What are your best or worst gunstore stories?

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guyfromohio said:
As for a good story... not actually a particular story... I discovered the wonders of Bud's and MiGunslingers about 2.5 years ago. In that time, I've purchased dozens of guns on-line and all have been delivered to an LGS named Gun Envy in Columbus. These guys are great. Never annoyed with simply doing a transfer....never "why didn't you buy from me?" Always smiling and ready to shoot the breeze. Furthermore, only $20 per transfer....unless, of course, you pick-up multiple guns at the same time. Then it's $20 for all of them. I've felt so bad that I've left pizza money for them on occasion. Here I am picking up several thousand dollars in guns and leave them only a twenty spot for their trouble. They are a preferred FFL at Bud's so you don't have to mess with FFL numbers or anything. They just call you when your gun is in.
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The LGS I like is similar. Happy to do transfers. Gotta figure $30 is more than zero, and really no "work" or stock.
 
I just heard at cabelas how you cant shoot hollow points cause pistols now have a free floated barrel so you can only shoot FMJ. I get it that people need a job but common this is crazy!

I was denied a job at gander mountain when I was 21yo cause I didn't know difference between the black powders like ffg. they made me take a test and I told him I honestly didn't know I don't mess with that stuff.
 
hdwhit said:
Someone's experience with a single store is not indicative of an entire chain.

But, since we're going to speak of the dead, I should note that my experience with the GM in Frisco, Texas, was very different. GM's prices were high (although lower than the local Academy) but they never tried to take advantage of me, they never talked down to me (except for one clerk who disappeared shortly thereafter) and their service - while they lasted - was always very good.

I was sorry to see them go.
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I wish I would have visited that store, living in Frisco also, but they really weren't open that long. I've been meaning to make it up to the Field and Stream store in Prosper and hopefully will before long.
 
I went to a gun range in North Miami a long time ago. The front door was plastered with stickers and signs. Somewhere in the midst of the clutter, they had a notice telling people not to enter with loaded firearms. I did not see it. I don't stand and read all the crap on store doors to see if any of it matters. If something matters, don't bury it in a sea of decals.

I had a loaded pistol in a bag, because, hello, I was going to shoot. For some reason, the belligerent lardpie behind the counter asked to look in the bag. He saw that the gun was loaded, and he was very snotty about pointing out the sign on the door. He said something like, "Don't you ever, EVER come in here with a loaded gun again." I didn't. I never went there again for any reason. The shop disappeared, so I guess the community gave him a nice lesson in customer relations.

Not sure what his policy was all about. I have entered lots of stores and ranges with a loaded carry piece, and I haven't killed anyone yet. Not even a belligerent lardpie. Maybe there has been a rash of guns in zippered bags jumping out and shooting people, and I just haven't read about it.

Nothing is worse than an insecure gun shop or range employee who feels like he has to lift his leg on everyone who walks through the door. Way to welcome people to the cause. I should have invited him to shoot beside me so I could shame him in his own business.

This was not the only disappointing gun shop in Miami. I used to buy guns at Garcia's National Gun. I bought a Smith & Wesson 686+, a Desert Eagle .50 AE in hard chrome, and a few other things. I believed in supporting local stores and trying to develop a relationship. They never remembered me. I could have bought a Sherman tank, and they would not have remembered. They always treated me like a number. They never acknowledged me when I came in. Maybe it was because I wasn't Cuban; that happens a lot in Miami. Anyway, I gave up on them and started buying wherever was cheapest. They weren't rude. I just felt like they didn't care at all about my business.

I bought a gun off Gunbroker and used a Miami FFL. The gun came from Classic Firearms, and it was a K31. The FFL claimed the gun showed up loose in a box with no magazine. Classic Firearms said he was crazy. They said they didn't ship guns that way. They were nice about it, though, and they sent me another rifle. Go, Classic Firearms! I used that FFL on another occasion, and I had to chase him for days to get my gun. Once he showed up at my house to deliver a gun, and he was wearing a pistol on his hip, unconcealed. As far as I have been able to determine, there is no law allowing Florida firearms dealers to carry openly.

I think maybe he was nuts.

I went to a gun show in Hollywood, Florida. Some idiot had a pamphlet about Rudolf Hess on his counter. The impression his display gave was that he had a hot, sweaty crush on Hitler. Exactly the kind of racist wack job liberals think of when they think of gun owners. The show banned cell phone photos. I wanted to take a picture and email it to the promoter, but they probably knew and didn't care, because it was an established show that made a circuit.

I took my concealed carry "course" at a little shop in Miami. The guy who gave me the lecture was telling me how close assailants had to be before I could pull a gun. He cited a certain distance, and then he said, "But not if they're, you know, big n***ers." It's a funny thing, but many Miami Cubans tend to assume any white person with a southern accent is totally on board with the N-word. Anyway, in case you're wondering, if tall black men attack you, you don't have to let them get as close as Caucasians. It must be true, because I heard it in a concealed carry course. Not sure what the rule is if they're short.

There are a lot of nice people among firearms enthusiasts. And a fair number of jerks and kooks. I shouldn't complain. They're much better than the obnoxious prizes you come across over and over in saltwater fishing.
 
I have had some great dealings with the LGS's where I live. Like the guy who gave me a 30 day no questions asked return policy on a Taurus pistol he had told me about after I couldn't fine a Glock that fit my hand. It turned out to be a great gun. That guy has given me several good deals in fact. A lot of the local shops will give you a try out period usually 2 weeks. I have bought guns are very good prices. I got a safe at a very good price. I've bought several barely used guns for used gun prices. I'm talking guns with less than 10 rounds through them and the price was knocked down $300. I had a shop owner talk me into buying a Sig P220 then he invited me to a gun range where he showed up with 3 full auto guns including an M-16, an HK-9 and a .308 that looked nearly identical to a BAR but wasn't. He brought enough ammo to start a war and we shot it all that day. He must have shot up $3000 worth of ammo. He didn't really know me from Adam but he tossed me a full auto M-16 that was loaded and told me it was worth about $35,000. Hello, people would saw you in half with that gun for that kind of money. I know lots of really good shops in my area. I bought 7.62 x 39 ammo by the case at dealer cost (which was really cheap at the time). I could go on for a long time talking about the good deals I got. Most gun shops want repeat business here and they know the guys who will be back (like me). I buy what I can from them and they know it. Like ammo. I spent about $5,000 just on ammo one year.

Meanwhile totally off topic.

TTv2 said:
Was in Indianapolis for a few weeks last year, first time I'd ever been in that city. It's overrated.
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I don't quite get the "overrated" tag. Who says it's better than it is? The city has it's good points from the racetrack to the Colts (although I'm done with the NFL) to the Pacers plus the Children's Museum is really nice. The museum of art is pretty impressive too. Lots of good places to eat etc.. Some old run down neighborhoods of course but what city doesn't have that? They have the most suburbs of any city on earth I believe. The metro area covers more space than any city in the US. I've seen good and bad there but I mostly saw it back in the early 1980's when I lived there for a couple of years.

There are some places in Indiana I would never set foot in again notably Bloomington. I had some very bad experiences there like a gang of women threatening my wife at a party for about an hour. Worst jerks I ever met. But I met good people that went to IU too. Still there was a good number of real losers there.
 
Very strange negative LGS experience.

By that I mean I have been a VERY, VERY good customer there for at least 20 years.

I have bought so much there that I am now taken for granted. I am treated as if I am a burden when I want to see something. We have never had a problem or harsh words, but I do not feel comfortable shopping there any more.

So I don’t.
 
hdwhit said:
GM in Frisco, Texas, was very different. GM's prices were high (although lower than the local Academy) but they never tried to take advantage of me, they never talked down to me (except for one clerk who disappeared shortly thereafter) and their service - while they lasted - was always very good.
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SO, totally unlike the CDT store in McKinney, then? :)
 
I had a Dick’s Sporting goods open near me a few years ago. A few days after it opened, I went in to look around including the gun section way in the back corner. I commented to the guy behind the counter that all they had were conventional hunting rifles and shotguns, no hand guns, ARs, etc. He look me straight in the eye and said: Well you saw the name on the front, that also describes the company president. No idea how long the guy had that job since I haven’t been back since.
 
Twiki357 said:
I had a Dick’s Sporting goods open near me a few years ago. A few days after it opened, I went in to look around including the gun section way in the back corner. I commented to the guy behind the counter that all they had were conventional hunting rifles and shotguns, no hand guns, ARs, etc. He look me straight in the eye and said: Well you saw the name on the front, that also describes the company president. No idea how long the guy had that job since I haven’t been back since.
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That just made my day!! :rofl:
 
Twiki357 said:
I had a Dick’s Sporting goods open near me a few years ago. A few days after it opened, I went in to look around including the gun section way in the back corner. I commented to the guy behind the counter that all they had were conventional hunting rifles and shotguns, no hand guns, ARs, etc. He look me straight in the eye and said: Well you saw the name on the front, that also describes the company president. No idea how long the guy had that job since I haven’t been back since.
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Funny that now Dick's president is a woman.
 
seems everywhere you turn you can find someone that is a special kind of stupid these days. I do notice that a good amount of the heard seem to be attracted to firearms/LGS like a moth to light though. And on both sides of the counter it seems. I have mostly those roll your eyes type of stories that we all routinely seem to get at the LGS. Nothing too bad but then still, some of our local stores tend to be head and shoulders above the heard and I certainly do appreciate and patronize those that are. YMMV
 
I've only had one LGS experience that I would consider "bad".

This was years ago at a now-closed branch of Turners Outdoorsman in Chino, Ca. The indifferent clerk was hanging out with his boot-deputy buddy (By this point so had about 15 years on and was a Sgt.). My daughter (about 8 at the time) and I we're checking out some ammo as the boot was playing with some pistol his pal pulled out if the display counter. After he muzzle swiped us about 2 times I asked him to quit pointing it at us. He laughs and his buds says ,"it's ok, he knows what he is doing, he's a deputy." I fired back, "I don't care if he's the sheriff himself, he's pointing that at me. If he does it one more time, this sergeant will be calling his lieutenant and we will see how much longer he is a deputy."

Needless to say it stopped and I left.
 
I have mine photographed and the serial numbers recorded as well for the same purposes. My wife is pretty good with firearms. She grew up in a family of shooters and gun collectors. At one point she had a dresser in her bedroom that was full of pistols that her father had borrowed when she was a kid. She knew gun safety rules from a very early age so. Her father was an avid collector so she has pretty good ideal of what certain pieces should go for.

Hasaf said:
This was talked about in another thread. However, I also have such a list; however, mine is largely to record serial numbers. I learned that lesson when my fathers hunting cabin was broken into and the thieves drilled the safe. I actually didn't know what I had in the safe or the serial numbers. Today that would make me, one of the victims, a felon because I forgot to report one gun, that I had forgotten, in the safe (I still think criminalizing being a victim of a crime is a stupid way to go and causes more problems than it cures).

Back to the point, along with the list, my daughter, who this will likely fall on plans to contact the Masons and get a more accurate idea of the value (there seems to be a bit of a Venn diagram overlap with Masons/Gun-nuts).
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The gunsmith at one of the local pawn and gun shops told me that a .243 is to small for whitetail deer, and this same guy told me that he seen a big biker guy one time that was jacked up on drugs and was shot in the heart by the police with a 9mm and didn’t die. Plus him and the guy he works for has their guns and other items so over priced that a lot of people just come in and look around and leave without buying anything. I even asked the owner one time if he would order me a rifle he said he would then when I go in to check on it he said he didn’t ordered it because he claims I never asked him to order it. Same thing happened with some ammunition one time, I asked the owner if he would order me some ammunition for a .308 and said he would but never did so now I don’t even go into his shop anymore and just buy what I need elsewhere.
 
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NoirFan said:
No apology needed but thank you. Unfortunately we all have to deal with people like that sometimes.
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I also want to say thanks for taking that bad incident in stride. It seems like there are a few ugly people everywhere. Fortunately, most people are solid and decent. Best wishes.
 
Sovblocgunfan said:
I encountered a pawn shop gun salesman trying to upsell a lady who was buying a Mosin Nagant 91/30 for her husband as a birthday present. His strategy seemed to include roundly bashing her choice by telling her that 91/30's were terrible rifles (not true), and that they were so backwards in terms of firearms evolution that the Germans who encountered them during the war basically laughed at them as they hugged their k98s (also not true); he went on to extoll the virtues of the k98 and how it was superior in every way to the tomato stake that was the 91/30.

While this was going on, I located some pictures of Wehrmacht soldiers carrying/using captured 91/30 rifles, explained why 91/30's worked so well during Stalingrad and are still used even today, talked with her about why she had made a good choice (it was actually a Finn'd M39 and very nice) and proceeded to school this schmuck about why he shouldn't bash the nice lady's choice of gift for her husband. Basically, I felt bad that he was mocking her and decided it was a good idea to embarrass him in front of her. Haven't returned since.
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If I was her husband I would gladly let the dude talk her into a decent K98 vs. that Mosin.
 
William88 said:
The gunsmith at one of the local pawn and gun shops told me that a .243 is to small for whitetail deer, and this same guy told me that he seen a big biker guy one time that was jacked up on drugs and was shot in the heart by the police with a 9mm and didn’t die. Plus him and the guy he works for has their guns and other items so over priced that a lot of people just come in and look around and leave without buying anything. I even asked the owner one time if he would order me a rifle he said he would then when I go in to check on it he said he didn’t ordered it because he claims I never asked him to order it. Same thing happened with some ammunition one time, I asked the owner if he would order me some ammunition for a .308 and said he would but never did so now I don’t even go into his shop anymore and just buy what I need elsewhere.
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That sounds like cash flow issues.
 
Funny, but a few years back a local hardware chain ran a radio ad telling hunters to gear up for waterfowl season by purchasing quantities of 22 long rifle.
 
mshootnit said:
If I was her husband I would gladly let the dude talk her into a decent K98 vs. that Mosin.
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Not sure what you mean, but husband wasnt there-she was picking out a gift for him on her own. The point was that she thought enough of her husband to go pick out a rifle for him. The shop clerk was being a-hole, bashing her choice in front of her, even though her choice was a very nice rifle in its own right. The mosin was a finn’d M39; a very competent rifle with a good reputation. The k98’s the guy had on offer weren’t that great. Russian capture mixmasters that were in poor shape. If you are simply implying that mausers are by default superior rifles to mosins, you are missing the point. Good day.
 
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