i bought a pistol at the columbus store, i was treated very good, everyone spoke. i had to write this after reading a review that was very bad. the people at the columbus store were so nice, the opposite of the staff behind the gun counter at another store to the north along 71. read more

The BEST place to purchase a firearm in Columbus Ohio. I know there are several options, but Vances is always my first choice. Great sales people, very patient and informative on all the issues needed. I recommend Vances to everyone I know who is in the market for firearms or accessories. read more

Love patronizing Vance's. Prices and customer service are good. Other customers there (location) can really suck. Wait time to get to the sales counter could be shorter. Hire more people? read more

Bought two guns there. The services are good. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. And Anthony is very helpful. This is at the Cleveland location. Their business was good. And I can see some people was waiting for a few minutes. read more

I love vance they are nice and will help you to get what you need. I bought my first gun there two years ago and it was great they even dropped the price on it now that may or may not happen to you but as long as it's not on sale ask and they can see. only bad and it not even there fault is don't sale guns to them because they go to low below market value if it not popular it not going to sale so you get these low value trade offers. SALES are ever mouth and it on popular thing like ar15,ak47,sig,glock,S&W, but also on used guns that need some TLC or not so popular brands there is ammo on sale ever mouth of some kind. The staff is very friendly only one staff member ever need help with there gun know how but was steel helpful with telling me they don't do gun smithing and that the GUNWORKS in grove city Ohio is were the staff take there stuff to get done. If you want to look go during the week is when I have found the staff can help you the most and have fun the Friday-Sunday is the more time to going to get what you know you want I bough two guns in two years from vance and I've bough five guns in that two year time span. From cabelas over charged me two time and that the staff is not friendly to there staff not know there info. To black wing wish was nice but too fare to drive and to rich for my blood. Vance is that nice family friendly gun shop ware the rich the poor the hood and the country the republican and democratic come to get there guns and have fun doing trust me I like to talk in the long line to pass the time tell I get waited on and you meet some nice people. read more

Range is maybe ok if you are a naive, innocent first time beginner. It's HORRIBLY over priced. Prepare to pay TWICE as much as competitors. They charge by shooter...not by lane. The range managers are overbearing. There are 2 managers per 8 lanes. They all have a headsets that communicate with BIG BROTHER who is watching video all of the time. You may only have one gun laying in the bay at one time. Which means that if you have multiple guns you want to shoot, you have to go back and forth to the holding table multiple times. And you have to CASE your gun on each trip. If you have 2 people per bay, it BURNS up all of your time going back and forth to the table behind you. If you have a FTF, FTL or a STOVE PIPE, you are instructed to lay the gun down until the RANGE MANAGER can come over and clear your weapon. This range is not about shooting, it's about money and CYA. You can't even shoot aluminum ammo. They are constantly brushing the brass out of your reach so that they can collect it and sell it. In my first experience here today, I was consistently being reprimanded by the "RANGE MANGER" for moronic things. Every shooter is micromanaged like they are school children. Now, to his credit, he was apologetic about having to enforce the rules. He mentioned that they are watching him on video at all times. It appeared that he had been confronted several times in the past about how insane the rules are at this range. The last straw for me was when I took a drink from a soda (that had a lid). I was reprimanded once again by the range manager. At that point, I told him that this was my first time at this range. I told him that I'm not sure if the management cares or not, but I will not be coming back to this facility again. I LOVE Vance for their Retail section with their GREAT PRICES, selection and service. I have purchased 3 firearms from them and will continue to do so. But the new gun range is an ABSOLUTE FAILURE! LEPD and BLACKWING are half as expensive and offer you a much better shooting experience. I shoot quite a bit and I've never been so disappointed in a shooting experience. read more

I have dealt with Vance's for years... The man in the Bow shop is excellent, has helped me greatly.

I purchased a weatherby .300 rifle from these guys and a lepould scope (about a $3500 investment). I could never hit a target for many years after bore sighting it and issues. I finally gave up and took it to a gun smith and he told me that Vance did not mount the scope correctly and they actually ruined the scope. Don't buy your rifles from these guys and certainly do not allow them to do any mounting of scopes on your guns! read more

I had sensory overload when I first walked in! I knew what I wanted, but having never been before I was in shock at their selection?! The staff was friendly and helpful, none of the "snobbery" I've had to deal with in other stores. They had everything I wanted at reasonable prices and did I mention how friendly they were? I felt perfectly at ease the entire time I was there and couldn't be happier with my purchases and overall experience. I look forward to my next visit! read more

Well I couldn't give a no star, only reason there is a one star rating. My husband and I stopped in here today and I have to say it was a terrible experience. You are treated like a number and the staff could not care less about helping you. We wanted to see a 223 savage with a scope that was in the ad for $269 (didn't say what the regular price was) and when the guy brought the gun over for us to look at the price on the tag was $229. I said sweet it's on sale, he said "that doesn't look right" he went in the back and came back out with the tag changed to $299 when we asked about the original price tag he said to bad he wasn't selling the gun for the $229 price. We asked to speak with a manager a young guy came out to talk with us and "looked" into the issue, he came back ans said he would "honor" the price but without the scope. Not satisfied he brought out the manager who wouldn't listen to me. Just kept pointing at the ad in the paper telling me there were covered for "misprints" I tried to explain to him that it was not a misprint the gun was tagged that way. He still was not willing to work with us so off to Cabela's I went. At least there the staff is friendly, they price match other stores ans I get rewards for using their credit card so I am musch better off there! Thanks vances for reminding me why I shop there and not at your store. read more

This is the absolute worst place. The service is awful. The wait is ridiculous!!!!! We were waiting upwards of 2 hours JUST to make a return!! We were told that we couldn't just go to the cashier to return an item. We had to go to the back of a store and get a number. We pulled 85 and they were on 39!! To make matters worst, there was no one in the cashier line. There were 2 girls sitting at the cash registers twiddling their thumbs! I will NEVER come back here for ANYTHING! I have never been so frustrated! Very disappointed since Yelp rates this place with 4 stars. I wish I could give it -5 stars. I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy! The only positive thing I can say is that once our number was FINALLY called, we received decent service from Rick B. He was fairly quick with processing our return BUT we still had to wait in line again for the cashier to complete it. Geez! It's like they really don't want customers!?! Well, they won't have to worry about us ever again! read more

This is my absolute fave place.. I am a little rusty on my gun knowledge but lucky for me Joe was there. He was patient and answered all my questions with knowledge and didn't make me feel dumb. I have bought handguns from here before, and this is the only place in my opinion to purchase your firearms. Thank you Joe! read more

Wait times have done nothing but go up since the Alum Creek store opened up. Took over an hour and 45 minutes to get it my number. Really disappointed at what this place has become. Staff were willing to help if that's what you needed. read more

Couldn't be happier with the service. I discovered I would have saved over $300 on a recent Class III purchase had I bought at Vance's instead of the Class III dealer in East Cincy. Lesson learned! read more

Went to the new store in Obetz, on a Monday afternoon....man oh man, it was packed! Had to take a number at the counter, and waite 45 min. to spend my money! This store just opened and it shows...in every way. ( wink-wink ) It's clean, very clean,..staff had clean shirts on...they need more staff, alot more staff! AND the staff needs trained! (at least the ones selling) If there is management on site, they're hiding! The gun-counter is staffed by people that don't know anything about guns at all. (example- I knew what I wanted and so I just pointed it out, done and done, however I had asked a couple of questions about another gun I wanted..and got crickets..then ask if somebody else might know...got a smirk and passed off to somebody who knew even less, this second young man made no attempt and didn't even ask if I wanted to talk to a manager?) Caulk it up to new store bugs....I'm sure it will get better.. read more

I went in Vances for the first time today. I love that place! It's like a department store for all things guns! Yes, they had it in stock what I needed!! I liked the wide selection of reloading equipment. I'll be going back there again for sure...The only thing was...they over-charged me $1.00 over advertised price! What's up with that?! Recently, my friend went in there to buy a pistol, and did buy it, but at first they tried to charge him $200. over the (previously quoted) price. He had to argue with the guy to get the price quoted! It's a well stocked store, but double check your totals! They wont do that to me again! read more

Great selection, service and prices. They were patient with me on deciding on a gun even though they had a steady flow of customers. Very friendly and helpful service. read more

Prices were great, massive selection. I'm new to the firearm world, I was just gifted a Mossberg 500A so I wanted to get some rounds for it. I asked a man behind the counter if they sold any "non-lethal" rounds (i.e. rubber buck shot, bean bag etc.) because I don't know if I'm capable of taking life, even if mine is in danger. The man behind the counter looked at me as if I asked him to clean the sh*t off of my shoes! He said, "all rounds can be lethal rounds, why would you want non lethal rounds if someone broke into your home". Well sir, I live in a duplex where an 18-month old baby happens to sleep on the other side of the wall. I didn't ask you for your "expert" advice or your ridiculous attitude. All he simply had to say was, "we don't carry LLL rounds". Other than that my experience was very nice and I will be back. read more

To set the stage, I cannot give you the Readers Digest version for this review. I live in Dublin, Ohio and have done business with Vance's for nearly 40 years and have spent thousands of dollars there, primarily at their Columbus, Ohio, Cleveland Avenue location. On 11/19/14, I was hunting in the Hebron Ohio area. On my way back to Dublin, I purchased a pair of Rocky boots, as a Christmas gift, from Vance Outdoors Hebron Ohio store, which is ~ 45 miles from where I live. Vance's almost never has boots (especially ones that are on sale), at their Columbus, Ohio, Cleveland Avenue location. The recipient of the boots wore them for the first time, to hunt, on 1/4/15. While walking to his deer stand, the boot on his right foot was putting pressure on his ankle (........the boot was defective). Upon returning to his vehicle after his morning (stationary in his deer stand hunt, he was not walking around in them for hours), he took off these boots and put on a pair of boots he usually hunts in. On 1/8/15, he took the boots, in the original box, with all of the tags etc. that came with them and the original receipt, which I gave him, to Vance Outdoors location on Cleveland Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, to return them. When he attempted to return them, the return was refused by an associate named Jim. The basis for the return refusal was that the boots were worn. Duh! How is one to know if a pair of boots is defective, until you have worn them? I would like to add that other than the defect that was in the boot, the boots were being returned in pristine condition. He was told that since they were purchased at the Hebron Ohio location, he could try to return them there, since that is where they would have to send them if they accepted the return at their location. Remember the Hebron location is ~ 45 miles away. I know for a fact that products are shuttled between Vance locations on a semi-regular frequency. I have had products shuttled for me on several occasions. Vance's in Columbus, OH and Vance's in Hebron OH, are the same Corporation, they are just located in different areas of the state. Vance's competitors do not take this position on this type of issue. It does not make any sense to me why Vance's takes the position they do on this type of issue. The return could have been accepted at Vance's Columbus, Ohio, Cleveland Avenue location and sent to their Hebron, Ohio location via the aforementioned shuttle. I am extremely disappointed in the lack of customer service and lack of common sense/good judgment that was exhibited. I cannot believe that this is the position that Vance's takes, for returns between stores, especially on a product that is DOA. To return the boots at the Hebron, Ohio location would not be cost effective. My rating of Vance's is based solely on the handling of this issue, as outlined in the review. This is one review that should allow a rating of ZERO. EXCERPT FROM ROCKY'S WEB SITE IF YOU PURCHASED THROUGH ONE OF OUR AUTHORIZED ROCKY BRANDS DEALERS We require that you return any items purchased from an authorized dealer to that particular merchant. If you purchased from a dealer: All returns must be accompanied by a dated receipt and returned through the authorized dealer where they were originally purchased. If you find a problem with your purchase, just return them to the store where they were purchased. Please do NOT send your purchase back to ROCKY. Without a return authorization number, we are unable to accept return packages. Any authorized dealer can provide a return authorization number which allows us to track the product shipment and problem with that particular shoe or boot. read more

I purchased a used gun from them in the fall. When i got home i found the ejector was gone. When i replaced it and took it to the range a screw stripped out of the bolt. A few months later i went back and got another gun. I mentioned the problems i had with the last one and the guy helping me made iit seem i was incompetent. A three tour navy armorer knows nothing about guns? I will only buy from Cabelas and cheaper than dirt from now on. read more

We had a very good experience with Joe. I came back to see him a second time and he was just as nice the second time as the first time. He was very kind and took his time answering my questions. I will definitely go back and buy from him again. read more

I was so disappointed with my first visit to the new store. The new store looks great but looks only get you so far. I attempted to buy some ammo for my gun which I bought at their north store a few years ago. The manager would not sell me the block of ammo unless I bought a new gun from them. I told him, I did buy the gun from them years back, his answer, get the receipt proving I bought that caliber gun from them and then he would sell me the block of ammo. ??? I am so confused can't find the old receipt so I went to bulkammo.com and bought some ammo cheaper and only question they asked me was for my credit card number. Poor Poor Poor customer service Mr Manager. read more

Went in to Vance Outdoors early this afternoon with some questions about my bow. Wasn't sure if I needed to drop off or if they could work on it while I waited. Got to the bow counter and met a young man named Isaac. He told me to bring the bow in for him to look at and he would make it happen. Initially just went in to have my draw length adjusted. I didn't know how much time he had to spend with me but it became clear pretty quick that getting my bow where I wanted it to be was his priority. He set my draw length, put on my drop away rest, put on a new D-Loop, put in a new peep and talked me through the process the entrie time. I learned a lot watching him work and he was extremely knowledgable. He answered all of my questions, gave me suggestions for my future equipment purchases and even talked about his background a little bit. Total confidence in this guy and what he was able to do with my bow. I think Cabelas and Field and Stream have lost my business. If you find yourself at Vance Outdoors and need a brilliant bow tech, ask for Isaac! Branden Seidling -Bowtech RPM 360 read more

i have been a going to Vances for as long as I can think of and have never had a problem of any kind, when I check in to use the range they are all helpful and fast on getting me going and the staff at the range counter are great. keep up the great work. read more

I've been buying guns and gear at Vance's since 1976 when the place was a Gateway grocery store where they sold guns out of the office in the corner. As far as getting pressured to buy a gun that wasn't what you had in mind, that's totally up to you, even if you get a rookie waiting on you. Vance's does indeed have the best selection and the best prices in Columbus, by far. They do have trouble getting quality help sometimes, but that's just something you have to deal with. There's NO reason to accept anything except exactly what you had in mind, no matter what some young sales clerk has in mind for you. The law enforcement stock is NOT always the same as the commmercial (civilian) guns you see in the display cabinets. For instance, the LEO Glocks don't have the same finish as the commercial guns. There are other differences that you have to accept if you want the LEO discount, but that's the way it works. Overall, Vance's is far and away the best gun/sporting goods store in Columbus. Fin, Fur and Feather in Ashland is larger, but they also have higher prices, as do the gun stores in the Cleveland area. Since Vance's joined together with Buckeye Outdoors in Heath they move enough volume that they can give you a better price for almost every gun you can think of. If you get a rookie clerk that you don't like, simply ask for someone else to wait on you. Management there has always been very accomodating. The only downside is if you expect to trade in a gun. They absolutely won't give you anywhere near what your trade-in is worth. You can count on about 30%. (Thirty percent of the true value of your trade-in). You're much better off selling your gun through an ad in the online forums or an ad in the newspaper. They do this because they can. They know that many people are uncomfortable selling thir old gun, or afraid of breaking some unknown law. The ONLY law states that you must verify that the buyer is a resident of the state of Ohio, PERIOD. THAT is the one and only statute that you must follow in order to sell a used firearm. read more

I have been going to buckeye outdoors, now Vance outdoors, for many years. Every time I go I take our two dobermans into the store while I shop and the employees always love on our two dogs as if hey were their own. All of the employees are very helpful and knowledgeable but one employee named Ben stands out as a very pleasant and knowledgable person to deal with. In fact, I make it a point to deal with him every time I go. He is happy to spend as much time with you as is necessary and will show you countless guns until you have made a decision. They have a large selection of handguns and rifles as well as shotguns. Be sure to take a number as soon as you get there as the lines are sometimes quite long. Otherwise enjoy the experience and great employees. One little aside you should know is that I drive 2 1/2 hours each way just to do business with Vance outdoors and especially with Ben. Go check it out, you won't be disappointed. read more