Gander Mountain is only Incidental to this story...

[hdwhit]

After Christmas, the local Gander Mountain marked up just about everything in the store by 10% to 20%. I guess Holiday sales failed to meet expectations and they figured to get what they could from the remaining inventory. After they announced their bankruptcy/self-auction, I started getting 15% and 20% off storewide one-time-use coupons from them. So, each time I get one of these coupons, I go to my local Gander Mountain and see what powder and primers they have.

I went to Gander Mountain after Good Friday services at church to see if they had any powder I could use (they did, but that's another story) and when I arrived there was a pair of men standing at the open trunk of a car. They had what appeared to be several cases of ammunition spread throughout the trunk as well as sitting on the ground behind the car and they had dozens of magazines that they were loading for the pistols they were openly carrying on shoulder holsters (Texas is now an open-carry state - with appropriate license - so the guns didn't concern me).

What did concern me was that when though I drove up and parked three spaces away, these two men were so focused on loading their ammunition they didn't notice me arriving, parking or walking down the same aisle in the parking lot until I was nearly on top of them. I always load my ammunition into magazines at home where I can focus on the task at hand and not spend my time worrying about who is walking through my surroundings.

Does it seem to anyone else that these two men were taking a chance of something bad happening by having so much ammunition on public display?

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Not really

 

[bannockburn]

Seems a little strange to be doing this in the Gander Mountain parking lot (though I think this would definitely get some attention if they were doing it in front of a bank!), but I don't see where they would be at risk for having so much ammo in the open like this.

Still not something I would do.

 

[Rat Robb]

Most criminals, if this is your main concern, are opportunistic. I would think that robbing 2 men, loading magazines, in a public parking lot of a popular "gun" big-box store, wouldn't be the best opportunity. They most likely didn't react to you because you didn't pose a threat. No reaction doesn't mean they didn't see you, just means they don't care. I get accused of this all the time, my girlfriend and friends are always like "You didn't see that (insert shocking event here)?!" My reply is usually "Yeah, just don't care enough to react", lol.

 

[VinnAY]

I would definitely take notice of that and probably depart the area quickly. These days of shootings and there's guys with cases of ammo standing there loading mags, ya I'll take notice of that and get out of there. Notwithstanding that there's no apparent law being broken, no imminent threat, but I'll play it safe.

 

[Coyote3855]

Happened with some frequency, the selling of ammunition out of a car trunk in the parking lot of Sportsman's Warehouse, until SW started limiting ammo purchases.

 

[Alte Schule]

My guess is that they were getting ready to go to the range but still, IMO, not a bright idea. The bigger question here is why, unless they were having some type of blockbuster sale, which I doubt, would they buy the overpriced ammo that Gander puts on their shelves. I also live in Texas and Academy is always 10 to 20% cheaper on ammunition as is my LGS and some on line sites.

 

[CraigC]

Most people don't pay attention to what goes on around them. I'd be more worried someone might run by and swipe the $900 iPhone out of my hand while I'm checking email.

 

[Hanzo581]

As mentioned above, that would seem like more trouble than it's worth for a bad guy. They look for soft targets.

 

[cc-hangfire]

.., They most likely didn't react to you because you didn't pose a threat. No reaction doesn't mean they didn't see you, just means they don't care...

This is a great point that I believe folks overlook (sorry - this is a little off topic). Just cause folks don't react, doesn't mean they aren't aware. There have been numerous posts by some open carry folks saying people don't notice. I notice. And if I'm concerned, I'm behind you & unobtrusively watching while I carry concealed (& you didn't notice).

Back to the topic; I've done a face-to-face rifle sale in a GM parking lot cause handling a firearm in public outside their store wouldn't draw as much attention as doing it in McDonalds parking lot. So while it seems somewhat unusual, maybe not so much at GM.

 

[FROGO207]

I guess it depends on where you live, if we had this situation around here myself or another local might strike up a friendly conversation with them if they looked receptive. Around here visiting with a couple guys in front of the LGS would be standard procedure for most everyone.

 

[Alte Schule]

There is a local on line Outdoor forum I frequent where firearms are offered for sale or trade. I always use the Gander parking lot for these transactions. It's only about two miles from my house, the parking lot is huge and usually the only vehicles in the lot belong to employees.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

"... there's guys with cases of ammo standing there loading mags, ya I'll take notice of that and get out of there."
12 Jun 2016: did Omar Mateen park in the Pulse nightclub parking lot and openly load his magazines before going into the club murdering 49 people in the club? As I recall the accounts, he preloaded his magazines and brought them and the weapons concealed in a bag. I believe the spree killers and terrorists do want the element of surprise. They may telegraph (facebook or twitter) their intentions to the world, but not to their immediate victims.

Sitting in a sporting goods store parking lot, trunk open, ammo on display, loading magazines in public, might be legal depending on local law, but might be offensive or threatening to some only familiar with guns through the news media. Displaying ammo in an open trunk at some of the local gunshows can give the appearance of violating rules on no transactions in the parking lot and might lead to a 'splaning session. So I don't think what they were doing was a good idea.

I am not sure I would feel threatened by two guys loading magazines in the parking lot of a sporting goods store; I would think they had bought ammo and were preparing to go to a public or private shooting range. Since sessions at the local indoor range are time-limited and cost me money, I preload my magazines before going (usually at home); therefore, I would assume that's what they were doing (just bought ammo, then going to the range). And I would think they were incredibly not self-aware and obviously not caring about appearances; just wrapped up in themselves and their plans, the heck with the rest of the world. Discretion and modesty are lost virtues in this depraved modern world. Indiscretion and immodesty have run rampant since the passing of Victoria Regina, alas! O tempora! O mores!

 

[RioKid]

If I saw the same thing in our Gander M parking lot I would probably guess they were probably trying to save some of their range time by loading up mags before going in. Two people on one lane can eat up time, especially if they only rented the lane for a half hour.
Someone mentioned why buy there, it is expensive? If those two brought reloaded ammo, the rangemaster would have forbid them to use it, and to make the trip worthwhile, they may have bought some off the shelf. Last time I went to the indoor Gander Range I witnessed someone being told that the reload ammo was not allowed and they had to unload and put it away.