I just read on Facebook that Virginia Arms Company in Manassas, Virginia is closing. I'm sure all of us who live in Northern Virginia have purchased a firearm from this store. I'm shocked. This isn't some small shop run as a hobby. Virginia Arms had a large selection and is no doubt the busiest gun shop north of Richmond. Could guns sales be so bad that the best store in the area goes out of business?

http://www.virginiaarms.com/

When I lived in NOVA I remember Clark Bros as the big player. I don’t remember VA Arms but I did leave the area in 91.

Wow!!!

My buddy an I used to take trips there from Alexandria on a semi-regular basis. It was like the one nice gun store in NoVa for quite a while. Others popped up over the years and I'm sure that combined with the price of real estate up there has made life very hard.

I bought a HK USP .45 Compact from them and my beloved Browning Double Auto Shotgun.

I bought a pistol there. Single action Ruger Blackhawk, in 44 special. Rose wood grips.

Also 100 rounds of ammo. It is one of those Bisley models.

Love it, as it shoots well, but reminds me of my first Blackhawk MANY years ago. Actually, I think it was in 1956-57 time frame. 357 as I recall. Got stupid and sold it.

Sad to see them closing, but not really surprised. Huge selection of arms and accessories. Prices were a little high.

Wow, I’ve bought several guns there through the years.

Prices were a bit high, but they did keep a large selection to handle/fondle. Bernie was always a stand up guy never had an issue with a return or just general advice w/o fear of being ripped off.

Wow, what a bummer. I lived in Herndon for a couple of years and used to stop in there on Saturdays. Everyone was always knowledgeable and friendly. I bought a few guns from them, they were always well stocked.

Anyone know the reason for the store closing? I have purchased many firearms from them.

Back in the early 2000's my office was right down the street from them. I bought many firearms from them during my lunch hour. Moved away from the area quite a while back. I always liked that shop.

for those w/o FB:

It is with a heart full of gratitude, but heavy with sadness that we announce that we have decided to close Virginia Arms Company.

We would like to thank our fantastic customers for a great 21 years. It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve you. We especially want to thank all of our incredible staff members. Virginia Arms has been a special place because our employees made it special. We will be forever grateful for our incredible staff.

Alas, times change and it is time for new challenges. Please keep an eye here for announcements. In the short term, everything is on sale. Please stop in and take advantage of some discounts.

All new firearms 10% off with select items (Benelli family and Remington bolt action guns at 20% off)

Ammo is 10% off
All accessories are 20% off
Galco products are 50% off
Silencers and SBRs are 40% off

No layaways, special orders or rain checks, all pricing limited to new inventory in stock.

We will not be accepting any new consignment items. We will accept transfers that have already been arranged, but we will not accept new transfer requests.

Thank you for your patronage over the last 21 years!

That's too bad. I worked in Manassas, VA, about 10 minutes away for almost year in 2012 and 2013 and dropped by about once a month during lunch, neve purchased a firearm, but it was a fine store and well-staffed.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Batty67,

I stopped by Virginia Arms this afternoon (Saturday 10/20). Their first public announcement of their closing was Monday, 10/15, but already I would say half the inventory is already gone. Apparently Bernie (the proprietor) was planning to stay open until 1 December, but he said at the rate things are selling, he suspects he will close sooner.

When I asked why they were closing, I was told a number of reasons, but the primary reason is practically all firearm accessories (hosters, ammo, magazines, etc.) are available via mail order for cheap, and they just can't compete with that any more.

I would think Virginia Arms has such a following that they should close the brick and mortar shop and just do business via mail order. I was told to monitor Facebook for any new announcements as to whether they will stay in business via some other method.

quote:

Originally posted by Fundman:
Could guns sales be so bad that the best store in the area goes out of business?

In a word, yes.

Here is my view of the world as a 01 FFL myself.

With $299 plus transfer fee ARs, $29.95 stripped lowers, $200-$290 S&W pocket pistols, $450 Walters, and similar guns available from online volume sellers, profit margins are slim for a one-of shop.

We saw this in the wake of Newtown when every gun in the manufacturer-distributor-retail stream was literally purchased along with all of the available ammunition in popular chamberings. This meant that gun shops that relied on a predictable turnover in inventory to generate cash flow were put in the position where they could not survive, the reason being they were not able to restock their shelves in a timely fashion. Given that most occupied rented space, there were bills to be paid but no cash to do so. So a lot of people went under. And if you loose the place listed as the premises address on your FFL, you have 30 days to find an acceptable place and a file for a change of address. If you can't make that window you required to turn your FFL in to BATFE. After that it's a new application with all that a new application entails.

I don't know if this is why Bernie is closing up shop, but I strongly suspect the economics of operating a retail gun shop in Northern Virginia are precisely why he's closing.

Hopkins gun qnd tackle i. Cold harbor is closing. Degoffs closed earlier this year.

While Virginia Arms had good professional employees and a large handgun and tactical selection I think prices probably led to their end. Ammo was much less expensive at Walmart and Dicks. The Dulles gun show or online places like Buds had better firearm prices. But people for a while at least were willing to pay extra for the knowledgeable service. Prices seem to have dropped so low that independent gun stores cannot add in their overhead and be semi-competitive with the online discount sellers and national chains.

I hope to go there next Saturday, a co-worker told me of them maybe two years ago. A small store (it's not Green Top), but lots of items. Helpful staff the one time I went there, got some of the hard for me to find 9mm Gold Dots in 50 round boxes.

quote:

Originally posted by rat2306:
I hope to go there next Saturday, a co-worker told me of them maybe two years ago. A small store (it's not Green Top), but lots of items. Helpful staff the one time I went there, got some of the hard for me to find 9mm Gold Dots in 50 round boxes.

I think Green Top really has the right idea. They have tons of stuff to supplement their income if firearm sales drop. They also have a HUGE used selection instead of just a small consignment counter like most shops.

I go there all the time just to check stuff out and I almost always walk out with something, clothes, black rifle coffee, ammo, etc etc etc.

quote:

Originally posted by DSgrouse:
Hopkins gun qnd tackle i. Cold harbor is closing. Degoffs closed earlier this year.

Where did you hear anything about Hopkins closing?

Had a conversation with a couple of local guys who told me. Looking at their facebook page, it does not seem that they are closing.

I asked because I know the owner and the last time we spoke, he was talking about attending the Shot Show, which they usually do to order for the coming year.