Coal Creek Armory

Hey! Tactical Advantage Corp opened on October 22, 2013! The old Coal Creek Armory, to which many, if not all, of the comments longer than 45 days ago are posted do not reflect the much improved range and sales floor - not to mention the friendly customer service.\r \r And, they have never had pallets of Wolf ammo. Almost no one, except large box stores, have ""pallets"" of ammo any more. more

I am an experienced shooter and I agree with many of other reviewers about the quality and and quantity of customer service - terrible! I have waited too long every time I came in for purchases or services. Actually, I did get quick service one time; I was the only one in the store at the time .and made myself very apparent. But the attitude these ""no-service"" employees project is arrogance, at best. One time I mentioned to one of them that I was shooting Wolf rounds and he scoffed at me and told me "" they are junk rounds"". I wasn't really offended as I had good luck with them. Imagine my surprise when I turned around and saw several pallets of Wolf ammunition for sale on the floor behind me. I have never and will never spend a nickel there again. There are too many good gun stores and one excellent. clean and well-lit range on Gallaher rd.\r \r mikewins more

Great experience! Went in on Sunday with my wife (she had never been to a range). Both members of the staff were very polite and helpful. Not sure what previous reviewers were looking for in a range, but it was pretty clean considering a million rounds of ammo had been spent there. We'll definitely be back. more

I've been to this shop a couple of times. I only went back the second time because I thought I would give them another chance...maybe they were having a bad day or something the first time. The shop seemed to be well staffed but all of them were apparently too busy talking amongst themselves to offer any assistance to the customers. I did buy a holster on my first trip to the store and when I laid it on the counter in front of the cash register, the man sitting there on a stool looked at it, looked at me and asked ""What do you need?"". Apparently it wasn't obvious that I wanted to make a purchase so I told him that I wanted to buy this holster. He rang up my purchase, took my money and continued his indifferent attitude. Everyone in the shop seemed to be carrying openly, which I fully support but it's almost as if they are just waiting for a reason to draw their weapons. I will NEVER go back to Coal Creek Armory. more

Shannon the gun smith is the only thing this store has going for them. There prices are a tad high but that is not my concern. The fact the workers treat you like garbage while your there. They don't help you with your fire arms questions and sometime wont even let you see a fire arm. I have to say the only business they are going to get from me is for the gun smith. Pro: Gun Smith Cons: Everything else more

The staff was rude and condescending which is dangerous when people are trying to learn about their weapons. The range was extremely dim and filthy. Considering all the good things I had heard about CCA, I was EXTREMELY disappointed. more

Went to CCA for the first time last week to use the range. Staff seemed very indifferent as to acknowledging my presence, dont know if it was I was a woman or not but I felt ignored. Finally after I filled out their paperwork and was waiting for a lane to open, I walked over to the gun counter wishing to see a pistol for sale. There were a couple of men also standing in front of the counter too however there wasnt an empolyee behind the counter to assist us. After about 15 minutes(still no counter help) my name was called and my lane was open on the range. Upon seeing the range I was very dissapointed. The range room was dimly lit..and I mean DIM...the floor was a dirty carpet littered with brass casings (apparently none of the shooters who shoot there use the provided ""rake"" and sweep off their shells) I was expecting to find a light at the shooters bench on my lane but there wasnt one, I had to squint just to see where to lay my box of cartridges. After shooting for about 30 minutes my lungs couldnt take it any longer since their wasnt any perceived air blowers, it was almost sufficating.When I left the building all I could smell was gunpowder and thats after i washed my hands and face upon leaving. If you want to get black lung I would suggest CCA, otherwise go anywhere else to shoot. more

I've been shopping and shooting at CCA for a long time. I love the atmosphere and the fact that they stock so many guns. Their range is top notch and the staff is very friendly and helpful more

Excellent staff. I am always greeted with a smile and asked if I would like to handle anything. The range is top notch, and is the only one in the area with actual heat AND air. Been buying my guns from them for a couple of years and plan to buy many more in the future from these folks. more

The best shop and repair in the state! I drive an hour and a half all the way from Decherd TN once a month just to buy from these people and to have all my gun smithing done. They've earned my business. more

I don't know what the other negative posters are really trying to say, but I have been a Coal Creek Armory customer for going on five years. They are always helpful and pleasant to deal with. I have done buisness with other stores and ranges in the area and I have to say that CCA gets my nod and money every time. more

The most poorly managed and staffed range I've ever encountered. The staff seems to feel as though every customer is a bother. The indoor range is very poorly maintained & illuminated, and is usually closed more than it is open. \r \r I am very experienced in several aspects of firearms use, maintenance, and history. The level of non-knowledge exibited by the staff is appaling. They seem threatened if they encounter someone who actually knows something about what 'they' are selling!\r \r My day job involves sales training, and these Bozos could use a crash course in sales relations. . . NO, make that HUMAN relations!\r \r There are several other indoor ranges in the area, now. One would do well do consider driving a 'tad' further, and spending your hard-earned dollars in their businesses. more

The customer service is terrible, the staff was very rude to me. I'm not very experienced in firearms & I guess I was asking too many questions for them, but they just acted like it was a bother to answer my questions. more

I have gone there before thinking it was a good place because of it's size and the fact they have a day when shooting for ladies is free. I went there and they were terribly rude. In addition to them being rude they were arrogant and weren't helpful at all, rather talking down and acting like they enforced the universe. I was going to buy a gun they didn't have and finally because it was never there I decided to call and ask about ordering it and holding it for me, I was even going to pay up front. The girl that answered the phone was rude and said they didn't do that. I said ""really? even if I pay for it first?"" and she said no we don't do that on that gun"" (I was wanting to order a sig sauer p229 in 9 mm, a pretty basic handgun). I can't believe that, I don't know if she was lying or just rude. I don't know but that was the final straw. They get no more of my money. There are plenty of honest and good hearted gun dealers that would gladly take my order. I would NOT recommend them. I have never left there thinking that it was a gun shop I liked doing business with. Every time I went in there it was something else. I've been there multiple times and had various people wait on me. Just don't bother with coal creek armory in knoxville! Pros: no pro's Cons: rude, no good customer service more

I had a transfer of an NFA short barreled AR15 done by CCA, the transfer was botched. What should have taken 3-4 months took 11 months. The customer service was aweful.\r \r I have done business with these guys before, I had purchased AR15 lowers from there before, done transfers with them too. I was a customer back when they had a little shop back in Oak Ridge, I was a customer for nearly 5 years. They did nothing to correct there wrongdoing in delaying the transfer, no discount was offered on the transfer.\r \r a full detail of the incident is on ar15 dot com in the TN hometown forum. Pros: Nothing Cons: No loyalty to customers, poor customer service. more

I went into Coal Creek Armory to buy a cheap holster. They had a fair variety to choose from. But the customer service is lousy for one reason. When I got to the register to check out, the cashier wanted to see my driver's license. I was paying cash. It was only a $19.00 holster. Why do they need to see my ID? Is there a background check on people buying accessories now? He also entered my personal info into a computer. If this business wants to gather information on its customers and sell it to third parties, I'll go somewhere else. \r \r I went to Craig's Firearms on Chapman Hwy and bought a $440 EOTech sight and they didn't pull anything like that. From now on I'm going to either Craig's or Guns N More. Pros: Merchandise in stock Cons: They collect info on you and sell it. more

Coal Creek is a great, no frills facility staffed by knowledgeable and friendly gun enthusiasts. They offer basic handgun training to the public as well as carry permit classes every Saturday. They buy, sell, and sometimes trade firearms, and even rent handguns for use in their indoor range. This is a nice way to decide between weapon models, as rarely is a purchaser able to fire an example of each of the weapons he is considering before the purchase is made. Law enforcement discounts are available, as are Kember orders and other law-enforcement-only benefits. Skilled gunsmiths are on site. Safety is clearly a priority on their range, and the right to keep and bear arms is clearly a priority in the minds of the folks at Coal Creek Armory. Pros: Knowledge, Experience, Indoor Range Cons: Limited in-stock accessories more