Gun Stores and Muzzle Sweeps

[doc540]

I politely but firmly spoke to my local gun store/range owner last Saturday about the issue of his patrons muzzle sweeping me.

It's an indoor range, and as I turned to look through the glass towards the sales counter, a customer with a large caliber wheelgun was looking through its scope and pointing it "right at me".

He could've been aiming above my head, but I couldn't tell from 20 feet away, and, frankly, it didn't matter.

The owner at first kind of shrugged it off, but I persisted and reminded him that it was in his best interests that a tragedy didn't occur at his place of business with all the resulting publicity.

He agreed that he and his staff should be more cognizant of the issue and would make a better effort with it in the future.

And it wasn't an isolated incident and wasn't unique to his place of business either.

I thought rule ONE was: Never point a gun at someone unless you meant them harm or something to that effect.

 

[bigalexe]

This has been discussed at length before and while extremely unfortunate and dangerous, it seems like its just as unavoidable as being on the road with drunk drivers.

 

[BADUNAME37]

Treat EVERY gun as if it were loaded

Always be sure of your backstop and of what you are aiming at

Never point a gun at anything you do not wish to shoot

Always be mindful of the direction the muzzle is pointed which goes in combination with the first one to treat every gun as if it were loaded.

 

[hammerklavier]

Don't go back.

 

[jcwit]

Better never go to a gun show either.

 

[sigman]

how can they prevent it ?

they can't ! and that's the bottom line unless they are actually standing right there next to the ******* !
in a crowded showroom or gun range it is inevitable that a gun,loaded or not,will sweep somebody at sometime !

 

[wyocarp]

Yep, in a gun store/show, it is going to happen. The best I can do a lot of times is to make sure the gun is NOT loaded when I hand it over the counter, and I do, because the gun is most of the time aimed at me.

 

[DWH]

I had a rifle transfered to a cowboy action store near me a few years ago. There was some knucklehead who had just received a single action revolver he bought. He was actually spinning it on his finger over and over. The owner behind the desk told him not to do it any more. But he didin't hear. In the process he swept my 9 year old son and I at least 3 times. The guy behind the counter told again more firmly this time stop spinning the gun. This time he heard. In his action to stop he swept my son again. I was so pissed I walked up right in front of him, pushed the muzzle down and told him that if he swept me or my son again, I would shove his revolver so far up his ass his proctologist would have a tough time finding it. He got upset and started to yell at me. The owner then walked from behind the desk, handed him his box, and told him to get out of his shop and not to return!
Some folks are just idiots!

 

[THE DARK KNIGHT]

Watch out when you go into that store. Last time I went into a gun shop I had 3 dozen handguns pointed at me. All those handguns pointing right outta the glass counter at people. Whew! Luckily I survived but I'll be bringing my kevlar next time.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Watch out when you go into that store. Last time I went into a gun shop I had 3 dozen handguns pointed at me. All those handguns pointing right outta the glass counter at people.

No safety rules are violated because the guns are not being handled. Besides, if they were turned the opposite direction they would always be pointed at the employees behind the counter.

 

[atomd]

Guns that aren't being handled don't count. If you're afraid of an inanimate object, than that's your thing. Guns being held by idiots and waved around the room are a different story. I saw the owner of a local gun shop kick out 2 punks that were waving guns around and acting like idiots. It's good to see a shop owner take care of that problem. A lot of them don't for some reason.

I talked to someone who was in a pawn shop and asked to see a handgun from the display case. He picked it up and pulled the slide back, ejecting a live round onto the carpet. Really. I have also seen customers pick up rifles and shotguns from gun racks and instantly pull the trigger. Not only is that rude and disrespectful of the store and the firearm itself, but it's also dangerous.

Now...on the other hand...some people go wayyyy overboard with this. They are just looking for someone to do something that they don't think is correct so they can complain or take charge and show everyone how smart they are. I have seen someone take a few steps back, throw some dirty looks and mutter some complaints under his breath when someone else was really pointing a rifle at the corner of the ceiling of the shop. It was really the safest direction to be pointing anything in this particular building but some moron was just looking to prove how much of a safety master he was. It never even came close to being pointed at anyone.

 

[THE DARK KNIGHT]

I guess you guys aren't that good at detecting sarcasm...

 

[Ala Dan]

We don't have a firing range of any kind, but I get swept by muzzle's
of weapons every day that I work~!

For all the right reasons, I personally check the chamber of each and
every firearm I hand too a customer~! Making sure that the weapon
is unloaded.

 

[Owen Sparks]

I went to a local farm/ranch store that also has a firearm section and asked to look at a
.44 magnum revolver that was in the showcase. The clerk, obviously just out of high school, grabbed it by the handle and pulled it out of the case with it POINTED DIRECTLY AT MY CHEST! Being a self defense instructor I reflexively executed a proper gun defense by moving my body off the center line, trapping the pistol and wrenching it out of his grip. I did not follow up by disabling the idiot with a strike because his error was based in ignorance, not deliberate aggression. I simply said "We know it is supposed to be unloaded but let's pretend it is not, OK." His eyes were as big as saucers.

 

[atomd]

I guess you guys aren't that good at detecting sarcasm...

I would have probably thought it was sarcasm if I hadn't actually heard someone else say the same thing. Unfortunately for them, they weren't being sarcastic.

 

[Guns and more]

Same here. I was in a big box sporting goods store and looked across the store to find a guy pointing a scoped rifle at me. When he saw me notice he lowered it, but I should have said something.

 

[wrs840]

There are idiots everywhere. All you can do is watch out diligently for these idiots.

I drove to work this morning at dawn in a dense fog, and probably one car in twenty had no lights on. If I was King, they'd get pummeled into unconsciousness with a dead carp, and told "why" only after they came to.

These are probably the same idiots that sweep you at the gun store.

Les

 

[joe_security]

I stopped going to a store in the south suburbs of Chicago,( Lyons) after numerous muzzle sweeps. I simply wont tolerate it. The breaking point for me was a clown pointing a PLR16 pistol at his own wife. I drive to another store 20 miles out where the staff is much more on top of things. I know i will die of something, some day, i just dont want it to be an AD.

 

[Steve N]

Maybe guns stores should do this: Get a roll of left-over newsprint from their local paper. Paint on it in HUGE letters "POINT GUNS HERE", and maybe put a few targets on it. Hang it on a wall as close to the ceiling as possible. Remind anyone who points anywhere else where to point. The gun handlers would be pointing above shopper's heads, and shoppers would not be in the "line of fire".

People are going to point guns when they handle them. Whenever a shopper is looking at a gun, they are going to hold in a firing position, and unless they have somewhere safe to point it, its very likely it will be pointed in the direction of someone.

I've seen the same unsafe pointing at gun stores hundreds of times. I've been guilty of it too. I've been pointing and sighting and had someone walk out from between rows of merchandise. I've been the one to walk out from between the racks. Even those on here who religously follow the four rules have been guilty at some point. The only way to stop the problem is to give people somewhere safe to point the guns.

 

[AJChenMPH]

...which is precisely why I always point the thing straight down at the ground.

 

[CWL]

Never noticed it around here, maybe the gun stores are better managed? If anyone does get swept, it would be the sales people behind the counter when they are showing to potential buyers.

 

[coloradokevin]

If you ever find a way to stop being muzzle swept at a gun store, you've probably created history!

While I don't like the practice, I've certainly come to realize that it does occur, usually unintentionally. Still, if I see a gun pointing my direction, I usually just move a few feet rather than making a fuss about it. In some of the stores I frequent, the shop employees are good about politely telling people "please find somewhere else to point that gun so that it doesn't point at my other customers".

Also, I firmly believe in the practice of having both the employee and the customer clear the weapon. If someone is handing me a firearm, I *always* check the chamber, even if I just watched them do so in front of me.

Why?

I talked to someone who was in a pawn shop and asked to see a handgun from the display case. He picked it up and pulled the slide back, ejecting a live round onto the carpet.

'Cause stupid stuff happens!

Now...on the other hand...some people go wayyyy overboard with this. They are just looking for someone to do something that they don't think is correct so they can complain or take charge and show everyone how smart they are. I have seen someone take a few steps back, throw some dirty looks and mutter some complaints under his breath when someone else was really pointing a rifle at the corner of the ceiling of the shop. It was really the safest direction to be pointing anything in this particular building but some moron was just looking to prove how much of a safety master he was. It never even came close to being pointed at anyone.

I agree completely. I've actually heard people muttering that folks shouldn't be aiming a gun at all in a gun store. How exactly is a person supposed to get a feel for a gun they might buy if they are never allowed to shoulder it or take a sight picture? That's asinine, really. I'll be safe about it, but you can be darn sure that I'll be getting a feel for a gun before I buy it!

 

[mustang_steve]

Don't blame the shop, blame the idiot that just sweeped you.

I remember the one time I saw a guy get ejected from a gun shop for sweeping...the idiot swung the thing around at his friend, finger in the trigger guard, and said "bang".

Given, these are probably the same fools that would play around with decorative swords, then freak out when one of them gets stabbed with it.