Disappointing Incident in Gun Store

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Captains1911

Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2008
Messages
1,654
Location
Western Face of the Blue Ridge, VA
Disappointing Incident at Gun Store

While waiting at a carwash yesterday, I had some time to kill and decided to browse a local gun store across the street. After being there for about 5 minutes, I noticed a woman who was shopping for a pistol with who I assumed to be her husband, pointing and dry firing the gun in
The direction of other customers in the store, including a child. I almost couldn't believe my eyes at first, and the store clerk helping them didn't seem to care. I walked over and said "please do me and all of us a favor and stop pointing that all over the store, there are safe directions here where you can do that," and pointed a few of them out. Well, neither her, the husband, or the clerk were very happy with me, and I caught an earful, including several expletives, from all of them. I maintained my composure and explained how I wasn't trying to to be a jerk, but just wasn't comfortable with the way she was handling the firearm, however it was falling on deaf ears. The clerk actually demanded that I walk away, which I did after stating once more to "please just be safe."

I'm sure these kind of things happen all too often at gun stores, shows, etc., as I witness it all the time, but as an instructor I sometimes feel obligated to say something when I see it. The problem is, no matter how polite I try to be, it rarely end wells. I understand that the store clerk was trying to make a sale, but safety shouldn't be sacrificed during the process.

So, what do others see and think? Do you witness these kind of things, and what, if anything, do you do about it? To be honest I'm so fed up and exhausted with this kind of crap that I'm considering just staying away from most gun stores and all gun shows in their entirety.
 
Last edited:
I've spoken up on similar occasions with mostly positive responses. As to the negative responses - meh. Dopes are going to be dopes. There is no cure.
 
Both

Its a big deal, and its not a big deal at the same time. I've never been to a store like academy or the like where the guy behind the counter didn't check the gun to see if its loaded before offering it to the buyer. I understand that infers you have to trust the clerks ability to always check and also make for SURE they're not loaded. I don't think it would make me uncomfortable, knowing what procedures are in place. Still cant deny the stupidity of it though, simply because its a behavior that's easily avoided. I guess if it really upset me I wouldn't have spoken to the man who was currently engaged in the business of selling the firearm. I'd speak with the manager, who is usually a lot more in tune with liability issues.
 
xxjumbojimboxx said:
Its a big deal, and its not a big deal at the same time. I've never been to a store like academy or the like where the guy behind the counter didn't check the gun to see if its loaded before offering it to the buyer. I understand that infers you have to trust the clerks ability to always check and also make for SURE they're not loaded. I don't think it would make me uncomfortable, knowing what procedures are in place. Still cant deny the stupidity of it though, simply because its a behavior that's easily avoided. I guess if it really upset me I wouldn't have spoken to the man who was currently engaged in the business of selling the firearm. I'd speak with the manager, who is usually a lot more in tune with liability issues.
Click to expand...
Interesting perspective, as the clerk almost certainly did check the gun before handing it to her. However, the safety rules are the rules, I have never heard of exceptions regarding stores, shows, etc, so IMO it is still unacceptable.
 
I've seen this behavior in stores and while it can be a bit off putting, I don't see it as a huge deal. We're talking about guns that have never been shot (except maybe once at the factory) and/or have been compulsively checked rechecked and checked again for good measure before being put on the rack.

Personally it just feels wrong to point a gun in an unsafe direction to me even at a store, but I don't really feel the need to correct others behavior in this setting.
 
At a place like Academy they have trigger locks on and in my experience they won't take them off when a customer is handling them. If the clerk took the trigger locks off, the muzzle should be in a safe direction. Who is to say some moron wouldn't slip a live round in the chamber. I would call the owner of the shop.
 
Its a big deal, and its not a big deal at the same time. I've never been to a store like academy or the like where the guy behind the counter didn't check the gun to see if its loaded.

And didn't a clerk at a LGS hand a cop a loaded gun at a gun store in kentucky not long ago? First rule: ALL guns are loaded. Y'all know the second. That kind of behavior does concern me when I see it happen.
 
Having spent quite a few years on the other side of the counter I can say it happens way too often. My first response, after handing the totally checked out gun to the customer, pointing away from myself and anyone else, is "aim at that wall over there". I went so far as to tape a target on the wall.
Worst case, not quite the same, was when a guy came in, put a rifle case on the showcase, unzipped it and pulled the rifle out, one hand on the pistol grip/trigger and pointed it at me. "I want to trade this off". I gently but quickly pushed the barrel up, took the rifle, pulled back the bolt (semi-auto) and a loaded round popped out. He kind of laughed, "didn't think it was still loaded". I stood the gun up behind the counter and asked the boss to take care of him...said if I stayed out there I might soon be charged with assault. The guy didn't seem to give a rat's patootie either way.
Boss cased the gun up and told him to leave. I taped the round to a business card and to this day it resides in the case with a note, "the round that just about got Stan".
We doubled up on our inhouse rule that no one but owner/employee uncases a customer's gun.
People can be idiots.
 
Typical at gun shows. That and the guy over in the corner that insists on activating his taser ever 30 second or so.

But if you think any of that is bad don't check out the Vickers Tactical Channel or whatever he calls it on Youtube where the Russian Special Forces guys are running force on force drills using live ammo.
 
This is a big deal. The safety rules always apply. Hunting, at the range, at the gun store, at the gun show.

My dad passed away a few years ago, but he would have broke my neck if I was passing a muzzle through someone. I learned all this when I was in First Grade. If a six-year old can do it, why can't an adult.
 
So, what do others see and think? Do you witness these kind of things, and what, if anything, do you do about it? To be honest I'm so fed up and exhausted with this kind of crap that I'm considering just staying away from most gun stores and all gun shows in their entirety.
Click to expand...

Sometimes I speak up but really anymore I just walk away more often than not. Sooner or later there will be a live round in a chamber and someone will end up stopping a bullet. Left a gun show a few years back with my wife. An hour later came the fateful bang and someone ended up getting shot.

Try to tell most people in a nice way being polite and they take offense. I figure screw it and just vacate the area. As Jack R mentioned, you can't fix stupid.

Ron
 
IMHO, safe gun handling habits start with the first time someone handles a weapon.

Starting out with a "don't worry, it's not loaded, don't matter which way you point it" goes hand in hand with "well, your finger is on the trigger...so what?"

So much easier and better to start out right, and easier to build on good habits than bad.

After all, when you were taking Driver's Ed, did the instructor say "Well, that's okay if you roll through that stop light/sign" and "Well, speed limits are really just a suggestion"? :rolleyes:
 
At a gun show I wanted to see a WWII auto pistol. The guy at the table handed it to me. SOP, I pull the slide slightly back and spot a round in the chamber. Quietly I said it's loaded and handed it back to him. He unloaded it under the table and I bought it. That could have ended badly.
 
These days the best way to handle that sort of thing is to ask to speak to the manager/owner. Explain to her who you are (in other words, if you are a gun safety instructor, mention it), say you are very uncomfortable with people pointing guns at children, other customers, you, etc., and suggest a safe target and additional training for the staff. Point out where it is/was happening and who was involved. If they argue, leave and tell everyone to avoid that store. If they take action immediately, count it as a win. Whether you ever go back is up to you.

My shortest visit to a gun store was a shop in Los Angeles years ago. As I walked in, employees were grabbing guns off the display racks and engaging in a mock shootout across the store, with actively changing guns. They were not checking to see if they were clear. I turned around, walked out, and never went back.
 
Last year, a friend of mine was across the street from a pawn shop getting a haircut when one customer in the pawn shop shot another customer in the head while "dry-firing" a pistol taken from the display case.

The victim lived but lost an eye.

http://www.cbs19.tv/story/24804815/...awn-shop-leaves-an-etx-man-critically-wounded

When you're breaking one safety rule by putting your finger on the trigger when you don't actually intend to fire the gun, the other rules become even more important, not less important.
 
Wrong is wrong. I won't make a scene about things but I will ask someone to NOT point a weapon at me.

Sadly, you can only educate someone but so much at a time. Especially, if the store clerk is fine with their unsafe behavior.

Now, when months or years down the road they shoot someone with an "empty" gun it will be our fault.

So, I do what I can to educate but you can only do so much before you just have to walk away. When people want to learn, I'll take all the time possible to teach them.
 
Never had a store gun loaded. Check triple and proly triple again. Never trust yourself.
Had so many customers pull their carry guns for stupids version of show and tell, or bring in others guns loaded (most thinking them not).......some moron dry firing an item from the store's inventory doesn't phase me.

Dual carry 1911's, pulled by two "regulars" pointing at my belly, cocked and locked while they blabbed away. One supposedly a shooting team dude in the past. I didn't say crap, just slowly slid down counter to another area.

Or the kid Friday, that shot on the range, but then wanted to discuss trading in his EAA.......pulled the mag and couldn't get one from the chamber (off the range he had it on his waist). Fought with it at counter, sweeping his bud and the clerk. Finally handed it to clerk, finger off trigger but gun pointed right at the clerk's chest. Clerk couldn't get the live one out........had it pointed down.

I walked around the end counter and asked to see it. He handed it to me in a safe manner and I took it to the back room, and pointing away (outer all, used to be range there, so definitely nothing going past that wall) jacked the slide against a wooden bench edge to get the slide back. Popped the live one out, locked slide back and gave the sales dude the gun and round.

Used to work there.

Glad I don't.

Store guys are great, quite a few customers super cool too. Way too many jerks and dangerous folks in the customer ranks though. Had Mil and LE point loaded guns at me, veterans and other bring in loaded.............so many loaded guns and poor gun handling, across all sorts of demographics and occupations..... a loaded gun pointed at you just makes you think "oh great, another dumbarse"

Doesn't even get you mad anymore.

Just disgusted.

Because they probably have passed on their genetics.
 
jcwit said:
You folks should have lived in the 50's & 60's.

We have gotten sloppy in more ways than just dress.
Click to expand...
Hey wait, I did live in the 50s and 60s. We must have done something right as many of us are still here today. :)

Seriously it is just a matter of good habits. I don't care if the gun is supposed to be empty. Empty guns have taken their share of lives and shot and killed a few inanimate objects. A friend of mine shot and killed his scale with an empty .380 pistol. The point is developing and always using good safe gun handling practices much like developing other good work and general safety habits. Yeah, over the years something changed. Not for the better either.

Ron
 
I agree with Reloadron; if I see something that looks unsafe I would just leave the immediate area. Not my job to be part of the safety patrol in a gun store or at a gun show. If I thought the situation was that fraught with potential danger I would contact the store owner, manager, or gun show organiser. Somewhere down the line the store owner, the clerk, or the customer (ideally all parties involved), have to wise up to practicing safe gun handling skills.
 
You guys should check out the old gun and hunting/fishing magazines from the '50s and '60s. Not to mention all the movies, television shows, print and movie ads -- I'm telling you, Rule #2 and Rule #3 were totally not in effect at the time.

As far as what goes on in gun shops, I cringe every time I go by the gun counter at my local Sportsman's Warehouse ... and yeah, I'll step in if the counter guy isn't saying anything ...
 
I've seen similar, normally the first snap gets my attn at which point I know it's not loaded therefore I no longer care. It's basically like in the same moment I realize it could have been a problem, I also realize it's not a problem.

It's kind of like "Oh crap I'm glad that wasn't loaded.....oh well, they can snap away now"

I'm big on minding my own business, likely to a fault. So I rarely say anything. But I don't really see as much negligence as most people report in gun stores, maybe I'm just not observant, maybe I just don't spend enough time in them.
 
...normally the first snap gets my attn at which point I know it's not loaded therefore I no longer care.
Click to expand...
A revolver might surprise you one day...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
(NC) Gas station clerk shoots suspect
Replies
15
Views
858
kart racer
K
W
  • Locked
(NY) Store owner shoots back 09-15-03
Replies
1
Views
587
Standing Wolf
S
S
  • Locked
Store Clerk fights back...and wins!!!
Replies
17
Views
2K
Darrin
D
D
  • Locked
Gun store what to do
2 3 4 5
Replies
113
Views
6K
Sam1911
S
T
  • Locked
Taser fails, clerk resorts to gun (or, fired for breaking company policies?)
2 3
Replies
64
Views
2K
scrat
S
Back
Top