Terrible Terrible terrible gunsmithing, be forewarned. I went there for a smoother trigger and a reliability service on my colt officers 45. Waited a very very long time for it. about 6 weeks. I called looking for it and it still wasn't ready. No joke, he called me back within the hour and told me it was ready. Then he proceeded to tell me how someone else had worked on it and had over polished the ramp and taken too much material off. I purchased the gun new. No one had ever touched it before. He rushed it and was trying to cover his ass. so I get the gun back and guess what. The trigger sucked. Creepy just less trigger pull. Then the smith proceeds to tell me that it's a combat weapon and I'm asking for too much to expect a crisp trigger. So I shoot it and guess what happens, Jam and jam again. Before the shootist worked on the gun, I had put probably 3000 rounds through the gun before and maybe had one or two jams, literally. After the reliability service, I had 3 jams in 500 rounds and these were unique. It was leaving the spent shell in the chamber and trying to jam another round in on top. Traced it back to the extractor, it had been ground down to almost nothing. Total waste of money. Found a smith in Fallbrook that rescued the gun. Trigger is WONDERFUL, breaks very clean at around 4 lbs. Charged me half of what the shootist charged. read more

Rude rude rude. Not even a "hello". Good thing there are other BETTER FRIENDLIER shops nearby. I've been to this store several time in the past 7-8 months, and I've been disappointed every time. Too bad. read more

Great service, great people, the only complaint I have was that during a recent hand gun purchase I changed my mind on the type prior to picking up the firearm and the fees the where going to charge for re-stocking was rediculous. Hadn't even picked it up. Other than that I love the place, great selection. I'm loving my new Glock:) read more

The following review was written by my husband. Some of these negative reviews are hilarious. I think if they were selling ice cream cones at the Shootist the complaints would be the same. In the last 3 months I have purchased two handguns from them with no complaints. I did my due diligence and knew what I wanted and what I was willing to spend before entering the store. I feel that this store caters more toward the experienced gun owner rather than the customer that wanders in and says ''I'm looking for a gun, what should I buy?'' A couple of the salesmen are abrupt, in their defense they have extensive LE and military experience and have seen and heard it all at least hundred times. To get the most from their experience, have an idea of why you are purchasing a firearm. Educate yourself on what you think you want in the way of make and model and take it from there. I have been in many family owned gun stores like the Shootist and each has it's own personality. If your experience here is offensive to you, it may be that a more homogenized corporate store would be more to your liking. Think Turner's Outdoorsman or Bass Pro Shops for instance. I have to say though I priced my two latest handgun purchases at those two and after a bit of back and forth I was able to purchase both for less at the Shootist. The Shootist is not perfect but nothing in life is. Use their knowledge if you can, go elsewhere if you can not. read more

First off, change your answering machine. If you aren't open till 8pm on Wednesdays, make sure your answering machine doesn't say " open till 8pm on Wednesdays." If you close at 6pm, state that in your hours on your machine. It naturally throws people off. Aside from that, the staff here isn't exactly friendly. You kind of get the vibe they want you in and out. Either buy something or get out. Not very helpful when you ask questions. They kind of give you a look like "that's a dumb question" or "you really don't know the answer to that?" Their selection is limited. The only plus I could think of is that their ammo is fairly priced and there's a bar across the street. Other than that, definitely won't pay this place a visit again. read more

Update. More competition in this valley has forced "the shootist" to make their prices more competitive. Follow them on Facebook to see some very impressive prices. read more

Went in there to do a private party transfer meeting a guy from somewhere up north halfway. Store was busy, there were quite a few staff members, and from what I could see they were on it. We walked right up to the counter a younger, big guy, shaved head, with a big goatee(should have got his name) helped us and I have to say it was hands down the fastest ppt I have ever done and unlike other ppt's he was real cool about the whole thing talked about how he had the same pistol and made me feel welcomed and at ease. what a relief. usually when you do a ppt the staff gives you a a bad attitude like you just asked the guy to borrow his car or take his daughter out on a date. some places will make you wait a really long time, over an hour at some places. I had one staff member at a spot here in s.d. tell me "I don't like doing them because I don't make any money off of 'em" and that seems to be the general consensus. This is turning into a rant. Anyway I had such a good experience I purchased an accessory for the pistol I just DROS'd. I hope I get a chance to do business with this store again in the future. If I ever gotta meet somebody from L.A. and if I'm headed up North I will go out of my way to stop in and see what they got. read more

Three days after my incident in the store, I received a call from Erin (from the Shootist) inquiring about my experience. She wanted to hear my side of the story to have a better understanding on what had happened. After hearing my story, she explained to me what should have happened to help resolve the situation and apologized for the treatment I received. She offered to mail me a gift card to The Shootiest, which I received yesterday, to make up for my experience. I appreciate the call from Erin and after speaking with her I now believe that they do care about customers and their experiences in the store. I am willing to visit the store again in the future. read more

I had heard some bad things about customer service at The Shootist but i had a few very good experiences with them. I asked some questions online and got a phone call the next day that answered ALL my questions and the gal was really nice and well informed. I purchased an XD from them and they were very helpfull.I am no shooting newbie, ust new to the area and After getting my DRO"S paid for found the prices to be competitive and the people to be really nice. Im buying another XD this week and will give them first shot at my business. I think they may have read the bad reviews and are trying a little harder these days. I owned an Airgun store and was absolutley horrible with customers, great with guns just not with people so i can see where working the counter could be irritating. read more

Just want to start by saying I have had good help and everybody seems very knowledgeable about the product they're selling, if not I have had them ask one of the of guy to help on the sell that might know more about the product. It is a family run business and I think that is a plus when it comes to service. You are talking with the owners I think his name is Randy and the little fat boy is his son Steve. Steve seems really good and helpful and knows the product. I would have no problem recommending them to any of my friends and family. AA++ ratting. read more

Seriously you guys? I've been looking for a hard to get Springfield and I couldn't get the time of day from any of the gun shops in SD. I contacted these folks and they quickly responded to my request (going so far as to contact Springfield for me) and even gave me an excellent price on the gun. I've been shooting for over 15 years and have always felt like I was a second class citizen when I went into a gun store. These folks are the ONLY gun store that I will patronize in the future. read more

I have gone to the shootist several times now and have had a good experience every time. I bought an 870 from them and it was no ridiculous waiting for someone and employees are knowledgeable but not arrogant. I sent a friend to shootist for gun transfer and he had a great experience as well. Also their prices are always competitive. I wont buy another gun anywhere else but the shootist. Good work guys. read more

the SHOOTIST is a PREMIUM GUN STORE. Good selection and knowledgeable employees. A IN- HOUSE GUNSMITH, used guns, SAS accessories. Family owned and managed with a great atmosphere even for new buyers. I BUY higher end weapons to I believe in value over time and train at the MANUFACTURERS ACADEMIE'S. I would never stake my safety on a tool purchased at WILLIE NILLE'S GUN BARN . read more

I have been talking to Erin from the store since my initial post and she is a wealth of information! Everything that I had complained about originally, seems to be about items that were either 1) out of their control, 2) due to my ignorance, or 3) all the above. For a first time California handgun buyer, I have learned the reality of how choked this state is. (being from Oregon, or Oregun as we call it). Now that I have been given some tips on how to find out if the model I am trying to buy is even legal before I click the "add to cart" button, my experience is a lot less painful. Not totally painless due to the models I CAN'T buy. Erin is a fantastic example of what a business representative should be like. This is a very rare statement from me, as I am both very hard to sell to and man a help desk for profession. Erin informed me that their own on-line website will be up soon, so will be clearly marked on each item if it is for sale in this, ahem, fine state or not. This is something that Davidson's should do out of consideration for prospective customers so they do not have the same sour experience I had. Once again, that aspect is totally out of The Shootist's control. Erin, Thanks for the attention. You are certainly are a star. Hope you are there when I come in next time. read more

This gun shop has a huge selection of weapons, and from the outside a cool looking shop, I told my brother and sister in law, to come down from there home in hacienda heights, and told them they had a huge selection weapons, because they were looking for certain weapons. So, we all walk in, and they were well staff, and did have huge selection. The two staff members that did ask us what we needed, were very rude, and they didn't seem to care that there facial expressions showed it, we couldn't believe how blatantly rude they were. We were disappoint and left, the following week, my brother who is a u.s Marshal, and sister in law, who is a u.s Air Marshal, purchased about $ 6,000.00 in weapons and supplies at another shop, I read the other comments on here, and wonder why we were treated different, I like to think, treat people like you want to be treated. read more

One of the best (let alone local) gun shops around. Great prices and the customer service can't be beat. Do your self a favor, and when you call or stop by, ask for Wendy. A+ read more

Well Roland M, if you've been to every gun shop from TJ to Temecula and have had poor service at every one, then I would say that you are the common denominator. It just goes to show that you can't make 100% of the people happy 100% of time. As for not wanting to be there, I'm sure that everyone has not wanted to be at work at one point or another, especially on a Saturday with high maintenance customers. Good luck on lives journeys. It will go much smoother for you if you just take everything with a grain of salt. read more

Good selection! Lots of lever guns. I even walked in one day to see a Henry Big Boy 357...which seem nowhere else to be found. Good variety of handguns, new, used, consign. Lots of used rifles out where you can handle them. Good variety of concealable holsters. Twice I have found ammo there that I couldn't get in-store ANYWHERE else. Some time ago I brought in a desirable rifle to see about maybe trading it. The guy was very forthcoming about the blue book value and % they pay, and he recommended I would probably get $300. more if I just post it on calguns. My last purchase was from there, when I saw the display case item with a yellow tag and w/significant discount being the last of its model in stock. A year ago I thought service was a little iffy, but nowadays I think it's much improved and lately I'm always finding reasons to like this store. read more

Though by call and email went unanswered I decided to give them a second chance. After all things happen. I dropped my rifle off and explained what I wanted done. The gunsmith was great and even called me to discuss the work to be done. In short order my rifle was done and the gunsmith did a great job. I will continue to drive down to do business with these folks. read more

We purchased a handgun today. I gave the store 1 store due to their customer service. The entire Saturday staff is lacking customer service & common manners. You would think after a customer spends over 500.00 dollars on a gun a customer would be able to get some assistance. The store was not crowded and after we picked up the gun we wanted to purchase an additional gun and some ammo containers but could not get waited on and stood there for quite some time. Ended up leaving the store with pre paid purchased gun only. I will not return to the shootist and will be giving all my business to turners or any other gun store. read more

I have been doing business with the Shootist for quite sometime now. All I can say is because they do get very busy ! You as a person have to wait your turn like everybody else !! You cannot go into any establishment and expect for them to drop who they are helping and pay attention to you !! That would be extremely rude to the person they are helping. So all of you complaining !! Take this under account. I have NEVER been treated badly or been ignored by any of the staff !! Very helpful and very patient. Just to add , just the other day I witnessed one of the sales staff helping a woman to pick out a gun. She knew nothing about guns. And he was extremely patient and sincere with her. She bought a gun that best suited her for her purpose ! read more

Some stuff is expensive compared to other gun shops out of state. Shop around and know your prices. Good selection and the place is packed with stuff and people. I like to support the guy in town but when I have to pay over a $100 it's better to have it shipped in to a ffl dealer and avoid sales tax from this state. Most of the used rifles I was looking at was average in price. Meaning you weren't getting a great deal and not getting ripped off. Too bad the pawn shops around here don't carry used weapons as they are usually a lot cheaper. read more

I was recently in the shop and I purchased a Sig 226 in a S&W .40. The sales person there was very helpful being he delt alot with Sig firearms. He assured me that it was a great quality gun for the price and it would out live me. I also was able to compare other guns to the sig. They have one of the largest selections to choose from, I havent seen a store with this many guns in a long time. I picked up the gun a couple days ago and i took it to the range and absolutly loved it. I shot better with my sig then i ever have with any of my other firearms. Im glad i took the sales persons advice and went with the P226. Thank You shootist staff for taking the time to help me out. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!! read more

I've made 2 rifle puchases in the last 3 months through them and could not be more pleased. The first was simple and straightforward, no issues. The second became complex. I bought a specific model M4 that was out of stock everywhere they looked. The sales folks scoured the databases without luck. The finally had to piece one together from custom parts and it was better than the one I wanted. They even managed to shave some $$$ off the price. The whole thing added 1 day to my wait, but we have to wait in Ca anyhow. Great job! read more

WOW, I'm always amazed at the selection here. I moved to the Gun state beside CA now, but I still work over in CA periodically and I always make it a point to stop in at The Shootist and see what's new. They are always stocked full of the newest firearms. They are a LE dealer too, so I get to see the good stuff too. I'm sorry to hear that there are some unhappy experiences below, sure there may be a grumpy ol guy there, but doesn't every business have one. Just say thanks for your help and wait for the next available salesperson. I have to say, this is the best gun shop I have every visited in CA, the selection, knowledgable people, and the atmosphere is just way cool. I believe they now have 4 retired LE folks there. They have seen it and done it. If you have time, listen to some stories they have. They are always so comical. So keep your money local, be patient, have a great time, look at all the stuff (accessories) they have in all the corners of the shop and I'm sure you will be impressed. read more

Called Faith Armory first because that's what popped up first when I googled. They didn't answer their phone.. just kept ringing and ringing. So I looked up other shops and The Shootist came up. Called the store and was helped by a woman (don't know her name). Informed her that I wanted to purchase a gun, etc and wanted to know what was needed. She told me I would need to take the HSC test and to look for the study guide online, review it, and then go in to take the test. I took her advice and looked over the study guide at http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/forms/pdf/hscsg.pdf Went into the store an hour later. Was helped by Bill. Informed him that I was purchasing a gun for the first time. He was very helpful and polite. Took the test (missed 1 question that I shouldn't have missed). Ended up being helped by another gentleman. Can't remember his name. Told him about the gun choices I needed to decide between. I wanted something stronger than a 9mm, but didn't want a cannon like a .357 :). Ended up purchasing a Glock G23 .40. I'm picking it up next Tuesday 3/27. Looking forward to it!!! read more

The shootist is a great store. staff is friendly and professional. their gunsmithing work is great and i have never been disappointed.

I like this store and have recommended it to my friends and family. My wife and I have purchased three guns (on three separate occasions over the last two years) from these guys. Their staff is NOT pushy (like most salesmen are) and gave me time to look around without being stalked and harassed by an employee - that was great. They are knowledgeable and took the time to answer my questions in a non-condescending manner - which was also great. Even though it is sometimes hard to get a hold of someone over the phone, they have answered many of my questions without me having to drive there - also very nice. They have a good selection and decent prices. Plus Erin is very cool, nice, and friendly - if you go there ask for her to help you. I'll go back there next time I need a gun for sure. read more

I have bought another pistol from them since my last encounter. The owner is no longer there (retired) so it is kind of up in the air with service. The pricing seems to be more on par, usually cheaper then other gun stores in the area. One thing I really like is that they usually have a nice selection of 1911s. I gave it four stars this time because I do think it is a better store now then it was with my first purchase. I would like to point out that they did make an error on the paperwork which resulted in a quick phone call with the DOJ to clear it up. Not really a big deal, just mentioning it. Also they do seem to have a nice selection of used-consignment guns which most stores won't even consider. Worth the trip if your in the area. They also seem to get a lot of 5.56/223 ammo in and it is priced fairly in todays market. read more

Good store with great selection. Sometimes it can take awhile to get help... You have to approach staff as some won't approach you. Still a good store read more

I went in yesterday to buy .22 ammo, he said $7.99 for 50 "it's gone up!". It sure did go up, I bought a brick at Bass Pro Shops two days a ago for $24. read more

This place is great!! Me and my bf recently came in bought 2 Mossberg 500s... While I was in there I really loved a S & W AR. After a couple days talking with my bf (our mossberg had to be ordered anyways so they weren't in yet) I called them asked if we could swap one mossberg purchase and get the AR15 and pay the difference. They said yes so we went right in and we were helped by Kristi who was an awsome help. Both times we've been in were great. Great environment, great staff & a nice big selection! Our first time in Bill helped us and Brett they were great as well. Made our first gun buying experience wonderful and will definitely be going back! Thank you the Shootist keep it up:) read more

Great place. They're very helpful and got me exactly what I needed, and more, quickly. Will return.

I felt very awkward here , it's like they didn't want me in the store . Maybe it was just me but hopefully next time the vibe is better ..

very very very poor costumer service, very very high prices, very rude crew, feel like they do you a favor when they talking to you, theyre not the only one in town, i highly recomend the other store in temecula which is not too far away from them. read more

I went to The Shootist in Murrieta, California and I bought an AR-15 from them. This was not my first time buying a firearm from them, so I was a loyal customer. They ended up selling me a firearm that did not cycle properly and would not work the first day I went to go shoot it. I was asked what ammo I was shooting and I told them winchester 55 grain white box, which I know this is good ammo. I called them and they told me to bring it in in a week. I took the firearm to them and the manager told me she could not fix it because she did not have the parts, so she would have to send it to the manufacturer and the wait time is at least a month. I told her if she can give me another rifle and I would pay the difference and she told me no. I told her, then I want to return it and she told me I can, but it would be a 15% restocking fee. I told her I felt I was being punished for paying a restocking fee. After an hour of arguing she told me the lowest was 7.5% restocking fee. I was already mad so I accepted and told her this is bad customer service. I felt so terrible leaving that gun store knowing I got ripped off for something that was not my fault. Till this day, I have not gone back there and never will. I ended up buying another rifle at another gun store that is closer to my house, it was a little more expensive, but it worked and customer service was excellent. I will rather pay a little more money, but at the end be happy. I have told this story to other friends so they know not to shop at The Shootist anymore because of their bad customer service. This experience told me the company did not care about its customers and the company did not sympathize with me or accept their errors. I know it was not their fault, they do not make the guns, but they still sell their products and should back them up. read more

great place. good prices, wide selection. plenty of history & knowledge there. very happy with my purchases.

Stopped by The Shootist for the first time last week. I decided to finally pop in. I called first to find myself talking to an automated machine giving me all sorts of details including directions, so i entered them in the Nav and found myself in Gun Heaven! I've been in most of the gun shops in and around San Diego area where I work and they don't even come close to what this place carries and offers. The day I stopped by they were remodling their plentiful long gun racks on the floor, total of 4 and they have about 100 feet of at least 6 rifles/shotguns deep behind the counter too! I was drooling. I didn't tell either of the salesmen that I had any experience with firearms - I wanted to test their knowledge and get their recomendations. The younger dude who helped me decide on a top of the line Springfield 1911 truly knows his handguns and then an older guy helped me with a shotgun for my wife. When I told him my price range he didn't try to upsale and put me in something too pricy. When they added my figures they took over $300 off my receipt. Very happy! Did my research when I got home and they gave me a killer deal. Just sent my two female employees down today without using me as a referal and they got the "royal treatment" - that just doesn't happen with women at gun shops everywhere. This place is my new favorite home away from home and I plan to stop by at least once a week from now on. Even if I still lived in San Diego, I would make the drive to Murrieta just to visit this place! read more