Share your dumbest gun store stories.

[Ozzieman]

Share your dumbest gun store stories.
There are a lot of good stories of not so bright people working behind the counters at gun stores.
How about sharing yours. No names and no company’s names allowed.
Last year I was at a large gun store and was looking for a new Redfield scope now built by Leupold.
From the persons mouth behind the counter came “What do you want that Jap junk for, you want a Nikon.”
Purchasing a used gun this year everything including the background check was done. The manager came over to check everything and said “You put the wrong serial number down.” That took a good hour to fix.

[ClydeFrog]

I've dealt with a few "MENSA members" & gun shop rangers in my day. Here are a few greatest hits:
In the late 1990s, I took my Beretta 96D .40 back to gun shop to have the in-shop gunsmith convert the pistol magazine release for left handed shooters.
"Why would you want that?!?!" the perplexed gun shop clerk asked me.
His intrepid co-worker looked at him & said; "What are you saying? He wants to spend $$$ here, what's wrong with you?"

Several years later in a different part of the USA, I tangled with a inept, condescending gun shop mgr who wanted to avoid ordering a Bianchi shoulder holster for my Taurus small frame .357magnum.
The same sporting goods shop/surplus store closed down permanently about a year later.

I also had 2 "good ole boys" in the Pensacola Florida area tell me the state of Florida does not allow the use of .38spl JHPs for armed security work.
"We don't cross that line!" they cracked.
I informed the duo they could refer to the Florida Div of Licensing & learn what the 493 statue says.

[WyMark]

A couple years ago I was looking for a P229 and found an E² at a well known gun store in Loveland, CO. The sales guy was knowledgeable and it was a pretty good deal on a lightly used two tone model. I wanted to check prices and verify, since I'd never owned a Sig. Went back two days later to buy it if it was still available, and that sales guy wasn't working. The one that was didn't know much about Sigs and was having trouble finding the one I wanted to look at. But the entire time he was looking he was working very hard to convince me that a Gen4 G19 was what I really wanted anyway. I got disgusted and left.

A week or so later I found a used P228 at another shop in Ft Collins and got to test fire it on their range. I wanted to look at the P229 one more time before I decided, so I drove down to Loveland to try again. This time the sales guy that was working didn't really like Sigs or Glocks, but was pretty sure that an XD was what I really needed. Couldn't hardly get him down to the Sig section of the display counter, and when I finally did it was like he had a spring attached that pulled him back over to the Springfields.

I went and bought the 228 and have been very happy with that choice, especially with the E² grips I put on it.

[RickB]

I asked for a box of .38 Super, and when I qestioned the delivery of a box of .38 Special, the guy behind the counter said, "It works with all .38s, that's why it's special."

[dogtown tom]

The customer when picking up the Springfield Armory XD he just bought from Bud's: "I bought this because I wanted an American gun, not some foreign made gun"............his buddy pointed out the "Croatia" rollmark on the top of the slide.

Priceless.

[Darren007]

Was at a local gun store looking at a pristine 1909 Argentine Mauser on the used rack. Sales guy walks over asking me if I needed help with anything. Told him I was interested in the Mauser..."Its a pretty nice gun. Would make a decent project rifle. Personally though, I tend to shy away from that German junk. German guns tends to be of lower quality then you could get for the same money."

Yeah. Those Germans and their crappy, low quality firearms.

[g.willikers]

Betcha' there's a lot of gunshop owners that have been pressured into giving unemployable nephews a job.

[oldgunsmith]

We had a salesman that I heard more than once tell customers "there's no way this one can accidentally go off".

[ClydeFrog]

I agree with post 7, .
I've seen gun shop clerks with purple hair, pierced noses, shop employees dressed like cowboys, , younger clerks who compare firearms to video game scenes/characters.
Shop employees who aren't aware of recent rebates or company offers is annoying too.
Educated or experienced customers may only be 25/30% of the customer base but they should be treated well.

Some FFL holders & gun shop staffs know they are the only location around so they talk or act as they please.

[SC4006]

Once a few years ago at my LGS, I overheard a salesman tell a customer that he could also fire 10mm through his new glock 23. At the time I didn't know nearly as much as I do now about guns, but even then I knew that was just total bogus. That salesman is no longer there .

We had a salesman that I heard more than once tell customers "there's no way this one can accidentally go off".

HA. I'm sure there's a few people out there that could make that happen.

[ClydeFrog]

I enjoy watching the online video clips of "The Yankee Marshal"
I disagree with some of his views & points about guns, 2A issues, etc but he is entertaining and he does have a few coherent opinions/advice.
One Youtube.com clip had him suggesting viewers/2A supporters to buy products from their local gun shops & FFL holders(retailers). He stated how a gun industry member told him that many US gun shops were failing
I could understand the Yankee Marshal's viewpoint & wouldn't want any US small business to go under in these tough times but IMO, if a gun shop can't stay in business or the local customer base won't support them, then there may be a valid reason or 2 why the shop isn't doing well.
I make around 60-75% of my shooting sports/gear purchases from web-online sources. I buy & advise my close friends to buy firearms with respected web sources(GunsAmerica.com JGsales.com etc).
Would I buy stuff from a local shop or support a good business? Sure, but I don't see the $$$(prices) or customer service(sales staff) being the main reasons to shop there.
Mark-up & "hey, so what" mindsets keep me away.
A few of the FFL holders/retail shops-ranges near me keep the lights on & the mortgage paid by catering to the tourists or "new" shooters. They'll run up the credit/debit cards or lay out the $$$ then smile as they leave.
One local gun range/retailer has expanded to about 8 locations around the state & has been in business nearly 32 years.
They don't need my help or my $$$.
Clyde

[Revoltella]

How about that the hollow area of a Glock grip was so "when they got the Norwegian military contract, the guns could be fitted with grip heaters"?

[Sevens]

I went to a gun store and found a gun I wanted and proceeded to purchase it. As it happened, the salesman I worked with was YOUNG. Quite young. I'm not the world's finest judge of these things, but if I'm guessing, I'll say around 25. If he was any older, he certainly didn't look it.

I have a soft spot for young guys working in gun stores because I went directly in to the deep end of this hobby when I was 16 years old and I was at gun shops and gun shows constantly and was mistreated, overlooked and written off about a gujillion times because of my age and the fact that I looked it. (I'm sure many of you have been through this) Happened on the range as well, but it was FAR more enjoyable on the range because I would pull out hardware they didn't have and I would make shots they couldn't make and, well, if you're a hobbyist shooter by nature, you know what I'm talking about. In any case, I wouldn't say I'm "scarred for life" but I know darn well what it's like to be a young guy in a gun shop or gun show.

This salesman was doing everything right. He was friendly, attentive, outgoing, pulling out anything I was even looking at, even when I told him "no, it's okay!" and handling them safely and he also wasn't trying to 'over-impress' and show that he knew _______ even though he was young, as some are tempted to do. (I probably did when I was younger... oops) So, at this point, I'd have reviewed his salesmanship as top-drawer.

When I found the big double action Smith & Wesson revolver that I wanted to bring home with me, I told him that I'd take it. And he said "great" and we proceeded to walk over to the area set-up specifically for filling out the 4473. And he's got the revolver in his right hand and the 4473 in his left and the whole time we're walking and through his whole instruction run-down for the 4473... he's is double-action dry-firing this revolver that I'm 10 minutes from taking delivery of. click click click click click click click click click click click click click click, endlessly, and I'm (at first!) VERY surprised but that emotion lasted all of the 10 seconds before I became seriously annoyed and then I interrupted him mid-sentence and said firmly, calmly, and loudly,
Stop doing that. Thank you.

That caught him off guard.
Which I suppose evened the score, because I had just been impressed with him until that point... and now I wanted to punch him in the beak.

I wouldn't call this a "dumb gun shop story", but it's a relatively recent experience of mine.

[g.willikers]

Wonder what he was doing with it before you bought it.
Range practice?
Hours of dry firing in the back room?
Shown it to, and been drooled over by how many others?
No telling.
I never buy the display piece, no matter what it is.
Get me one still new in the unopened factory box, please.

[Sevens]

Hmmm, good enough. But I just don't really buy *new* guns, except in rare circumstances. I'm all about the used gun, that's what I like, that's where my interest lies. Could be any number of things that's it's been exposed to in it's life, my point isn't what "may have happened" in days gone by. Rather, my point is much, much more in precisely how it is being handled in the last 10 minutes of it's life when I've already decided to purchase it and the salesman is 100% aware of my intent to purchase it. (so much aware that he's holding the 4473 and giving me the store's policy of how I should fill it out, so there's no question as to whether or not I plan to own this revolver)

Imagine cutting a deal on a car and while you are pulling your wallet out, the dealer, salesman or owner jumps in the driver's seat and starts doing a burnout while you stand witness to it. It's kind of like that.

[ClydeFrog]

I, too, prefer the unfired, NIB(new in box) firearms but in all honesty, I highly doubt most FFL holders or gun shops have/sell guns that way.
In most cases, the sales staff or counter shop clerk says; "We only sell what we display." or "That's our last one in stock."(even when they may have 8/9 in the back storage area).
I get that gun shops & staff want to sell guns and make $. It's just that some shops or FFL holders do it better than others.
If a gun shop goes under, Im 100% sure there were some issues that could have been corrected or avoided.
Maybe some savvy TFLer or gun industry expert, The Gun Whisper ???, could do a new "unscripted" series like Spike's Bar Rescue or Fox/BBC's Kitchen Nightmares & help fix up some of these gun shops/ranges.

CF

[g.willikers]

This got me to thinking.
I've bought used guns from individuals, but can't think of a single used one that I ever got from a dealer.
Maybe it's because if I gotta' jump through all those hoops, and be treated like a potential criminal, then might as well go whole hog and get a brand new one.
I don't recall even noticing the used ones in a shop, unless it's museum piece or something.
Hmm, that's worth pondering over.

[colbad]

About 30 years ago I learned a lesson about unloading a semi-auto in the dark. I would carry a small .22 when I would be out bird hunting and came home one night in the dark. The SG was unloaded and cased in the back of the truck. I removed the .22 from my holster, removed my mag, cycled the slide a few times and pulled the trigger. It was dark and I did not see the round eject in the truck but assumed cycling the slide cleared the chamber. I learned a lesson that day that extractors do not always pick up the round. I still have the hole in my dash to remind me of that day. However, you better believe I look AND feel when I unload now.

[Sevens]

That's horrendous, brother. I give you credit for admitting it, but there's no excuse for that.

No matter how poorly you may have attempted to clear a chamber, pulling the trigger is never going to be a "good" method if seeing how well you cleared the chamber.

[Tom Servo]

I, too, prefer the unfired, NIB(new in box) firearms but in all honesty, I highly doubt most FFL holders or gun shops have/sell guns that way.

Their prices would have to go up to cover sitting on all the extra inventory. If a dealer wants to compete with the internet (and they do), then he's making single-digit percentages on markup. Doubling inventory so he has one to sell and one to get handled (which would likely have to be sold at a loss at some point in the future) won't work.

The alternative is that everybody gets to ogle his wares from behind glass, but no touching.

[ClydeFrog]

In 2013, Id think a FFL holder/gun shop could offer a few "greatest hits" that would sell quickly with most demographics(gun owners).
The models I think would sell on a regular basis include; the Glock 22 & 23 .40S&W, the M&P full size in .40 & 9x19mm, the S&W J frame 442/642/638/36 .38spl, the Beretta 92FS 9x19mm, the SIG P229 or the P226(9mm or .40), Ruger GP100 4" .357magnum, the 1911a1 .45acp(S&W, Colt, S-A, Les Baer, Wilson, SIG Sauer, etc).
There are other brands & models you could say would sell quick(Taurus, Kel-Tec, Kahr, CZ, HK) but the handguns listed would find a good home faster in most areas of the USA.

[Bezoar]

its unsafe to use 38 special in a 357

its really good to use 22 short for deer hunting. tiny bullet profile acts like m2 heavy ball penetration wise



have seen gunstore clerks seeing if barrels can be changed between the display gun and the gun their friend just walked in with. one reason im leary of semi autos that dont have TONS of cosmoline in the barrel.

[carguychris]

I recently bought a older used pocket pistol from a small-town gunshop that shall remain nameless to protect the guilty. The shop has a small gunsmithing operation in the back. In this scene, there's myself, a man whom I assume is the shop owner, and an older man who worked as a gunsmith; he referred me to the other fellow when I asked questions about the pistols in the display case. The older man spoke with a strong Southern drawl. The scene works best if you imagine the accent.

I generally begin haggling with an offer about 30% below the asking price, since I figure the shop probably gave the seller ~60% of the price on the tag, so they could take my offer and still make a little money. The pistol has a price tag of $225.

Me: "I'll give you $170 plus tax for the <pistol>".

Owner: "Hmmm. How about $180 out the door?"

<short pause>

Gunsmith: "Uh, <owner name>, you DO know that that offer is BETTER than what he told you he'd give you for it." [Sales tax in TX is 8.25%, so $170 + tax = ~$184.]

Owner: <mutters> "Aw heck." <hangs head in shame> "OK, $180."

It's the only time I've ever seen a gun shop employee haggle HIMSELF down.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Cabela's: Guy wants to buy a pump shotgun because the racking sound will scare away the BG. Clerk- fine idea. Guy - also want some blanks in case the racking sound doesn't do it. Clerk - fine idea and you should buy some rubber buckshot so as not to hurt the BG.

LGS - guy comes in with an SKS. Wants to put some parts on it. Clerk - bellows - that will make it an ILLEGAL gun. Guy - but I read that you could...

Clerk - Bellows - you will go to federal prison.

Guy - bellows back - you are an rude type of hole. He leaves

Clerk - bellows to store - he called me a rude type of hole.

Seemed reasonable to me.

[Ozzieman]

Gun store owner in Indianapolis IN back in the 80’s. Used to buy a lot of gun from him when he brought them up to the store I worked in.
One weekend I was over night in Indy and was setting in a hotel room with the stupid box on.
He appeared on the TV and white beard and hair looking like a TV preacher.
He said,,,, “I don’t want to make money, I just want to sell guns!”