REVIEW: GAT Guns

When I lived in D.C., I had to do almost all of my shopping at the corner convenience store. Occasionally, I could get a friend with a car to run me to the supermarket, but it was generally too far and too unsafe for me to do via public transportation. Bell's Guns, where we did our first outing, is like that corner store. GAT Guns, on the other hand, is a supermarket.

Plinkers made an outing to GAT Guns of Dundee (near Elgin) this past Saturday, November 19. This was our second outing and, though we enjoyed ourselves on the first outing, we were not too impressed with Bell's Guns. GAT Guns was a much better experience.

GAT Guns is both an indoor range and an extensive sporting goods store, leaning heavily towards hunting and fishing gear. It's housed in a huge, 2-story stone building and is very well maintained. There were probably a good 6-8 staff working there and all were professional and helpful. The whole place was fairly busy, but it is big enough that it wasn't a problem.

The sign-in process was friendly but thorough. We each had to present our FOID cards, sign in one book and sign a waiver in another. I then had to open my gun case and have it inspected by the woman at the counter to ensure that it was indeed a pistol caliber or rimfire rifle. It's unfortunate that such extremes have to be taken, but I suppose it's better for us to endure this small inconvenience than for them to open themselves up to lawsuits by the all-too-eager.

The range itself is 25 yards long and is divided into two halves, with 24 lanes overall. All the lanes were in good condition with working lights and target runners. The air circulation seemed better than the last place, as I wasn't tasting gunpowder for the hour or so after leaving the range. A man even came in during our shooting and swept up the brass. Wow! You supposedly rent by the hour, but this turned out to be a soft time. Apparently, as long as it's not overcrowded and you keep buying ammo, you can shoot to your heart's content.

After perforating our share of targets, we perused the shop. I haven't seen a selection this large since I went to Don's Guns in Indianapolis as a kid. They had everything from decades-old Mausers to AK-47s (semi-auto) to the Barrett M82A1. If you're not familiar with this last one, it's an $8,000, .50 cal. rifle used in extreme, long-distance competition and by military snipers. Truly a beast. This part of the store was like a museum and a great place for gun enthusiasts to see all the models they've only read about. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Overall, GAT Guns was an impressive place and would be a great place for repeat visits. The one downside to this range is its distance from Chicago. Though I drove this route to work for about 3 months several years ago, I'd forgotten just how long of a drive it is.