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.
It would be better yet to hear both sides of the story, since statements like this can be damaging to the reputation of a company. Vague trash talking tells us nothing, and shouldn't be considered a valid review of product quality or services.
As to World's Best Gun Store, there are several that I really liked for different reasons. I am still impressed with the large selection of high quality doubles that I saw at London Guns in Santa Monica, Ca. when I was in college, and working for my uncle for the summer. This shop has been gone for years. My cousin and I were passing through on a business trip to dismantle some large machinery my uncle had bought, and when I saw the store, I asked him to stop to let me browse. I didn't even own any doubles then, but knew I wanted to. The salesman was polite and patient, but I don't think he took this college kid in Levi's, tee shirt, and sneakers as a serious buyer for 5 and even 6 figure Best Quality double shotguns and double rifles. It floored me to see some guns that cost many times the price of a new Cadillac. It was cool to examine the kinds of dangerous game guns that were used by Princes, Maharajahs, and titled English gentlemen in the African and Indian Hunting books I'd read. Nothing at all like the stuff you'd see in an average Pennsylvania deer hunting camp.
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.
