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I just want to take this opportunity to send a 'thanks' to the Arms Room in Dickinson, TX (SE of Houston in I-45). I live on the west side of Houston, and I was headed down today to NASA with the family. I didn't want to spend the full day unarmed, but I also know the risks of driving onto federal property (2nd Amendment-free zone) with my Sig locked in the car.

I called the Arms Room this morning and spoke to a young man named Matt. I explained that I was a CHL holder traveling in to see NASA, and asked if I could store my gun with them for a few hours while I headed over to the Dark Side. This was clearly not something they do on a regular basis, as he had to put me on hold for a few moments to check on the answer for me. Shortly he returned, and his answer was, "Yes they'd do it, and they'd do so for no charge".

I'd never been into the Arms Room, but I was very pleased with what I saw when I got there. The facility is large, there are lots of folks to help out, and it looked like a really well-run place. To be honest, it looked like it could have been a big-box store, but it had a small store customer service feel to it. The indoor range looked very nicely maintained as well, and they had what appeared to be some sort of 'control room' behind it that seems to have been inspired by the 'mission control' room we saw at NASA a few hours later.

It took a few minutes to work out the fine details of how it would work, but within a short time, I had locked my Sig + two mags in the NanoVault, handed it over to the guys, and was walking out with a claim check. A few hours later, when I came to pick it up, they had it ready for me in seconds.

Like I said, this was not one of their normal activities, but they didn't have to jump through hoops to get the OK to do it. I appreciate that in a business - professional enough to have predictable performance, but flexible enough to help out a customer who needs their help. They didn't make a single $$ off of me today, and I live far enough away that I likely won't be a return customer (and they knew this all along, yet they still gave me a great deal). The least I can do is offer my commentary on here, as they do deserve this recommendation. If you live on the Galveston side of Houston, I'd suggest a stop by the Arms Room to check them out. I know I will if I'm back on that side of town again.

Very nice of them to do that.

Personally I would have found something to buy just to return the favor. But that's me.

Seabear wrote:Very nice of them to do that.

Personally I would have found something to buy just to return the favor. But that's me.

With hindsight, you're probably right. All I was thinking about at the time was, "I've just spent 30 minutes in the NASA gift shop buying stuff for my 6 year old daughter and 9 year old niece (who's visiting from South Carolina), and I have an obligatory stop at Buc-ee's before heading home to get some Texas memorabilia for the niece."

I was already bleeding plenty of $$$ due to those excursions, and I'm sure Mrs. VolTexan would have asked why I was also buying more gun stuff for me!

Vol Tex,

Your high praise of "The Arms Room" has generated good will and I'm sure the good folks there appreciate your kind words.

You did good and so did they.

The arms room has great instructors and staff. Everything there is state of the art and it's actually where I took my CHL class and where I shoot on a regular basis (They give 50% off range fees with [Pre-paid legal service] membership). I knew this place was gonna be nice when I found out they turned an old Circuit City into a gun store & range.

They are all top notch there. I took my chl class there too, and I was a regular until I became a member at PSC. I still drop by on occasion for incidentals or when the weather is to bad for the outdoor range.

Vol Texan wrote: The facility is large, there are lots of folks to help out, and it looked like a really well-run place. To be honest, it looked like it could have been a big-box store, but it had a small store customer service feel to it.

Funny that you mentioned this. The arms room was previously located in a much smaller space. The founder Bill James, fulfilled a goal of his by creating the current location complete with shooting range. The new location was created in a spot vacated by a failed consumer electronics big box store Circuit City.

Sadly Mr. James passed away after a long struggle with Leukemia. His family have continued on with his dream but we all have Mr. James to thank for this top notch facility.

I'm not surprised at the level of service you received, once while I was shooting on the range, Mr James chastised me for stopping shooting to sweep up my brass. Thinking he was concerned that I may be getting more than my share I defended my actions stating that I always take only the amount I used. He said I didn't understand and he took me to a group of white buckets filled with brass and instructed me to take all I wanted and stop bending over to pick it up off the floor.

I'm glad you had a good experience.

xring

Abraham wrote:Vol Tex,

Your high praise of "The Arms Room" has generated good will and I'm sure the good folks there appreciate your kind words.

You did good and so did they.

Thanks for the shout out!

I've been there once and it was a great experience shooting. The counter staff actually acted like they wanted to help me, the facilities were clean and well lit. I wish I could go more often but it's too far of a drive for me unfortunately.

I have used their gunsmith 2 times and they're top notch too.

I live in Dickinson and have been there three or four times since they opened, if they carried reloading supplies and still did consignment sales I'm sure I would be a regular customer. It is a really nice place with a lot to offer most local shooters.