doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Brownells?? How times have changed

Maybe this isnt right spot but for most of us, we grew up with and utilized Brownells for their tools and other items to work on our double guns.
Does it seem like the bigger they have gotten, the more they have forgotten about the people who have purchased form them. Hell, their search feature is horrible and they seem to carry less of the traditional items that they used to. I am disappointed and no longer use them as my go to for gun stuff for gunsmithing. I use the net and just search for things. Going to Brownells has become a hassle. too many pop ups, to little of what I look for.
Am I officially a grouchy old bustard now?

It seems like it all started with their merger with Midway. athey are quickly losing all the hard core gunsmith tools they used to carry and pretty much contracting. I have any number of tools, reamers, supplies etc which I used to get from them because I couldn't find them anywhere else. Now they are all gone. I don't think they are getting bigger; I believe it is smaller. All the common standard stuff, the Black Rifle stuff etc I believe is jsut coming out of Midway's new inventory system and their hard to get stuff is phasing out.

I wasn't aware that they had merged with Midway. I liked both for their individual strengths. Sad to hear that merger has apparently had a detrimental impact on Brownells.

I say Brownell's has been on a slow decline for the last twenty years. The shift has been to a near total focus on para-military crap. All the things I used to get from them are gone. After dealing with them for sixty years, they don't even send me a catalog. That's OK. They never seem to have what I need.

Is not Brownell’s owned by Crow Shooting Supply? The same people who destroyed Gamaliel?

And yes, their website sucks. Their catalog was no prize either, items apparently shown at random.

You would be correct. Not Midway.
JR

Brownell's owns most of Crow. The change has been since Pete took over from Frank. Normally a family owned business only lasts 3 generations and Pete is the third generation. Frank followed his dad's lead as far as serving a customer base. Now it's all about money with no thought about the original patrons who are aging out.That's why our basics are always out of stock.

I still don’t understand how the demise of the Gamaliel mail order business helped anybody.

Nobody buys anything Gamaliel sold from Brownell’s, do they?

As a supply for gunsmithing tools they do leave much to be desired. Midwest is about the same. It seems anything I am interested in has been out of stock or discontinued. Frustrating.

I agree with all the comments! I find the para-military influence unbelievable, totally support 2nd amendment but don't see the need to arm myself with military style.

As far as the change in Bownells, I remember what a boss said to me when I entered retail over 40 years ago.
"Kid, while the merchandise can be great, the presentation spot on, working environment is nice, the customer service is good just DON'T FORGET IT'S ONLY ABOUT THE MONEY"