.357 sig/walmart

[bdhawk]

i just bought a .357 sig barrel for my G27. i had heard that walmart didn't sell .357 sig, but i went to check anyway. i asked this guy for some .357 sig and he said they didn't have them. i asked "why not?" he said let me get the department head. soon a kinda pretty lady in her thirties came up and asked if she could help me. i said yea, i want some .357 sig ammo. she pulled out her keys and unlocked the glass door and pulled out a box. it was .357 magnum ammo. i said no, i am sorry, i asked for .357 sig ammo. she got a blank look on her face, and said they did not have any of those. i asked why not, the texas department of public safety carries .357 sig and several local and area law enforcment carries them. she said we only sell ammo for the guns we sell. i said, being an @$$hole, ok where are the guns that shoot .357 mag, .44 mag, 9mm, .380, and .40 s&w. she stuttered and evaded the question. i said thank you anyway, knowing full well i was wasting both her and my time, and walked away.
why do they make someone the department head of a sporting goods section that doesn't know a cleaning rod from a stolen base?

 

[Kamicosmos]

why do they make someone the department head of a sporting goods section that doesn't know a cleaning rod from a stolen base?

Cause it's Wal-Mart and not a gun store? Go ask the electronics dept guys about which video card to run in your computer, or the car guys about which lift kit works best for 33 in tires on a 76 CJ7. I'm willing to bet you wouldn't get very far...


Not trying to be a jerk, I feel your pain. I've run into similar problems at WallyWorld with the employees being clueless about the products.

 

[BluesBear]

Wally doesn't hire people because they're smart.

They hire them because they show up. (and they'll work cheap)

 

[10-Ring]

I usually don't go to Walmart for the customer service You might be better off w/ a letter to the company if you really want an answer

 

[hksw]

why do they make someone the department head of a sporting goods section that doesn't know a cleaning rod from a stolen base?

I've yet to meet a person who is well versed in all of the aspects of all sporting activites. I've come across a couple who thinks they know though. Personally, I can describe to you how to fully disassemble and reassemble a Ruger 10/22 but I couldn't tell you when the infield fly rule comes into effect or what type shoes to use for Astroturf.

 

[FireInTheHole]

Thats why I like cabelas. The prices are competitive with WW, yet at least some of the employees have a clue....

FWIW the department mgr at my local cabelas told me he also does FFL transfers for FREE. I'm gonna take him up on it....

 

[Ringer]

Walmart shopping = Lean over the counter and look for what you are after, IF you see it, go look for someone with a key, IF you find them, play a round of UP, LEFT, no other LEFT, DOWN, yeah right there, purchase ammo and go shoot; If YOU can't see it they don't have it (even if they do ). Oh and don't forget to look under the counter with the cash register on it because sometimes there is ammo sitting there on the shelf, not locked up !

 

[Spot77]

Maybe one of the reasons the ammo is so cheap at WalMart is due to the money they save by not training their employees in the specialized departments.

...well that, AND their tremendous buying power.

I take it for what it's worth.....the ammo is cheap, the employees at my local WM aren't TOO bad, and they have always had what I want in stock (.22lr bulk packs, WWB .380, WWB 9mm, and WWB .40). So I can tolerate a little ignorance in favor of value.

And the best part about buying ammo at Wal-Mart is that I bring all my purchases to the gun counter and avoid waiting in those horrendous lines to pay for everything.

I'd almost bet that there's a "Bad Wal-Mart! Bad!" thread poppping up daily here.

I just smile and politely tell them, "Yes that's it", or "No, next box over" and try to give them a little more knowledge while doing it.

 

[Alan Fud]

A friend of mine worked at a gas station for several years and when the placed closed up, he applied at wal-mart to hold him over until he could find something better. Instead of putting him in the auto dept. where he knew the items being sold, they put him in the section that sells irons & ironing boards -- something that he knew nothing about.

The woman mostlikely asked to work in clothing or shoes and they placed her in guns & ammo instead.

 

[Ky Larry]

We must be pretty lucky here. The Wally World I shop at has a fair sporting goods department and the manager is a hunter and shooter. He's retired military and a nice guy. However, most of the other people at Wally World are a mixed bag. Some are very good, some aren't.

 

[hksw]

I've found that the Walmarts that are in relatively rural areas where hunting and fishing are a regular pastime usually have someone at the sporting goods department who are more competent than the clerks at more urban and sub-urban locations. At those locals, I also do the left-right-up-down routine after finding what I need on the ammo shelf for myself.

 

[Tracy Hightower]

Ya'll really don't want to get me started on Wal-Mart, So I will just tell one story. A few months after 9/11, I walked into Wal-Mart in Full LEO Uniform and purchased some ammo. I was told by the clerk that due to policy they had to carry the ammo out the door before giving it to me. When I asked why, I was told it was so someone could not load a firearm in the store. I told her that it was OK as mine was already loaded. She smiled politely and then carried my ammo out the door for me. To me this is just another example of a Feel Good policy that was later discontinued by someone using a little common sense. I have also enacted my own feel good policy regarding Wal-Mart. Whenever I am asked at the door upon exiting to see my receipt, I say no thank you and keep on walking. They don't even ask anymore.

 

[mrapathy2000]

folks look at what walmart is. its a jack of all trade and master of none. a few might hire knowledgeable people but I asure you they are not raking in the money, not that gun stores do. but specialty stores have the experts cause if they didnt they would not be in business. on another note the walmart stores are not micromanaged they have planned stores down to the products on the shelves. someone has designed the store down to the area the shelve should be placed and how many inches from the wall and where a product goes. they have sheets for merchandice locations.

not sure how many building layouts they have I have probably 6 walmart stores within an half-hour to one hour driving distance. each major city having atleast a regular walmart and a super walmart. most having a double entrance at opposite side of building and a grocery department to the right 1/3rd of the building and sporting goods being in back left hand section.

 

[JiminCA]

Ringer must have been there last time I bought ammo at Wal-Mart.

 

[Moparmike]

One of my best friends works at WW SG department. He had no friggin idea why they dont carry 10mm or 8mm. I asked the SG manager on the other end of town, and he said something about not being able to order any either. Something about only getting what they are shipped....

[Justin Wilson]I guarantee [/JW] that if Sam were alive today, I could write him about it and he would at least give me a competent awnser about it, if not make sure that there is at least 1/2 as much of the ammo I asked for as the other calibers. Its not like I am asking for .300 Whisper or .700NE, or 762Tok or something...

 

[bdhawk]

.357 sig

i live in a town of about 16-17,000 people. there are two places that sell ammo, wallyworld and the county farmer's co-op. neither one sells .357 sig. wallyworld caused four ammo sellers to go out of business. they couldn't compete. believe it or not, about ten years ago, a firearms/sporting goods wholeseller was about 35 miles north of here. he showed me his invoices. he was having to pay more for mossberg mod. 500 shotguns wholesale than wal-mart was selling them for retail. there was about a $20.00 difference. i am not sure why he went out of business, but i betcha wal-mart was a factor.
i have to drive 100+ miles round trip or mail order .357 sig.. i just recently bought a 550b. one of the reasons was so i could eventually load .357 sig. .357 sig. dies are not available for the square deal b. so, i am goin' to buy some dies and brass and roll my own.

 

[Jaegermeister]

Another option, order bulk

Guys, if you live in an area where your favorite ammo is unavailable, I suggest making a bulk order.

go to www.natchezss.com

www. cheaperthandirt.com

or

www.ammoman.com


I like to get the basics at Wal-Mart, but when it comes to unique or quality items, I order straight from Cabela's or the above.

Both Cabela's and Natchez are A-1, first rate und Sehr Gut.

I love those WW bulk packs, but the .357 Sig is nowhere near as popular as 9mm. Some day it might, but it is not as popular with the great masses as of yet.

(And just for fun, get a .45 )

 

[JoeWang]

www.georgia-arms.com

I usually stock up with 1k of 9mm and .40 when I visit the local gun show every 3 months. Good stuff, clean, more consistent than WWB and not one FTF/FTE since I started using it.

I don't work for them, they just happen to make great ammo at Wal*Mart Winchester USA brand prices, with a variety of loads available for each caliber.

My advice is save the WWB boxes and start buying bulk. I reuse the WWB boxes and write over them in pen the load info.

1k .40 180gr FMJ = $160
50 .40 165 gr JHP+P = $13.75

They are very personable, plus each 500 rds comes with a mil-surplus ammo can. Never can have too many of those. Shipping bites if you have to mail order though, but no Wal*Mart waits!

 

[Majic]

Walmart is a general department store. They sell what the public generally buys. Unfortunately for you the .357sig is not a generally used round by most of the shooting public. If it ever gains in popularity they will start to carry it. Till then it's not profitable for them to stock it.

 

[NevadaPistolero]

WallyWorld has the dumbest people working there Ive ever encountered.....dont forget there also anti constitution and are preparing at this moment to put RFID identifiers in there clothing. Another way to be tracked and identified by the government. DONT SHOP AT WALLYWORLD.

 

[bdhawk]

RFID

what's RFID?

 

[hksw]

Eh, I don't go to Wal·Mart to meet and talk to people. I go there to buy stuff.

 

[Moparmike]

Radio Frequency Identification tags. It is like the magnetic thingies they put in software, only more insideous.

[tinfoil]

They say that they are only used for preventing theft, but theoretically they could be used for tracking one's movements by the government, or even just walmart to see what their customers do, so they can gain an advantage over competitors by having the same products as the places their customers frequent, and with their usual low price undercutting the small guy.

[/tinfoil]

 

[GigaBuist]

Not trying to hijack this thread...

They say that they are only used for preventing theft, but theoretically they could be used for tracking one's movements by the government, or even just walmart to see what their customers do, so they can gain an advantage over competitors by having the same products as the places their customers frequent, and with their usual low price undercutting the small guy.

I've commented on RFID before and given that there's two posts regarding it here as some horrible Big Brother problem I'll comment again.

First, I don't like the idea of RFID being put into my stuff... but I've generally been carrying around an RFID device for something like 5 years anyway. So long as I know where it is I don't care.

With that aside, this is NOT something that can be used to track you. Not efficiently anyway. To do so would require scanners to be placed nearly everywhere. You cannot get a reading of these things (practically) more than a few feet away.

RFID does not broadcast... it is not a transmitter! You have to HIT it with RF to get it to resonate back a response. This process is horribly inefficient and the signal strength varies exponentially (by a power of 2 IIRC) in relation to the distance of the RFID tag. You double the distance, you quadruple the power required. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512... it starts to grow very rapidly!

Sorry, but a Black Helicopter flying over a town can't whip out their RFID tracker to play a game of Find Bob's Blue T-shirt.

You're not going to be tracked driving down the road. Saturating the road with that kind of RF at checkpoints is likely to blow out sensitive electronics IMHO. That''s just opinion... I'll run some numbers this weekend to figure out if it's real.

The worst that can happen if you can be tracked within a building if it's got sensors everywhere. I've heard somewhere that some employers do this to employees that have to wear badges around. Line the door frame with transmitters to see when people to go the bathroom and how long they spend in there, etc.

 

[BluesBear]

A cell phone is essentially one big RFID device. The system always knows where it is.