Gun owners with little knowledge?

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Malice

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Aug 26, 2004
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San Antonio, Houston, depending on my mood
I was browsing at the gun store when I noticed a very nervous young man with a baby in a stroller. He was biting his lip and all and when he saw me he approached. I expected the worst.

He asked me if I worked here. When I said no, he said "good, because I got a question... see, I have somthing civilians arent supposed to have..."

Oh great... why did he pick me to confide in? :uhoh:

Well as it turns out, he had an SKS. He thought it was illegal to own such a weapon, and he wanted to get ammo for it, but he didnt know what kind to get, and he couldnt tell the "old white dudes" he had an SKS cuz it was, of course, illegal to own.

I loosened up at this point. I told him first of all, there is nothing illegal about an SKS. I answered a lot of his questions (seeing as I have owned 2 SKSs) and I told him what kind of ammo he needed, and explained to him how to tell what ammo a gun uses.

Anyway, it was pretty clear this was just a guy my age who just got his first gun and assumed anything other than a pump shotgun or a bolt rifle was a "machine gun" and illegal. Im sure he got this from the movies and the media.

All this happened in Texas, too. Have you ever run into pro-gun people who have this similar state of mind?
 
An SKS? I could see if he had an AK or AR-15 why he would think he had an illegal weapon, but an SKS?

-Bill
 
Well as it turns out, he had an SKS. He thought it was illegal to own such a weapon, and he wanted to get ammo for it, but he didnt know what kind to get
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If he is true to his story and indeed has an SKS, why does he have it?! Someone with an SKS, or any other gun, no matter, should know the basics about the weapon(s) he wants to obtain before a blind ownership. It's looking like he 'put the horse in front of the cart'.

How can someone buy into something having so much potential danger and yet fail in the fundamentals?
 
there is so much to know

my family thinks I'm a gun genius, LOL!

I ask the dumbest questions here and I'm much smarter then half of the folks I meet in gun stores.

there is alot to know when it comes to guns, who knows, maybe it was inherited and he was told it was an illegal gun or maybe it was configured illegally...you know into a class three or something, isn't it illegal to take off those fixed mags for the thirty rounders?
 
Last time I bought a SKS my FFL would not let me take it home until I could properly disassemble and resassemble the rifle. He says that he prefers the consumer to have some basic knowledge of the firearm they are buying.
 
If this happened in Texas.....

he must have been one of those yankees that moved here........I have 3 brothers and a dad who are obliviots about guns, even though they have some.........chris3
 
My friend Jacob thinks he owns a body armor piercing assault rifle because his birch stocked blued 10/22 has a 30 round Eagle mag.
 
On two separate occasions, some young men came into the store looking for a shotgun for 'home defense', but they both appeared to be more concerned with getting something that would impress their friends and make them look cool. After asking about what type of 'bullets' they should use, they then asked me if we sold other accessories, like a pistol grip, laser, 50-round drum, etc... :banghead:

Another guy came in once and started regaling me with stories about how he could hit anything at 2,000 yards "all day long" with his .375 H&H.
 
I also have a 500 but with a standard stock. Years ago I tried replacing it with just a pistol grip. After I got home from the range, I put the butt stock back on it and threw the pistol grip in the garbage.
 
Know/have known a lot of people who were either new gun owners or interested, had little/no knowledge and just weren't sure where to start.

And there are the people you meet at stores or gun shows who mention something, you add to or correct something, and wind up explaining some things to them.
 
Won't it be nice if all schools taught gun safety?

A few years ago I was standing at the gun counter at Walmart and overhear this dad say to his son. Billy bob with this scope on the rifle we'll be able to shoot the birds right off high power lines. Lets see the blind leading the blind. My thought was. This is the reason why we may need gun control? (just kidding)

Turk

Remember to pray for our troops.
 
Rather than rolling your eyes at these folks, take the opportunity to teach them. The gun world can be completely baffling. Malice's new friend definitely seemed trainable.

Now Mr. 2000 might be another story...
 
Know/have known a lot of people who were either new gun owners or interested, had little/no knowledge and just weren't sure where to start.

And there are the people you meet at stores or gun shows who mention something, you add to or correct something, and wind up explaining some things to them.
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Rather than rolling your eyes at these folks, take the opportunity to teach them.
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Don't worry, I did. But this was a case of groups of 'young men' (which is a more polite term for them) coming into the store who were clearly street punks looking for the coolest, baddest weapon they could get their hands on. You know, "something the Terminator would use..." :rolleyes:

I dispelled their fantasy notions about shotguns, and their expressions turned to disbelief and boredom when I started explaining to them how shotguns really work.

As I've seen happen before, they looked a little disillusioned (like when you tell a kid there's really no Santa Claus), and then they left.
 
I would be suspicious of someone who had a rifle they thought was illegal and yet were looking to buy for ammo for. A little bell in my head starts going off that maybe this guy is up to no good. Another way of looking at what he told you is "I don't mind admitting to a complete stranger that I am a criminal". A few questions come to mind. Where, and by what manner did you get this rifle that you think is illegal?

I'd probably show him some of that $150.00 a box .460 Weatherby stuff and encourage him to buy lots of it.
 
I wouldn't tell anyone to buy the wrong ammo ever. You never know if something bad could happen and if they could identify you later. :)

Personally, my Dad had several types of rifles when I was growing up. I knew a little bit about those. I had no clue about any other guns. That was one reason I liked browsing at gun shows was to see all the different types of guns. Even then, guns I didn't know anything about were like a black box. Web sites like this are great to pick up some basic knowledge and background about different guns. Someone will ask about a gun and there will be a lot of pro/con responses with a lot of information. You just have to separate facts from BS sometimes. Guns are a hobby with a lot of details and skills you can learn.

My mother makes porcelain dolls. There is a crap load of skill and knowledge that goes into that. She can take a doll from sculpting the head all the way to the constume and painting, and has done that several times. I don't know the first thing about it.
 
I thought I knew a fair amount about guns until I started cruising around in here. In the circle of people I run with I am the go to guy to ask gun questions but in here I feel like a complete newbie.
 
He thinks it's illegal, but still talks about it to a complete stranger? Good that he's learning, but he also needs to learn a little discretion.
 
ball3006

If this happened in Texas.....

he must have been one of those yankees that moved here........I have 3 brothers and a dad who are obliviots about guns, even though they have some.........chris3
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:scrutiny:

Charming :cool:
 
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