Dumbest thing you heard/saw in a Gun Store or at the range.

[JLStorm]

I have been sitting in the LVPD for hours getting processed for my non-res ccw (takes FOREVER) and this thread has kept me laughing for most of it.

Here is a story that isnt the dumbest I have heard, but I just heard it over the weekend from our CCW class instructor who is also a LVPD cop so it is fresh in my mind..

A guy calls 911 and says he is holding a criminal who tried to attack him at gunpoint. The police arrive order the man who made the 911 call to put down his weapon, and they get his license, CCW, etc.. They then begin to question the guy who was being held at gunpoint who was completely unarmed and not threatening in the least. After much confusion the officers begin to question the man who made the 911 call:

Officer: Sir, why did you think your life was so in danger that you had to display your weapon and possibly fire in self defense when the other gentleman is completely unarmed.

Citizen: He looked like a karate expert and I thought he was going to kill me

Officer: Sir, exactly what made you believe that he was a karate expert

Citizen: He is Asian

Needless to say the poor traumatized Asian fellow was not the one who got arrested that day.... :banghead:

 

[Trope]

A few years ago, my wife and I were at a local gun shop/range, and we were trying out some rental guns (G19 and G26). My wife was a pretty new shooter at the time, although she was shooting fine and not doing anything unsafe. As we left the range area to check the rentals back in, she was making comments about the grip (Glocks are a bit big for her tiny hands).

One of the employees there offered some instruction, which sounded like a good enough idea at the time. He checked that the gun was empty, then he showed her a two-handed, thumbs forward grip on a G19. Everything was going well until he stepped in front of her to view her grip from the front. The muzzle was now pointing toward his head. I forget my exact words, but I quickly pointed out that was a bad idea. He replied that it was OK, since he "knew it wasn't loaded". My wife, to her credit, pointed the gun in a safe direction and thanked him for his assistance.

 

[PistolNewbie]

Reading this has been a hoot! I always used to be afraid of asking question about many of things because I was afraid I would look stupid. As I've gotten older I let go of that one. I have provided plenty of people with laughs as I have learned many thing I would have never known. I can relate to the one about the guy with the Beretta that had the shotgun pattern. That is kind of where I'm at just getting started. I can only get better!

 

[6Gunslinger]

I haven't had much expererience in shops/ranges, I'm a newbie, but the first time I was at one a guy asked... "you know that movie Mission Impossible?" "I want the gun that Tom Cruise used in it" ....I'm new, but I knew enough to know that there are things you just don't do like playing stairway to heaven in a guitar shop.... or tapping on them and saying "hey, these things really are made out of wood" which a friend of mine actually did... I just pretended I didn't know him....

 

[doubleg]

Officer: Sir, why did you think your life was so in danger that you had to display your weapon and possibly fire in self defense when the other gentleman is completely unarmed.

Citizen: He looked like a karate expert and I thought he was going to kill me

Officer: Sir, exactly what made you believe that he was a karate expert

Citizen: He is Asian

Reminds me of MadTV's sketch with Bobby Lee. "He's an average asian, just a fellow of asian persuasion."

 

[theken206]

lol wow i could spout off quite a few.

Here is a couple.

At bullseye indoor pistol and shotgun range in Tacoma,WA.{yes the same place the DC sniper bought his weapon, diffrent owners these days} A guy a few years older than myself {23,24,25ish??} was teaching what would seem to be his girlfriend how to shoot with a Walther PPK. The came into the lane next to my father and I, exchanged some pleasantries and began shooting.

Now maybe about 20 mins into there shooting, the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I glanced over to see her flagging{sweeping, what ever you like to call it} everything that lived and breathed with in 30 feet around her. Did I mention she had a hot weapon and had her FINGER ON THE TRIGGER???!!!!

!!!!!!!!GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

and at the time had it pointed at an upward angle at my dads head. So I grab him by the scruff of the collar and proceed to throw/rag doll him out of the way and do some matrix like ducking and dodging out of the way of her erratic pointing of the weapon.

Instead of my first reaction of promptly confiscating the weapon for good adding it to my collection and promptley smacking both of them in the mouth, I made sure that in no uncertain terms that they both knew that you NEVER point a firearm at anything your not willing to destroy and you NEVER touch that trigger untill you are about to fire.

Then there was the recent time around last X-mas at Federal Way Discount Guns{A big shout out to them, great prices and great people, every firearm I own has been bought there.} picking up a WASR 10 GP for my Xmas present.

Checking out someone asked one of the guys "can I ask you a stupid question"?? Well we all pretty much know what that means, time for something really funny and dumb. *** Pointing to a stainless steel pisol in one of the pistol cases*** "ummm, why is the shiney one LESS expensive than that one". The looks exchanged by a few of us said it all an he left it at that.

 

[Lonestar]

Officer: Sir, why did you think your life was so in danger that you had to display your weapon and possibly fire in self defense when the other gentleman is completely unarmed.

Citizen: He looked like a karate expert and I thought he was going to kill me

Officer: Sir, exactly what made you believe that he was a karate expert

Citizen: He is Asian

Reminds me of an this 80's movie "They Call Me Bruce" about a nerdy Asian guy who knew nothing about martial arts, pawning himself off as an Kung Fu expert.

 

[Colt]

Stupidest thing I've heard in a gun shop:

Me: "Do you carry the Kahr PM9?"
Clerk: "Nope. Nobody wants them."
Me: "Nobody?" (with a little smile)
Clerk: "Nobody." (straight-faced, oblivious to the irony)

 

[iapetus]

Not quite the same sort of thing as has been mentioned so far, but I suppose this counts as a stupid thing done in a gunstore, although its just anecdotal, told to be my someone at my gun club.

Apparently, when the British government decided to ban handguns, they sent someone to a gun shop to note down the prices of everything, so they would know what would be "fair" amount of conpensation to pay for the owners. They then published a big list of different guns, stating what they would give for each, with a note that if you had anything that wasn't on the list, take it to a dealer to get it valued.

However, one particular make/model (I can't remember which) wasn't in the shop - on account of it being such a popular gun that it had sold out. Whoever had been tasked with gathering this data presumably wasn't clued up enough about guns to realise there a gap in their list, so they never got an "official" price for it.

Consequently, my friend (and numerous other gun owners) were able to claim vastly inflated compensation for it.

 

[j1133s]

On the range, the guy next to me was shooting a garand, so I waited until the clip is ejected and told him that I "saw a peice of his rifle fell off". I then proceeded to refuse to believe his explaination and said that his rifle looked pretty old and that's probably why it's falling apart. My friends were laughing really bad at this point and I thought that was incredibly funny.

 

[Slamfire]

Don't Give out reloading data!

I heard this from the son of the store owner.

Local small Alabama gunshop sells a 38 Spl Colt Police Positive to a customer. Customer only reloads for rifles, asks owner for a good pistol target load. Owner writes something down like 148 LSWC 2.5 grains Bullseye. Customer gets home, since he is only familiar with rifle loads, decides the decimal place must be off. First shot blows cylinder and top strap.

Takes remnants back to Gunshop, claims pistol was defective and wants a refund. Owner tosses customer out of store. Apparently the top strap stayed embedded in the roof of the guy's porch for years.

 

[PistolNewbie]

At a recent gun show I was standing at a pistol display table next to a gentleman who picked up a semi autiomatic piece and started to inspect it closely. The vendor barked at him and told him not to move the slide. The gentleman, who was handling the gun properly, told him he wanted to make sure it worked ok and also look at the inside of the barrell. The vendor remained seated behind the table and gave him a curt response that the gun was fine. The guy put it down and we both walked away. He related to me he had every intention of buying the gun if it was satisfactory, but he would never buy a f*cking thing from that a**hole! The vendor obviously was there to show off his wares and didn't care if he sold anything. Plus I'm sure it offset this gun enthusiast's enjoyable afternoon! Pretty stupid on the vendor's part! :banghead:

 

[Gustav]

Stupid is as stupid does

One of the dumbest things I've seen was a stainless steel Smith & Wesson revolver that was a Police trade in, the officer for years had been putting it in the dishwasher minus the grips for the purpose of keeping it clean for inspections.
I don't think he ever used it to qualify with he must have used another pistol.
I hope it never was carried on duty because when I handled it the hammer would not go back and the trigger could not be pulled.
It was spotless on the outside but once I removed the sideplate it was filled solid with greenish crud and gunk and required a great deal of scrubbing to fix.

Many of the old timers used to clean their spare revolver ammunition with WD-40 it works great until the penetrating oil works its way into and deadens the primers.

Also had to clean an old Remington 870 PD trade in that had been used as an ash tray and candy wrapper storage container.:banghead:

Dumbest person was a guy in a firearms class who had seen too many Westerns he came strolling up to the firing line from behind swinging a loaded Colt Python .357 in a holster on a belt around and over his head like he was roping a cow.
The instructor was a Korean War veteran and PD Sgt he ran over and flattened him on the spot needless to say the culprit was expelled from the class.

 

[Afy]

I didnt think inspections were that difficult....

Saw a newbie shooting black powder today... using Automotive grease on his first shots...gunking up the gun good.

So on the second load decides to go without any lube... and gets a chain fire. Luckily no one was hurt and the gun survived. He probably has learned his lesson well...

The absolute dumbest thing I have ever witnessed was a game of russian roulette that stopped very quickly. Guns and alcohol do not mix. No one was hurt... after the first trigger pull everyone sobered up real quick.

 

[Thor Bloodax]

At an outdoor range, a fellow showed up with a BP rifle. After a few shots, it would not fire. Finally, to unload it, he tamped as much powder as he could into the nipple, got a thin wire, heated it with his Bic, and stuck it into the nipple. It fired and the blast from the nipple blew off his thumbnail. He packed it up and went home.

 

[welldoya]

I was in a gun shop a few years ago and there was a punk kid behind the counter telling stories to some teenagers that were hanging around. He was telling them how he could put every shot through the same hole with his AR/15 at 300 yards. The kids were eating it up.
Just to humor him, I asked if he has a scope on his rifle. He said, "Oh, with a scope, I could put the target out there quite a bit further."

 

[Warren]

At an outdoor range, a fellow showed up with a BP rifle. After a few shots, it would not fire. Finally, to unload it, he tamped as much powder as he could into the nipple, got a thin wire, heated it with his Bic, and stuck it into the nipple. It fired and the blast from the nipple blew off his thumbnail. He packed it up and went home.

I should be a bit more compassionate but this caused me to literally laugh out loud.

So...LOL.

 

[rantingredneck]

I was in Walmart this afternoon. Walked up to the ammo counter to buy some 9mm range ammo (WWB). Two guys behind the counter were engaged in a conversation re: handguns and "stopping power" when I walked up. Guy 1 was telling Guy 2 that "A 9mm is such a wimpy round it don't kill too good, but if I shoot you in the shoulder with a .45 your whole dang arm will come off". I couldn't stifle the chuckle that came out as I asked for 4 boxes of WWB FMJ. Guy 2 went on to say that "Another good round is...I think it's called the .41 magnum......buddy of mine deer hunts with it". At this point he looks at me and nods and says "It kills deer real good". I said, yeah but its a round that isn't very popular these days and is on it's way out. Fewer guns chambered for it and fewer factory loads available. Lotsa folks who own them handload. I hunt deer with a .454 Casull". He said, "What's that? I've never heard of it." I chuckled again, thanked him, and walked off shaking my head.

 

[Deadheadted37]

I was at my local range and there where two young goth looking guys shooting a rented snub nosed .38. One guy ask me what I thought about that gun because he was interested in buying one. I said you may want to look into a 357 mag, they a not that much more and you can still shoot .38's.
This guy say's why would I want to go with a 357, it is a lessor round just look at the number. I just nodded OK.

I saw another guy bring his autoloading shotgun in for service, the gunsmith asked what was wrong with it. He said he just bought it here last week and the pump action seems to be frozen. All the gunsmith could do was look at him in disbelief.

 

[collateral]

I went into Gander Mountain and saw two guys, probably around 14 or 15 years old with ARs (all of the guns have lanyards to the shelf, and trigger locks, you can pick them up and shoulder them, but thats it) pretending to be in a gun battle with eachother across the store, it really ticked me off. One of them pointed an 870 at another customer and said something along the lines of "I bet i could blow you in half with this"
They were thrown out.

I called a gunstore asking about mini 14 mags, the employee on the phone got very sour towards me when I asked if they had any 10 20 or 30 round mags. He told me if I ever need more than 5 rounds in a gun at any time, I shouldnt have a gun in my possession, and that they dont do business with "people like me," and hung up.
I didnt know not wanting to change magazines as often was frowned upon...

I overheard a guy talking about getting the Smith and Wesson 500 for his CC gun.
I laughed, really loud.

 

[Plink]

The stupidest thing I ever had the misfortune of witnessing happened at the gun store last summer. I noticed the owner was busy helping another guy, so I went off and browsed holsters and accessories for a while. I overheard the customer get all pissy and storm out the door. As I chatted with the owner, I asked what that was all about.

He said the customer had asked to look at some one of the mouseguns, I don't remember the caliber offhand. .22, .25 maybe. Anyway, he handed the gun over to the customer and mentioned that he had other guns in the same size and price range that were in more effective calibers.

The moron acted like the shop owner had just insulted his mother and spouted off with; "I'm not stupid! I know all about guns and this gun is a 30-whatever percent stopper and that means that 3 shots of this will guarantee to put someone down with 10 percent leftover (or whatever). Even the .45 ACP is only a 90% stopper. You're just trying to sell me a bigger gun so you make more money" etc., etc. Then he stormed out of the store quite indignant and highly offended!

As I stood there agasp at the story, the owner said "the sad part is that this happens all the time lately. In the old days, folks knew a little about guns or at least were wanting to learn. Now they come in convinced that the latest hype or movie is the gospel truth and they don't want to hear anything else."

It bothers me because I know he's right. I've seen people who were so convinced by those paper numbers that they were willing to bet their own life that it would only take 2 shots of whatever they were carrying, because it was rated at 51% one shot stops, and that gave them a 2% safety margin. Idiocy is downright scary at times, but to see it in action at the gun store that day was just sad.

 

[bsf]

Not quite the same sort of thing as has been mentioned so far, but I suppose this counts as a stupid thing done in a gunstore, although its just anecdotal, told to be my someone at my gun club.

Apparently, when the British government decided to ban handguns, they sent someone to a gun shop to note down the prices of everything, so they would know what would be "fair" amount of conpensation to pay for the owners. They then published a big list of different guns, stating what they would give for each, with a note that if you had anything that wasn't on the list, take it to a dealer to get it valued.

However, one particular make/model (I can't remember which) wasn't in the shop - on account of it being such a popular gun that it had sold out. Whoever had been tasked with gathering this data presumably wasn't clued up enough about guns to realise there a gap in their list, so they never got an "official" price for it.

Consequently, my friend (and numerous other gun owners) were able to claim vastly inflated compensation for it.

It almost sounds like you take solace in that.

 

[collateral]

Also! I forgot this one.

This is golden, truly golden.
My friend was talking about building a backstop for a shooting range on his property with a gander mountain employee. The employee told us how he made a shooting range in his concrete walled basement by stacking sandbags on top of his wife's washing machine.

 

[qajaq59]

Good grief!!!!!

If even half of these stories are true there are way to many stupid people running around.

To tell the truth though the fact that they are allowed to drive cars scares me more then the guns do. At least if they shoot a gun at me I can legally shoot back.

 

[iapetus]

It almost sounds like you take solace in that.

Me - no.

My friend - possibly. I guess if you are being forced to suffer due to government ignorance/stupidity/bigotry, then you can hardly blame someone if they exploit that same ignorance/stupidity to get one up on the government, and make a profit while you're at it.


(Also remember, we've had firearms registration in this country for about a hundred years, any transfer or destruction of a firearm must be reported to the police, and it is a lot easier for the police to get a search warrant than it is in the US, so "losing them in a boating accident", as some people suggest doing in the event of a ban is unlikely to work here, and would most likely jeopardize your ability to own any of the guns that aren't prohibited).