So i went into this place and the staff were super friendly and welcoming unlike most other gun shops in SD I had been browsing. The staff and I talked and these guys really set it up. 10 days later this shop made one of the most incredible AR-15s I have ever seen and they worked with me when I wanted to change a few things before the bulid was completed. This guys very super professional and knew what they were doing. When I walked into this place they way they acted earned my business. And they made my dream gun. Thanks guys your guys are a top notch shop! I will be back aand I speak highly of this shop to alot.of ppl. read more

AO Sword Firearms - Guns & Ammo Near Me - El Cajon, California

There are few times in life when you are certain that you have made the right choice. In my nearly 30 years of being in Law Enforcement, as a Fire Arms Instructor/Trainer, and dealing with firearms professional. I have never felt as welcomed and comfortable in any FA establishment as dealing with David and his staff at AO Sword. He and His staff are friendly, respectful and impressively knowledgeable, but most of all they have high degree of integrity. Maybe it's because their standard is set by David and his commitment to his faith. They also offer an exceptional number of FA options, accessories and services. They are not a one stop shop for all of your firearm needs, but who is? What they provide is quality service and a great consumer experience. read more

This place caught me offguard at first I didn't even know the existence of it until last week. Completely friendly environment and knowledgeable staff. I was considering going to other gunsmiths and gun shops for advice on building my first AR 15, after going to several shops I found this one to be the friendliest one. I walked in looking to buy a %80 lower, ended up just upgrading my AK 47 and I do not regret it. I highly recommend this place to AK owners and for first time AR builds. read more

David and his crew are great. My very first but will not be my last. Gave me a very good quote to cerakote my FN 5.7 slide. Thanks guys. read more

AO Sword Firearms - AO sword is the best - Guns & Ammo Near Me - El Cajon, California

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Used these guys on multiple occasions for transfers and purchases... always received top notch service. Quick, friendly and efficient. Shop is clean, well stocked and pricing is competitive. Great place!!! read more

I read the initial report of an AA at AO Sword, and then Brandon's response . It doesn't make sense. The original poster was clear that he had always received good customer service, but that his friend didn't get it. Simply throwing insults isn't good enough, and I want for our community be better. read more

I was referred to David by a friend active in law enforcement. I walked in to the store and was met by a group of well experienced staff. Met the owner David, inquired about used Smith revolvers. David sold me two very hard to come by used (great condition) Smith & Wesson Model 19-4 .357 Combat magnums, handled the DROS processing and Private Party Transfer fees. The sale price was very reasonable. Great prices, great service, and David gave me a discount for buying two handguns, also threw in a nice set of factory S&W grips and installed them for me on site. Highly recommend AO Sword Firearms! I will be a satisfied return customer. read more

I cannot believe this place has good reviews. This owner comes across nice and caring but is an absolute flake. Not to mention totally taking advantage of us since we know nothing about guns. We took in about 9 guns that my husband got from his Grandpa. We had them in the garage and they were getting beat up and moved around all the time. We never went anywhere else but brought the guns here to be looked at and see how much we could get for them. We left the guns there since they were getting beat up anyway in the garage and we thought they should be properly stored. They gave us a receipt and said the owner would get back to us. A couple weeks later the owner called back and said he would give us $600. We went back and talked to the owner and decided that maybe we would just use the $600 to put toward a home safety gun. We had to get a our license renewed and were short for time so the owner said we could come back when we are ready and they would set it up. Never did he mention storage fees or anything else. Well, we got busy, my father passed and we didn't go back right away. We decided that waiting was getting to long and called the owner to see if we could get a check for the guns. We never argued the amount and knew that they were getting a great deal. We were happy they held the guns safely and we liked the guys there at first. When we called back to get the check everything changed. The owner never returned our calls, 5 calls over 6 weeks. Finally, I got irritated and when I told one of the guys I understand if he cannot pay me right away, or doesn't have money just call us and let us know and we can wait since they were holding the guns for so long. They guy said that wasn't the deal but the owner was SO Busy and just couldn't call us. . The owner finally calls back and says I know we have missed each other over the past few weeks ( no buddy, we didn't miss you , you never called) and starts stating all these gun laws about how we left the guns there and they would have legally been his soon and if you count the storage for the guns we would owe him $1100 dollars. We told him no one ever mentioned storage fees or we would have picked them up. He then offers us $250 for the 9 guns ( this included a world war ll gun and the Winchester gun that won the west. My husband picked up the check and that was it. He hasn't cashed it and that was all he got from his Grandfathers collection. This is how the owner gets his business and does right by people? Do not go here. This owner is a thief. Apparently he is an elected official , which that makes more sense doesn't it? Are there any good people out there who keep their word and do right by other people? You can't expect that from an "Elected Official". read more

Staff here are top notch! The owner David does excellent gunsmithing work and has integrity. He is the only local guy I trust with my guns that I carry for work and trust my life to. They will give you honest and candid feedback to your questions which can be rare. But best of all you can walk in there and there is zero ego involved, unlike other gun stores where the local internet expert wants to tell you what you need. Great people, great selections, highly recommended. read more

A customer service oriented store with knowledgeable employees who take the time to answer any questions you have about the purchasing of firearms and ammo. I would highly recommend them! read more

Greeted as soon as I came through the door. Nice smaller size gun store that is neat and well organized. Although they didn't have what I was looking for (Thordsen AR stock kit), I was still impressed. The counterman was sorry he couldn't stock the item, but to be a dealer they would have had to floor like a container load of product. Pretty hard for a small independent.I'll certainly be back, what a pleasant change of pace from the gun shop a few blocks away where my first impression was "what a dump" and the bored clerk had no idea what a "Thordsen" was and pointed me to a few Hogue grips on the wall... read more

Wow, what a difference between the employees and owner of this shop compared to many others I have been in. They act like they really care and want to be helpful! Not in a hurry. Not wishing they were somewhere else or doing something else but all there for you and your questions. Sort of 100% opposite of the people at the thankfully defunct El Cajon Gun Exchange. I have been in quite a few over firearms stores during the past 35 years and there are only 2 or 3 that are tops for courtesy and service and AO Sword is right up there. Glad they are in business read more

An honest, candid owner who believes in putting the customer first above everything else. Reasonable prices and an expert knowledge of the trade/industry mean you will not go wrong by coming here. read more

Favorite shop in town, fast gunsmithing, great selection of parts and firearms. friendly and very knowledgeable staff, give them a try you won't be dissapointed! I dropped of an ar with a stuck selector switch, which they fixed no prob in a half hour, now they are helping me get California compliant! Brice has been more than helpful answering all my questions read more

Just wanted to give AO sword fire arms a five star review. I have never been in a gun store where they Spent so much time with you to find exactly what you are looking for. It's definitely not like just pulling a number and waiting to be called! I personally have had them work on three of my fire arms including Sarah coating a camouflaging two of my rifles. They turned out absolutely amazing! Their staff is amazing and very helpful! I would highly recommend going here over anywhere else, this is where I will go from now on for sure!! Thanks so much Dave I really appreciate it read more

I'm very disappointed at the lack of communication between the staff at AO Sword (alpha omega). They are very quick to take your money. One person says one quote and another quotes another. I paid for a rifle with an American flag paint job. Then the quote to cerakote doubled! I lost 94 dollars in fees I never got back because after they said it was going to be over $500 (not $250) I decided not to buy the rifle and was left with department of justice background check fees and chargeback fees I never got back. I was quoted a price and that price changed. I felt robbed because they said they could make it happen for a certain price, I paid and then it doubled. They are all about their money when it comes to it at the end of the day and they don't care about other citizens liberty or freedom. If they did they would make an American flag rifle. During a pandemic patriotism is important and when our second amendment right is being stripped away these guys just want their money and worry about themselves. The right thing to do is to uphold the quote you originally said you would do it for, but instead you would rather make the customer lose out on money and leave him unsatisfied. What a nightmare my experience with this store was, please don't spend your time and money here. read more

Do business at your own risk with these guys, I learned an expensive lesson that these guys will disappoint. First off, I brought in a Remington 870 to get a bead sight added and also to get the shotgun cerakoted. My first meeting with them went well, they seemed very friendly and helpful. That's pretty much the good news. After about 7 weeks ( 4 weeks past when I was originally told I could expect the shotgun back ) and multiple emails about when I could pick it up, I understand they are a busy shop and things come up, but a little feedback on status from the beginning would be helpful. I was finally told it was ready. I came in, first thing I noticed was the magazine spring was sticking out past the end of the mag extension. Dave the owner asked if I had brought in the gun like that.. Seriously?!? I would expect anybody would question the owner about a obvious defect like that when it was brought in for gunsmithing work.! He admitted that his guy probably lost the end cap some time during the process, and said he would make it right, and if needed I could have the mag extension cerakoted for free once it was functional again. The front bead was installed nicely, cerakote seemed to be well applied. at this point if the magazine extension was taken care of I would have rated my eperience as a "5". I went home expecting to be contacted to let me know how he wanted to get the mag extension fixed. About a month goes by, nothing from A.O. Swords. I finally decide I was tired of having a single shot shotgun to rely on as my home defense firearm, and went ahead and order a new magazine extension, eating the $49 buck in the process to replace something A.O. Swords should have taken care of. Took it out shooting, WTF, the cerakoting is wearing off along the magazine tube and along the action bars. A rattle can paint job probably would have been as good and a hell of a lot cheaper. Tried contacting A.O. Swords again a couple of times via their email, first to let them know I went ahead and replaced the mag extension and to ask about the premature wearing of the cerakote.Still nothing. At this point I'm ready to write the whole $300+ fee spent on the shotgun as a lesson learned that these guys aren't as good as previous reviews led me to believe. Next step is a call to the BBB to file an official complaint. Good luck to anybody doing business with these guys, hopefully you'll have a better experience than I did. Dave, I really wanted to support a local gun shop, but at this point I pretty much lost confidence in ever getting contacted and this situation at least discussed. You got my email ( letter_slide@yahoo.com ). so I'm at a loss at why you never followed through on the whole mag extension thing you originally promised me you'd take care of. But maybe I'll at least see a reply to my review, would like to read your side of the story. read more

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David is a great guy. He helped me build a custom made AR 15. Spent a lot of time with me and gave me many options of what i could have on the gun. Felt he gave me a decent deal as well for a custom gun just for me. Parking is plentiful and good location right off main street. I will for sure go back to him in the future if I need something special done. read more

David and the whole staff at AO Sword helped me fulfill one of my dream AR builds. The result was beautiful and incredible. I can't wait to take it to the range. The turnaround time was very quick and the customer service was incredible. I can't wait to come back here again! read more

I can't say enough good things about this place. Very neat, very clean gun shop. Everything is well organized so you know exactly where to go to fit your need. Not only do they have a great inventory of firearms, do great builds, and offer a variety of parts and accessories for you to do your own builds, they are the nicest gun shop I've ever been to. Bryce, Doug, Jessie, Rachel, are all fantastic front of house sales reps. They are a no pressure sales team, just as willing to sell you something as they are to just chat with you about something. Their customer service is the best of any gun shop I've walked into. Certain shops have 'gun snobs' behind the counter to may have forgotten more about guns than I'll ever know, but they have zero customer service skills. AO has excellent customer service on top of being extremely knowledgeable. Customer for life. read more

Great spot, great staff. Thank goodness I found these guys on facebook! Sold a few firearms to them and they gave so much more $$ than the other 3 shops in the El Cajon area. You guys have a customer for life, can't wait to see my mossberg 500 when you guys get done with it. Thanks guys! read more

The absolute best experience. I really wish I had walked into this shop a lot sooner. They not only made me feel welcomed but they were very patient and willing to educate me on everything. Very clean store, low prices and a ton of firearms. read more

I was in the El Cajon area in mid January when I went by the shop. I had a few friends that had mention how they liked the place and I should check it out. So I went by and spoke to David about doing an AR build. When I mention I wanted certain parts David stood there and berated me especially about the Nightforce scope I wanted to use. He told me I don't need to spend that much money and I should use the extra money and get some real training and learn how to shoot. He kept trying to push these cheap inexpensive barrels on my over Lilja barrels telling me they are just as good or even better. He wanted $450 for his barrel and I know that barrel sell for $200. I think he thought I don't know anything and I can rip this kid off. Now I have never been a part of David's Facebook group and frankly I really disgusted with his conducts. Since I have left this review David somehow tracked me down and found my Facebook profile and then my LinkedIn. He has continually been harassing me and making threats that if I don't take down my review of him I would be sorry. Since then I had 3 mysterious reviews show up on my company profile by Mike M,, Joey P., and David H. and Yelp had them taken down for violating their rules. These people are employees of AO Sword. David even left a response to my review posting my name and company information and encouraging his customer to leave me negative reviews on my company profile. Beware of this company and how they do business read more

Great experience, never have I been to a gun shop where people were more friendly, Dave is awesome very personable informative and non pressuring! This will now be my goto gun shop! read more

Great little home town trigger shop. Gets a little crazy busy at times, but the employees are sincere and focus on each customers needs, which makes it worth the wait. I've been building "toys" for a while now, and I can say that AO Sword is the "Go To Place" for anything that involves a trigger and high-velocity projectiles. read more

Friendly knowledgable staff. Good prices and very welcoming environment. David is an awesome gunsmith.

I've been going to AO sword for over two years now an I can honestly say it's one of my favorite gun stores to use, the staff is full of great stand up people who know guns !!!! Great gun smithing and great customer service! read more

Pretty nice shop. They do have quite the assortment of offerings, including quite a few firearm upgrades.

These guys are so nice, it's become my favorite gun shop. Seriously, it's nice to just drop in and say hello and see what new things are happening. The expansion is great, and they'll be expanding again in the next year or two. Looking forward to that! As a girl, I'm giving them extra points for treating me like I know what's what. It's appreciated. read more

I made a private sale of a handgun and needed a dealer to take care of the paperwork. I decided to try AO Sword because of a friend's recommendation, and bad experiences in the past at other dealers. The buyer and I went into the store at 10 AM and were out the door by 10:30. These guys don't waste any time. Besides that, they were all the nicest, friendliest and most knowledgeable guys you would ever meet. I would recommend AO Sword Firearms to anyone wanting to buy, sell or trade a firearm, or just wanting suggestions on what gun to buy! read more

this is a very good store. Very professional and knowledgeable about there products. additionally very welcoming and friendly. most gun stores I go into they are cocky and in welcoming. the prices are very fair. I will definetly be coming back to buy my next pistol read more

Very nice crew over there. I went in to pick up a LPK and buffer kit from them a week ago because they were the closest and actually had them in stock. I liked their prices on complete uppers and went back today to pick one out for my first 80% build. No pressure tactics sales experienced. I'll be returning for future builds. read more

LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Ever since this shop as opened, this is the only gun shop in town I will spend my hard earned money with! These guys are super friendly, knowledgeable on all sorts of firearms, parts, and acessories, if there is something these guys do not know about they will be sure to find out the answer for you. My experience here is amazing, I cannot tell anyone enough good things about this shop and their staff! I have had the pleasure of these guys building a couple ARs including a 300 blackout pistol, cerakoting two of them (burnt bronze and olive green) they have turned out 100% fantastic and with a professional touch (not a "side business automotive" touch...whoever wrote that review can eat a di*k). Took in a Sig P229 and had the fellas over there at AO Sword throw down a custom Sig "Scorpion" edition, after another cerakote job, a trigger job, and the kick ass grips they put on along with sights onf my ladys choice, we are both very happy how this build turned out!! No unusual wear, damage, marks, than the normal wear and tear you would obtain by playing with your toys. Every time I have been in this shop, these guys have displayed an outstanding level of customer service and an over whelming amount of patients to their customers who I see them dealing with! This is the one and only shop I will ever recommend to any of my friends, and have a few actually stop in and have rifles built with them and are very pleased! Do yourself a favor! Don't bother to listen to these clowns who have something bad to say because they were not educated enough to know the difference of what they were getting, or leaving with a bad taste in their mouth because they may have felt entitled to something they didn't get. The staff at this shop will not reach into your pockets and pressure you to over spend, or pressure you in getting things you may not need nor want. It is a very simple process as they will walk you through every step and help you decided what YOU want and what YOU need. Yes they may be a bit expensive but keep in mind you are getting what you pay for and you will not beat their customer service given the other alternative shops in town. read more

Again went to ao sword has a very good time professional people great knowledge base pleasant atmosphere

Please stay away from this place if you don't know about guns or if you're a first time buyer ,first off I go in there Open spend a good chunk of change and hope to feel appreciated, .the vibe from the women employees had a certain dry awkward uncomfortable type of feel. Very condescending however the gentleman in there seemed very cool very nice and very informative. I am certain that Amy told me the price of the gun I was inquiring about was $789, when we got to the register it was $1004 .I just assumed that it was some gun tax, I was unaware of , I asked if the word any returns or refunds Amy informed me there was. so I dropped the money paid mostly cash .they let me know I had nothing to worry about. So I looked at the receipt I see that the gun was charged for 889, I tried to call AO and bring it to they're attention this is when I speak to the older woman who stated that there are no guns for under $800. I take it for a loss and just be grateful that I was able to get a gun during this busy time. The three women and the one, I'm guessing Middle Eastern man , I spoke to were unbearable , for some reason nothing seem to go smoothly when speaking to them. It was one young gentleman I spoke to who seemed very informative and very nice .again I can't stress customer service enough . So I checked with the manager to see if I could get a refund. Nice fella, But unfortunately the policies are set up kind in a kind of scam. If you wanted a refund from just paying cash the day before it was a 20% restocking fee on a gun that hadn't even been made. so I go to there next Day regretting my purchase they told me that. when I asked why is there a restocking fee for a gun that hadn't even been made yet .I literally bought this at closing , Come back the next morning at opening but apparently the parts have already been pulled, even when my DOJ hadn't been checked ,the parts were pulled on my first day of my 10x24 hour day.'s wait. So there was a bit of confusion because it was my first purchase on when the gun will be ready I thought it was a Maximum of ten days. That was definitely my error but I did call In within that week inquiring about it. Now the woman who I spoke on the phone with seems a little rough ,I'm not gonna lie she's a little scary and she's a little older and she just seems like she demands respect instead of earning it. Definitely expected a racist vibe but I don't think I got one. So feeling a little scammed that 1. the gun seems $100 more than advertised and to the refund would cost me $200 .I waited on my gun. I go to pick it up and I work with Amy again she pulls out the gun, the stock is not the same of what I had ordered. then when I asked to get the right stock it's took an hour of finishing up paperwork before we could address it . she was adamant that it was the same stock , then she acknowledge that it wasn't the same stock then she went to go get the owner. What I was worried about is that I paid for a better quality item and received it's generic counter. Customer service goes a long way ,I think David the owner knew that, he came out and addressed The fact that they were not the same stock which is nice as a customer but the policies at the store are structured so that it seems like a scam . David informed me that I cannot be there while he changes the stock for the with the display item . I would have to leave the gun. worried that I would be scammed further I just take The gun they were giving me and leave right away. Maybe it was me and It was just my first time buying a gun but I did not enjoy it.I am definitely regretting I didn't go to La Mesa fine firearms. read more

I recently had some gunsmithing done here. David did an outstanding job! Real quality workmanship. I highly recommend AO Sword.

Great customer service! The whole crew is friendly (Hi Maggie!) and knows what they are talking about. This was the first gun shop that I felt comfortable in and was able to actually answer all my questions. (Thank you, Drew!) I didn't even know that I actually talked to the owner while I was there until after the fact. That's how down to earth and great their crew is. I was able to customize my first AR-15. I can't wait to pick up my AO Sword customized upper to go with my Spikes Tactical lower! read more

Small shop but decent selection. Everybody is friendly and says hello when you come in. Took my pistol in for a trigger job and it took a while, and had some issues(parts and due to the gun) but David is a good guy and stands by his work. Everything was explained very well with what was going on and what we were waiting on. Definitely will be back for future needs. read more

I went in the AO Sword Firearms store yesterday hoping to get a little more info aside from the very basic that I know about AR's. I was extremely impressed with the level of customer service! I've been in a few other gun shops in SD and they're not even close to being on par with these guys. I had...I forget his name now...but he was the "big guy" help me go through every component for a custom AR build. I tried trigger assemblies, grips, stocks, everything! I don't think I've ever put my hands on so many different AR's to actually feel what works for me! These guys go above and beyond to really satisfy the customer. The price point came in a little higher than what I had originally planned for but with customer service this great after my first time in there...I'm seriously considering purchasing a custom AR from here. read more

I was told about AO sword months ago by a friend so I decided to go in. I was surprised when I came in, the people that work there are just tremendously nice, felt like you were at a friends house. I was looking for certain type of shotgun, but they did not have it. One of the shops employee asked me would you like to look for one and I said sure. I have been in a lot of gun shop , but I haven't been in one that took the time to find the weapon that you want. The bottom line is, I found the shotgun that I was looking for and they had it shipped to them. Of course they have other weapons and parts for your ARs and other gear. AO sword also has a gunsmith Smith's on site and can answer questions if you have a problem with your gun. They are knowledgeable about all types of weapons. Again, If you were looking for a gun shop this is the place to go. read more