Ever have one of those moments where you have to bite your tongue?

[Mike2]

John828, typically most topics in general especially 2A, I've always tried to keep my opinions to myself and just role with the flow but I have found that I began harboring a lot of anger because of this. While I try to speak out in a tactful manner and try to at least be nice, sometimes one has to fight fire with fire. I guess it boils down to having the knowledge and wisdom to choose ones battles and then dig in hard. But I always try to remember what my mom taught me, "No matter what, be nice" she would always add in at the end of her mother son speeches "Make your point but be nice" Gotta love mom.........

 

[orionengnr]

Yep, had one at a local gun shop just the other day. Although I'm 52, I was the youngest guy in the shop by 2 decades (only exagerating slightly), so when one of the old-timers noted that I was examining several boxes of bullets (pretty much everything I could find in .45 caliber), he "offered" the benefit of his expertise.

My first time in this shop, I'm not out to offend anyone; I listened to him prattle on for 15 minutes or so.

Now let me be the first to admit--I only reload for .45acp, and am a newbie at that, so I don't know a lot. In fact, while looking for a .45 Colt revolver, I bought a set of dies for .45 Colt and bought 100 bullets in .454 dia.

But when he tried to tell me that .452 bullets were for .45acp and .458 bullets were for .45 Colt, I bit my tongue. When he was "done" (loosely translated as when the door swung open and he diverted his attention from me for a second or two and lost his head of steam) I thanked him for his time, wished him a Merry Christmas, and put three of the four boxes back on the shelf (purchasing the .452 255 gr SWCs).

What blew me away was that the shop owner stood there, listening to most of this, and never said a word. If I were ill-informed enough to buy, try and load 300 gr .458 projectiles into .45 LC cartridges, and somehow succeeded, I can't imagine they would fit into the cylinder...which would be a good thing, because if they did, I'd hate to think what would happen if I could touch one off.

At this point (three days after the fact), I'm thinking I should have said something. If this is any indication, this guy's advice isn't just bad, it's potentially dangerous.

 

[zammyman]

I heard a guy asking the owner at a local shop today if there was any difference between .223 and the 5.56 he bought. About the 8th time the owner finally said "Really, we'd tell you if there was a difference or a problem between them." Enough said...

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Pretty much every time I step into Academy or Bass Pro and go to the gun counter. 90% of the time though, I keep to myself. I will only interject if the customer seems genuinely interested in being open to being helped, or if I see someone about to make a HUGE mistake. They're not on commission in those 2 stores, so the clerks don't care what I tell people.

 

[SMMAssociates]

My favorite gun shop has two older guys (older than me, and I'm 62) who are generally knowledgeable, and rather willing to pass it along.

My experience is rather eclectic, and a little limited, so I tend to keep my trap shut.

But once in a while....

My rule is to NOT screw up a sale unless they're really about to do it to the pooch. I usually have something good to say about whatever's going on anyway....

The younger counterslaves, OTOH, need watching.... I usually have a bit more to say then, but only if I'm reasonably sure. The kids, for their part, know me well enough, too, that they'll listen.

I was in Dicks one afternoon looking for a slip-on recoil reducer for a shotgun buttplate. Might as well have asked for Martian foot-fungus powder.... Dunno why I bothered....

I visit these "big box" stores only when something really special is on sale that my regular dealers can't provide, or I happen to be in the same strip plaza/mall on other business.

Regards,

 

[evan price]

It happens a lot, my latest tongue-biter is when I go to this one place that stocks reloading gear, and someone asks a salesperson for help "Because they think they want to start reloading"...

I have managed to keep it bitten. Lord, how I have tried...

But this one day when the clerk told a guy that all he would ever need to reload came in the RCBS Supreme Master Rock Chucker Set... I mentioned a kinetic bullet puller. The clerk told me that he'd been reloading for dickety-steen years and had never needed to pull apart one of his handloads yet, so buying a bullet puller wasn't necessary, "Or RCBS woulda put one in there!"

Nice to know you're perfect, and will remain so indefinitely.

 

[BayouBocephus]

I try to never bite my tongue and to share what I know and if I'm wrong I hope more ppl tell me so and not hold their tongue either

 

[possum]

the latest time was when my Mother in law was over at the house and she told me that her Norinco Handgun was the best thing on the market, and the reason it is so great is the fact that it has German "gearwork"!

 

[jorb]

I'm 61 and I don't bite my tongue anymore. I do nibble on it pretty often.

 

[MikePGS]

Something like this happened to me (again) last night. I was at the grocery store with my girlfriend buying some things including the annual issue of Petersen's Hunting. The cashier tried to ring it up but said something to my girlfriend and looked befuddled. I didn't hear what was said, so I leaned in and asked her what the problem was. She told me that she couldn't ring the magazine up, because it wasn't in yet.

 

[Corporal K]

I actually stopped hanging around with a guy who bought his first gun 3 years ago and now talks like a combination of Doc Holliday and Richard Marcinko. He also botched a work-related project we were both on (we work for the same company).

I certainly don't claim to know everything about anything, but when a guy with zero, and I mean ZERO, field experience starts arguing with me on which elk caliber to get, 5.56 performance in Iraq, etc., I don't hold my tongue.