I vote for the CSMC Showroom! Large fantastic displays of fine guns.
Were I on fire, I wouldn’t buy a glass of water from that bunch.
It sure would be nice to know what's behind that statement. To listen to the same guy a few years ago, you'd have thought CSMC walked on water, that he had Lou on speed dial, and was his BFF...
...I was also impressed with Gene's Gun Shop, the gun and gunsmithing business that I frequently visited in my teens. As I've said here before, Gene showed me his vary large collection of ornate museum quality European doubles, Drillings, Vierlings, etc., that he had somehow stolen from the Nazi's when he was an Armorer in the German Army in WW II. It is even more amazing that he was able to smuggle that very large stash of guns into the U.S. when he emmigrated here after the war. It was the best place in my area to see the difference in engraving styles and game scenes between pre-war European guns, and the more pedestrian flying turnip stuff on American guns commonly seen here. Gene also took the time to teach me useful things like spring making and tempering when there weren't many customers, and his wife could handle the store. With only his strong grip, he managed to do very nice checkering without a cradle, and was happy to talk guns when he stopped to light his pipe. Naturally, he had a bias toward the German and Prussian guns he favored, and spent time showing me their superior fit and finish, bolting, etc. Most memorable of all is that Gene was a crazy bastard who did many things differently than ay other gun shop I've ever visited. He kept a loaded full auto Mauser pistol near the cash register to deal with anyone who might try to rob him. Many visits left me shaking my head, such as the time I was browsing the used guns while another customer was showing Gene his malfunctioning deer rifle. It was as quiet as a Library, and I could hear most of their discussion about a misfiring problem. Without any warning, there was a loud blast as Gene test fired the .30-06 through a hole in the floor behind the counter, into a drum of sand in the basement. You just don't experience things like that in most Gun Shops.
