What happened to Western Auto?
- Thread starter hittman
- Start date
A good friend of mine had a Revelation Model 99 .22 revolver from Western Auto that was made by High Standard. He bought it sometime in the 1960's and it was less than $50. It was a glove compartment revolver that he kept in his truck.
The model 99 is the bottom one and the top is a High Standard Sentinel. Both are 9 shot .22 revolvers that were reliable and always went bang when you pulled the trigger.
The model 99 is the bottom one and the top is a High Standard Sentinel. Both are 9 shot .22 revolvers that were reliable and always went bang when you pulled the trigger.
A million years ago I was in Woodstock, VA for 2 years. Western Auto rocked. I remember buying a Crossman Powermaster 760 pump BB/Pellet gun there- and still have it.
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Great revolvers!
Designed by Harry Sefried II, Who played a big role at Ruger for 20 years. Including designing the 10/22 rotary magazine.
Friend and fellow chimney sweep's family still runs one in downtown Prosperity S.C.
Not sure how....that brand has been gone for 20 years. Some Western Auto stores were converted to Advance Auto after Sears sold the brand. I was contacted by a recruiter in the late 90's for a Market Investigator position. I did the phone interview but wasn't interested. A good friend of mine took the same position in another area. Didn't stay long.
As a kid in the 70's I remember they had the best selection of Mini Bikes. Oddly enough I had just thought of that memory yesterday. I went to Sportsman's Warehouse and they had a few out front. I stopped to look at them as I exited. Brought back some great memories of being a kid in the 70's. Mini Bikes were fun....but the CT70, Mini Enduros and XR75's left them in the dust.....then a buddy got a YZ80 and left everyone in the dust....
Maybe they just never took the name off the building and are really independent .....
They weren’t around here, always wondered what they were like.
Or they just haven't been caught yet....or Advance Auto doesn't really care....but this is NOT the same Western Auto chain that has been out of business for some time.
Use of Western Auto name
Dealer stores were permitted by Advance Auto Parts a license to use the Western Auto name until 2006. After 2006, stores were to cease using the Western Auto name, but many stores continue to use the name. At this time, no storefront is licensed to use the name Western Auto or fly the Western Auto sign. Advance Auto Parts remains the owner of the registered trademarks and name "Western Auto" and enforces infringements on the name, but it is unknown if they have future plans for the name. Advance also owns the name Western Auto Supply Company which is registered in Virginia
The last one that I can remember, before they became advance auto, we used to get buckets of wheel weights from pretty regular. It was next door to the Piggly Wiggly, which is now gone as well. That's where we shopped for years.
xTopGun
Buckeye
that would be "Crosman", which until just over a year ago was a local company. We can thank the democrats and liberals for closing another manufacturing operation in NYS and putting another 150+/- people out of a job....
Crosman had it's issues, and was tossed around from owner to owner for years. I believe Daisy took them over a couple years ago and moved stuff around.
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- Oct 17, 2014
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I remember Western Auto well. Back when I was working (retired in 2005) I shopped there often, they had "store accounts," and saved several Christmas' for my kids in the '90's. We had a couple of rental properties, and renter's would move out in October, we had to refurb the property, leaving me short for Christmas. It helped that I was friends with the manager.
xTopGun
Buckeye
out of Arkansas now, and I believe Chinese manufacturing...
Western Auto was a iconic American retail chain founded in 1909 that specialized in auto parts, accessories, and, later, household goods and bicycles (including the popular Western Flyer bicycle). Following a 1988 acquisition by Sears, most of the company was sold to Advance Auto Parts in 1998, with the brand name officially discontinued by 2006.
then came the CR100 and so on and so on..........
Walmart.
I remember walking into some hardware store with my dad back in 1967 and was mesmerized by the barrels of Mausers, Enfields, and Arisakas.
$14.95 all day long. Bayonets were $2 to $4. Barrels of bayonets.
These were a poor-man's hunting rifles.
It was cash and carry back then, before the 1968 Gun Control Act.
$14.95 all day long. Bayonets were $2 to $4. Barrels of bayonets.
These were a poor-man's hunting rifles.
It was cash and carry back then, before the 1968 Gun Control Act.
My only Western Auto memorabilia.
caryc
Hawkeye
I guess they parked the "auto" in a tow away zone and were never heard from again.
I remember barrels in LGS's filled with $69/ea SKS rifles, and boxes of scratched up loose as a goose $100 1911's...and that was California in the 80's.....and I foolishly sold all that I bought as base guns before transferring East.
coach
Hunter
There was one within walking distance as a kid and we often went there to do what or buy what I don’t remember. I suspect we annoyed the staff but we never caused trouble or shoplifted.
Yaworski
Hawkeye
Alas, I don't believe I've ever even seen a Western Auto. :-(
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I don’t remember ever seeing a western auto store. I was aware of their rebranding if firearms. I had no idea Western fliers were their product. Those sleds were everywhere.
We had Firestone. A tire shop that sold other things. Lawn mowers bicycles oil burners I think they sold guns at one time. We used to stop on our way home from school and get STP stickers. Like the race cars.
We had Firestone. A tire shop that sold other things. Lawn mowers bicycles oil burners I think they sold guns at one time. We used to stop on our way home from school and get STP stickers. Like the race cars.
bobski
Hunter
use to buy rope and chain at western auto.
chain was kept in a basement and it came up thru a hole in the floor to save space. you stuck a bolt in the length you wanted, and theyd cut it.
it would recoil back to the hole.
chain was kept in a basement and it came up thru a hole in the floor to save space. you stuck a bolt in the length you wanted, and theyd cut it.
it would recoil back to the hole.
Highschool buddy and I each bought a Crossman 454 CO2 BB pistol from the Western Auto in our county of Edgefield... we actually got into a gun fight with them... I shot him in the butt. My pistol had a pretty spent cartridge in it... and he got mad and he ended up shooting me from about 50ft away with a new cartridge... took him four shots to hit me though.... hit me in the back of my head and knocked me down... the other three shots went through the rear quarter panel of the Buick I was driving at the time and into the trunk... I went home and realized I had a lump under my scalp and ended up pushing the BB back out through the hole it made.... glad my head was harder than the metal they used on that Buick.
caryc
Hawkeye
Here in California, I guess they went the way of Millers Surplus. They had a lot of military surplus items along with Levis. I think they turned it into Miller's Outpost, but no more actual military surplus stuff.
My first handgun purchase was from Western Auto. I picked a Ruger Blackhawk 357 from their on hand inventory, which at the time was priced around $85 if I recall correctly. Even at that price, I didn't have the cash in hand to buy it, but I was able to put it on layaway. Finally after several weeks or possibly months, I was able to make the final payment and claim my prize. After processing my last payment, the counter man went to retrieve it from the safe. Several minutes later, instead of the counter man, the store manager approached and informed me he was very sorry, but it appeared that my gun had been taken out of layaway and sold to someone else! He apologized profusely and offered me any other gun they had in stock at no additional charge. The only similar quality item they had in stock was the Super Blackhawk 44 magnum which immediately became my very first handgun purchase as a young man.
