Ft. Lewis area ranges and gun stores

[geardo211]

Gentlemen,

I am PCS'ing to Ft. Lewis in a few weeks, and I had some questions about the availability of ranges (rifle and pistol) and shops in the area. Does anyone have any recommendations for ranges, firearms stores, and gear shops to go to (or avoid)? Also, are there any good armorers (or does anyone do work on the side) in the area? Mind you I can look up stores and ranges on the net, I am just seeking opinions and recommendations on where to go.

Thanks in advance for any help that anyone can offer.

[TOMAHAWK9521]

Gentlemen,

I am PCS'ing to Ft. Lewis in a few weeks, and I had some questions about the availability of ranges (rifle and pistol) and shops in the area. Does anyone have any recommendations for ranges, firearms stores, and gear shops to go to (or avoid)? Also, are there any good armorers (or does anyone do work on the side) in the area? Mind you I can look up stores and ranges on the net, I am just seeking opinions and recommendations on where to go.

Thanks in advance for any help that anyone can offer.

I haven't been there in 20 years so some businesses may no longer be in the area. As for ranges, we used to frequent the gravel pits off post. Of course that area is probably a gated community by now.

[Gene Econ]

Gentlemen,
I am PCS'ing to Ft. Lewis in a few weeks, and I had some questions about the availability of ranges (rifle and pistol) and shops in the area. Does anyone have any recommendations for ranges, firearms stores, and gear shops to go to (or avoid)? Also, are there any good armorers (or does anyone do work on the side) in the area? Mind you I can look up stores and ranges on the net, I am just seeking opinions and recommendations on where to go.
Thanks in advance for any help that anyone can offer.

Geardo:

As for ranges, Ft. Lewis has a range that is open Fridays through Sundays run by MWR. It goes to 300 yards which is pretty good. Cost is something like $3.00 per day and they give you targets. If you are a serious shooter, you will use the Lewis range for testing loads at 300 once a year or two and join one of the various gun clubs in the area for any serious training.

There are a bunch of gun clubs in the area but some cater to a specific shooting discipline more than others. Tacoma Rifle and Revolver is in University Place and Paul Bunyon Club is in Puyallup. Tacoma Sportsmans Club is another one but they aren't quite up to the standards of the other two. There are other clubs in the region too but those are the closest to Lewis. Costs vary but think of about $150.00 per year and they normally cut some for active duty guys.

There are a bunch of gun stores around but they don't cater to the competitive side too much so I may go to one every year or two. Bullseye is about the biggest around I think and it is in Tacoma. There is a very large gun show each month in Puyallup so you may want to consider joining the Washington Arms Collectors if you want to buy a firearm at that gun show.

As for armorers -- depends on what you want done.

Gene

[version13]

A little further north in Bellevue is Wade's Eastside guns http://www.wadesguns.com/ .

The staff is very friendly and they have a very good selection and indoor range.

[Oku]

Add to the above info....

The Marksman- Indoor pistol range and gun store. Closer, cleaner and safer than Bull's Eye. Also has very good pricing on "things that go bang". Military discounts and range specials available (no I don't work there ;) )

http://www.themarksman.net/

Upper Nisqually Sportsman's Club- has 500 + yd "regular guy" rifle range (last time I was there they were putting in a bench rest range as well) plus pistol and shotgun ranges. 30-40 minutes from Ft Lewis.

http://www.uppernisquallysportsmanclub.com/

As far as armorers go, your best bet is to check with the guys on the base. I can find some folks who occasionally "do some work" but no shops other than Mc Cann's

Gear-

Semper Paratus Tactical: one man shop for custom nylon. www.semperparatustactical.com (can't guarantee the site is up. Contact me if you need to get in touch with Dan and it isn't working)

Quantico Supply: 'nuff said

Tactical Tailor: Nylon gear.

Armorer-

I can't help much with this one, but I'm sure the guys on base have a favorite or two. Mc Cann's is the only one I'm aware of that's good for sure.

http://www.mccannindustries.com/

Welcher's gun shop used to have a good smith, but I don't know if they did much for military application. No site for a link.

[geardo211]

Sorry for the delay, but thank you all for the responses.

Tomahawk:
Judging from when we went to close on our house, the entire area around post is gated communities now.

Gene:
I hadn't originally thought about a club, but seeing as how I'll be there for at least three years, it would probably be the best choice. Right now I'm just looking at a suppressor for my M4gery, maybe some other tinkering with it. New Jersey is so anal when it comes to any kind of weapons, that I've had everything stashed across the border in PA. I'll look into the gun show too. Thanks.

Version13:
Thanks for the info.

Oku:

I've used TT before, and received some great stuff. I was just curious if there was anyone local for ruck mods, etc. I had started using Blackhawk before I was on this site, but after reading some posts about them I'll probably just be sticking with TT for now. Thanks for the info on the shops and ranges.

Geardo211

[NoRoadtrippin]

Geardo,

If you have no problem ordering items, there are numerous other shops outside of WA of course that you might not have come across until hanging out on a site like PS.com. I know that my entire kit has changed to smaller, US made lines of products since discovering some of the guys whose advertising efforts don't extend beyond the word of those who are already using their gear down range.

Search some threads and if you need some additional links, PM me and I can email you my collection of bookmarked sites.

[Oku]

Geardo,

Dan at Semper Paratus Tactical can do mods and again, his work is excellent.

TT used to do mods....is this no longer true?

[geardo211]

Oku:
Yeah...I thought they only did their mods online, but low and behold they have a store (or rather THE store) in Lakewood. That's not too far from Spanaway so it should work fine.

[RichL025]

Right now I'm just looking at a suppressor for my M4gery, maybe some other tinkering with it. New Jersey is so anal when it comes to any kind of weapons, that I've had everything stashed across the border in PA. ...
Geardo,

Be advised that (to the best of my knowledge), WA state law still forbids suppressor use, even if you possess one legally through the appropriate tax stamps, etc. You can own it, you just cant use it. Go figure.

[geardo211]

Sorry Rich, I should have been more specific. I was referring to a flash suppressor (probably a Phantom). In my case going through the process of getting a can would probably outweigh any real need for it. Thanks for the info though.

[Ryanr]

Does anyone have any experience with the shooting classes at Wade's Gun Shop?

[x SF med]

J&S Gun Parts in Olympia is a good shop for iron and ammo.