I have been a satisfied customer with Sportsmen's Supply for several years now. Gun laws in California are complex and arcane (thank you, Sacramento and the California Dept. of Justice!) and several dealers in the Bay Area have gone out of business as a result. I want to do business with a dealer who will be around for the long haul.

I've found Sportsmen's Supply to be a very reliable and fair dealer. They don't hard sell their products. They carry a good selection of handguns and longarms as well as a smattering of other products ranging from fishing gear, archery supplies, self defense products including pepper spray and Taser.

I wish their prices on ammunition were better, but one can't have everything. They make good use of the space they have, but they don't stock uncommon firearms or many parts. If you need holsters, etc. you are better off checking out one of the uniform shops such as Summit.

I've purchased several handguns (I'm an NRA instructor) through Sportsmen's Supply. Every time, even though they know me, they walk me through the transaction like it's my first time buying a firearm. I greatly appreciate their diligence and attention to detail.

I am comforted by Evan's dissatisfied review. He is apparently unaware of the Don't Lie For The Other Guy consumer education campaign (http://www.dontlie.org/) and the nonrefundable fees associated with any Department of Justice background check. Restocking fees are common and the paperwork involved in buying any firearm is significant. You also have to buy an approved lock or prove that you own a gun safe (state law).

Anyone purchasing a firearm should be certain that they are buying exactly what they want. If you own a handgun and don't know the firearms laws in the People's Republic of California, you can easily find yourself on the wrong side of a pair of handcuffs.

I took a friend of mi

These guys ripped me off for $110. I bought two new pistols directly out of their display case, one for me, and one as a Christmas present for a friend that accompanied me. After the 10 day mandatory hold, I was able to get my gun but a government clerical error prevented my friend from getting his. Rather than wait for the govt error to be resolved, Sportsmen's Supply cancelled the sale on the one pistol.

I don't hold them responsible for that. But I am incredulous that they then charged me 20% of the sale price to restock the pistol THAT NEVER LEFT THEIR STOCKROOM!

Their completely bogus explanation was that they had to do paperwork. Well I had to do even more paperwork, and I was already charged an additional $68 for THAT. Furthermore they claimed that they ordered another pistol for their display case and now they have two. It's not my fault that they have extremely poor inventory management problems. If this pistol is a popular model, then they will have no problems moving two of them. If not, then they had no business replacing it before the sale was final.

I told them that if they persisted in charging me $110, that I would not return. That was perfectly ok with them. So apparently they are swimming in so much business that they can treat their customers like crap.

I am a very reasonable person. I purchased the pistols in good faith. I did not special-order anything. I did not cancel the sale; they did. There were no big red warning signs posted that would have alerted me to this fraudulent practice. So I'm posting it here.

They have my gun, and they have my money, and my only recourse is to warn others to be very careful.

I am not an avid sportswoman myself, but I always buy my husband's fishing lisence here every year. They are always very courteous with me even though they know I am uncomfortable in the store. If you need anything for hunting and fishing and like to patronize family owned business, this is a great place.