Colt Python is Back!!!

[knothead]

3 hours ago, Delw said:

Would it have been the smittys on Grand? I bought a ton of guns from there since 1982 till they shut it down. they would order anything you wanted also.

Yes, I worked in the sporting goods dept at 83rd ave and grand from 81-83, 35th ave and peoria from 84-85 and I finished my last  6 months at main office.  Smitty's was very good to me and made a lot of very good friends while working there.  

You are right, we used to special order all kinds of guns/merchandise for people at the grand ave store.  The manager, Tim Tekulve, used to love special orders and he encouraged all of us to help the customers get whatever they wanted. Tim was and still is a great salesman and he taught me a ton about people and how to treat them to make them a loyal customer.  Good guy.

[Outdoor Writer]

11 minutes ago, 10Turkeys said:

I bet it's been 25 years or more so I don't remember where I was at or who I was with, but somebody was asking about Lucky Wade and someone else said that he was working for Ruger up in Prescott.

I don't have a clue where he wound up. The mauser alteration was the only thing he did for me, and I think he was already gone when I was in the gun wholesale business from 1973-1975.

I also did a lot of business with Gilbert Ronstadt, Linda's daddy, at Ronstadt's Hardware in Tucson. Jensen's was another big shop there that I sold to on a regular basis.

[jdown]

23 minutes ago, HuntHarder said:

Cave Creek and Bell, the last 2 years they were open.

I was there from 92-03 (The Sportsman in the Pete Shepley days) and then Az Sportsmans when Glen and Shirley bought the then 3 stores in 93 from Pete (mesa, phx, and Glendale) then closed the West store and eventually opened the North store and bought the 2 Jensens stores in Tucson and eventually Shooters World.  I managed the Camelback store for a year or two and then the Mesa store for 3 before I got out as the big boys were coming in and there was no way Glen was going to be able to last. I did a lot of the buying and ordering so  Lots of shot shows and other buying shows along with rep and warehouse interactions and always enjoyed the products and customers.  I still keep in touch with a few reps as well and started prostaffing for Vista outdoors the last 4-5 years and now with Savage since Vista sold them.  I can't get industry out of my blood.   

[10Turkeys]

11 minutes ago, Outdoor Writer said:

I don't have a clue where he wound up. The mauser alteration was the only thing he did for me, and I think he was already gone when I was in the gun wholesale business from 1973-1975.

I also did a lot of business with Gilbert Ronstadt, Linda's daddy, at Ronstadt's Hardware in Tucson. Jensen's was another big shop there that I sold to on a regular basis.

I never met Bob Jensen, but I hear that he was a good shot in his day. At the old office at the Tucson Rifle Club there was an old certificate from the NRA that Bob Jensen, Milt Hood, and Roy Dunlap set a National record of some kind. I ask Milt about it once and he said the record sure didn't last long for whatever it was for.

[HuntHarder]

3 minutes ago, jdown said:

I was there from 92-03 (The Sportsman in the Pete Shepley days) and then Az Sportsmans when Glen and Shirley bought the then 3 stores in 93 from Pete (mesa, phx, and Glendale) then closed the West store and eventually opened the North store and bought the 2 Jensens stores in Tucson and eventually Shooters World.  I managed the Camelback store for a year or two and then the Mesa store for 3 before I got out as the big boys were coming in and there was no way Glen was going to be able to last. I did a lot of the buying and ordering so  Lots of shot shows and other buying shows along with rep and warehouse interactions and always enjoyed the products and customers.  I still keep in touch with a few reps as well and started prostaffing for Vista outdoors the last 4-5 years and now with Savage since Vista sold them.  I can't get industry out of my blood.   

Hmm. I think I was there in 03.  Is your name Josh?  I vaguely remember the Mesa Managers name being Josh.  I still see Wes Anderson (used to be our Pentax rep) on occasion.  I think he got out of the industry or I see his doppleganger working for an engineering firm.

[jdown]

1 minute ago, HuntHarder said:

Hmm. I think I was there in 03.  Is your name Josh?  I vaguely remember the Mesa Managers name being Josh.  I still see Wes Anderson (used to be our Pentax rep) on occasion.  I think he got out of the industry or I see his doppleganger working for an engineering firm.

That's me.  I've been meaning to call Wes. I used to talk to him pretty regularly up until about a year and lost touch.  I was at the savage plant last month and talked to a few guys about him    He was spending a lot of time in ca but after he lost a few lines moved back here.  

[bigorange]

18 hours ago, CatfishKev said:

Lol, was just thinking that.  Beautiful revolver but $1500? Holy nuts!

Exactly...some fanboys and girls will buy one at any price to be like Rick. LoL

[Outdoor Writer]

8 minutes ago, 10Turkeys said:

I never met Bob Jensen, but I hear that he was a good shot in his day. At the old office at the Tucson Rifle Club there was an old certificate from the NRA that Bob Jensen, Milt Hood, and Roy Dunlap set a National record of some kind. I ask Milt about it once and he said the record sure didn't last long for whatever it was for.

That he was. He used to shoot in the metallic silhouette matches regularly. I did it for one season but hated to drive there so I quit. I don't think I knew Hood or Dunlap, or at least the names aren't familiar. Is Jensen still alive?

[10Turkeys]

19 minutes ago, Outdoor Writer said:

That he was. He used to shoot in the metallic silhouette matches regularly. I did it for one season but hated to drive there so I quit. I don't think I knew Hood or Dunlap, or at least the names aren't familiar. Is Jensen still alive?

The last I heard Bob was still alive.

[Delw]

1 hour ago, knothead said:

Yes, I worked in the sporting goods dept at 83rd ave and grand from 81-83, 35th ave and peoria from 84-85 and I finished my last  6 months at main office.  Smitty's was very good to me and made a lot of very good friends while working there.  

You are right, we used to special order all kinds of guns/merchandise for people at the grand ave store.  The manager, Tim Tekulve, used to love special orders and he encouraged all of us to help the customers get whatever they wanted. Tim was and still is a great salesman and he taught me a ton about people and how to treat them to make them a loyal customer.  Good guy.

I am betting you were one of the guys that sold me half a dozen firearms, Thats f'n wild.

I still have 1 or 2 old receipts from a few guns I Bought there. Somewhere around that time I ordered a 44 automag from you guys, had it for a while then sold it cause I didnt like it. I believe you guys ordered 2 or 3 of them. one was for one of the managers Thats how I found out about it. I think someone returned one of them and maybe one of you guys bought it. bought a few 24 power tasco target scopes from you guys as well. 1 I still have. Thats when tasco used to have good target scopes almost as good as the leupolds.

cool store fore sure , miss that place I was in there almost everyday, wife was shopping I was plotting the next gun purchase.  that little restaurant inside had great food too.

[roninflag]

Big Browns you made my day

[forepaw]

22 hours ago, CatfishKev said:

Lol, was just thinking that.  Beautiful revolver but $1500? Holy nuts!

I was at the Kingman gun show about 25 yrs. ago, walked by a table with a garden-variety Python under the glass.  I thought it looked pretty good, but a little high, at $1200.  I thought mmmm, maybe $800 - $850.  Then a guy walked up behind me, saw it, and liked to tore his wallet apart getting out the cash. Those things have a cult following, or close to it.

forepaw

[CatfishKev]

3 hours ago, bigorange said:

Exactly...some fanboys and girls will buy one at any price to be like Rick. LoL

Negan made killing seem fun

[CatfishKev]

6 minutes ago, forepaw said:

I was at the Kingman gun show about 25 yrs. ago, walked by a table with a garden-variety Python under the glass.  I thought it looked pretty good, but a little high, at $1200.  I thought mmmm, maybe $800 - $850.  Then a guy walked up behind me, saw it, and liked to tore his wallet apart getting out the cash. Those things have a cult following, or close to it.

forepaw

I believe it. I dont get it personally but to each there own. Different strokes and all. 

[knothead]

3 hours ago, Delw said:

I am betting you were one of the guys that sold me half a dozen firearms, Thats f'n wild.

I still have 1 or 2 old receipts from a few guns I Bought there. Somewhere around that time I ordered a 44 automag from you guys, had it for a while then sold it cause I didnt like it. I believe you guys ordered 2 or 3 of them. one was for one of the managers Thats how I found out about it. I think someone returned one of them and maybe one of you guys bought it. bought a few 24 power tasco target scopes from you guys as well. 1 I still have. Thats when tasco used to have good target scopes almost as good as the leupolds.

cool store fore sure , miss that place I was in there almost everyday, wife was shopping I was plotting the next gun purchase.  that little restaurant inside had great food too.

There were only 4 of us that worked in the sporting goods department.  Tim was the manager, a full timer named Carl and two part timers of which I was one.  I'm sure we would have met because being PT I closed almost every Friday, Saturday night and worked Sunday because it was time and half.  We had so many regulars back then that we new more than half of our customers by first name or we new something about them.  If you find one of those receipts and see the name John Hay on it then I sold you that gun.  That was something like 37-38 years ago.  Crazy stuff