Gallenson's Guns: The Biggest Little Gun Store in America
There are two things that are easily remembered in the gun world. Your first gun, and your favorite gun store. Nestled in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City is my personal favorite, Gallenson’s Guns and Ammo. In 1916 Russian immigrant and tailor, William Gallenson, opened the store as a tailor shop. In 1925 that tailor shop turned gun store and pawnshop, and it’s been open ever since.
Gallenson’s Guns: The Biggest Little Gun Store in America
Every good gun store has ammo, and at Gallenson’s there’s certainly no shortage. Oddly enough, these piles actually look a little sparse compared to how it usually looks, with ammo stacked six feet high most days.
The team here has done a great job of grouping ammo so you can find what you need for plinking, hunting, or defense. During my review of the Ruger RPR Mag in 300 PRC, this was the only shop that had 300 PRC in stock and was a huge lifesaver for that review.
Not only did they have 300 PRC in stock, but they also had reloading dies in stock for it as well. Odds are, if you need ammo or supplies for either shooting or reloading they’ll have it in stock.
Turn 180 degrees away from ammo land and you catch your first glimpse of, well everything. Gallenson’s keeps a massive inventory and is a premium dealer for companies like SIG and CZ.
Almost every shop has Glock’s in inventory, but here they have everything in between. New, used, customized, and in a wide assortment of calibers. You name it, I bet they have it.
Black Rifle Island
Located in the center of the store is my favorite spot that I like to call “Black Rifle Island”. Here you can look over a massive selection of sporting rifles and silencers. Everything from Gold Thompsons to an FN SCAR 20s can be found here.
In-stock are rifles made by FN, Noveske, Daniel Defense, and H&K just to name a few. Alongside that is a cabinet with silencers from companies like Dead Air, SilencerCo, Gemtech, and OSS.
It’s hard not to find something you want with a selection this large. Front and center on this day was this awesome B&T APC308 sporting a Magpul D-50 drum.
On the outside of “Black Rifle Island” is a display case with a wide variety of optics to go with your new rifle or pistol. Not to mention a pair of .50 BMG rifles on top of the display case as well.
On the opposite side of the island is yet another island surrounded by magazines, and full of used guns from various companies and in various calibers.
In the opposite corner of the store lies an additional gun counter for CZ, with a slew of used rifles and shotguns in racks out front.
When I asked how many guns total were in the shop (including the floor to ceiling rifles and handguns in the back) the staff estimated there’s probably north of 20,000 rifles, pistols, and shotguns. This makes it one of the largest privately-owned gun stores I’ve ever seen.
Worth The Trip
Truth be told, all of this isn’t what keeps bringing me back to the shop year after year. The staff at Gallenson’s are incredible and will make you feel right at home. Between this, and their awesome prices on guns and bulk ammo, they’re well worth the visit. So, if you’re ever in downtown Salt Lake City, swing by Gallenson’s Guns and Ammo on 166 E and 200 S give them a visit. I bet you’ll enjoy it.
The author is a military contractor who enjoys conducting independent firearms research and reloading. Article inquiries and suggestions are welcome at austinjrex at gmail.com
More by Austin R
Comments
Join the conversation
I've heard Buds is nice
Great big store with lots of merchandise but weird selling policies. They have a discontinued optic in stock that I'd like to buy but they will not ship out of state and since it is not serialized they will not let me buy it over the phone and have a colleague pick it up.