This is a Sponsored Post written by me for The Sportsman’s Guide. All opinions are 100% mine.
I have to admit, the timing of this review was perfect as I’ve looked over the Sportsman’s Guide catalog that I received in the mail several weeks ago. Be sure to compare their ammunition prices before you order from anyone else.
I used to order from them all the time but lost touch a few years ago – not for sure why, as their customer service was good and shipping fast. I never had to return anything, so I can’t say how good their service is in this regard, if anyone has experience with this I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
While their products are geared more toward the hunting, fishing and camping market, we survivalist can find a lot of useful stuff in their catalog and on their website.
In fact their catalogs are completely free, with each tailored to a particular theme including Monthly Main Catalog, Ammo & Shooting Supplies , Military Surplus and Hunting Supplies – all you need to do is fill in your name and address and a free Sportsman’s Guide catalog will be delivered to your mail box.
It’s been several years since, I’ve ordered anything from The Sportsman’s Guide so their customer service and policy could have taken a turn for the worst since then, if any of you have any recent experience with them whether it be good or bad we would love to hear about it in the comments.
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I order from them often and have never had a bad experience. Deliveries show up fast, well packaged and their prices are always great. I’ve been thinking about picking up one of their pre 1898 Mauser 95 .308 carbines that I saw in the last catalog.
I received another order from them 3-4 weeks ago.
1. Most everything was great, and as usual the service leading to the order (I placed a call to ask a question) was as well.
2. One thing just didn’t fit properly – zero hassle whatsoever for the return.
One note, their website search function is sometimes a little behind the times in terms of ease of use and finding what you are looking for. I searched the site for an item I wanted to no result, and found myself ordering from Amazon. Had I been paying attention (because Amazon does in fact list the provider fulfilling your order if not Amazon itself) I would have noticed that SG was the vendor – I just wound up shaking my head at myself and the technology when the box arrived a few days later from Sportsmans Guide.
All in all they get a solid thumbs up from me – don’t hesitate to order, and don’t let their inventory search function get the best of you.
M.D. I have been a satisfied customer of Sportsman’s Guide for probably 10 years or more. Like you, I sometimes go for a couple of years without buying from them but in the last 2 years I have done a lot of business with them. I’ve always found them to be professional and efficient. Their prices are typically competitive with other similar sites. They are often the lowest price provider but in some cases I’ve even paid them a bit more because I know there will be no hassle and constant e-mail updates on orders. I am relatively sure I have returned stuff to them but can’t remember when or what so I’ll reserve comment. I will say that they include a return label with every order.
One bit of advice. If you are not a member of their Buyers Advantage Club they will give you the “opportunity” to join on every order. The club can be a good thing and I am currently a member but my advice to you is don’t join unless you are relatively sure you will spend $400 a year or more with them.
Since it cost $39 to join, that is about the break even point. However, if you are ordering a fairly large order, say $150.00 or more, they will often offer you a discount on that purchase to join that will sometimes offset most of the buyers club cost. Just make sure you understand the offer.
I have no connection with them other than being a very satisfied customer.
I’ve also been a buyer from SG for the last 5 years or so. I used it to buy my initial “bug out” and survival gear. They have a lot of military surplus items that are inexpensive, in good condition and are a good choice for people just starting out. It might not be the best gear but it’ll get you something that will work and last for a while. Now that I’m a few years in to preparedness I’ve replaced (or made it secondary in my gear list) all the gear I’ve bought from SG and like some others haven’t bought anything in the last year or two but that doesn’t mean I don’t look around their site when I’m shopping for something.
The returns I’ve had have always went smooth and there have never been any questions even if I just didn’t like the items once they arrived at my house.
One note though is that some of their optics seem “to good to be true” for the price and in my experience so far are. The one’s I’ve purchased have been cheaply made so be careful what you’re buying from them. I’d personally stick to military surplus stuff since it’s tried and true in most cases.
SG has been a pretty good way to obtain items, but as Richard noted, some items are a little “cheap” (guess you get what you pay for). Still, I like the store and am overall satisfied with what I’ve purchased.
I would absolutely recommend this company. Top notch. Kick ass prices and selection. Even when the order was screwed up but not their fault ( the gals at the private post box company refused the box shipped-oooh, gross, ammunition! ) they still made things right with no cost to me.
Excellant post – I have ordered from The Sportsman’s Guide a few times and had no issues. Fast shipping and good prices.
I need to go check out their website – haven’t been there is a while.
Take care – Rourke
I’ve purchased many items from SG over the years. I had to return one item and the customer service was EXCELLENT!! Not one problem nor hassle from the customer service dep’t, just fast and friendly SERVICE!
Personally, I resent the high pressure sales push for 3 items every time I call in and most times it is shoddy Chinese stuff.
And several times when I checked Cheaper Than Dirt was cheaper and they don’t sell at a loss.
I’ve been a SG customer for over 25 years and in all that time, I’ve only had one bad experience. I was having difficulty placing an order online (it just wouldn’t go through for some reason), so I placed the order over the phone. The operator failed to enter a $50 gift certificate I was using with the order and the resulting charge to my debit card for the balance resulted in a series of overdraft charges for the purchase with SG as well as a few other charges/checks. It took a couple of weeks, but after submitting all the required paperwork showing that the overdrafts were caused by their operator failing to enter the gift certificate, SG reimbursed me in full. Still, I am a big fan of SG and have been a buyer’s club member for at least the last 5-6 years. Their prices and variety on military surplus are excellent. I also like the fact that their shipping charges are based on the dollar amount spent as opposed to the weight of the items ordered. A big plus when ordering ammo! Occasionally, they will require an additional “heavy bulk” surcharge for certain items (ammo), but this usually only amounts to $5 or $10 extra. Their customer service department is top notch. In the past, I have contacted them for various reasons and have been very satisfied. I have noticed though lately that their “email specials” (sent several times a week) no longer offer any discounts over the regular catalog prices (unless the item is a “closeout” or “clearance” item). The buyer’s club offers 10% savings on most items and 5% on ammo. For the past couple of years, when renewing my buyer’s club membership in the process of placing an order, they offered free ground shipping on the order, in addition to the 2-$10 gift certificates one gets with the membership. I usually take this opportunity to place large orders, so the cost of the membership is usually less than the cost of the shipping combined with the discounted prices that the membership provides. Also, I have never taken advantage of it, but they also offer a “4 Pay Plan” to buyer’s club members, which basically splits the order total into 4 installment payments over a 90 day period. Like I said, I’ve never taken advantage of the plan, preferring to only buy what I can with what $ I have available now.
I have purchased ALOT of military surplus through mail order companies over the years and have sworn off several companies due to their terrible customer service and price gouging (i.e. Major Surplus n’ Survival and Cheaper Than Dirt), but I can HIGHLY recommend Sportsman’s Guide.
Reagite ut Defendatis
Well they won’t ship ammunition to Ventura county CA even though it IS legal and as I was told “It could be used in CA where it isn’t legal and they don’t want to risk the hassles”. OK so now I buy from anyone of the well known on line sources and as far as I’m concerned Sportsman can take a hike.
They are simply the BEST outfit to buy from. Never been unhappy with any purchase. Customer service is first rate! Great place to buy a LOT of stuff, sometimes in bulk.
Ammo tends to go fast at some times of the year, in some calibers.
You’ll not be disappointed if you buy from Sportmans Guide!
Good prices, wide variety of stuff, and some good discounts with coupons the SG itself provides. All-in-all a good vendor. I have curtailed buying through catalogs, however, since CA has contemplated charging sales tax on out-of-state catalog purchases, including on the shipping charges. As a result, the items will end up costing as much if not more from catalog purchases as from local shops. The only catalog shopping I do now is when an item is only available from a distant vendor. This is one reason the local hardware store started carrying a wider variety of goods, because the owner knew catalog sales would be less popular with the change in the law. I don’t know if it is effective yet, or will be at year’s end, but I’m withdrawing now from catalog purchasing in preparation. Seems our choices in life are getting more and more restrictive and that ain’t good.
I W-O-N-D-E-R H-O-W M-A-N-Y P-E-O-P-L-E W-I-L-L A-C-T-U-A-L-L-Y C-H-A-N-G-E T-H-E-I-R B-U-Y-I-N-G H-A-B-I-T-S A-W-A-Y F-R-O-M T-H-E I-N-T-E-R-N-E-T B-C-A-U-S-E O-F T-H-E N-E-W T-A-X ?
I purchased several tree stands from them in June. I accidently entered
the wrong credit card mailing address, my bad. They caught it instantly!!
They called to verify that it was me, they wanted to be sure it was not a fraud. The Senior fraud Mgr. handled it personally, and told me they are always on gard to protect us good guys. I am very happy with the tree stands and appreciate the personal and professional touch. What was amazing, was that she SPOKE ENGLISH & WAS VERY POLITE!!!
I was able to track the UPS shipping on line so I knew the status and @ when they would arrive! I am working on my next order and I’m a customer for life!
I bought a deer cart a few years ago. The wheels broke the first time I used it. Sportsman Guide went to the maker of the cart and got me two new and improved wheels free of charge. This is service above and beyound what is called for!
have done business with SG several times. still have a wish list of things to purchase in the near future. any time i think of something else i might need during a collapse i always check here first. sometimes you might place an order for an item which ships directly from the supplier and that item might take a bit longer to arrive. over all i give ‘em 99% positive review. probably my 2nd most visited site after the survivalist blog.
I have ordered many things from this company and have never had any issues with product or customer service. I highly recommend this company. I am also a paid member so I can buy at discounted rates (approximately 10% off each order).
I have made many orders from SG and have yet to experience anything but great service.
Sportsman’s Guide is great on products and customer service. I made an order one time, they shiped the wrong color (of all things). Since the color was important to the project, I called and asked for a return shipping number, they told me to just keep the wrong stuff and they’d ship the right soonest- I had it in two days.
Between SG and CTD, I’d be hard-pressed to find lower prices on products costing four and five times as much at the designer stores- for the same product, mfr and all. Both those stores have oodles of my cash.
Shy III
I’ve been a SG customer for quite a while and have nothing but good things to say about them. The catalog is one of my favorite pieces of bathroom reading.
good company…my only complaint is I get a catalog ever single week and they tend to pile up. A once a month catalog would be enough for me. They tend to over do the advertizing.
I’ve been a ‘club member’ since the mid ’90′s – it always pays for itself for the type of stuff I order. Got an dorder in last month – and waiting on one now that should be in Tuesday.
One drawback is a rediculously overlawyered restricted shipping chart. (see the ammo comment above) They won’t ship pointy things to my area – including a BBQ set that had a knife in it.
Cabela’s, Kennesaw, Smokey Mtn and CTD get all of that money now…
I have purchased several items from them over the past few years. They combined the value of a few orders to justify the cost of the “annual membership” Buyers Advantage Club that gives a 10% discount at a net cost of around $5 once the discount was applied to my combined orders.
I am satisfied with my purchases from SG and will continue to purchase from them. My only issue with them was for ammunition that was listed as “in stock” when ordering online but instead was back ordered for over four months. SG ended up covering the cost of shipping one box of cartridges separately when it finally arrived from the manufacturer.
Even if nothing is ordered from them, the catalogs are great for bathroom reading.
I like that their shipping rates are reasonable, too many of these type outfits will lowball the price then screw you on the shipping, not so with the sportsmans guide.
I have been a regular customer of SG for several years and am a huge fan! I recommend everyone to join the Buyer’s Club as one gets additional savings. I really like the 4 in 1 payment plan for purchases over $150. They bill you 4 equal payments to your credit card over 4 months and makes larger purchases easy during sale without overloading your financial budget.
Used SPG for years, and can say their service is great! However, care must be taken when ordering items made in China. They’re crap, like the stainless steel mini-14 mags I returned. But, the Remington brand M742 mags work flawlessly! Great place for MILSURP!
I don’t mind ordering from them, but compare your prices of products,
I have found some things a bit ‘ambitiously priced’. But a great way to find out what items are out there, much like Lee Valley / Garrett Tool catalog.
My main gripe is backordered items. I’ve had things come in months later, once nearly 3 months, another time received a refund check without letting me know my order was being canceled. But over all, pretty positive experience. I echo the above on ammuntion – price before you order, to me their ammo prices are a bit on the high side.
My favorite SG catalog is HQ, the military surplus. Swiss military gear is really well made, and to me well worth the price.
I was a SG customer back in the 90s and have a recently made a couple more purchases from them in the last year. Their prices are generally very good and shipping is always fast. I haven’t dealt with their customer service department, but haven’t heard anything bad about them.
I would agree with the comments above that although their prices are generally very good, they’re not always the lowest, so shop around. Also, they don’t tend to have very much high end gear, so if you’re looking for a top quality item, you may want to exercise caution.
In general, though, they have good stuff at great prices and their frequent catalogs make good reading. They’re one of the companies I regularly check when looking for gear.
I have ordered from them for over 20 years. The few problems I had were resolved mostly over the phone. I had a short order of .223 reloaded ammo. They sent me an extra 20 rounds. I had a radiation detector that didn’t work. They reimbursed my credit card. I sent it back free.
If you want to pay over $300 for a war relic, their old Mausers are OK I guess. For $299-$450 I can get a new never issued one from Michale’s Mausers (Do Google). Nice looking rifles, and cleaned and proofed.
Sporstmens guide sucks! I’ve been dealing with them for over a decade and I don’t know why. They are often wrong about items being in stock at their own warehouses. They canceled two of my orders in the last month! They don’t seem to care about return customers either. If I were anybody reading this I would consider shopping some where else! Hopefully I heed my own warning in the future!
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