All depends on who you get behind the counter. I used to work at a Gander store in MN on the side of my regular job (mostly for the discounts). We BY FAR had the highest amount of knowledgeable people in that store than most any others. Of course most of our knowledge was centered around hunting guns/gear/archery ect vs the more defense oriented stuff. But our in store gunsmith was REALLY a gun smith, and he used to run the development area for DPMS before he decided on a more laid back work life. You ought to see some of the sharps patterned rifles he'd built from raw materials 100% with the exception of springs, and screws, every piece was made by his hand and his machines.

We were often times tapped to go and train employees at new stores because of it. This was a store in a smaller town where hunting is a religion though and most of the employees truly had a passion for hunting, fishing, etc and the items we sold. We noticed a distinct pattern when we would train at new stores in more urban areas. The people by and large just weren't "into it", their eyes didn't light up at the newest and latest toys from the manufacturers, it was just a job, nothing more and that seriously affected their thirst for knowledge on the subjects and their desire to put people in the right gear.

Every now and then we'd find one like us, but they seemed few and far between, which really is too bad, but it's the nature of low paying retail jobs.