Hunters Warehouse

Tom Engle, the owner, told me by email that he would «take care of me» regarding FFL fees for a rifle I had shipped to his store. He told me that because he is a former Marine, and I am too. I thought maybe he would waive the normal $ 35 or whatever it is, the FFL fee. I didn’t ask for it, but «take care of» usually means something like that. But like I said, I didn’t ask for it and didn’t expect it. And when I picked it up, he charged me more, for the FFL fee and extra, I can’t remember the exact amount but it was about equal to the actual fee, for the «markup.» I asked him what the markup is for and he said «because I have an FFL license and you don’t.»
The amount itself doesn’t matter, but the the fact that he told me he would «take care of me,» then didn’t, then said «because I can,» this is poor customer service, to the extreme. It’s arrogant. You ship a gun to him and he knows he can charge whatever he wants for you to walk out with it. Maybe «for paperwork and labor» might have been a nicer answer than «because I have an FFL license and you don’t.»
He does know his firearms and is enjoyable to talk with, and if I didn’t know anything about guns I would probably trust his knowledge, but definitely needs some work in the customer service department.

Stay far, far away. This creep has been in at least 4x different locations over the years. Sad stories from 15x years ago:
1. Bought my Dad a old surplus Mauser, 8 mm. He goes into «Hunter’s Warehouse» across from Wal-​Mart in State College, PA, the owner tells him that 8 mm Mauser is extremely rare/​expensive.
2. Ordered several guns direct from out of state distributers, paid for them with my credit card. Not only does the owner charge me a _​separate NICS fee (only 1x call made) for each gun_​in additional to the _​separate FFL transfer fees_​, he charges me _​sales tax_​on the total purchase price of all the guns! I was too young to know better.
3. Tells me that an airsoft MP-​5 on the wall is the real deal, and that he’s a Class III dealer.
There’s more…

This store is awesome! After visiting J&E guns I came here and am glad I did. The owner had exactly what I was looking for and at a competitive price. There is an overwhelming amount of firearms in this store but the owner was very friendly and knowledgeable on every item he has. He was honest and provided information about certain firearms that I did not know and gave specific issues that pertained to certain firearms and even expounded on each companies warranties as well as some of the more intricate manufacturing details that are put into each firearm. If you’re in the market for a firearm of any sort I recommend stopping by Hunters Warehouse; at the very least you’ll walk out with an extra bit of knowledge and a more confident feeling about making your first or next firearm purchase.

Avoid at all costs. Period. I consider myself well-​trained and experienced in this field, and «Hunter’s Warehouse» makes me uneasy. Overall, I would not at all consider this store a safe option for purchasing firearms or (especially) receiving any related advice from the owner (from experience). In my mind, I have serious questions about how he has stayed in business.
For full disclosure: I have not purchased anything from this guy, and since visiting a few times and hearing from other trusted visitors, I will never consider purchasing from him. If anything, I recommend visiting once to see for yourself.