10 guns gunshop employees are uncomfortable selling

[Tom Fury]

Okay; I don't intend this to be a hate list and get pulled, but...There were guns in the shop I worked in that I hated to show and if possible pushed the sale off on the other guy who didn't seem to mind. Guns I thought were flawed, dangerous, non performers, or service nightmares. Guns I wouldn't trust with my or anybody elses life. I realize this may break some hearts and generate some controversy, but hope for some meaningful conversation. I realize the reason you like that gun may be very personal and very subjective, but I think we've all learned to live with guns we struggled with...at least for a while, or not, so I don't think I'll hurt anybodys' feelings it your gun makes the list. Any takers?
Cheers, TF

 

[trueblue1776]

1. Bryco/Jennings/Raven - huge profit margin, hope the guy never needs it.
2. Any High-end 1911 - Some people expect them to work like a Glock, always want to send them back.

 

[Geno]

Kimber series II, especially "external extractor". Kimber Series I models are great.

 

[Onmilo]

1. Bryco Arms pistols
2. Raven pistols
3. Jennings pistols
4. RG/Reck handguns
5. Phoenix Arms pistols
6. Hi-Point anything
7. pistol grip shotguns
8. Llama handguns
9. Savage pump shotguns
10.Glenfield Model 60 .22 rifles
Gunsmiths will know why the last three are on my list.

 

[FerFAL]

8. Llama handguns

I have a Llama Comanche III revolver in 357 magnum. The gun looks good and shoots very accurately too. What kind of problems have you been experiencing with them?
FerFAL

 

[sturmgewehr]

Most Llama 1911 style pistols are known for breaking parts. Once the part breaks, they're a nightmare to replace as they aren't standard 1911 parts and Llama parts are scarce.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

10.Glenfield Model 60 .22 rifles
I presume these are the early Model 60 with ejector as part of
the feed throat, rather than the newer M60 with the spring steel ejector.

9. Savage pump shotguns
I have heard that the Savage/Stevens pumps develop problems over time
and used Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 are usually in better shape
than used Savage/Stevens pumps. As soon as I say that, someone whose
Savage/Stevens pump has never gave them problems will get mad. And
someone who bought a bum 500 or 870 will get irate. That's the problem
with any good gun/bad gun list.

You want a dog, consider the Noble pump .22 (ducking to avoid brickbats
from fond owners of their beloved granddad's Noble pump .22).

 

[wally]

Bryco/Jennings/Raven/RG/Reck/Phenoix/Davis guns are highly reliable single shot pistols with significant probability of multiple shots.

Generally useless to us recreational shooters and gun enthusiasts, but to poor people, forced to live in bad areas, a potential lifesaver!

--wally.

 

[gudel]

Any High-end 1911 - Some people expect them to work like a Glock, always want to send them back.

with the amount of money the customers are paying, they should expect it to work 100 times better than a GLOCK!

 

[scubie02]

i've never had a bad 1911, but i don't know that mine would be considered "high end" ones...

 

[cpaspr]

Bryco/Jennings/Raven/RG/Reck/Phenoix/Davis guns are highly reliable single shot pistols with significant probability of multiple shots.

Generally useless to us recreational shooters and gun enthusiasts, but to poor people, forced to live in bad areas, a potential lifesaver!

Not from a gun store perspective, but I can attest to Wally's sentiment. I have a Davis Industries .380 only because my brother in law gave it to me, and it was given to him by a guy who couldn't get anyone to buy it from him. I've shot it, but even aiming carefully at 5 yards it is hard to keep on a 2'x2.5' target, and don't even think of carrying with one in the pipe. It's a last-ditch, point-blank range, man-I-hope-this-thing-works kind of gun.

 

[Smith357]

I was just at the gun shop watching some salesman pushing a POS hi-point on a little old lady who knew nothing about firearms when there were a dozen or more S&W M15 .38 Special police trade ins in the very same case. :banghead:

 

[Redneck with a 40]

Hey Smith, I saw the same thing at a recent gun show. Some idiot father was buying a Lorcin 380 for his daughter. Two tables down, there were used S&W 38 special revolvers for $200.:banghead: This guy obviously knew didley-squat about guns, but the dealer was more than willing to sell him the Lorcin. This, in my view, is un-ethical. I would never actively promote the purchase of a POS.

 

[mballai]

As someone who works behind the counter, yes I don't like to sell cheaply made guns and we usually won't stock anything that's questionable, but my concern is more with the customer. I try and talk customers into buying something they will be happy with long-term. I get uncomfortable watching people carelessly buy a gun without considering if it will work right for them and I would say that can happen at least 60-75% of the time. And yes that seems to be mostly the men. The ladies are much more careful shoppers.

 

[Alphazulu6]

HI POINT.... I seriously do not know any reputable dealer that sells these other than pawn shops.

Llamas have a terrible reputation and honestly I do not see them at any of the reputable stores here in Colorado as well... once again pawn shops only.

Jennings is in there too as they are another hit or miss gun to buy.

 

[Clipper]

Onmilo:
Your blanket statement calling Phoenix pistols junk destroys your credibility. They are accurate, and reliable as any other in my experience. I've got a nickel that says you've never bothered to actually try one out, either...

 

[The_Antibubba]

Any High-end 1911 - Some people expect them to work like a Glock, always want to send them back.

Oh, please! If a 1911 displayed Glock reliability, that owner would be devastated--until he found another way to justify spending more money on more aftermarket parts and "enhancements". 1911s are the hotrods of the gun world; the owners would rather spend time "under the hood" than actually shooting.

I'm sure there is a small minority who feel otherwise.

 

[hexidismal]

Tom Fury: I'm a bit confused by your original post. You mention the number of 10 guns specifically, but then you don't list any guns... Are you saying you are trying to establish a list ?

 

[trueblue1776]

Clipper,
I tried a phoenix a friend got for $30, it was indeed a single shot that held spare rounds in the grip.

 

[mljdeckard]

I once asked a shop owner if there had ever been a customer whom he just flat refused to sell to. First he said no, that people who couldn't pass the background check wouldn't come in in the first place, and then he went back and remembered a distraught woman who came in and said she needed a cheap little gun just for a couple of hours, and then she would bring it back.

He didn't sell her anything.

 

[Tom Fury]

My list

would look a lot like ONMILO's list. I was serious, but when I did the post I forgot to put it in and it was already gone, so...
I would personally add Taurus polymers, as we had so many come back and servicing for them, as lamented elsewhere, could be incredibly slow; they would always fix it, but it could take a while. I owned a PT-111 for a while that worked well, and I liked it but it was stolen before it broke on me. I had a PT99 that was great, and the new ones I considered sleepers.

We were told by BATF and our owner that we were the only business in the country that could refuse to sell to somebody if we didn't like their looks, or if the deal felt strange for some reason. We very rarely exercised that privilege, but it was nice to have it. I know that statement will offend some, but there is a very creepy feeling sometimes that makes you wish you weren't workin' today with some customers. Not about race, sex, or class; just something in your gut. My partner in the shop knew it too, and we would sometimes both go into condition red and then check to find the other there too.

I also hated to sell to girlfriends of guys who brought them in to buy guns that hadn't a clue; not that the girlfriend was clueless, the guy was. Girlfriend might be asking all the right questions and boyfriend would blow thru it and tell her "what she needed to buy..."
Made you wish slap therapy was legal.
The only thing worse was fathers doing that to daughters...

Sorry, out of control there for a minute...
Cheers, TF

"Everyone knows the small concealeable handguns go to the left side of the place setting..." Inara, FIREFLY

 

[briansp82593]

just like onmilo's list with a few changes
1. Bryco Arms pistols
2. Raven pistols
3. Jennings pistols
4. RG/Reck handguns
5. Phoenix Arms pistols
6. Hi-Point anything
7. kimber 1911s
8. Llama handguns
9. sig 22's and walther p22 (cheap zinc slide)
10. alot of taurus semis (the 22 and 25 autos and the 92 copies)
and pretty much any of these...

 

[Prince Yamato]

Tec-9s and Cobray clones.

 

[10-Ring]

Stuff they would feel uncomfortable selling? I do know that my favorite toy store does ALOT of LE sales & they do shy away from stuff that the local LEOs either don't ask for or aren't approved to have. But as a retail establishment, I'm sure they'd sell whatever they needed to keep the doors open

 

[Titan6]

No Hi Point Anything?

Bought a Hi Point 9mm Carbine a couple of days ago. Runs like a clock. Zero issues running hundreds of rounds of cheapest possible ammo through it. More accurate than a Mini-14 (certainly mine anyway). Lifetime factory warranty if anything goes wrong. 9mm through a carbine is much more powerful than nearly every non-magnum hand gun round out there. Less than $200 bucks with ammo. A poor man could do a lot worse, and hardly do much better. My experience is not unique either.

Hi Point pistols? hmmm no experience there but I would guess dismal based on reviews.