Buying ammo at Walmart
- Thread starter Chevelle SS
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It seems very clear to me that Wal Mart asks the question because the law allows a person who is 18 to purchase handgun ammo if it is intended for use in a rifle. Otherwise why even ask the question. Just check ID`s and refuse to sell hand gun ammo to anyone under 21. Seems rather simple to me.
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Sounds simple, but...would you mind defining "handgun ammo"? And since we are talking about the law and it's application, would you mind creating a list that specifies precisely which calibers are handgun and which are rifle? This would need to be created and provided to the sellers/employees/etc.
And, would you then please explain what should be done when an 18 year old person legally carrying an AR pistol walks up to the counter and asks for 5.56 ammunition specifically for that AR pistol?
The above are examples of why just saying handgun ammo = 21 years old and rifle/shotgun ammo = 18 years old isn't nearly as simple as it may seem.
NavyLCDR
member
Actually, the solution is very simple:
1. Cashier scans ammo which triggers the age verification.
2. Press 1 for intending to use in handgun, press 2 for intending to use in rifle.
3. If 1 is pressed, verify purchaser >21 years old; if 2 is pressed, verify purchaser >18 years old.
Problem solved.
But the poster I quoted said "refuse to sell handgun ammo to anyone under 18". I assume that was a typo and they meant handgun ammo to anyone under 21.
What you just listed is refusing to sell ammo for use in a handgun, which is of course how the law is written (thought not everyone seems willing to understand this). The wording of the person I quoted is different. It doesn't go by what the ammo is to be used it, it goes by what the ammo is. You cannot restrict sales of "handgun ammo" unless you define what "handgun ammo" is.
Perhaps I can explain how the government works (30 years of experience)
1. Cashier scans ammo which triggers the age verification.
No action required on your part.
2. Press 1 for intending to use in handgun, press 2 for intending to use in rifle.
Ask purchaser question, and wait for responce.
3. If 1 is pressed, verify purchaser >21 years old; if 2 is pressed, verify purchaser >18 years old.
Verify age, and take the appropriate action.
I Used to make the same mistake of over thinking things, and saying "this doesn't make sense". After a few years of service, this type of foolish thinking will go away.
This is the law. If you don't like the law, work with your elected representives to have to law changed.
I correct my post of earlier today. Should have said anyone under 21.
The Clerk at Wal Mart was wrong about the law and if the OP said rifle he should have been sold the ammo. The clerk does not know what he / she is talking about. Every time I buy ammo at Wal Mart the clerk ask me the standard
Wal Mart question. Handgun or rifle.
One must remember that different people understand / remember what they read and hear differently from the rest of us.
The Clerk at Wal Mart was wrong about the law and if the OP said rifle he should have been sold the ammo. The clerk does not know what he / she is talking about. Every time I buy ammo at Wal Mart the clerk ask me the standard
Wal Mart question. Handgun or rifle.
One must remember that different people understand / remember what they read and hear differently from the rest of us.
ArfinGreebly
Moderator Emeritus
I'm over sixty. When I buy ammo at Wal-Mart, I still get asked that question.
Typically the ammo in question is 9mm Luger.
There I stand, gray hair and all, and the clerk -- who is himself over fifty -- looks up from the register and says, "is this for rifle or pistol?" and then checks himself with a grin.
My standard answer when they do that, is to say, "oh, it's for my Marlin Camp 9." I pretty much always get a squint, then I tell the guy it's a carbine, and get a bemused, "oh, okay." I've had a couple of clerks who actually knew what the Camp 9 is.
Every so often I'll say it's for my Beretta CX-4. Never yet had a clerk recognize that. "It's a home defense carbiine." . . . "Really?" . . . "Yes indeed; you've never seen one? I can bring it in if you'd like."
I've offered to bring in the carbine on a half dozen occasions. Nobody has ever taken me up on it. Makes them nervous for some reason.
I generally get along well with the Wal-Mart sporting goods counter folks. I yank their chain a little when they get too stiff, but that privilege kinda comes with age.
Probably my most fun ammo buy at a Wal-Mart was when I bought a rifle in Reno, and the lady overseeing the purchase was recent transfer from someplace back east. I was about to wrap up the sale and said, "and I'll take a couple of bricks of that Federal over there." You would have thought I'd asked for her daughter's phone number. Complete indignation. "Sir, we cannot sell you ammunition with a gun." I was genuinely stumped. "So, I can put the rifle in the truck, come back into the store, and buy the ammo on a separate ticket, but we can't do that on the same receipt??" Fortunately, a more seasoned manager was handy, and he explained to her, "I don't know how they did it where you came from, but this is Nevada, and we can sell anything he wants on that same ticket."
Don't take it personally.
The laws are bad enough at the federal level, but then each state gets to add its own little variations.
Add to that the fact that nationally distributed stores often have to adopt lowest-common-denominator policies across their chain of locations in order to have some kind of uniformity in their training.
And, in exchange for some occasionally stoopid rools, and random robotic interpretations, it's possible to get ammo at a significantly reduced price.
Remember, don't hate: robots are people, too.
Typically the ammo in question is 9mm Luger.
There I stand, gray hair and all, and the clerk -- who is himself over fifty -- looks up from the register and says, "is this for rifle or pistol?" and then checks himself with a grin.
My standard answer when they do that, is to say, "oh, it's for my Marlin Camp 9." I pretty much always get a squint, then I tell the guy it's a carbine, and get a bemused, "oh, okay." I've had a couple of clerks who actually knew what the Camp 9 is.
Every so often I'll say it's for my Beretta CX-4. Never yet had a clerk recognize that. "It's a home defense carbiine." . . . "Really?" . . . "Yes indeed; you've never seen one? I can bring it in if you'd like."
I've offered to bring in the carbine on a half dozen occasions. Nobody has ever taken me up on it. Makes them nervous for some reason.
I generally get along well with the Wal-Mart sporting goods counter folks. I yank their chain a little when they get too stiff, but that privilege kinda comes with age.
Probably my most fun ammo buy at a Wal-Mart was when I bought a rifle in Reno, and the lady overseeing the purchase was recent transfer from someplace back east. I was about to wrap up the sale and said, "and I'll take a couple of bricks of that Federal over there." You would have thought I'd asked for her daughter's phone number. Complete indignation. "Sir, we cannot sell you ammunition with a gun." I was genuinely stumped. "So, I can put the rifle in the truck, come back into the store, and buy the ammo on a separate ticket, but we can't do that on the same receipt??" Fortunately, a more seasoned manager was handy, and he explained to her, "I don't know how they did it where you came from, but this is Nevada, and we can sell anything he wants on that same ticket."
Don't take it personally.
The laws are bad enough at the federal level, but then each state gets to add its own little variations.
Add to that the fact that nationally distributed stores often have to adopt lowest-common-denominator policies across their chain of locations in order to have some kind of uniformity in their training.
And, in exchange for some occasionally stoopid rools, and random robotic interpretations, it's possible to get ammo at a significantly reduced price.
Remember, don't hate: robots are people, too.
MachIVshooter
Member
This.
There's one clerk at my local store who is, shall we say, not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed (seriously, counting out change is about a 3 minute ordeal for this fellow. God forbid you add coins after money is tendered to get whole bills back.....). Anyway, this one individual simply refuses to let anyone pay for their ammo up front with the rest of their goods, even though he's seen me countless times, as this is a small town in a sparsly populated county. Most of the clerks just ask if you're still shopping and, if so, put the ammo in your cart and you carry on. Well, fine then........I just do the entire shopping trip first and make this guy check out a whole cart at the sporting goods counter.
So yes, there is the occasional irritation with the staff, but I can't beat their prices online for 9mm or .22 WMR, even with tax figured.
evan price
Member
Regardless of what the buyer claims- rifle or pistol- the clerk still needs to do the due diligence and choose to believe the customer that the 45 acp ammo is actually for a rifle. Since it is a violation of federal law, if Wal*Mart gets caught selling handgun ammo to an under 21 buyer they face the penalties. The clerk may decide that the under-21 buyer is not telling the truth and decline the sale based upon his training, intuition, or personal experience, or, a manager may have made a policy decision that no "commonly pistol caliber ammo" will be sold to under 21, period... and it's Wal*Mart's RIGHT to decline the sale.
Heck, all the Wal*Marts around me refuse to sell ammo after 10pm or before 8am. There's no law against that anywhere I know of. It's a policy decision.
Heck, all the Wal*Marts around me refuse to sell ammo after 10pm or before 8am. There's no law against that anywhere I know of. It's a policy decision.
deadin
Member
And this is the bottom line!!!
You might want to go back and read the thread.
There is no law about selling "handgun ammo", nor is there even a definition for the term "handgun ammo".
mgkdrgn
Member
Ummm, yes there is.
I, and every other FFL, have a Federally required yellow sign on display, that says on the 2nd line:
Under Federal law purchasers must:
* be 21 to buy handguns and handgun ammunition
NeuseRvrRat
Member
but the definition of "handgun ammo" is simply "ammo that the buyer intends to use in a handgun"
Please define the term "handgun ammo"
RustHunter87
Member
dude handgun ammo is what ever "the man" says it is so get over it
So what does "the man" say the definition of "handgun ammo" is?
mgkdrgn
Member
You must be related to Bill Clinton ... next you'll be asking me to define "is".
The simple FACT is that if the retailer sells handgun ammo to a person under 21 years of age, the RETAILER has committed a federal crime, can loose their license do do business, face a hefty fine and jail time.
Given those FACTS, what retailer in their right mind is going to sell an common use handgun ammo to anyone under 21? Is the profit on the $30 box of 45 acp worth that?
If it is to you, go ahead and get in the ammo business and sell it to kindergartners for all I care. I'll send you a nice christmas card to Pelican Bay.
ArfinGreebly
Moderator Emeritus
Done Here
Well, it looks like we're done here.
Civility seems to be wearing thin.
If you review the thread, you'll find that there are actual answers in it.
Thank you all for a lively discussion.
Well, it looks like we're done here.
Civility seems to be wearing thin.
If you review the thread, you'll find that there are actual answers in it.
Thank you all for a lively discussion.
Jorg Nysgerrig
Member
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- Apr 13, 2006
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They don't, because the statute doesn't actually say "handgun ammo". From Bell v. Smitty's Super Valu, Inc:
The statute does not prohibit the sale of ammunition usable in handguns to those under age twenty-one; rather, it prohibits the sale of ammunition other than that for use in a shotgun or rifle. Interchangeable ammunition, because it is usable in a shotgun or rifle, cannot be ammunition other than that for use in a shotgun or rifle. If Congress had intended to prohibit the sale of all ammunition usable in handguns, regardless of its suitability for long guns, Congress could have so stated. See Russello v. United States, 464 U.S. 16, 23, 104 S.Ct. 296, 300, 78 L.Ed.2d 17 (1983). The statutory language thus indicates that Congress intended to allow persons over the age of eighteen access to ammunition usable in rifles or shotguns, even if the ammunition also is usable in handguns.
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