gun store etiquette

[gaseousclay]

I don't know if the question has been asked, if it was I didn't see it, but how far away was this guy? That right there would determine how to handle the situation.

If the guy was close, then that's one thing. If the guy was on the other side of the store, then maybe he wasn't aiming at you, just in your general direction. Which, depending on your point of view, could look like he was aiming directly at you.

i'd say he was no more than 15 to 20 ft away

[zincwarrior]

Yea that rates a definite shout then to not point the gun at you. I wouldn't hit the deck or something exagerated (would get out of the line of fire though).

[Gaerek]

Yea, except in Arizona where peeps are carrying concealed all over, no permits required, and could be asking the clerk about "their gun they bought there last week" which could be loaded.

The stores I frequent require a box/case/holster for any gun someone brings in that they want someone at the store to look at. If you start drawing a gun from your holster, they'll tell you to reholster and come back when you follow the rules. Drawing any firearm, whether loaded or not, in public in Arizona can be considered aggravated assault, especially if you muzzle someone, so any decent LGS or range will require common sense rules to prevent it from happening.

As for being swept at the store...anytime it happens, I politely tell the person what they just did and that it's of the utmost importance that they keep their muzzle under control. 90% of the time, it's someone purchasing their first gun, and they just weren't aware. The other 10%, the person realizes what they did and they apologize. I have yet to have someone get upset with me for calling out their poor muzzle discipline.

It's going to happen guys. The chances of being muzzled by a loaded weapon are very small. I know, All Guns are loaded, Always, but common sense has to kick in at sometime. Be polite, be nice. Jumping down someones throat reinforces the stereotype that gun owners are aggressive and belligerent. Most people are fine being corrected on this, especially when they realize they wouldn't want it to happen to them.

[breakingcontact]

Unfortunately it seems, gun safety in stores is out the window.

I've rarely seen an employee correct a customer.

Was at a store the other day, guy pointing glock at me, I look down, see his 2 year old son, then he points it at him.

Made me sick, should have said something, need to start saying something.

I don't know if it's the military thing in me or just me having reverence/respect for guns, but safety is #1 always.

[vector91]

People have no common sense anymore it is sad. I would personaly have moved out of the line of fire and told the man to never point a gun at someone. Even someone who has never held a gun before or been inna store should know that. Alittle off topic but still discussing etiquette I was in D&L shooting supplies in RI and three men walked into the gun store reeking of alcohol and weed. I couldnt believe that they werent asked to leave by no means should you enter a gun store under the influence of anything and you should never point a gun in someones direction and at 15 - 20 feet away in an empty store he was definately an idiot because he had every oportunity to point it pretty much anywhere else.

[lcpiper]

Well Gaerek we are not talking about getting "swept". We are talking about turning around and seeing a guy with a gun aimed at your face.

That was the OPs situation. You are correct, I would consider it aggravated assault as well. And in this situation getting away with only have his ears bruised is mild cause he certainly deserved worse. And being new or ignorant is no excuse and doesn't warrant a "kid gloves" attitude.

The same guy that pointed that gun right at the OPs face is the same kind of guy who would bring a loaded gun to the gun store, pull it, to show the guy behind the counter his problem.

The problem isn't the gun, it's a the problem between the ears.

[Gaerek]

I understand what you're saying, and I agree that ignorance isn't an excuse, but in that case, I wouldn't be mad at the customer with the gun. I'd be mad at the clerk that allowed that to happen. When it comes to people new to guns, I'm pretty lenient in what could be considered at least a relatively controlled situation. But that clerk should have known better. I certainly do not appreciate looking down the muzzle of a weapon, and maybe I would have reacted differently in that situation than I mentioned above (that situation hasn't happened to me).

I think in that case, I would have told the customer why what he was doing was bad. But then I'd tell the clerk he needs to pay attention to where customers are pointing guns. If he got snarky, or pulled out the "It wasn't loaded!" I'd be looking for a manager, and explain that if his clerks aren't going to be keeping customers from muzzling people, I'm going to stop shopping here.

Luckily, I haven't seen anything that bad, and the clerks at the stores I frequent the most practice good muzzle discipline. I watched a clerk snatch a gun out of a customers hand once because he was waving it muzzling practically the whole store. I thanked him for it.

[thedudeabides]

I walked into one of the local gun stores and saw a kid buying a Ruger SR22--probably his first gun. He pointed it at me and started to pull the trigger, I swatted his hand out of the way with enough force that there was a red mark on his wrist.

The gun clerk took the gun away from him and apologized for what happened.

...what the hell, in what universe is that an appropriate action? I don't care if you're a novice. Why would you ever dry fire a gun, loaded or unloaded at someone? You don't need to be a Range Officer to know that's wrong, I think most four year olds could figure that out.

[vector91]

I do agree the clerk was definitely at fault as well he should have corrected him. However that being said I still would have been ****** at the customer because it should just be commons sense to not point a gun at someone. The employees really need to crack down on this stuff they "should" know how serious that is. It's just sad to hear that the clerk didn't correct him.

[shaunpain]

I live in a busy "metropolitan" -tee hee - area, but I haven't had this problem that I can ever recall. I don't really stick around stores to browse, though, I'm mostly there for range time. I've only bought one piece at a store because the price couldn't be beat. Honestly, though, I'm pretty sure that if it happened to ME that I wouldn't sweat it. Chicago area gunshops don't keep stuff under the glass loaded, and you can't even carry a loaded gun anywhere. When that law changes, we'll see if accidents start happening (I wouldn't be surprised). I think it's a matter of where I live and the laws here, though. A menial amount of research must be accumulated before navigating our politics into gun ownership. There are certainly moronic gun owners out there, but I haven't really seen a whole lot around here. I can imagine that it's different for a localized society that, for the most part, never grew up around firearms and hunting or shooting sports. I'm speaking of law abiding folks, not gangland. That's a different story...

[gaseousclay]

I walked into one of the local gun stores and saw a kid buying a Ruger SR22--probably his first gun. He pointed it at me and started to pull the trigger, I swatted his hand out of the way with enough force that there was a red mark on his wrist.

The gun clerk took the gun away from him and apologized for what happened.

...what the hell, in what universe is that an appropriate action? I don't care if you're a novice. Why would you ever dry fire a gun, loaded or unloaded at someone? You don't need to be a Range Officer to know that's wrong, I think most four year olds could figure that out.

I don't blame you. I think most people have the same visceral reaction when a gun is pointed in their direction. I also think being a novice to guns is a poor excuse for common sense.

[Armorer-at-Law]

In a big box store, there are not many ways to handle a gun without sweeping someone.

It isn't a good thing but what really concerns me more are the folks who go to the LGS and un-holster a gun for the gunsmith. You really don't know anything about the gun. That is really a touchy point for me.

This is far more of concern to me. Even if it is brought in cased, as opposed to being drawn from their holster, it is a million times more likely to be loaded than are the store's guns that are chamber checked every time they are taken out or put into the case.

[lcpiper]

Doesn't bother me at all. I don't care if you carry a loaded gun into a store. I have mine on me all the time when I legally can, and I go everywhere I can legally go with it.

If I bring it in to have a store look at it for some reason I'll pull it out and show him. I'll simply let him know it's on me and loaded, ask if he wants to see it, if he want's me to clear it or if he want's to do that himself. If he want's me to go back to my car, clear it and bring it in he will let me know. If there is a sign on the door specifying how they want it, I follow the instructions. I would expect no less from others.

I just expect the gun to be handled right and won't put up with people who handle them wrong.

I am never nervous around guns, only around people who don't know how to handle guns.

[Inspector3711]

To the OP... I was in a local store a couple of years ago. An Iraqi gentlemen was looking for a shotgun to take on a family visit to Iraq since shotguns were allowed at that time and the area was dangerous.

I was standing next to him and he moved a shotgun barrel towards the side of my head.

I immediately threw a hard forearm block. He was quite surprised. I can guarantee, just by his expression, that he will never forget that lesson. The kid behind the counter should have at least said something.

I haven't been in that store since. I feel the guys at the counter bear some responsibility, and if they won't step up then I won't patronize their store. As a customer, they need to ensure my safety by having rules and enforcing them.

I also quit frequenting a local range when I saw careless handling going on unchecked. Don't want to be in an accident or witness one. I've seen enough bad things.

As far as loaded guns coming into a store go, every gun is loaded and should be handled as such. As long as that's the case I'm fine with it.

[MWalsh]

he was lining me up in his sights.

I could swear this is illegal, at least in some places, falling under the illegality of pointing a gun at somebody as a joke even if you think it's unloaded. If he really was lining you up, it doesn't deserve niceties, he should know better. Maybe he was aiming to the side, though!

Stupid anyway and I would say something, as should the guy at the counter have done.

[buck460XVR]

when I was at Gander Mtn there weren't many people in the gun department, so it wasn't exactly a busy weekend.

Wow.....a GM on a weekend durng the biggest gun buying frenzy our country has even seen and they weren't busy?

stupidity is no excuse for being careless with a gun.

As far as I know, stupidity is the ONLY excuse for being careless with a firearm. Can you give me another? Being uninformed/unknowledgeable is not being careless, nor does it make one stupid, but it could be a reason you had a gun pointed at you. Either way, being polite and informative generally gets better results than bein' an arse and makin' a scene. That kinda takes one down to the same level as the "stupids".

[lcpiper]

The only result I would care about in this situation is the one that gets the gun out of my face. All other considerations are way in the back of the bus.

If afterwards, the guy can't understand why you got angry. Then you should hit him instead of just yelling.

I try to understand this concept of trying to be an "ambassador" for gun ownership and I do not see it. I was raised with guns, spent most of my professional life with guns. And I have one on me whenever I am able.

But approaching everything from the angle that gun owners and non-gun people are different is hogwash. People are just people and some are ignorant and some are stupid.

Willingly wearing that label makes them see you as a different kind of person too, it reinforces the bad idea. Guns are part of this world, being ignorant about them, what they do, and how you should handle one is foolishness.

It's like saying I don't need to know how to use a knife because I am not a cook and I only eat at McDonald's. If you only eat at McDonald's and you can't cook and don't know how to use a knife then this is not a life style choice. It's just stupid ignorance.

If a person can't fight, can't use a knife, can't shoot a gun, then a person is defenseless. The only kind of person that goes through life defenseless is the kind that drinks every flavor of koolaid at the bar. They can't be helped, not unless they actually survive the day reality comes calling. Then they might learn.

[JKHolman]

I was at a gun show in Virginia some months back and a couple of young servicemen were handling an AR-15 with an aiming device and were pointing it at me. I loudly told them they needed to point it towards the ceiling. Sometimes you have to embarrass a person because if it is something they should have received in training [like two young servicemen; it is what I learned in basic training thirty-three years ago); therefore they should know better.
It is no wonder we had alot of accidental shootings resulting wounded friendlies in the Desert (I was there in '03-'04) that you did not hear about in the news.
In a store, be diplomatic.
At a gun show, make some noise.

[twice barrel]

Of course if both the clerk and then the customer cleared the gun and he's just looking it over and not deliberately pointing it at you...you could just be polite and ask if they'd cleared the gun. If they've done that and you unwittingly position yourself in front of the muzzle while he's looking at it its just as much your fault.

When someone is handling a gun its just as much your responsibility to be aware and stay out of the way. Anyone going in a gun store should know this.

The only way to stay safe is when everyone is doing their part instead of just trying to blame someone else. If you're not willing to do that just stay out of the shop.

[vector91]

I am gonna have to dissagree twice barrel. If you are in a store looking at a gun point it towards the celing or at the wall behind the counter even if you have to back up a big while looking at a rifle. There is no reason at all to point it across the store where a person could be or as you say unknowingly walk in front of it.