Bullet Shopping Etiquette

[trueblue1776]

I try to hit up one of the local shops every once and a while, I get most of my supplies of the interweb but I like to go local for small amounts of powder and primer to save a bit on Hazmat shipping.

My local store has a decent supply of bullets, many odd weights and sizes, which I enjoy very much. The only problem with a nice selection is old stock on the shelf, they sell for the original price so it isn't all bad (1980's or so for some boxes ). But in those years on the shelf, some a-hole always opens up the box. Do some folks not understand that all FMJ's pretty much look the same? Do they need to see a boat tail? What is the deal, I bought 2 boxes of Speer 10mm 200gr TMJ's and they weren't shiney anymore, someones sweaty #### beaters tarnished every single round in one of the boxes!
The poor gal at the register picked up a box, only to dump the contents all over the floor and the counter. She offered to count them, I felt bad for her and declined. Not a big deal to give up a couple to keep a pretty lady off the floor looking for them. But it is a big deal, loading blocks dont come in 97 holes, neither do ammo boxes!
So time to own up, who here is a box opener with (unpurchased) bullets. What are the merits of looking at a bullet described on the label?

 

[txgho1911]

Everyone who wants to see the bullet should buy the box before they open it. Otherwise it is an unsealed container that could have odd off size or weight bullets mixed. May cost the store a sale. For some Gander Mountain stores they may never re-order that bullet as long as the open box sits on a shelf.

 

[esheato]

I'll admit it. I'm a box opener. I want to see what I'm buying.

Ed

BTW, they say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

 

[ranger335v]

I also resent finding open bullet boxes. As far as needing to open the box to see what's in it, I wonder if they also have to open a jar of crunchy peanut butter or bag of paper clips in order to know what it looks like before buying? Bah!

 

[20nickels]

Often the box openning is done by employees that don't know how to answer the customers question without looking at the product. They may go through a few boxes before they find what they need. Too tough to just read it I guess.

 

[Hazzard]

I replied yes, but only for hollow points that I have not used before and it is usually the store employee who opens it for me if I ask. I have yet to find any crunchy peanut butter or paper clips in the box, though. Perhaps I could use them for barrel lapping...

 

[Smokey Joe]

Bullet Boxes

are sealed for a reason: So that the buyer will know that the bullets inside are what the factory says they are.

Most reloading retailers will have a "bullet sample board," or at least a manufacturer's catalogue, if you need to see what the bullet looks like.

And most retail clerks don't know much about reloading, and can't give you much valid advice. If you find one who IS knowledgeable, you have a gem on your hands--treat him as such, and mention it to the manager!

Mebbe I'm just more anal than some: I keep a file of bullet ads, and write-ups from the gun mags, and when I think I need a new bullet, I know exactly what I want before I walk into the store.

IMHO, it's bad manners for you, OR the clerk, to unseal the bullet factory's boxes. Mr. Nosler, or Mr. Hornady, or Mr. Sierra, or Mr. Speer, would NOT be pleased.

 

[trickyasafox]

im not an opener if im buying it i already know what it is

 

[EZred]

I typically know what I want from prior loads, but if I am trying something new, I generally ask a clerk or employee to ope the box for me. Most of the time I do this when I am serious about making the purchase, since you really should have the opportunity to inspect the goods prior to forking over the cash. Most every place I shop has been really good about it provided you don't dump them all over the counter

 

[ReloaderFred]

I'm familiar enough with just about every bullet commercially made that I don't have to open the boxes. I hate it when I find an opened box on the shelf, because in a lot of instances, the person who opened it took a "sample" out of it and the box is short.

Fred

 

[Shoney]

How in the world can you look in a box of bullets and know if they are going to shoot well? (Twilight Zone music please)

I'll bet if I use my divining rod or a dowsing switch over the adds, I will have a better track record than the box openers.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I have usually done my research before I have entered the gun shop so I don't need to open the box. Did get fooled once though. Bought a box of 140 gr XTP HPs. Got them home and found that they were 140 gr XTP SPs instead. Never knew that Hornady made soft point (non HP) XTPs before...Or they forgot to punch them...Took a forked horn using a Ruger Blackhawk .357 magnum with one...Impressive...

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

Once I get to know my way around a certain bullet I am good at that point.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Actually, I don't mind the "box openers" too much. Usually, I find some "off beat" and esoteric bullets I always wanted to try but couldn't justify the cost of buying a whole box at retail price. (I have lots of open and partially used boxes of bullets in my inventory from over 30yrs of reloading).

Recently, I found not one, but TWO boxes of Hornady 117gr RN in .257". Both had been opened and most bullets were a bit tarnished. However, one box cost me $8 at one shop, only $5 at another.

A few minutes in the "corn cob" tumbler made them look factory new again.
Finally, after 25yrs of owning a .257 Roberts, and recently aquiring a .257wbymag, I'll find out what the deal is about the 117gr RN's. And, I'll find out why it's still available in a .257wbymag as a factory load.

Go ahead and make my day, (a few years from now) and open that sealed box!

 

[ranger335v]

Yeah Goose, I've bought discounted partial boxes too. Part of what I dislike about people who open bullet boxes is that other buyers don't know what is left, is it full or not? So, the dealer often has to absorb a loss 'cause some dodo just had to rub his pinkies over the contents to see if they are round or square!

I wonder just how often the openers themselves would buy, at full price, a previously opened box?

 

[AmbulanceDriver]

I actually witnessed this at a local SW one day. Was looking through the reloading supplies, and saw someone down at the far end of the aisle, but could't quite tell what he was up to. So as I wandered closer browsing different stuff there, I saw that he had maybe 5 boxes of different bullets in his shopping cart. As I get closer though, I notice that he has a penknife in his hand and is opening each box, examining a couple of bullets out of each box, putting the open box BACK on the shelf, and then taking a sealed box (of the same type he'd just been examining) and putting it in his cart! So I couldn't help myself, I had to ask what he was doing!

He said he didn't really know much about reloading, and that while he was stocking up for his different guns, he didn't want unsealed boxes on his reloading bench for a long time before getting to reload them!

 

[trueblue1776]

Alright guys, it's 2 to 1 against box openers, we'll split up into teams of two and track em down. Bring your ball pein hammers, we're bustin some thumbs.

 

[scrat]

i dont need to see them myself. since im usually buying the same type all the time.

 

[lcarreau]

I buy in very large quantities and have it shipped to my house.

-Lonnie

 

[jr81452]

you need to clarify the question. i voted "yes i open boxes" before i read the thread then i come to find out you ment SEALED boxes. at my local supply shop i often come across boxes that have already been opened. some have been sitting on the shelf for many years. so i open the box to make sure the contents are "fresh" and if they are i buy them. if they are tarnished or there are some missing i haggle the price and then i buy it. some boxes, like the older sierra, don't have a very good seal so i check to see if they are overly tarnished before i pay full price for them. but then my local shop is a guy who has been working out of the same garage (think former auto shop) for 30 years, with no A/C in florida. and to make it worse when prices go up on the new stock he raises the prices on all the items, even the ones he bought 20 years ago at half the price. so before i will pay 26 bucks a box for some MKs i want to make sure the are in good shape.

 

[Lifttech]

I thought I was the only one that was put off buy this. I'm thinking you do the homework beforehand and you won't need to open the boxes. As long as I have been reloading I have never been shorted or got the wrong bullets in a box. As a matter of fact I usually end up with one ore two extra. I'm guessing the dealer would make good anyhow if it was wrong. Hammer away....

 

[BBQJOE]

I usually buy my bullets from a small gunshop. But their inventory varies greatly. I think they just get their bullets "off the rack". Whatever suits them or is easiest to mark up.
I'm not talking the nice little boxes of hornaday and speer, but the bulk boxes.
Some look like they might be manufactured in someone's basement and stickers made on a computer.
I see all kinds of different names, odd weights etc.

Yeah, I check them, I have an employee open them so I can see if they are lubed or coated, or if what the box says is correct.
I've come across bullets that were labeled copper plated and were in fact jacketed. (Not that I suppose that matters a whole lot)

But these guys are about the only gig around and I basically don't trust them!

Large orders, I will get off the interconfusernetweb.

 

[PowderApe]

Trick Question!!

Yeah, sometimes I do, Sometimes I don't- but when I do, it's with the sales person and because I'm not familiar with the given bullet.

I don't usually go into the store with a list of bullets I want/need but when I do that, I know what it is I'm after and there's no need to open a box unless it was opened previously (broken seals) and to insure they're still in there.....

The ones I routinely ask to open are the ones I'm not familiar with or if I run across a good deal on an unknown style and certainly with bulk cast bullets that come with home made type labels. (..and always with the sales clerk as a matter of consideration--) ....and when they are opened, I've already pretty much already made the decision to buy, just want to confirm what I'm getting (and I always buy that specific opened box). I do not open boxes just to see 'em- especially for calibers I don't own!

Loaded rounds are a different matter! Especially those high performance rounds were you're paying $25 for 20 rounds or oddball cartridge loadings...

so to answer the poll.... yes, I do, but I don't!!

 

[Mr White]

If I know what I'm buying, I won't. If I'm trying something new, I might.

The place I buy bullets is a small store and I try to time my visits to when a particular clerk is working. He's a wealth of advice and will open the box himself if he can't come up with the answer to a question about a bullet.

 

[jeepmor]

I just go to the counter and have the clerk pull up the catalog to view the bullet. Like the 223 bee, neat little hollow point, but had no idea it was a hollow point.

Opening boxes, checking their shape, then putting it back and taking an unsealed box of the same darn thing. There's a ball peen hammer candidate if I ever met one.