My Experience with Bangalore Gun Stores.

[Ultimate Sniper]

Hi IFGians...

I have been following this forum for the past 6 months.
I was a gun enthusiast right from my childhood and Finally today I got to lay my hands on my first AirGun and it is IHP 35 - .177.

Am writing this post for the new gun hunters and relatively less experienced gun buyers in Bangalore.
My Experience:-
Today i visited 5 gun stores in Bangalore.
1. Asian Armoury - There were 2 guys in the store where i got a cold welcome. Told him that am looking for an Airgun. They showed me a few pieces (had only 1 in .177 and 2 in .22 and no 2nd piece for any of them) in Rifle. I did not like any so moved to the pistol section and they showed me Blanka, i told am not interested in that and asked for availability of any other models. They showed me a blank gun and a CO2 powered Walter CP88 (used - paint gone at many places, looks really old). They asked me for 65K for the blank gun and 25K for the used CP88 and was claiming that 60K+ would be the price for a new CP88. I knew the prices were not reasonable. Also for the Rifles the prices were not that justifyable.
2. Royal Armoury - Here also 2 guys. Seems like the owner and his assistant. Assistant was of no assistance at all knew almost nothing about guns. The owner was also not very proficient. He was showing me a .22 and telling that its a .177 and later showed me other models also but the quoted price was jawdropping...
IHP Model 35 - .177 asked price 10K
I just walked out after hearing that.
3. Bangalore Gun Stores - Walked in to this store, the initial feel was same as that of the other stores. But there were a good collection of Rifles and knives. They showed me 3 models in .177 IHP 35, Dove, SDK (i think). They told they received the latest stock for IHP .177 this week and had many pieces with him. They even had a small shooting range to try out the gun. The quoted prices were also pretty good. They had a good collection of .22 as well but Pistolss were disappointing. I tried the IHP and SDK. Looks for the SDK was really good but by shooting IHP impressed me more so i finalized the IHP one. After a few minutes of discussion we agreed on the price and made the settlement at below 7K. Over all good experience here and liked thie place the best.
4. Gun Shop - This store was closed today and could not have any experience.
5. State Gun Stores (@Coles Park) - This store was the worst among all. There was a young guy over there and he was speaking as if he knows everything about guns and trade. He had just 1 Air Rifle in .22 and none in .177. The .22 was of Sisco make and he was claiming it can fire more than 100M with good power (effective range). The barrel had some rust and the stock was having a really bad finish. I asked if IHP .177 is available and he told IHP stopped production of .177 and stocks are not available at all. I told they restarted the production and he was not ready to accept it. I then jumped to the pistol enquiry. He showed me a few indian makes. I asked for imported and he told it is not available and its not possible to get any less than 1.5L in india. I told i know of friends who have imported pistols but he was telling it is impossible and its possible to import via the dealers like him. It was a really bad experience there...

All that i wrote above is completely from my experience and no offences or partiality meant.
May be this would come handy for a newbiee...

Thanks,
Arvind S.

[dr.jayakumar]

friend,
all the above gun shops are run by relatives.asian armoury armoury is run by akbar sheriff and the rest are run by sheriff's(uncle's,brothers,cousin's,thatha's pattee's and what not) if i am not mistaken.
sometimes we know that we are whacked but still have no choice!!!
anyhow happy shooting.
regards

[pradeep.kumar]

This is my first post (rather reply) in IFG and want to learn and contribute in this knowledgeable forum.

Hello Arvind,

Which one are you referring to for point 3?

3. Bangalore Gun Stores - Walked in to this store, the initial feel was same as that of the other stores. But there were a good collection of Rifles and knives. They showed me 3 models in .177 IHP 35, Dove, SDK (i think). They told they received the latest stock for IHP .177 this week and had many pieces with him. They even had a small shooting range to try out the gun. The quoted prices were also pretty good. They had a good collection of .22 as well but Pistolss were disappointing. I tried the IHP and SDK. Looks for the SDK was really good but by shooting IHP impressed me more so i finalized the IHP one. After a few minutes of discussion we agreed on the price and made the settlement at below 7K. Over all good experience here and liked thie place the best.

I went to one "Bangalore Armoury" (not sure if this is the one you refer) in NR road, city market area recently and felt it to be better among some of the shops I visited in Bangalore and Chennai. I recently got a IHP 35 rifle there. Right, they have a good collection of air rifles like IHP, SDK etc. They have a shooting range behind the shop which helps you in testing and selecting your gun with target shooting too.

Additionally I was surprised to see a good collection of SBML firearms(Single barrel muzzle loader ) which looked like antiques. Do people buy them nowadays!!!?

[pradeep.kumar]

friend,
all the above gun shops are run by relatives.asian armoury armoury is run by akbar sheriff and the rest are run by sheriff's(uncle's,brothers,cousin's,thatha's pattee's and what not) if i am not mistaken.
sometimes we know that we are whacked but still have no choice!!!
anyhow happy shooting.
regards

Dear Dr.Jayakumar,

What you say may be true!! I have seen the nexus between couple of shops myself.

[nagarifle]

welcome to the world of rip of marchents. one does not mind some large leeway but when one takes the P*** IS something else. its a sellers world until we say no thanks you can keep it.

[tirpassion]

Additionally I was surprised to see a good collection of SBML firearms(Single barrel muzzle loader ) which looked like antiques. Do people buy them nowadays!!!?

Yes, dear friend . Certainly, in many parts of the world where there are Black powder ML fans like me, both for target shooting and hunting. Once bitten by the ML bug, it is hard to get rid off it. FYKI, many Indian made SBMLs are imported in Germany and France without the flashholes which is made by the specialists in the respective countries and undergo a proof. I have seen one (a flintlock .69 bore pistol) myself and it is of great finish.
I have posted a thread on ML handguns in the hand gun section. In case you want to know more...

best regards
tirpassion

[Ultimate Sniper]

@Doc (Jayakumar) : I guessed this fact that many of these stores are owned by relatives by looking at the names earlier itself...
They have made a nexus for looting new and novice people. As you already rightly said since we dont have a choice we all are falling in intentionally, mostly due to passion.

@Pradeep : You are correct i meant Bangalore Armory. Hope you had a pleasant experience there. I had the best experience among all the other places that i have visited so far.

@All IFGians : Keep sharing such experiences and feelings as this might help and guide a lot of people and we can save ourselves from getting looted with exorbitant & unreasonable rates...

Happy & Safe Shooting...

-Arvind S.

[Raksha Kumar]

Dear all,

I am a video journalist and am interested in arms licences. I recently read somewhere that the Bangalore police has issued a record number of arms licences this year and I wished to explore that further.

Since you own a gun and are located in Bangalore, was wondering if you would be willing to talk to me about your experience in obtaining a licence and the need you felt for having a gun?

I would really appreciate it. You could email your contact details to me on [email protected]

Thank you
Raksha
+9198100 78525

[goodboy_mentor]

I appreciate your efforts to go to the root of the matter and understand it.

I am a video journalist and am interested in arms licences.

Since you are interested in obtaining an arms license for yourself, please go through the Legal Eagle Section of this website. If you are not able to understand anything related to this matter please feel free to ask or PM me.

I recently read somewhere that the Bangalore police has issued a record number of arms licences this year and I wished to explore that further.

As mentioned earlier in this post http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php ... 32#p171696 this "record number of licenses" is not worth exploring from legal perspective(unless you have some ulterior motive contrary to the aim and spirit of law and justice)because arms are fundamental rights of citizens. Even if the entire 1.2 Billion population of our country gets gun licenses, it is nothing unconstitutional or legally alarming. If you carefully read the Objects and Reasons of Arms Act 1959 and its provisions, along with connected provisions of Constitution, every citizen has right to get an arms license.

Since you own a gun and are located in Bangalore, was wondering if you would be willing to talk to me about your experience in obtaining a licence and the need you felt for having a gun?

If I am not wrong, I am assuming your above question is directed at anoop. From the language of your question it appears you have very little understanding of arms/firearms or Arms Act 1959 and thus considering practically useless blank guns as "guns" just because they are named "guns". They are not firearms, thus do not require license under Arms Act 1959. Also they cannot be converted into firearms because they are made of such metal alloys that will not be able to withstand the pressure of cartridge and simply blow in your hands if converted into firearms. Hope you do not publish legally defamatory, biased, prejudiced, ignorant and irresponsible report like this gentleman http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17948

[Raksha Kumar]

Hi Goodboy_Mentor,

Thanks for your reply. I read the article you have linked to. And I understand your concerns about that.

There are few journalists in the country who spend time trying to understand an issue and I would like to believe I am one of them. (www.rakshakumar.com). I need to not only understand the issue at hand, but also need to speak to those who own firearms or are planning to apply for one ( in this case, those in Bangalore). I was referring to someone who would narrate their personal experience to me. This will not just help me understand the issue at hand, but also help my viewers understand it better (once the story is ready).

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I do not intend to pass judgements (that is not my job) or show slanting perceptions (that is unethical).

Hope that puts your fears to rest.

Raksha

[goodboy_mentor]

Raksha Thank you for your response. Probably you may try contacting over PM the following gentlemen and see if they or their friends are willing to talk. They all appear to be from Bangalore:-
Mack The Knife http://indiansforguns.com/memberlist.ph ... rofile&u=3
kanwar76 http://indiansforguns.com/memberlist.ph ... ofile&u=44
Pran http://indiansforguns.com/memberlist.ph ... file&u=199

[Raksha Kumar]

Thank you so much. WIll contact them. Could you please tell me why the sent messages remain in the outbox, and why do they not reach those people as soon as I send them?

[vivekpeter]

@Raksha - The PMs will stay in your outbox till the receiving person opens the message and reads it. Don't mind it.

[farook]

For a airguns you don't need a license and nothing like import restrictions.

[bennedose]

Bangalore gunshops probably deal with so many shady people that every new customer is treated with a deadpan face and body language indicating that much is being hidden. I would do that too, especially if I regularly got sucker customers who pay 3X for stuff they know nothing about. But they all become more friendly if you keep visiting them. Bangalore Armoury is the IHP dealer. He has a metal plate in an inner room where you can test fire air rifles. He says he has GSmith pellets. The Gun shop stocks mainly DAW air rifles each of which has received a thick, loving coating of grease. Royal Armoury and the Gun shop will cheerfully fire off an empty unloaded air rife ensuring that the spring and washer take a beating, but that doesn't seem to worry them. The only shop missing from the list is Kovi shop, Dickenson road

In India the meaning of the words "Stopped production" and "No supply" is "I don't have any, but I don't want you to try other shops, just buy what I am selling". This is common practice in medical stores as well when you are trying to buy prescription medication.