About 20 yrs ago, SE Colo was an old crusty shop owner, shot straight with ya, made his profit I am sure. Turned out he wasn't so crusty after all. Had a steady flow of regulars in and out, he would sit and visit as long as you wanted. He would try his best to steer you to whatever gun he thought would best fit what you wanted. If he saw an obvious flaw in your want, he would gently try to suggest a better product, (which was not always more expensive).
I think he has probably passed on by now.
Found another great shop in Harlingen Texas. Small place, but packed to the rafters. Personally witnessed the owner handling a customer, one that didn't know much about guns, had a young son in tow, looking for a 22. The owner brought no less than 6 22's to the counter for comparison. Everything from $800 to $100 rifles, and then explained the virtues of each. Was very honest about the benefits of the better ones, and explained that some of the cheaper ones were not of very good quality. The dealer asked a lot of questions, how much would it be used, would it be used by both father and son, or son only, etc. At the start I was only hearing this out of the corner of my ear, if you know what I mean, as I was busy looking at what interested me. As it evolved, I took a more interested listen, off to the side, as I figured I would see who I would be dealing with. The upshot of it was that the father and son left without buying, but I have no doubt that they went back to buy. The owner made such an impression on me with his honest dealing, and true desire to treat the customer right, that I bought $600 worth of stuff before I left.
There are a few left, and we should support them.
Joe
