Wolf’s Den in Hugo

– Alhmans in Morristown.

– Others mentioned above, don’t want to repeat the whole post.

Sorry to sound like a downer, but in the crazed panic-buying environment, I’d say go in with low expectations in terms of what will be available. Then if you get lucky and find the gun in-stock AND for a decent price, you rightly should feel like you won the lottery.

Good luck.

Grouse

I have the same gun and at the time gander had the best price of $399

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The problem is that your question assumes that you could get the pistol from any Ruger dealer. And 2 months ago, that may well have been the case. As the saying goes, that was then. . .

First, I’m assuming you have all your paperwork in order and have your permit to purchase if it is so required. If not, get on it! You can’t do anything unless you have all paperwork in the bag.

In reality, you can shop your boots off, and it will be HIGHLY unlikely you will find 2 dealers–or in fact even one dealer–that has this pistol in stock given the current buying panic. So the question of getting a deal is largely hypothetical because as good as Dealer X or Dealer Y may be, no dealer right now is sitting on large, comprehensive inventories they way they were 2 months ago. So the hurdles are first even finding a dealer who has one and only then does price become an issue.

Basically, if you want the gun in the next year, I would simply work your way through reliable local dealers. If you luck out and find one in stock, jump on it like an alligator on a poodle because it won’t be there for long.

I would AVOID internet dealers at this time. Sorry, but there are too many things that could go wrong, and in the current panic situation, I just see so many more things that could go wrong that I can’t see where it’s worth it. If you do go this route, I would pay the extra % and ONLY pay by credit card so that you dispute anything and claim your money back under a wide range of circumstances.

In the current environment, I’d go old school on this one and go to the following tried/true/tested bricks-n-motar options:

– Four Seasons in Red Wing.
– Joe’s in St. Paul
– Wolf’s Den in Hugo
– Alhmans in Morristown.
– Others mentioned above, don’t want to repeat the whole post.

Sorry to sound like a downer, but in the crazed panic-buying environment, I’d say go in with low expectations in terms of what will be available. Then if you get lucky and find the gun in-stock AND for a decent price, you rightly should feel like you won the lottery.

Good luck.

Grouse

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Yes my paperwork is all done…Ive got money in hand ready to buy, I just wont buy unless I find exactly what I want which by the way it sounds may be an issue. As far as the internet goes, you just confirmed all my thoughts. I was looking at the used route as well. Any thoughts there? Do most dealers check over guns close enough to find anything that could be wrong with it before they turn it around?

I personally would buy new. You never know how many rounds a semi auto has throught it and if it will have problems. I wouldn’t think it would be too hard to find a new Sr9c. And one thing to remember is gander and cabelas will match each others prices.

The market is crazy right now. I’ve been looking for a S&W Shield in 9MM for a bit. They are out there, but only if you are willing to pay over MSRP. I personally won’t.

I hear you on that one Kooty. I’m looking too. But some places think everything should have added premiums.

I’m afraid if I dont buy what I want now it will never be available again. Look how long it took for things to settle down when the dark prince was first elected. With the climate we have now it could take even longer. Several years. During that time major restrictions could come into play. This could be the turning point in history.

Call Bills in Crystal, they had a couple SR9C pistols when I was in there on Saturday. I didn’t look at the price but they definitely had them.

I was also at Cabelas on Sat and their pistol cases still looked pretty full so I would bet you can get it there too.
The big push has been on AR style rifles and the .223/5.56 ammo. 9mm was an issue at first but everywhere I have been lately(within the last week) Fleet, Gander and Cabelas all had plenty of 9m available.

[quote
Yes my paperwork is all done…Ive got money in hand ready to buy, I just wont buy unless I find exactly what I want which by the way it sounds may be an issue. As far as the internet goes, you just confirmed all my thoughts. I was looking at the used route as well. Any thoughts there? Do most dealers check over guns close enough to find anything that could be wrong with it before they turn it around?

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The short answer is “no”, I would not assume or trust that any dealer has done a thorough check of any gun. Also, with semi autos, I’d want to have a solid inspection and know the history as far as round count. There are ways to tell, but only if someone who knows what they are doing does a thorough inspection. To a much greater extent than rifles and shotguns, there are a lot of handguns on the market with very high round counts on them. Not good or bad by itself, but it’s a key part of knowing what you’re getting and then how much should you pay for it.

Now obviously the better dealers do a thorough inspection, but you can only find that out by real conversations and IMO that’s a face to face deal. Did you scope the barrel? Did you inspect the action? What’s the history of use? Etc, etc, etc.

This is another reason to avoid internet purchases if possible. You simply cannot know what you’re going to get until it shows up in the mail (so to speak) and at that point if you didn’t get what you thought you were going to get, you’re in MegaHassle Land.

As an additional warning, if you read other gun-related message boards, major issues are emerging with online dealers “selling” inventory that they don’t have. In some cases I’m sure this was a legit accident, a gun listed on a website gets sold over the counter and the site doesn’t get updated, etc. But there also appears to be the possibility that some internet dealers are trapping customers by getting down payments on guns that were represented as being in stock, and then trying to swing that into a down payment on an order that the dealer cannot give any indication of when it might be filled. A bad situation IMO.

I think the bottom line is adjust your expectations and now more than ever it’s important to do business with reliable dealers.

Grouse

I use Gunbroker a lot (buy sell trade)without any issues. I am not a license holder and Gunbroker helps with the correct way to do it so you dont get in touble. Find an item and look at the feedback.
Right now they have 20+ for sale if you cant find them elsewhere.

I use gunbroker a lot for reference on pricing. I feel it’s kind of like ebay.

I have used Gun Broker numerous times and have gotten a heck of a deal every time. They have a list of the FFL’s in your area that people have used already so there is no delay on waiting for the FFL to fax any paperwork. I just buy the gun, call the FFL and say I have one coming and that is it.
DT

Great News! Just picked up an Sr9c today for $407! I went to the ruger certified dealer list and called nearly all of them within 45mi. of my place. Out of the 30 or so places I called 3 had a few in stock and one with a great price! Shout out to top caliber firearms in Prescott for a great deal and wonderful service. Thanks to all the idoers for the great advice as well! Cant wait to put a few rounds down range!

Congrats on the new pistol!! You will love it!