# This was a good deal until the shipping got calculated



## pmkrv12 (Mar 15, 2012)

Cheaper than Dirt has fruit and lemon poppy seed cakes MRE's on sale, seems like a good price. 22 fruit and 100 cakes for $60. Then I added shipping, $30 for ground shipping. WOW leaving that deal on the table.

Peter


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## ComputerGuy (Dec 10, 2010)

I used to shop at cheaper than dirt but like you said, the shipping they charge is not worth it.

They need to change their name to "Shipping costing like Gold"


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## pmkrv12 (Mar 15, 2012)

I buy stuff from them regularly like the bag 10 high energy bars, ammo other things but this must be very heavy, I don't know why otherwise


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## staceyj (Feb 17, 2012)

I quit using them as we'll because of shipping cost. I can drive to Ft. Worth for less than they charge for shipping.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

CTD has several "distribution centers" all over the US. So if you add items to your cards from location A & location C, boom the shipping almost doubles. So first you have to make sure everything you want is at the same place, then you have to wonder if the inflated shipping rates are actually worth it. On an unrelated note, CTD has the worst website design and the worst search function of any gun related internet retailer.


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## ComputerGuy (Dec 10, 2010)

Sentry18 said:


> CTD has several "distribution centers" all over the US. So if you add items to your cards from location A & location C, boom the shipping almost doubles. So first you have to make sure everything you want is at the same place, then you have to wonder if the inflated shipping rates are actually worth it. On an unrelated note, CTD has the worst website design and the worst search function of any gun related internet retailer.


That is a more than agreed. Tried to actually find some 22 bullets in 55 grain for reloading 223. Could not find anyrhing.

I have pretty much given up on them for buying anything because of the website and the shipping costs. They USED to be good. Not anymore.

I buy guns and stuff from Buds Gun Shop or other stuff from Amazon


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Check out Natchez Shooting Sports and Primary Arms. They have reasonable prices and shipping. I also buy from Brownells and Midway USA but I get discounts at both places so it makes the prices easier to take.


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

Cheaper than Dirt is actually several different companies. In Fort Worth the showroom is one company and in the far side of the room is catalog desk which is the original company. The stock is different for both. You can go to the catalog desk and buy directly from the catalog and just pay the sales tax. The location in McKinney Texas is another owner. I have gone to McKinney and had them not honor prices listed. They can be a tough place to do business. GB


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Yeah, we don't use CTD for the same reason. Shipping.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

I've had the same experiences with CTD and on top of that, there are CA legal items that they will not ship to CA, like water filters, and when I called their customer service dept they did not give specifics but I got the impression they simply don't care about CA customers.

**NEWSFLASH** we're not the ones trying to make it difficult for the gun industry to do business, but whatever, suit yourselves, so I don't do business with CTD.

I buy a bunch from Midwayusa, and when Midsouth shooters supply had their anniversary I bought their $50 gift certificates on sale for $43 each, and then turned around and bought my RCBS chargemaster combo for a nice 14% discount right off the top!!  

And they were actually cheaper than all of the other places too. I called midwayusa and asked if they'd price match an advertised price at one of their competitors and they dont. It's okay, I've had a lot of good experiences shopping with them so thats fine, but they did lose a big sale for that, and since they declined the deal I got the gift cert special a week later lol. 

if I'm price shopping something, I'll check for the same item on Cabela's, Midwayusa, Midsouthshootersssupply and Natchezss, and I'll actually go through the entire shopping process on each if it's a big or heavy item like 1000 rounds of ammo I bought last time, and in that case, Cabela's turned out to be the best deal. They were $20 less on the shipping than anyone else, had it in stock and the price was pretty much identical to everyone else for known brand ammoz.


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

I'm always sucked into these "great deals" (especially on Amazon) until I see the shipping. :gaah:


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## zombieresponder (Aug 20, 2012)

Election night 2008: Minutes after the results were annouced, CTD raises their prices by something like 50%. Somewhere or another I have a screen shot from that night of Wolf 7.62x39 showing a -51 or -52% "savings". CTD is one of the places I don't order anything from.


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## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

If you google cheaper than dirt coupons some times you can get a coupon code for free shipping. Or enough of a discount to make up for the shipping costs. I've done this several times.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

Had same issue with Sportsmans guide way backi in teh day. Haven't done any business with them for more ten years now since they pissed me off.


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## TexasMama (Dec 3, 2012)

So we're new to prepping - was planning on order some stuff from CTD next Friday from hubby's bonus....where should I order it from?

We don't have a gun store here in town - well - we do but the guy's a rancher and he's pretty much there when he's in the mood to be there.

I was hoping to get my son a rifle, possibly guns for my husband and I (but we may go to a gun show instead so we can hold the guns and see what would be best for us) - one of those retractable stick things for my daughter - plus ammo and some other things.

I don't know of any other websites.


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## ComputerGuy (Dec 10, 2010)

You can also find some good buys in pawn shops. Before buying, at least IMHO you need to sit down and determine your needs. And this subject would take up an entire thread.

So determine your needs and then there are other mediums out there on how you can procure a weapon. Classifieds, gun shows, pawn shops, believe it or not there are facebook groups selling weapons and also have gun discussions

I know evil facebook!!


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## TexasMama (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks. Right now we have no guns whatsoever - and we are going for our conceal carry training in January - so we're looking for revolvers (pistols?) - don't laugh - I don't know the difference between them. I know we're probably look for a 9 mm. My husband likes something from KalTech just based on what he's read...

My son has a main gun - he wants a shotgun (he lives in a city) and lots of ammo. Oh - and ammo for his .22LR (that is what the ammo is - that much I know).

After we get these - then we're going to move onto rifles and other "larger" ? guns. 

I know I also want a stun gun to keep on hand and pepper spray...not as effective as a 9 mm but as a backup.

My son and my husband were both looking at CTD and for ammo - I thought I could get it cheaper on a website than locally - not sure though.


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

And back to the OP, here's my "favorite":

*FREE SHIPPING !!!* *

*on orders over $100

:gaah:


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## bahramthered (Mar 10, 2012)

Always look through an online offer. I remember not too long ago I was on amazon I found a five things I hadn't managed to find locally that I thought would be useful. All five under 5$ each. Go to shipping and found I was ordering from five different companies and everyone of them had their own shipping price. My order more than doubled from my $30ish thing to well over $60. 

So much for perfection on items I'm down to good enough.


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

PrepN4Good said:


> And back to the OP, here's my "favorite":
> 
> *FREE SHIPPING !!!* *
> 
> ...


And every item on the site is $99.95


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## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

jsriley5 said:


> Had same issue with Sportsmans guide way backi in teh day. Haven't done any business with them for more ten years now since they pissed me off.


 Sorry to hear about you problem with sportamana guide. Been doing business with them for years, recently between wife and I purchased over $1500 worth of stuff from them. Never had more than minor issues that they quickly corrected.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

TexasMama said:


> Thanks. Right now we have no guns whatsoever - and we are going for our conceal carry training in January - so we're looking for revolvers (pistols?) - don't laugh - I don't know the difference between them. I know we're probably look for a 9 mm. My husband likes something from KalTech just based on what he's read...
> 
> My son has a main gun - he wants a shotgun (he lives in a city) and lots of ammo. Oh - and ammo for his .22LR (that is what the ammo is - that much I know).
> 
> ...


lets go through these in order that you mentioned them...

Pistols is just the same as handguns, but it includes both revolvers and semi-automatics. Revolvers are like the old western style movies, they hold 6 bullets (usually) in a cylinder that rotates when you either manually cock the hammer back, or pull the trigger.

semi-automatics which are often called "auto's" are pistols that feed from a magazine, 99% of the time that magazine is stored in the pistol grip. They may or may not have an exposed hammer like a revolver does.

which is better? neither. they both have their uses. revolvers are widely considered to be more user friendly in that they are much less susceptible to jamming or misfiring. On the other hand, auto's are very popular because they allow the user to reload quickly, the bullets are in a magazine which can be readily changed when empty with a new fresh one, and the magazines are often capable of carrying a LOT more bullets than a 6 shot revolver.

Revolvers do use "speed loaders" and for those who practice A LOT, they can get really close to the time to reload a magazine in an auto, but those people are not the majority at all. Auto's as a design do tend to be more susceptible to jamming or finnicky to what brand or bullet weights of ammo they do or do NOT like to feed from, but there are models and designs that are just as reliable as any revolver, and even in the picky ones if you find the right ammo, you're probably really going to like shooting that gun.

So which is better... which one fits your needs?

I'm not sure what you mean by your son has a "main gun". There's a term used sometimes that is MBR = Main Battle Rifle, this means it's a military pattern design, whether past or present and there are numerous variations on those. The 2 most common are the AR-15 (a civilian version of the military M-16) and the SKS or AKS which are civilian versions of the AK-47. Since I'm not sure what you mean by main gun, I'll just end the rifle talk there so I don't add to confusion.

Shotguns come in a wide variety of designs and they can be highly specialized for the task intended. A break action double barrel shotgun like I use when I'm shooting trap and 5-stand is a very old traditional design, and they are fantastic for hunting or target shooting, these are VERY POOR choices for home defense. On the other end of the spectrum are shotguns that are configured for close quarters combat, with collapsible or fold-over-top butt stocks, so that the overall length is shorter, making it easier to wield in a hallway or other tight conditions. These barrels are usually much shorter than hunting barrels, because in a defensive use you're not trying to shoot a dove sized target at 40 yards, you're trying to shoot a man sized target at 10 yards.

That covers the guns (very poorly, but it gives you an idea) and the types of shotgun ammunition is just as diverse as the applications you want to use the gun for. Birds, large game, home defense... there's a lot of variety.

.22lr ammo is used in both rifles and pistols. it's the cheapest caliber ammo to buy and use, and therefore many people who have a rifle like an AR-15 will buy special parts so they can target shoot very cheaply compared to shooting the .223 ammo they would normally use. The exact same theory is applied to people who have .45 caliber auto's and they buy special parts for their gun so they can target shoot for a lot cheaper than using up their pistol ammo.

.22lr is widely considered accurate and is sold in boxes of up to 555 per box. It's got very little kick when you shoot it, and because it's inexpensive you can enjoy an entire afternoon shooting with one box compared to only a couple minutes of shooting other calibers.

You will learn more in the concealed permit classes, but it's safe to say you have the order of use backwards, and most people do not carry both non lethal and lethal self defense weapons. there are exceptions.... women especially may have pepper spray on their key chain and they'll use that as a first line of defense if attacked, and ideally they have a real pistol to pull from their purse, or from a concealment holster (dont laugh, but there's a very effective and increasingly popular brand of bra's that are specifically designed to be concealed carry holsters) Obviously those are going to work better for some women than others, but you get the point, there's options out there...

The other general exception is police, who go through a LOT of training on whether to deploy NON lethal methods such as a taser, which fires a couple little darts with a wire attached and delivers an electric shock to the target, and in ALMOST all cases this is 100% effective and will incapacitate the target. Since the electrical charge overrides the bodies natural ability to control itself, tazers are extremely effective, but there are the extremely small percentage of people who because of drugs, or whatever else they have going on might not be fully affected by the electricity. (also if someone is wearing heavy clothes that could prevent the darts from making skin contact, that would affect the impact on the target).

Because this weapon fires darts connected to little wires to transmit the electric shock, you're effective range is GREATLY reduced. Think mere feet instead of many yards.

In no cases that I have EVER heard of, would anyone escalate from a standard handgun lethal round, to a non lethal form of defense. If you're committed to defending yourself, kill the bad guy. PERIOD. If you "escalate" from using a lethal form of self defense to a NON lethal form, the prosecuting attorney or the attorney suing you on behalf of the victim or their family is going to want to know why you didnt START with non lethal means? Why kill the bad guy if you had the option to try to disable them in the first place?

You will LOSE that court battle, you will LOSE HUGE!!!! you will lose your house, you will lose your savings, and you will lose your freedom.

Escalation, if you are carrying both non-lethal and lethal, is in that order. Not from bullets to pepper spray


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## TexasMama (Dec 3, 2012)

Dakine,

Thank you for your post. Unfortunately, I tend to write "free-thinking" - the way I tend to think - even if I have more logical thoughts/plans.

My son has a revolver I think that uses .22LR shells. For Christmas he would like a rifle and ammo because he lives in a more urban area than we do and if someone were to break into his apartment - he'd like to have something that is more threatening than a revolver...or if he had to bug out on foot (he'd take both guns of course).

For non-lethal force (which would hopefully be the first route I could take), I was impressed to learn that sometimes using a forceful voice is enough. From there you have the pepper spray of course, the tazers and clubs. At the point at which I saw Doomsday Preppers I'd only thought of Pepper Spray and the tazers or whatever they were called (I forget). 

I would prefer to carry those on me with a gun (that I also carry) as a last resort. I wear a lot of long skirts and as I told my husband, I'd like to have a gun in my purse AND some sort of a gun in an ankle holster as a backup. He said he wasn't surprised.

Anyway - for Christmas my husband and I both want to get a revolver or pistol - not sure which. He will pick his out first and then I will pick out something that uses the same ammo so we can share ammo (at least at first).

I've seen the bra holsters and they look really cool. I joked with my husband that with my size I could probably try to hide a rifle with one.....although I know that they aren't made for that.

Anyway, even though I didn't state it that way - I did know and understand that escalation is from non-lethal to lethal.  

I guess I was just writing in the order the various things came to mind - mainly because I'm still trying to look for an online place to get my son's gun. I think we've decided we'll go to a gun store about 70 miles away for "our" guns since our local place isn't dependable in the hours they're open, etc.


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## bahramthered (Mar 10, 2012)

Dakine: I have to wonder about the progression of your logic on this post:

One of my last nights second shift I stopped for gas at a station. The station is locked at night and you have to do business through a window. I was paying cash so I had too, just 20 for the next couple days till pay day. 

On the way to the window a ragged man approached me and asked for a cig. I told him truthfully I don't smoke and he stepped back. Coming back from the window he asked for a dollar. I said I'd given my last dollar for gas. Again he stepped back a bit.

I gassed up and as I was rehanging the nozzle again he came up. If I had a 9 and pepper spray I would have yanked the gun right there and told him to stay away. Every time he had been trying to intimidate me so far, and this time I think he was more serious. With me denying him twice and him coming for the third time I think was serious this time. I verbally said no and waved him off, instead he came up and got face to face to inform me the least I could do was give him a ride. I think he realized that I had my hand on a knife and would have cut him if he had tried something. If I had pepper spray I would have dosed him right then.

I honestly do not think any DA would give me crap for pulling on him and ordering him away and then wussing out and instead dosing him with pepper spray instead of killing him if he pushed it. That said I would have had both in hand. Or if I had shot him with the spray in hand.


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## Startingout-Blair (Aug 28, 2012)

Should have sprayed him with gas from the nozzle. Carry a lighter (zippo) just for this purpose. Yes, a zippo is expensive, but worth losing instead of your life. Just dousing him with gas and showing the lighter should be enough


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

bahramthered said:


> Dakine: I have to wonder about the progression of your logic on this post:
> 
> One of my last nights second shift I stopped for gas at a station. The station is locked at night and you have to do business through a window. I was paying cash so I had too, just 20 for the next couple days till pay day.
> 
> ...


you mention a few KEY points...

Verbally "inquired" not assaulted. (there's a huge difference)
Never threatened with a weapon or any verbal threat of harm. 
Intimidation... I dont know why he chose you? opportunity? you're the ONLY fish in the pond so he'll try to reel you in? you're 5'4" tall and weigh 125 lbs soaking wet? he figured you'd be easy to intimidate by sheer size?

I dont have a lot of those kind of experiences.... I'm...not small. And I'm always looking at anything, and everything and if some pan handler comes up to me and asks for "a dollar" my reply is always a courteous "I cant today, thank you" which blew my ex-gf mind when she watched me do that, and I said 'well, there's no reason to be rude..." she said did you just thank him for not giving him money?.... Yep!

but it put him off his game enough that he didnt know what to do next. That's worked for me many times. And the one time it doesnt work, I hope it's not when I"m taking a knife in the back but rather someone who at least lets me have a fighting chance


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

right, someone is getting rich on their shipping, it's the highest in the country. we stopped buying from them a few yrs ago


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

bahramthered said:


> Dakine: I have to wonder about the progression of your logic on this post:
> 
> One of my last nights second shift I stopped for gas at a station. The station is locked at night and you have to do business through a window. I was paying cash so I had too, just 20 for the next couple days till pay day.
> 
> ...


 in New York and some other Liberal states you would have been charged with assault and if you pepper sprayed anyone, it's another charge because pepper spray in illegal.If you even showed him a knife, you'd go to jail. This 
is one state where a citizen can not protect their self.there's more than one tax paying citizen been locked up and got a criminal record for protecting themselves from being robbed


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## tommixx (Dec 10, 2012)

northern tool had free shipping on a item but they added $60.handeling fee big deal free shipping


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