Goofy Things Said At Gun Shops

[stumper1300]

I overheard a wally world salesman tell a customer inquirering about a 25rd mag for the 10/22 he was buying that he shouldn't shoot more than 10 rounds at a time through it because the finish would melt off the barrel.

[shouldazagged]

A guy who appeared to be employed by the indoor range where I was shooting but may just have been a hang-around, or the manager's idiot brother-in-law, decided to educate me on the proper carry gun and how to care for it.

His gun was a snub .44 Magnum. He was proud of how it would "blow up a V-8 engine block", and of the way he maintained it. The damn thing was literally dripping oil. It had soaked his leather OWB holster till it was staining his pants and shirt.

I didn't go into the question of how appropriate a .44 Magnum EDC would be for a civilian in a good-sized city. But I did have to rouse his stunned disbelief by telling him that heavily oiling the chambers would likely play hell with the ammo.

Sad.

[StukaJU87]

Heard a Gander Mountain employee tell a customer that "Saiga is the world leader of AR style shotguns". The employee also argued that Saiga didn't offer a .410 version, even after the customer told him he'd had one for years.

[Edward429451]

Back when the DA/SA wundernines were first coming out..."you carry with an empty chamber so it's safe and then when you pull the trigger it chambers a shell and fires it"

[natman]

There's no doubt that gun shop employees sometimes say goofy things, but they can't hold a candle to the things customers say.

My very favorite was a phone call about rifle scopes.

Cust: What does the 32 in a 4x32 scope mean?

Me: That means it has a 32mm diameter objective lens. That's the one in front.

Cust: What does the 4 mean?

Me: That means it's a 4 power. If the target is 100 yards away, the scope makes it look like it's only 25 yards away.

Cust: Does the bullet still have to go the entire 100 yards?

Me: Long pause - No, sir, the scope merely makes it appear to be 25 yards away. It does not actually warp the space/time continuum.

I don't know how I managed to hang up before I burst out laughing.

[LockedBreech]

Originally Posted by StukaJU87

Heard a Gander Mountain employee tell a customer that "Saiga is the world leader of AR style shotguns". The employee also argued that Saiga didn't offer a .410 version, even after the customer told him he'd had one for years.

Is that false about Saiga? I'll be. Who else makes one?

[kozak6]

That's one of those statements that's so garbled it's not even wrong.

Saiga isn't a manufacturer. It's a product line manufactured by IZHMASH. The product line is based on the AK, not the AR. The Saiga-410 has been imported continuously for about a decade.

Safir Arms makes a .410 AR style shotgun. The upper is compatible with standard AR lowers.

One time I was at the gunshop, a customer asked if the firearm he just purchased came with a clip.

It was a Mossberg 500.

The dealer handled it fairly well. He explained it was built into the shotgun, and went to look for some snap caps to demonstrate loading and such.

[thedudeabides]

I had an employee INSIST that the Colt he was selling me was a "series 70" even after I locked the slide back and showed him the firing pin lock plunger.

[Webleymkv]

I asked for 6.5 Carcano ammunition at a particular shop and they tried to sell me 6.5 Swede. Afterward, the owner made the usual "fired once and dropped once" joke about French firearms and when I told him that my rifle was, in fact, Italian he said "French, Eye-tal-ee-an, same thing."

During the furor immediately after Sandy Hook, I heard from several gun counter commandos that President Obama was going to reinstate the AWB via executive order. On the one occasion when I attempted to explain that he didn't have the power to do this, the person in question treated me like a moron.

The one that takes the cake, however, was the one and only time that I went into a rather infamous Indianapolis gun shop looking for 6.5 Carcano ammunition (members in and around Indy will know the place from the owner's obnoxious commercials). The owner not only attempted to sell me his "special handloads" for the "bargain price" of $3/round, but then proceeded to brag about the Lee Harvey Oswald commemorative Carcano he made. Needless to say I've never been back to that particular establishment.

['88Scrat]

It wasn't at a gun shop but a gun show where I was looking at buying another M1 Garand when the guy next to me matter of factly informed me that the .223 bullet used by M1s did not have enough knock down power. I almost died of laughter and made a point to just go along with it.

At another show I had a guy tell me that the hex reciever Mosin Nagants were far less valuable then their round causins because they were older, built in the 1930s. I kindly explained to him the finer points of Soviet wartime production during WW2.

[LED]

I have a feeling we are getting a little smug here. While there's no doubt know-it-alls exist and draw chuckles, people do say the wrong word or get distracted. How about a story of your own moment?

[LED]

One of mine was when I gave a "so what" to the store clerk when he warned me about the foregrip on my pistol. I did not realize it was ATF illegal. I shrugged and left, looked it up in the car, sure enough. Called back to say thanks.

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I was about 15 and decided I could shoot my father super light 44 Magnum (old single action). He kept telling me to hold it at arms length and hold it tight. ....hmmm that hammer made a cool little invention and a bit of blood. He was also the one that told me not to pull both triggers on a buddy's double barrel 12. I loaded 00buck......it's no wonder my shoulder gives me problems now...lol.

[Pops1085]

I used to call mags clips haha still do if I don't think I'm going to get corrected

Also I once almost took a shotgun back because the clerk told me it held 8 rounds and I could only fit 7 in the mag tube

(It was my first solo gun purchase)

[SHE3PDOG]

I also used to call magazines clips until the difference was explained to me in boot camp.

I walked into a gun store in San Angelo, TX recently looking for a SCAR 16S. The store clerk pointed behind me on the shelf at two .22lr knock-offs of the actual rifle.

[LED]

Ok what's a clip in the boot camp?

[JimPage]

I had known the difference between a clip and a detachable magazine long before I had ever fired a gun. That was about 65 years ago. About 5 years ago I had heard the improper use of "clip" so much that without thinking I found myself making the same mistake. I know better, but I guess it's like picking up the habit of saying "aint." My BA is in English!!!

[Jim Watson]

Ever heard that a gun can fire a bullet at too high a velocity?
"It won't stay in him long enough to hurt him."
I have heard that little legend from both LE and hunters.
Once about the guy who shot an assailant with a .44 Magnum. He "ran off" but the bullet kept going and killed an old man in his rocking chair in the next block. Yup, the bullet had to slow down to kill the second man after whizzing through the first one with little effect.

[Tom Servo]

I had an employee INSIST that the Colt he was selling me was a "series 70" even after I locked the slide back and showed him the firing pin lock plunger.

There was some overlap between the introduction of the Series 80 and the discontinuation of the Series 70 guns, and a few Series 70 were made with the firing-pin safeties. I have a Gold Cup with it, and I've seen a Silver Star with one. Many people (including manufacturers) misunderstand what makes a gun a "Series 70." It is not the lack of a firing-pin safety.

the Lee Harvey Oswald commemorative Carcano he made.

I did once admonish a customer not to "go shooting Jack Kennedy with this" when he bought some 6.5 Carcano. He didn't get the joke. Ironically, the poor guy bought the rifle at a gun show after being told it shot 6.5 Grendel.

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

When I was lung, I used to go in and ask for a box of .22 lr bullets... Still have a habit of calling them that..lol... The good ole days... I used to save my money and go to the department store and buy a brick of .22 (I was around 12-13 then). Pretty soon I will have to have. Background check to buy my bullets..lol

[MLeake]

I still fail to see the problem with ".22 LR," given that some firearms and some ammo boxes are so marked.

Then again, I tend to say "CC" instead of "Cubic Centiliter." Bad me.

[BigTex308]

Had a customer come in just last week and ask how much the 223 ammo barrels were. He was talking about AR drum mags.



Ike

[Tom Servo]

Then again, I tend to say "CC" instead of "Cubic Centiliter." Bad me.

No, no, no! It's supposed to be milliliters! Somewhere, somebody's having an existential meltdown over that very distinction as we speak

Frankly, I have no issue whatsoever with ".22 LR." That's an accepted name for the cartridge, and its usage helps prevent confusion with the other 2,183 other .22-caliber loadings that have existed over the years.

It's like griping about "five point five-six" or "point two two three." What matters in those conversations is clarity, and that's good enough.

[Mainah]

"Just racking the slide will make them run."

[LED]

At the gun shop, it almost makes me run. Anyone seen that guy who will slam cycle a shotgun behind you, no warning?