Wal-Mart Expands Gun Sales .

[RamboLiberal]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is quietly bringing back rifles, shotguns and ammunition to hundreds of U.S. stores as the struggling retail giant seeks to reinvigorate its one-stop shopping appeal and lure more male customers.

The world's largest retailer stopped selling hunting rifles and bullets at all but a third of its U.S. stores five years ago, citing diminishing sales. It is now restoring them to hundreds of locations, bringing the total to nearly half of its more than 3,600 U.S. namesake stores, as part of a larger push to restore "heritage categories" of merchandise such as fishing rods and bolts of sewing fabric that it removed in an attempt to go upscale that backfired.

"We made a business decision to sell them in certain stores because we have realized the appeal was perhaps broader than we thought," said Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar. "But we are committed to doing it responsibly as possible, as always, in compliance with all applicable local, state and federal laws."

The Bentonville, Ark., retailer is in the midst of its worst-ever U.S. slump—with seven consecutive quarters of sales declines at stores open at least one year—and has begun a major retooling of its U.S. operations in a bid to go back to basics and re-establish the formula of broad assortments and "every day low prices" that late founder Sam Walton made famous. A couple of years ago Wal-Mart pared thousands of items in an effort to de-clutter its stores and focus on faster-moving products. Now, after a customer backlash, it is restoring much of what it took away.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703367004576289230488920802.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Good. It is a good place to buy ammo at a reasonable price for target shooting, competition and hunting. Now if you can only find the sporting goods employee with the key to the ammunition case.

[spin]

1. Good. I used to buy most of my target ammo at Walmart. (n/t)

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[RamboLiberal]

3. So you want me to drive 120 miles round trip to Cabela's

to buy ammo. Or pay almost twice the cost to Gander Mtn. Screw that!

Or are you rooting for the mom & pop gun store? Not a whole lot of those left. And the ammo is probably 2-3 times the cost of WalMart.

[PavePusher]

16. Actually, a box of 50 .45 ACP WWB is usually within $3-4 (approx 15%)...

of the WalMart price.

[RamboLiberal]

31. I price ammo - Gander Mtn is substantially higher than WalMart

And since I go through 3000-4000 rounds a shooting season even 3-4 dollars a box is a big cost.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[Tesha]

6. Sorry, but Walmart is a major supporter of Republicans and *EVERYONE* knows that. (NT)

[DonP]

7. Bullshit. Your snarky comment was at fellow DU members

... that post in this forum, not about Wal Mart.

But with gas pushing $4.50+ a gallon, feel free to offer to supplement the expenses for driving way out of their way to support your personal POV on Wal Mart.

[RamboLiberal]

8. My wallet has to sometimes outweigh being a Dem

Look at it this way - the savings can help me contribute to a Dem candidate.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

15. That is true for more and more people these days

Keeping the family fed and clothed is taking priority

[petronius]

9. We've had the WalMart flamewar numerous times on DU (mostly in GD),

without regard to specific purchases. It has always turned out that there are many posters here who are on limited budgets, or have limited spatial access, and end up having to choose WalMart on financial or other grounds without the luxury of choosing their shopping destinations on strict political preference.

Some DUers condemn those shoppers outright, and others recognize that every person's situation is different and not every decision can be based in ideological purity. Which side of that divide are you on?

[RamboLiberal]

10. Exactly - Ammo is one of the few purchases I make at WalMart

And knowing the industry does anyone here really think that the majority of stores selling guns and ammo aren't staunchly RW?

So it's not like I'm denying the little Dem gun store down the street my $$$$'s.

[Tesha]

20. Have we really devolved (as a society) to the point where you're willing to equate...

...ammo purchases and food purchases?

Tesh

[Callisto32]

21. Ammo buys way more food per dollar....

than buying food does.

[petronius]

24. I didn't mention food - I was actually giving you the benefit of the doubt, that even you wouldn't

want someone to go hungry merely to avoid Walmart. The question was more general: what luxuries, recreations, conveniences, etc would you require the poor and/or the rural to go without, merely to satisfy your notion of ideological correctness?

Personally, I have the ability - both financial and spatial - to avoid Walmart, and it sounds like you do as well. I can filter every purchase through my preferences of local, union, small business, blue company to the extent that I desire. But it disturbs me greatly when progressives fail to realize that not everyone has that same degree of choice - I recognize that people have unique personal circumstances, and I wouldn't berate or look down on someone for making choices I wouldn't, without knowing their situation.

You can say that ammunition isn't a 'necessity', but that's not the point - arguing that people need to forgo anything that might improve their lives, just because it's 'unprogressive' to shop at Walmart, leads down, IMO, a pretty dark judgmental path...

[PavePusher]

27. Have we really devolved (as a society) to the point where people refuse to acknowledge...

where food comes from?

[gejohnston]

30. yes we have otherwise

we would not have people calling the working guy with his deer rifle a "blood thirsty killer" while munching financially supporting the factory farm system by eating a chemical laden cow that someone else killed under what I think as very barbaric conditions.
The rich guy flying to Africa with his H&H double rifle is a different conversation.

[PavePusher]

32. As long as s/he gives the meat to the locals...

and isn't hunting endangered species, I got no problem with it.

Did a little shooting in Africa myself, growing up, but then, I lived there for a few years.

[RamboLiberal]

11. Ok - find me a ammo company that is Dem

that sells at a reasonable price.

[cleanhippie]

12. Yeah, sure, thats why your post got deleted.

[Bonhomme Richard]

4. find the sporting goods employee"

If that isn't the truth. I get my 9mm for target there but they never seem to have any .32 ACP on the shelf. At least at my store.

[lawodevolution]

13. They need to offer ak47 and ar15s if they want to attract people to the store with guns

Maybe add handguns.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[lawodevolution]

22. Not accumulators, just regular people.

Most gun owners that I know have just one gun and some just own an ak47 or ar15 mainly because guns with a bad rep are sexy, but personally I think one should start out with a good pistol or revolver.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

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[oneshooter]

25. You won't have to. The Pharmacy is on the other side of the store. n/t

[PavePusher]

26. I just bought three guns last night.

Private sale. You won't have to wade through me.

Oh look, I'm "accumulating".

[oneshooter]

29. Picked up a nice 1938 M-N 91/30 today. With full kit only $90. n/t

[PavePusher]

33. Excellent. I have two 91/30's, an M44 and a 1959 carbine.

Fun shooters, decent hunting rifles too.

Edit: I wonder if I have a "cache" yet? I guess I won't know until someone defines their terms....

[aikoaiko]

28. why not, if I have to buy beer next to pants shitting Brady/VPC supporters.

:shrug:

[Starboard Tack]

34. How about RPGs and land mines too?

Xmas special of suitcase nukes?

[DonP]

35. The 2 most popular selling rifle platforms today - why do they scare you?

To the point of irrelevant sarcastic comments. The AR-15 is the single most popular target rifle in the country today and is quickly replacing traditional walnut stocked hunting rifles in different calibers for game from Coyotes to Whitetail and beyond.

What the hell does that have to do with class IV weapons and destructive devices? Or are you looking for sympathy with a massive display of ignorance? If so "Mission Accomplished"!

[oneshooter]

36. No, he just shows a massive display of ignorance, and gets no sympathy. n/t

[ileus]

14. I buy ammo from wm and a dealer at work....

It's easier to just pick up a box or 5 at wm, than half case or a case from Adam sometimes.

On the other hand, I bought a Gerber survival knife from the local knife shop for the same price wm had even though the shop is out of the way and has typical sucky hours of operation.

Wal-Mart has it's reason for being...

[Hoyt]

17. Miss posted. Sorry

[Glassunion]

19. I'm glad I live where I do.

We have no WalMarts for anything less than a 60 mile round trip or into a neighborhood I will not go to.

But within 4 miles I have two competing gun shops.

20 rounds of .223 55gr $6.99... An no, it's not Wolf.
50 rounds of 9mm $8.49...