Montana Radio Shack offers free gun or pizza with satellite TV purchase
The owner of the Radio Shack in Hamilton, Montana, says only one customer has responded negatively to his promotion.
March 28th, 2011
02:44 PM ET

Montana Radio Shack offers free gun or pizza with satellite TV purchase

A Radio Shack owner in Montana has upped foot traffic at his Hamilton store by offering free guns for new satellite television subscribers, according to a local paper.

Fear not, those opposed to gun ownership and those who might fail background checks. You can have free pizza instead.

The sign says it all: “Protect yourself with Dish Network. Sign up now. Get free gun.” (The real marquee has no periods, so I took a little punctuative license.)

Owner Steve Strand told the Ravalli Republic that the promotion “really, really fits the Bitterroot Valley,” while manager Fabian Levy told the newspaper that the gimmick had “been really successful.”

Strand said the promotion, which began in October, has tripled his business and lured hundreds of people curious about the sign. Only one person who “didn’t understand how it works” has reacted negatively, he said.

“We have people literally stop in to take pictures of the sign,” Levy added.

Simply sign a contract, purchase certain equipment, set up an installation date and congratulations! You could be the proud owner of a Hi-Point .380-caliber handgun or a 20-gauge shotgun from Frontier Guns & Ammo, which is just north of town.

If you don’t want a gat or can’t pass the background check (which the Republic reports is also free with the satellite TV subscription), you can still have a $50 Pizza Hut gift card.

Strand told the newspaper that other Radio Shack owners in the state were too scared to follow his lead. Even Dish Network had its doubts but agreed to the idea after months of talks with Strand, the newspaper said.

“They've never had a gun promotion before, so they're a little nervous about it,” Strand said. “It's been an uphill battle with Dish.”

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Filed under: Business • Montana • U.S.
soundoff (332 Responses)
  1. Ray

    Anyone who doesn't see a problem with this is retarded.

    March 28, 2011 at 5:25 pm | Report abuse |
    • Dennis

      I normally choose to side with freedom, if that makes me intellectually underdeveloped, I will take that over oppresision and tyranny any day. Others can be great intellectualists in their self-imposed-prison-Utopias.

      March 28, 2011 at 5:47 pm | Report abuse |
  2. SDN

    @Bob. Nonetheless, he or she will still leave in a bag. I'm basically a pacifist, however If you invade my border, be prepared to lose the war you've started. I'm no hero, just prepared – materially and mentally.

    March 28, 2011 at 5:27 pm | Report abuse |
    • John

      Really??? I've you ever been faced with a man with a gun in or outside your bedroom? Are you sure your are the bad-azz that you claim to be? Some of us have been faced with that situation, and it's a hard choice than you think. Make sure it's not your wife or kid coming thru that door, or simply take the shot, and do us all a favor and end up in jail.

      Good luck killer.

      March 28, 2011 at 5:34 pm | Report abuse |
    • SDN

      @John: You seem to have missed the part about my being a pacifist, and not being a hero – so you can pretty much shove the "bad-azz" (whatever that might be) and "killer" remarks. The decision to fire has already been made – it's called dealing with your value system and making life and death decisions while not under enormous stress. An intelligent approach to difficult decisions. But then, "a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse".

      March 28, 2011 at 5:53 pm | Report abuse |
  3. SDN

    @John, Dennis, Bob Tickle: We could have some fun on this forum, but don't you agree it would be about as challenging as shooting (no pun intended) fish in a barrel?

    March 28, 2011 at 5:31 pm | Report abuse |
    • Dennis

      @SDN They normally leave me drained and further convinced that public education requires significant reform. (History, Economics, Critical Thinking, Philosophy would be good starters)

      March 28, 2011 at 5:39 pm | Report abuse |
    • SDN

      @Dennis: Did you say "critical thinking"? Maybe you can convince John the value of such – clearly I couldn't.

      March 28, 2011 at 6:01 pm | Report abuse |
  4. banasy

    Ok, SDN, you have stated many good points, and I agree with a lot of them. But my respect for you just slipped a few notches with your "fish in the barrel" comment. Hope that's what you wanted to accomplish. Enjoy making fun of people? Have at it. It makes you look so intellectually superior.

    March 28, 2011 at 5:42 pm | Report abuse |
    • SDN

      Oh, I'm as easily offended as the next person, and not above taking a few (bloodless) cheap shots myself.

      March 28, 2011 at 5:55 pm | Report abuse |
    • SDN

      @banasy: I do formally apologize about my "fish in a barrel" comment. Pretty tacky. My objective here is to, frankly, goad people into thinking about these very important issues, rather than instantly launching some utterly useless and often destructive visceral response.

      March 28, 2011 at 6:06 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Phil

    The could at least sell a gun that doesn't have feed problems. I don't need anymore guns...75 is enough.

    March 28, 2011 at 5:46 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Jeff Frank - Ohio

    Oh by the way, don't blow a hole in your reciever, when your service goes out for non-payment. They'll charge you $299 for their rental box + $200 early termination fee. 🙂

    March 28, 2011 at 5:54 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Burbank

    It would be interesting to watch the crime rate for this county and see if it goes up over the next year or so. Also, it would be interesting to keep track to see if there is an increase of children that are injured or killed playing with guns or adults accidentally shot by children. Sounds more like a venue for Darwin awards to me.

    March 28, 2011 at 5:54 pm | Report abuse |
    • G

      What do you think the crime rate would do once criminals knew there was no chance of their victims being armed? And children getting shot is due to parent negligence, not gun legality. The parent who let his kid get hold of a gun probably also leaves boiling water unattended, doesn't cover the electrical outlets, and won't buy a car seat.

      March 28, 2011 at 6:23 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Richard

    Radio Shack used to be my favorite store. Now I can't get out without the salesman trying to sell me a cell phone too. Could this be the beginning of the end of Radio Shack?

    March 28, 2011 at 6:02 pm | Report abuse |
  9. banasy

    @Dennis: I choose freedom also, with all the baggage and responsibilities that go with it. I was not directing my statement to you, anyway. I was merely pointing out that SDN was a tad bit out of line with his "fish" comment, at the expense of other posters that may take a different view than him, and may not be as adept at expressing themselves as he is. When one makes fun of the others opposing view because it was stated inelegantly, or makes blanket statements of another's intelligence level because their opinion is different, it tends to tarnish *all* of one's postings, and makes that person look not quite as intelligent as that person is trying to convey.

    March 28, 2011 at 6:03 pm | Report abuse |
    • SDN

      My purpose here is not, and was not, to convey to anyone my level of intelligence – or lack of it. We need critical thinking (as Dennis mentioned) if we are ever to recover from this self-destructive avalanche of hate in this country. As the level of hate rises, the likelihood of positive advances declines. In my years on the planet, I've never seem hate accomplish anything positive – not once.

      March 28, 2011 at 6:13 pm | Report abuse |
  10. Christopher

    Do they have a website? Can we do this over the interwebs?

    March 28, 2011 at 6:10 pm | Report abuse |
  11. PoDunk

    Daughter of shop owner; "My paw sez I'm the best kisser in the county."

    March 28, 2011 at 6:23 pm | Report abuse |
  12. banasy

    Thank you, SDN. That was said beautifully, and I couldn't agree more. Hate accomplishes nothing but breed more hate, and it needs to stop.
    That's kind of why I was rather surprised at your "fish" statement in the first place; it seemed to be at cross-purposes with the points you were trying to make.

    Once again, thank you, and all the real gentlemen who made their points without the usual hateful rhetoric we see here.

    March 28, 2011 at 6:27 pm | Report abuse |
  13. Steve Brinkhoff

    A .380? No thanks. Who buys those anymore?

    March 28, 2011 at 6:31 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Philip

    Radio Shack has guns? This reminds me of when banks offered free toasters if you opened an account. It worked for several years. I remember as a kid closing my savings account and opening one at the bank accross the street. Free movie tickets.

    March 28, 2011 at 6:33 pm | Report abuse |
  15. Baffled

    No excessive and unncessary armament for me, thanks! A GUN should NOT be a give-away item. Some people should not be encouraged to own guns. That purchase should not be pushed and encouraged on "who the hell knows who".... it should be taken seriously. A background check is only going to ensure that this gun will be involved in the person's first felony. And, here... watch this really lame violent brocasting while you shine up your new gun.
    I suppose there are tax write-offs for such a promo too.... nice.

    March 28, 2011 at 6:38 pm | Report abuse |
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