Best and worst experiences in a gun shop?

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I have had way more pleasurable experiences in guns stores than I have unpleasant ones.

Kinky! This shop, I hope:

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Worst experience was a store selling ''custom'' $600 AR's that they assembled themselves for over $2000.

Best experience is picking up my PS90 still sealed in it's shipping box. Sure proof that it didn't spend three days in a showcase getting FF'd.
 
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Best: About 10 years ago I began looking for a PMR 30. Those that remember know how hard they were to come by. At first my LGS was getting one or two a week. The owner started a waiting list but discontinued that after a few months as their supply chain went belly up.

Fast forward 4 years and I'm in the shop and the subject of the PMR 30 came up. The clerks referred to it as a "unicorn" gun. Always heard about but never seen. We all had a good laugh and on the way out reminded them to call me if one ever came in.

Next morning around 9 my phone rang. Clerk from the LGS said "your not going to believe this but we got a PMR 30 in from our distributor." Kind of glad I waited as the desert tan model I picked up was the 2nd generation without the keyhole issues that plagued the initial run.

Worst: Can't think of anything with an employee other than civil disagreements. I did have an elderly gent grab a NIB pistol I had open on the counter next to me while filling out the paperwork. While confronting him I could tell he wasn't all there. Manager ran him out and it turned out that they had a no trespassing order against him. Police had him hemmed up in front of the Starbucks when I left.
 
My worst experience? A guy flipping out, knocking product over, spilling ammo on the floor, all because we wouldn’t sell him a gun...because the 4473 case back denied...
 
About fifty years ago when I was a young whippersnapper with womb juice still behind my ears, my wife and I lived only a block away from a gun store located on the west side of Cleveland. The proprietor was not only a gunsmith but he had several safaris to Africa under his belt and had numerous heads of game from the Dark Continent on the walls of his establishment to accent his trips.

I had an early fifties Remington Model 760 rifle, chambered in .30-06, at the time that I had gotten from my grandfather. Though I had killed five whitetails in Michigan by then (circa 1974), I had an itch to have the rifle re-chambered to .35 Whelen (no real good reason; like I said I was young at the time). So, on my way to work, I stopped by the shop just to ask the owner/gunsmith how much such a job would cost me.

When I entered the store, I noticed several patrons sitting around gabbing and being social. I came up to the counter and asked the owner about having my Model 760 re-chambered. He seemed "ready for the moment" and asked my why I wanted my rifle changed from a .30-06 to a .35 Whelen. I wasn't prepared for the question (and really had no "logical" answer) but I tried to explain that I thought a bigger hole would cause a bigger blood trail and that if I happened to have the misfortune of hitting a running deer in the wrong place (two of my deer kills at the time were shot running), the more powerful cartridge would stand a better chance of anchoring a wounded deer (again, like I said, I was young at the time).

So the owner/gunsmith seized the moment to embarrass me in front of his adoring audience and said (paraphrasing; it's been a half century since), "I mean no offense son, but you would never be welcome in my camp. You should always wait for game to stay in place; to shoot at a running animal and risk wounding it is not how a sportsman should behave. As you get older, I hope you will remember and act on the advice I'm giving you" (or words to that effect).

I was shocked that he would belittle me (a longtime customer, no less), especially in front of others but I managed to counter, "So that means you shoot your ducks on the water? You shoot your pheasants while they're roosting? You shoot your grouse on the ground?" He sputtered, "I was talking about animals, not birds." One of the gentlemen in the gabfest countered, "Well, last time I checked, ducks are still considered to be animals."

The owner (I can't remember his name now) wanted to continue the "discussion" but I told him I was already late for work and had to leave. My Remington Model 760 rifle, equipped with a Williams "FoolProof" receiver sight, is still chambered in .30-06 Springfield. :)
 
No really horrible experiences other than the typical ignorant clerks at big box outdoor stores. a fair number of years ago I decided to try to trade a number of handguns for a Colt 1911, and drove the two hours to a large gun store that previously I had been impressed with. I brought a Smith model 36, a Ruger stainless Single Six convertible, and a Super Blackhawk...seems like I had another, but I forget what it was...bottomline was they offered me a total of 175.oo for all in trade! No thank you!
My favorite experience was at the Cabelas in New Hampshire. I was in the gun section where all the high end firearms are in the glass cases, and was just enjoying the workmanship. One particular very high end double rifle, heavily engraved (Purdy or Rigby or some such) caught my eye and I was happy just looking at the details through the glass, when the elderly gent working there walked over and opened the case and handed it to me. I told him I was just admiring, and he said admire away...the tag was well into the five figures...I am recalling like 22,ooo00.... The wife wandered by and asked my what I was looking at...I just showed her the tag and she walked away. The clerk was as amiable as they came and I had a chance to closely "admire" a number of guns that I doubt I would never have had a chance to otherwise. Made for a fun visit.Those days at Cabelas are gone.
 
I walked into a gun shop.

A bunch of old guys have their chairs in a circle, and every single one shoots me the evil eye. I just turned around and walked out.

I don't know what I so rudely interrupted, but if it's going to be like that they should just flip the "Open" sign around and lock the door. Save us all the trouble.
 
Yeah, unfortunately I'm of the camp of mostly not so good experiences, and I've been at it for quite a while.
Not especially bad ones, but I cannot think of anything particularly good.
I know exactly what I want and rarely will a shop have what I want. When asked I will tell them what I'm looking for at which point I'm usually told oh no you don't want that, you want this...bla bla bla.

I have tried many many times to get my "local shop" to get me a firearm or ammo I want, only to be told they cannot get it? ummm...ok?
Mostly I just go where I need to to get powder and primers, or my local for a transfer.
 
My experiences have been mostly benign or good, rarely bad. Did have a guy offer to sell me 17HMR ammo when I asked for 17Mach2. When I told him it wasn't the same thing, he argued with me insisting it was "really good stuff" because it was V-Max.
Another guy tried to sell me a shotgun with a 26" after telling him I prefer 28"-30". He kept challenging me to tell him what difference it makes. When I said because that's what I like and that's what I want, he put the gun away and ignored me. I bought a shotgun from another place!
 
I was in West Palm Beach for business, having free time - I decided to go to some LGS.

1. Totally ignored as I was giving the evil eye from the the goober chat fest.
2. Pulled up to another store. They had a pseudo-parking sign that said: Perverts parking only. Went in anyway. The guy behind the counter was sitting on a stool wearing floppy shorts that let his equipment hang out. I left quickly.

Austin - they have a good ol' boy gun store. Everything is MSRP and full of posturing folks. Young guy comes in with an SKS. He wants to buy something for it. The clerk (a giant balloon of fat), yells : YOUUUU WILLLL GO TO Federal prison.

It was loud enough for the store to hear it. The young guy says - well, I looked it up and this part isn't against ATF rules.

The balloon again yells - you will go ... blah, blah.

Young guy says - YOU are an Orifice (guess which). He leaves.

Balloon yells to the store in outrage: He called me an orifice.

That seems ok to me.
 
No really horrible experiences other than the typical ignorant clerks at big box outdoor stores. a fair number of years ago I decided to try to trade a number of handguns for a Colt 1911, and drove the two hours to a large gun store that previously I had been impressed with. I brought a Smith model 36, a Ruger stainless Single Six convertible, and a Super Blackhawk...seems like I had another, but I forget what it was...bottomline was they offered me a total of 175.oo for all in trade! No thank you!
My favorite experience was at the Cabelas in New Hampshire. I was in the gun section where all the high end firearms are in the glass cases, and was just enjoying the workmanship. One particular very high end double rifle, heavily engraved (Purdy or Rigby or some such) caught my eye and I was happy just looking at the details through the glass, when the elderly gent working there walked over and opened the case and handed it to me. I told him I was just admiring, and he said admire away...the tag was well into the five figures...I am recalling like 22,ooo00.... The wife wandered by and asked my what I was looking at...I just showed her the tag and she walked away. The clerk was as amiable as they came and I had a chance to closely "admire" a number of guns that I doubt I would never have had a chance to otherwise. Made for a fun visit.Those days at Cabelas are gone.

A friend and I had a similar experience in Jackson Hole WY. We were killing time in a gun shop while the women were shopping, and we told the owner that. He wasn't busy, so he was amiable and we talked for a while. Then he said "I'm opening a high end firearms room upstairs, wanna see it?. Sure. He takes us up and he has this carpeted, walnut paneled room with a big table and plush chairs in the middle. There were gun cases all around the room with a few high dollar guns in them. "Come back next time you're in town, and we're open. We'll have some whiskey and cigars and you can fondle some really nice guns."

I was in retail for over 40 years, and that's how you do it. Every kid wasting your time is a potential future customer.
 
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I tend to frequent local shops where the crew all call me by my name when I walk in (picture Norm when entering Cheers) ... but the only really negative experience (other than being ignored by counter clerks or having to listen to the usual gunshop commandos spouting BS) was around '05, when a buddy and I took his son (just returned from Iraq, where he'd been in the thick of the Battle of Fallujah) to a gun store in the South Sound (no longer exists under the same management) ... and his son was followed all around the store by two employees who were obviously profiling this young Asian male (in a city with no shortage of Asian gangs) to the point where I went to the store manager to complain. All I got was "Hey, we have a lot of problems with theft and all the young guys who come in are gangbangers anyway" -- I told him we'd come in to buy my buddy's son his first 1911, but was not gonna happen there, and that I wished I could pin the kid's Bronze Star and Purple Heart up his store clerks' butts.
 
Years ago I had a favorite shop where the owner and I were on a first name basis and often shared and swapped yarns about this or that. One day I walk in and he says, "I have something you may like. If you have a soft spot for it I'll make you a good deal." He reached to the back bottom rack and hands me a new Savage M12 BVSS in .243 Win. Heavy 26" SS fluted barrel, laminated Varmint stock, ...oh yeah!
"Why the special deal?" I asked.
He replied something to the effect: "Nobody will buy the .243. They all come in asking for the .233 Remington or .22-250. I've had this thing for a year and can't get anyone to look at it."
"OK", says I, "what kind of special deal did you have in mind?"
Says he, "300 bucks out the door and I'll put bases and rings on it."
"Throw in 100 rounds of brass and I'll stash it where my honey will never see it!"
"Deal!"

I ended up with the best shooting, most consistent rifle I have ever owned. So consistent and so easy to shoot that I got bored with it. Several years later, I sold it like a damned fool!:cuss::cuss::cuss: :barf: :barf: :barf:


I still have the brass, though....:p:D
 
Here's a fun story: Years ago there was a sporting goods store in KC called Galyan's. It later sold to Dick's but while it was Galyan's the following happened: I had been trying to find a particular scope for my .22 and called G to see if they had one. Great! They had one and it was priced to sell. Asked if they could mount it for me...Sure, they said. The next day I hustled to G's, a 40 mile drive, and proceeded to enter the store with my rifle in a case. I was abruptly stopped at the door and told that I couldn't come in the store with a gun unless a store employee carried it. Common practice in big box stores now, but at the time it was completely foreign to me. So, off we go to the gun section. We get there and the sales guy looks for the scope and can't find it. Has to go in the back to look, he says. Then he looks for a place to leave my rifle. He paces back and forth for a couple of. nervous minutes and finally pulls the cable out of the trigger guards of a row of rifles and threads it through my gun and back through all the other rifles. I asked, "Are you sure you can trust me out here all alone?" He said, "We are required by law to secure all dangerous weapons." I replied, "No you are not." Away he goes in search of my scope and returns to say they do not have one. By this time I wouldn't have bought it anyway. Just to mess with him, I explained that I had called and was told that they indeed did have one (true) and asked if he could look more closely. But, I said, I don't really trust you with my rifle and I would like to have it back before he went to look. OK, he says, and proceeds to call someone to escort me from the building. The guy arrives and as he is carrying my "dangerous weapon" out of the store, I noticed a line of enthusiastic people on one side of the store. I ask what's going on and he tells me they are all waiting in line for autographs from a famous KC Royals baseball player. Nearly all of them had a baseball bat in hand. I asked if all of them had escorts to carry their dangerous weapons. I never got an answer and always wondered how long that goof looked for the scope and how long he waited for me to return.
 
Best experience in a gun store was the time I was picking up a transfer shipped in from an online auction, a S&W M10-8. After filling out paperwork I was walking around the store waiting for it to clear, browsing the cases, when I saw an 85% 2 1/2" colt diamondback .38 in the case for $380. That was only $50 more than I paid for the M10! This was a few years ago but even then the gun was worth well north of double what they were asking. I knew it was probably a $1000 gun, asked about it, and told them it was seriously undervalued. The shop guy told me it was a consignment gun, and asked me if I was interested. I said heck yes I was interested but didn't have the money on me. They asked me if could come back tomorrow with the money, I said yes, and they took the gun out of the case and put it in back for me. I came back the next day and picked it up and thanked my lucky stars I happened into it. I'd never own one if I had to pay market price for it.

Worst experience is kind of a toss up, I was at a different shop, I won a rusty old High Standard .22 for a really low price at auction. I had it shipped for transfer and when I went to pick it up the shop owner asked me how much I paid for it for tax purposes. I told him my winning price, and he told me I was a liar and that I was trying to screw up his books. I told him the price again and he again refused to complete paperwork until I told him the truth. Since he would not complete paperwork I told him to go ahead and send it back. I was refunded for the gun and shipping and the rather rude shop owner had to eat shipping back to the seller. Since then I've asked for an invoice in every auction gun I've won

In the running for worst is also my first semi auto, a Sig P229. I found it in Shotgun News, in the black and white classifieds from J&G sales...certified factory refreshed surplus police guns for something like $360. I went to a long since closed shop and asked the owner to order it for me. He tried really hard to sell me a new one for $650, and I politely declined. He then told me that I'd surely be horribly disappointed in my clapped out rust bucket surplus gun. I told him to go ahead and order it anyways. I went in to pick it up a few weeks later and he rang out the total...Somehow between his transfer cost, his extra special additional background check, and whatever other bunk charges he tacked on, my $360 gun rang up for $575.
The gun was in great shape though, a solid 98% in the sig blue box with the tape around the grip.
 
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I guess I should rescind my previous post, reading the all too common occurrences is bringing back memories and reminding me why I avoid going to shops.
 
Here's a fun story: Years ago there was a sporting goods store in KC called Galyan's. It later sold to Dick's but while it was Galyan's the following happened: I had been trying to find a particular scope for my .22 and called G to see if they had one. Great! They had one and it was priced to sell. Asked if they could mount it for me...Sure, they said. The next day I hustled to G's, a 40 mile drive, and proceeded to enter the store with my rifle in a case. I was abruptly stopped at the door and told that I couldn't come in the store with a gun unless a store employee carried it. Common practice in big box stores now, but at the time it was completely foreign to me. So, off we go to the gun section. We get there and the sales guy looks for the scope and can't find it. Has to go in the back to look, he says. Then he looks for a place to leave my rifle. He paces back and forth for a couple of. nervous minutes and finally pulls the cable out of the trigger guards of a row of rifles and threads it through my gun and back through all the other rifles. I asked, "Are you sure you can trust me out here all alone?" He said, "We are required by law to secure all dangerous weapons." I replied, "No you are not." Away he goes in search of my scope and returns to say they do not have one. By this time I wouldn't have bought it anyway. Just to mess with him, I explained that I had called and was told that they indeed did have one (true) and asked if he could look more closely. But, I said, I don't really trust you with my rifle and I would like to have it back before he went to look. OK, he says, and proceeds to call someone to escort me from the building. The guy arrives and as he is carrying my "dangerous weapon" out of the store, I noticed a line of enthusiastic people on one side of the store. I ask what's going on and he tells me they are all waiting in line for autographs from a famous KC Royals baseball player. Nearly all of them had a baseball bat in hand. I asked if all of them had escorts to carry their dangerous weapons. I never got an answer and always wondered how long that goof looked for the scope and how long he waited for me to return.

Please use paragraphs. There's no charge for using them. Old eyes have a very hard time with large blocks of text.
 
Most of my gun shop experiences have been neutral to negative, like the dirty look / know it all clerk kind of thing.
It's gotten to the point that I normally never go into shops, unless I have to for ammo or supplies, or I am REALLY bored ( shopping with wife.)

I did have really good experience at start of recent panic. Guy runs a shop part time out of his garage, let me in to buy some mags l was all in a sweat about. Price was very good even though every one else was marking them way up.
 
My worst experience? A guy flipping out, knocking product over, spilling ammo on the floor, all because we wouldn’t sell him a gun...because the 4473 case back denied...
I hate when you're running the br check and the phone rings with "Anonymous" and the FDLE'er on the other end asks "Is he there now?"
You just know it's not going to be a happy evening for the person.
 
A very long time ago I ordered a revolver from a shop. I put down a deposit and the employee scribbled something on a receipt and gave it to me. A few days later I looked at it and saw that he had written "Paid in full". Upon pick-up the owner of the shop read my receipt, handed me the gun, and said "Enjoy it!". When I told him that I still owed the balance - which was a fair amount of money - he was shocked and enormously thankful. I made that money back with interest, as after that the owner refused to make any profit on the guns I bought there.
 
Didn't really affect me, but I was amused when I was at my buddy's LGS and he got a call saying that a buyer's transaction was denied. "The release date was the 7th...that was last week. Sorry, but he's already picked it up. Yes ma'am, it would appear you're a day late and a dollar short. No ma'am, that's all the information I have. Well, that's why I call you guys."
 
Didn't really affect me, but I was amused when I was at my buddy's LGS and he got a call saying that a buyer's transaction was denied. "The release date was the 7th...that was last week. Sorry, but he's already picked it up. Yes ma'am, it would appear you're a day late and a dollar short. No ma'am, that's all the information I have. Well, that's why I call you guys."
I worked at a store that refused to do the 3 day after a delay transfer thing specifically for that reason.
 
If I remember correctly, in 2016 myself and 4 other guys headed out to northwest Nebraska for a prairie dog shoot. We stopped in Lincoln, NE for the night and decided to get our hunting licenses before leaving the next morning. We got into town late and rushed to a Scheels Sporting Goods store to shop for a few things besides the licenses. The year earlier I had bought a rifle there while visiting my cousin. I was treated like I was the only customer in the store and that is why I recommended we go there. It was 8:30PM and they closed at 9:00 but the staff told us not problem they would take care of us.

They had a problem with the computer system for hunting licenses so we browsed until they got it to working. One of the guys bought a new rifle and ammo for it and the rest of us bought other items. We probably spent close to $1,500 while we were there but the staff didn't rush us, there were no eyerolls or deep sighs, just friendly conversation with them. We finally left at 10:00PM, were thanked for our purchases and wished good luck in our dog shoot. I wrote a letter to the corporate office citing the employees and the manager's names and congratulated him on such a professional and friendly staff. Two years later we stopped there again before our dog hunt for licenses and other gear and received the same courteous service.
 
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