Big box outdoor stores and safety?

[scythefwd]

I was pleasantly surprised Monday when I went into a Gander Mountain (Rt 3 in Spotsylvania, VA) and saw a clerk very gently urging firearm safety to a kid. Now, at 28 I realize I still have similac on my breath, but this kid was probably 21-22. The clerk was holding a .357, and was saying "I can tell you probably haven't taken a firearms safety course yet and I would recommend that you do so before purchasing a gun". I don't know what precipitated that response, but I was very glad to see it. The clerk also went on to explain that the .357 probably was not what he wanted for a home defense arm as it has too much penetration. I have seen several stores that would let a person flash them with the muzzle without seeing the person check the chamber (though the clerk had) and not say a thing. Personally, I'd be all over someone who flashed me without clearing, hell... Id be all over someone who flashed me period. I only post the stores location because I consider what I saw a very good thing and I believe the store needs the recognition for putting safety first.

My question is... have you guys had similar experiences with the big outdoor stores, or has a over confidence in the knowledge that the guns are empty and therefore safe seem to be more prevalent?

 

[Flash!]

my experience with the big stores such as Bass Pro, Gander Mountain, the Academy, Cabelas and every small shop I've been into, is that the clerk checks each gun before it is handed to the prospective customer.... while I've looked at guns and intentionally left my finger off the trigger, I've actually had clerks tell me its ok to put my finger on the trigger to get the real feel for the gun....although I would never tell someone that....my guess is that maybe the clerks get a little lax because they handle the guns all day and they checked them before handing it over to the customer...I sbelieve they get over confident....

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

I don't know what precipitated that response,

Maybe he's been shot by a customer before...

That's good to hear though. As long as they don't ever have to talk about some sort of gov't mandated training before purchasing a gun.

 

[Seancass]

i was fondling a revolver of some sort at a Cabellas a week ago, sighting it at an animal on the wall or something and i noticed a clerk about to walk in front of me. He was obviously looking at me to see if i was going to point the gun right at him, so before he walked by i pointed it up in the air and as he passed he said thanks. I thought it was a little odd that he'd thank me, but i guess it could get old having guns pointed at you all day.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I don't think there is anything wrong with dry firing a weapon at a store as long as

1: you clear it and don't take your eyes off it
2: you ask permission from the clerk
3: you don't flag anyone with the weapon

I'm not spending hundreds of dollars on something without even know how the trigger feels.

 

[Paragon]

Hey, I live less than a mile from that Gander Mountain! You're right though, they do seem to know what they're doing when it comes to firearm safety. I had a long conversation with 2 of the guys on a slow saturday night while I was looking for a new pistol.

 

[Selfdfenz]

The clerk also went on to explain that the .357 probably was not what he wanted for a home defense arm as it has too much penetration.

If the clerk had gone on to mention the model being examined would also fire 38 Spl. ,an acceptable round for home defense and one that offers less risk of over penetration, he might not have lost 5 points on the test. As a finishing touch he could have pointed out the ability to fire more than one type of round is an outstanding feature of revolvers chambered in 357 magnum, 44 magmum etc etc.

Still, sounds like a grade A performance over all.

Best

S-

 

[btg3]

I'm not spending hundreds of dollars on something without even knowing how the trigger feels.

+1 for FTF as opposed to sight-unseen/shipped transactions.

 

[doc2rn]

Okay to all the guys who are worried about flashers. If you haven't been in a gunfight you will see the end of a barrel! Deal with it! Some people are more considerate of this in the feminized world, but some people just dont know any better so we must educate them. After, if they pull and point at me they better be prepaired to use it.
When selling firearms you have to expect a little bit of guy holding it to see if he likes it. IF you did your job and checked the weapon there should be no problem. Politely ask him to point it in another direction, and obey the 4 laws.:banghead:

 

[scythefwd]

doc2rn,
when you have a .50 rifle pointed at you with a finger on the trigger and a round chambered, you tend to get very mindful of where you muzzle is. In a store, I would be all over a customer, sternly telling him where to point the muzzle (not crudely) and that should be only pointing that firearm where he is willing to shoot it. I get a bit uglier if the finger is on the trigger when it is done. Out hunting, IF I am flashed (flagged) I will guarantee that person will remember the event. My actions may go from removing the arm from that person, unloading it and then forcefully handing it back to a butt stroke if I hear the safety release when he is swinging to track an animal. I have seen way to many accidental discharges from weapons there were cleared by people who were trained (soldier popped one off after visiting the clearing barrel, which means he cleared it wrong even though he knew how to).
If you haven't been in a gun fight you will see the end of the barrel?? I dont think that is near 100%, but if you have been in a gun fight, you might have seen the end of a barrel if they don't know about cover and concelement.

Selfdfenz, it was marked .357/.38sp on the tag. I could read it from 10 ft away. He was specifically speaking about the 357 round though.

taurusowner .. I would personally never let a hammer fall without something for the pin to hit, a pop cap or an expended shell at least. Most firing pins are designed to take the impact on the tip, and that doesn't happen when you dry fire. I haven't seen any evidence of damage to a dry fired weapon, but it's still my personal preference.

 

[scythefwd]

doc2rn,
I apologize for the belligerent tone of my last post. Unloaded guns are a touchy subject to me. I had someone I knew killed with an empty gun. 1 .22 a point blank in the chest when I was a sophmore. I had another kid in my class get killed by gun as well. I had a PVT flash me with her (nothing against female soldiers, just this one specifically) M16, at a range, during a firing exercise, with her finger on the trigger, weapon was on fire (it was a live fire exercise). I guess I have either been in direct danger of an accidental discharge from an empty weapon, lost someone to an empty weapon, or been in direct danger of someone with a loaded gun that was incompetent. Out hunting, I am very strict about identifying what is in your line of fire and identifying your target. At home, I was raised to treat all arms as if they are loaded, even if you have verified that they aren't. I guess 18 years of that stuck harder than I thought.

 

[highorder]

I would personally never let a hammer fall without something for the pin to hit, a pop cap or an expended shell at least. Most firing pins are designed to take the impact on the tip, and that doesn't happen when you dry fire. I haven't seen any evidence of damage to a dry fired weapon, but it's still my personal preference.

personal preference is everything, but I can assure you that modern weapons are not hurt by dry firing, even tens of thousands of times.

buy, by all means, do as you please with your guns

 

[siglite]

*** EDIT / Post deleted by author.

On a second read I realized I'd misinterpreted someone's post.

 

[scythefwd]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but what do you mean by modern highorder? Would my .22 from the 30's be considered one?

 

[CajunBass]

Most 22's shouldn't be dry fired, even modern ones, although there are some exceptions. (Rugers are one.) By the nature of the rimfire cartridge, the firing pin has to hit the edge of the cartridge. If the firing pin doesn't include some kind of firing pin block, the pin will hit the edge of the chamber and damage both the chamber and the FP, when a cartridge case or a snap cap isn't there to stop the FP fall.

Even Rugers rimfires probably shouldn't be dry fired excessivly, although Ruger says it's perfectly safe.

 

[florida1098]

maybe some therapy would be in order for some of us

 

[highorder]

By modern, I meant most centerfire weapons made after WWI.