Bud's Gun Shop and Range in Seivervill Tn.

[Mus408]

While my wife and I were on our Smokey Mtn. vacation last week,we stopped in at the new Bud's shop.
While a large spacious showroom with a nice indoor range,I wasn't really that impressed with the depth of products. Not much ammo and no reloading supplies and little in the way of their T-shirts or hats.

We went next door to the Great Smokey Mtn. Knife Store and they had a great selection of guns,rifles and reloading supplies plus of course anything you wanted in the knife line and tons of other stuff related to outdoors. Biggest selection of flashlights I've seen!

 

[Don Lovel]

how bad was the traffic there, last time we were there we ended up having to drive about 40 miles of back roads to get out of there and back on the interstate.
I did pick up a couple of good deals at Smoky Mountain knife works, but the traffic was horrible

 

[Mus408]

Well the area is like Myrtle Beach of the mountains so you have to expect a lot of tourist traffic.
Mid week is a good time when no big events are planned.
Have been up there many times and if you go during the week of the hot rod events...big traffic!

 

[RoninPA]

Mus,
Did you get to the Lodge Cast Iron Store across from Smokey Mtn? We have yet to go there and not buy something .

It's a great corner,Smokey Mtn Knife, Buds, a Coleman Outlet, Lodge Cast Iron, a power tool place and a boot place. Park your car in one place and walk to all the stores. We spend the morning and part of an afternoon there (you can spend hours just in Smokey Mtn Knife looking at everything.

The traffic isn't as bad as it used to be. They expanded Rt66 from I-40 to Seiverville so the traffic flows better, but during the peak season it is still crowded.

We'll be spending a few days in the area on our way to the East Coast Ruger Gathering at Contenders place.

 

[Mus408]

No Ron we didn't get a chance to check that place out...spent too much time in the Knife store!
Where is this East Coast meet, Contender's place at? Is this a shooting event?

 

[Mus408]

Just read about the East Coast meet and thanks for mentioning it, Ron!

 

[gunman42782]

What I did not like about Buds in TN was the long guns are out where anybody could look at them. While convenient, seems too easy for some idiot to walk in with a full mag, stick it in a AR, and shoot up the place. That would really look bad for our side. Also, while I was there some kid who didn't really look like he was old enough to even buy one, kept pumping the holy crap out of a Remington 870. There where not enough folks behind the counter to even wait on me. I stood there for 20 minutes wanting to see how much their .22 LR ammo was, and finally gave up.

 

[volshooter]

I live 10 minutes from the area you speak. Bud's is a good shop as you get a chance to handle some of the firearms without sales people help. There are many folks watching for trouble, I assure you.
They don't carry muzzle loaders or reloading supplies but have a great selection of reasonable priced firearms. I hear the range alone is worth the trip. I don't use it as I have my own. Rentals are a big attraction as well. Sorry someone did not help you right away, slipped through the cracks I reckon.
Every business in that two block area are highly rated, don't let one visit ruin it for others by your one visit. I will pass along your less than great visit to them next week. They are good folk and will do better. A new DICK's is being built just a few miles down the road, open in a couple of months.
Please write Bud's a letter with you details, they will listen.
SMKW sells guns and ammo now but their prices are to high. From personal experience the tend to push high end firearms, like BassPro just north of them. Regular folks like me really love Bud's. Selection, knowledge of product and price are what they are about. They want to crush the competition for gun sales.
OTC bulk ammo can be had from the internet cheaper than local.
Really sorry for the distasteful visit. There is so much for sportsman like us in the first 5 miles off exit 407 on I40.
Ya'll come again, ya hear!
Side note, if any ya'll plan on coming this way let me know, hell I live here and would like to meet some of ya'll. Not to mention I might be able to point out the best places to visit and save you some money. Some attractions suck.

 

[tinman]

............. a power toll place ........

Could not decipher that one till I pulled out the google map street view......I think that's supposed to be power tool place ?.........

 

[k22fan]

I've never been there.

Is the Smokey Mountain Knife operation connected with those TV shows that sell knives on cable?

I do not know. I've never seen one of those sales shows. In addition to their walk in store SMKW sells knives mail order and on eBay. Through those outlets the majority of their knife offerings are old fashioned slip joints.

 

[RoninPA]

............. a power toll place ........

Could not decipher that one till I pulled out the google map street view......I think that's supposed to be power tool place ?.........

Oops, didn't proof read it. Thanks, I fixed it. In that small area you can get just about anything you might need (or want), even the wife likes going there :shock: .

Not sure about SMKC on TV but they do send out catalogs and sell on the internet.

As for DICKS, I don't shop there anymore after they threw many gun owners under the bus after Sandy Hook and then turned right around and opened Field and Stream (which does sell the evil black rifles). They want it both ways (show how concerned they are about "assault rifles" by taking them out of their stores but then opening a store to be able to make money selling them).

 

[bobski]

and dont forget to get your free milton crabapple cd at the welcome center........lol.

 

[Mus408]

Now what would be great,at some of these places would be an outdoor range where you can shoot steel targets but now days that might be asking too much.
I like shooting the steel!
It was fun though checking out Bud's and the Knife store!
I almost bought an interesting rifle at Buds...the Citidel M-1 carbine in 9mm.
However,I came back to our condo and read reviews of it which were not that great...build and materials quality,so I passed on it.

 

[Hipshot]

The wife and I were there for the first time ever last June having driven up thru the north Ga. mountains, thru N.C. and into Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. We visited SMKW, Lodge & Bud's and especially Ole Smoky Moonshine. Liked it so much we are going back for a few days at the end of Oct. Didn't care much for Gatlinburg at that time due to the crowds and tourist traps. This time we are stopping at Hillside Orchards and Toccoa Falls in Ga., Clingman's Dome in N.C. and Cades Cove in Tenn. I hope we have nice weather.

 

[RoninPA]

I have heard a lot of good things about Cades Cove. Might have to look into it some more. Even in Sept and Oct Gatlinburg is crowded and lots of little tourist traps. We park at the south (?) end, walk to the other end on one side and walk back to the car on the other side checking things out. Typically stop at the moonshine places to get a sample .

There is an indoor shooting range, don't remember the name, kinda out of the way I guess (unless you know the area) we went to a few years back. Nice layout and you could shoot full auto in it if you wanted.

 

[Mus408]

The wife and I were there for the first time ever last June having driven up thru the north Ga. mountains, thru N.C. and into Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. We visited SMKW, Lodge & Bud's and especially Ole Smoky Moonshine. Liked it so much we are going back for a few days at the end of Oct. Didn't care much for Gatlinburg at that time due to the crowds and tourist traps. This time we are stopping at Hillside Orchards and Toccoa Falls in Ga., Clingman's Dome in N.C. and Cades Cove in Tenn. I hope we have nice weather.

If you want a great steak...check out The Alamo on Rt. 321 Gatlinburg! The wife and I enjoyed it...you can cut the rib eye with your fork and no steak sauce needed...cooked over hardwood grill!

 

[Hipshot]

The wife and I were there for the first time ever last June having driven up thru the north Ga. mountains, thru N.C. and into Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. We visited SMKW, Lodge & Bud's and especially Ole Smoky Moonshine. Liked it so much we are going back for a few days at the end of Oct. Didn't care much for Gatlinburg at that time due to the crowds and tourist traps. This time we are stopping at Hillside Orchards and Toccoa Falls in Ga., Clingman's Dome in N.C. and Cades Cove in Tenn. I hope we have nice weather.

If you want a great steak...check out The Alamo on Rt. 321 Gatlinburg! The wife and I enjoyed it...you can cut the rib eye with your fork and no steak sauce needed...cooked over hardwood grill!

There's another Alamo Steakhouse in Pigeon Forge right down the street from where we will be staying. We had planned on eating a nice dinner at The Chop House so will now have to make a choice. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Hipshot]

I have heard a lot of good things about Cades Cove. Might have to look into it some more. Even in Sept and Oct Gatlinburg is crowded and lots of little tourist traps. We park at the south (?) end, walk to the other end on one side and walk back to the car on the other side checking things out. Typically stop at the moonshine places to get a sample .

There is an indoor shooting range, don't remember the name, kinda out of the way I guess (unless you know the area) we went to a few years back. Nice layout and you could shoot full auto in it if you wanted.

Seems like us old Pa. guys think alike on some subjects like moonshine tasting. We left with nine jars of various flavors last June. Gonna stock up with flavors we can't get locally when we get back there. Bet we'd get along just fine.

 

[contender]

That area is just across a few ridges & valleys from me. I was over that way a few weeks ago. We hit BASS Pro, SMKW, the tool store,,, (in there, I got a tool that has already proven it's worth 10 times over,)
Buds & a few other places.
Buds was interesting.
The range looked nice but we didn't go inside.
The selection of firearms was a bit lacking for us folks who enjoy the Single-Actions. But I found the staff to be nice even willing to ask me a few questions when it appeared I knew a little bit about guns. (they had a used gun they wanted my opinion on.)
All in all, I felt they could have a much more diverse store,,, but maybe with time,,,,,,,,,,?????

Cades Cove is a good place to visit,,, as well as Cattaloochee Valley. (Near Maggie Valley.) We have elk you can see in Cattaloochee. A good way to end the evening.

Traffic can be an issue at times,,, but not unbearable.

 

[RoninPA]

I've been to the Buds in Lexington before going to the one in Seiverville and mentioned to them that the store seemed a little empty. The manager told me that they haven't gotten everything that they planned to have because Budsgunshop.com was doing so well it was hard to get stuff in. I have to believe him as small as my shop is I probably do 5 or 6 transfers every week from Buds. If I do that many, I have to wonder how many are being done at large shops. When I was there they had a good supply of .22 but were limiting it to so many per person but when he found out we were on vacation and that I did run a gun business, he doubled what I could buy.