Gun Shop Antics

[rbuck82]

So I was in a local gun shop today and had a comical/annoying experience. First thing I heard was a guy behind the counter explaining to a customer that H&K named its pistol line "USP" because it was designed for the "U.S." market. I really badly wanted to walk up to him and explain the term "Universelle Selbstlade Pistole", but I figured it wasn't any of my business and laughed it off, a bit amused that someone who ought to be pretty knowledgable was pulling stuff out of his butt.

So then I go on down the counter and there's a guy and three teenage kids all staring open mouthed at the semi-autos in the cases. The guy, who explained he knew nothing about guns, was holding all these different ones with his teenage contingency around him. He was asking if 9mm is really that different from .40, decided he thought he wanted a .40 because it's bigger, and got suckered into thinking $800 was a spectacular deal on a Sig. He walked over to the Sigs and decided he liked those best, only to find out they didn't have one in .40 So he pointed to a .45 and said, "Oh, well here's a .45. That's pretty close to .40, right?" The guy tried to tell him there's a difference, but he said he wanted that one because it was black and he wanted a gun that was all black. Once again, I bit my tongue because it was none of my business, but I seriously doubted this guy was currently in a position to be a responsible gun owner, nor to make a good decision on what to buy.

I just thought I'd share these stories because I was really amused. I've seen stuff like this posted before, but it's so much better to see it in person! I guess this stuff happens all over the place

 

[iamhistory]

I guess this stuff happens all over the place

Yes...........everywhere there's a moron who hasn't taken the time to educate himself on what the heck he's about to do.

 

[P95Carry]

It's actually hard to believe - the apparent ignorance of some who go buying. That then sometimes is compounded by gun shops who want to sell specific items ..... to reduce inventory or whatever ..... and ''recommend'' sometimes quite the wrong thing.

I almost jump for joy if someone approaches me and actually asks what to go for ..... after which there follows some educational input and finally - a chance of a more measured decision-making process.

 

[Dionysusigma]

One morning, I was with a friend at the local gun store (Outdoor America). She was/is a total novice to guns, and was in awe that day, as she had never seen so many in her life. As the day progressed, she warmed up to the idea of holding one (a Beretta 92FS Brigadier ). I asked the salesguy if we could venture a dry-fire, and he gave the OK. After doing so, I handed the gun back to her and asked if she'd like to do so as well. Being the smart, conscientious (sp?), and good listener that she is (memorized the four rules on the way to the shop)...

Her: "So what do I do?"

Me: *crickets chirping* "Uh, you hold it like a gun, point it away from everybody, and pull the trigger."

Sales guy is sent into hysterics, as is the girl.

She wants one now.

 

[Okiecruffler]

I'm surprised you found a salesman in Outdorr America

Don't get me wrong, I love the store, but I've stopped buying bullets there because it takes at least 30 minutes to get someone to hand me a box. However , some are better than others (Russ for instance). I had a newbie shooter in there just a few days ago looking at a Browning Buckmark, when she turned to me and said, "This one shoots those little bitty bullets, right?"

 

[Johnson]

but I seriously doubted this guy was currently in a position to be a responsible gun owner,

Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm sure all of us were born with the needed skills and ability.

 

[Ala Dan]

At least the guy in the original thread had good taste.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[jpIII]

As for the guy in the original thread....

There is nothing wrong with not knowing anything about guns.
EVERBODY has to start learning sometime. Guns just may not be his area.

When I first started looking into guns (some time ago) I was just as ignorant as the man in the first story, and probably asked some REALLY dumb questions.
Who knows... sometimes all it takes is that first purchase... followed by research about your first purchase... followed by another more informed purchase.... followed by MORE research.... you get the idea.

Thats how it happened for me.
He may get bitten by the gun bug yet...
In my experience, once you get 2 guns they somehow tend to breed and produce more.

 

[Gameface]

I’ve got to agree with Johnson. The first handgun I bought was a Ruger SP101 that I saw in a catalog and wanted because I liked the way it looked. I asked my dad a few weeks before I bought it if .357 was more powerful than 9mm and that I assumed it was less powerful than .45. He told me that it was more powerful than 9mm and that he thought it was more powerful than .45 as well. My eyes lit up and I wanted the SP101 more than ever.

It wasn’t the right gun and I didn’t know a thing about what I was doing getting it. But if I hadn’t gotten it then I probably wouldn’t have developed an interest in firearms. These “morons†in the gun store might be on the way to becoming huge gun enthusiasts and RKBA supporters. If they are mistreated (I’m not implying that anyone did mistreat them) in their early shooting experiences they may give up on firearms and leave the sport with a bad taste in their mouth.

Gameface

 

[Cool Hand Luke 22:36]

I was into "Shooter's Paradise" in Woodbridge VA yesterday and overheard a bit of a dialog between a salesman and a young lady looking to purchase her first handgun.

I have to say that the salesman did a great job of cautioning her to choose wisely. He pointed out the high depreciation of new guns, recommended to her that she rent a few that she was interested in before buying, pointed out that the store has classes she can take at their range, discussed the advantages and disadvantages of various handguns for a new shooter, CCW considerations, etc.

I was very favorably impressed.

Guess it just depends on the store.

 

[BryanP]

everywhere there's a moron who hasn't taken the time to educate himself on what the heck he's about to do.

Everyone starts somewhere. I am reasonably well versed in firearms at this point, but I probably wouldn't re-purchase the first handgun I bought. I thought I had done my research but I missed quite a bit. There's no substitute for experience and there's only one way to get it.

 

[Cool Hand Luke 22:36]

Everyone starts somewhere. I am reasonably well versed in firearms at this point, but I probably wouldn't re-purchase the first handgun I bought. I thought I had done my research but I missed quite a bit

Very true. I paid more than I had to for my first firearm, and didn't get what I wanted.

On the other hand, I've never purchased another gun from that shop and try to warn people off from buying there. It's one of those gun stores that should have gone out of business decades ago.

Their attitude is a shame too. They're within walking distance of me and have a decent selection of firearms, all at MSR+P+

 

[BryanP]

I didn't pay too much, it just wasn't a good choice as a First Gun. Snubnosed .357 magnums rarely are. I had already done my research and they sold me exactly what I asked for. They even ordered it as they didn't carry it, I have no problems with them.

I bought a Taurus 617S, which is their "Compact Frame" 7-shot snubnosed .357. Too bulky for decent CCW and that's the only reason to have a 2" barrel. Even with that larger frame shooting .357 out of it is just brutal. Fortunately my wife shoots it quite accurately and loaded with .38+P Golden Sabers it is her bedside gun. This, of course, gave me the excuse to go looking for something else for me.

 

[SAWBONES]

The surprising thing is that people walk into gun stores in a completely naive condition, having apparently never taken the time to learn about handgun calibers, action types, brands and styles.

Who would go to an automobile dealership in similarly ignorant condition and expect to get honest, reliable and thoroughly-detailed information from a salesman?

 

[Yowza]

Who would go to an automobile dealership in similarly ignorant condition and expect to get honest, reliable and thoroughly-detailed information from a salesman?

Probably thousands of people in this country every single day.

Rick

 

[Majic]

Who would go to an automobile dealership in similarly ignorant condition and expect to get honest, reliable and thoroughly-detailed information from a salesman?

Most every first time buyer.

 

[iamhistory]

Gameface......

These “morons†in the gun store might be on the way to becoming huge gun enthusiasts and RKBA supporters

yes, "morons".......................whether they end up an experienced and responsible gun owner or RKBA supporter down the line or not. If they are not taking the time to talk with knowledgeable people, get training, or do at least a MINIMAL amount of research on firearms and their ownership then that's about as sensible as letting your kid get behind the wheel of your car without any training or practice time and simply giving them a license. Or, how about betting $800.00 on a sports team b/c you like their uniforms? Oh I know......let's all give our 12 year old sons and daughters high powered hunting rifles, put them in treestands and tell them to have at it during deer season without spending any time in the woods, at the range or in hunter safety class.
When was the last time your car broke down? Did you let your next door soccer mom neighbor fix it for you?

Make sense? Of course not.

Can any of these situations mentioned be remedied with trial and error and time and eventual experience? Sure.......but why do it the hard way when a little common sense (which seems like a rare commodity in society these days and unfortunately in the gun owner community as well) will relieve a lot of wasted time, money and possible danger.

Some people say ignorance is bliss. I say ignorance is unacceptable and unnecessary. Nobody is an expert at everything of course. But if you are going to start a new venture, especially gun ownership.......take some time to square yourself away.

 

[Onmilo]

"May I help you?"

"I want to buy a handgun."

"What type of handgun were you looking for?"

"I don't know, a pistol or a revolver maybe."

"Do you have a caliber in mind?
What type of shooting do you intend to do?"

"I don't know, I just want a handgun that's really cool."

Long Pause,,,,,,,,,

"Sir, you need to buy Gun Digest and get a feel for what's out here before you make a hasty decision that you may not be happy with."

"Oh I'll be happy as long as it's cool.
Hey!! Is that a Mac 10?"

And life goes on.

 

[Edmond]

What's worse are the people who go into shops and the employee asks them if they need help. The customer goes onto to describe how cool this gun was in a certain movie and if they have that gun.

 

[rbuck82]

Well, the reason I brought this up in the first place is simply because this guy honestly didn't know anything about guns - period. He was ready to buy without having even fired a gun, and everyone here recommends taking a safety course, going to the range, renting different guns, doing some reading in magazines and online, and if possible, taking someone along who has some experience. Thankfully he had enough sense not to point them at people when he held them, etc...but I'm really bothered by the idea of his having a loaded .45 next to his bed.

Some of you mentioned that although he's naive and uneducated now, he could end up becoming an enthusiast/RKBA supporter. Okay, that's true, but he could also take home his new purchase and he or someone with access to his weapon could have an accident that fires up the antis in a big way. I won't ever pick on someone for being interested in guns and wanting to purchase one, but I wonder if he'll be responsible with one if he's not even responsible enough to learn some basic information before he goes in to buy one. If these gun store guys are equally as ignorant or as willing to deceive as many of them probably are, he could be led astray, shoot a caliber that's too large for him, admit defeat and never touch a gun again. Just some food for thought.

 

[mustanger98]

Well, I grew up with rifles and shotguns, but didn't get "into" handguns till I was 18. There's this gun shop here I used to do business with, but they became impossible to deal with- won't give a straight answer, use used car sale tactics, give you all kind of dumb looks, and generally insult a customer's intelligence. I don't even go there now. They made me mad for the last time early last year. Now, to get to my point, it seems they liked me a lot better before I learned enough about guns to do my own thinking and pick my choice of weapons according to what I want, need, and expect of the weapon and not whatever they want to push out the door that day.

 

[YammyMonkey]

I guess growing up around guns I had an advantage. I was looking at catalogs and magazines for my first "real" pistol long before I was old enough to posess, let along purchase it. I'm still shocked that a lot of people don't go out, find something they like, go home, dial up the internet and make 30 minutes worth of local phone calls. I figure I've saved a couple thousand dollars by shopping around and ALWAYS ended up with the gun I wanted.

It's really too bad that more people don't grow up with firearms, we'd probably have a lot less BS floating around the gunshops.

I once had a guy tell me that Kimber made the worst 1911 on the market and that EVERY 1911 had to use Wilson mags to be reliable. If I differed from either of his points I was "setting myself up to get killed." Fortunately this was after I owned a Kimber and a Springfield and had zero mag malfunctions with either companies' stock mags or the Wilsons I bought.

I think it's partly our responsibility to try and steer some of these ignorant people in the right direction. If a gun shop doesn't want an informed customer then that's definitely not a shop I want to be handing my money over to.

 

[Don Gwinn]

I was lucky enough to grow up with a father and grandparents who could teach me the fundamentals. Even at that, I've made some silly mistakes in my time.

A lot of people find themselves, at 21 or 31 or 41, trying to get into guns with no prior experience. It's not easy. I do think if I worked at a gun shop counter, I'd try to know when the next local NRA course was going to be and point new people toward that first thing. They don't have to take it first, if they still want to get a gun after that step, but it's the first thing that should be recommended.

In Illinois, of course, this is easy. You just tell them "Here, fill out this form, then I'll take a picture of you and we'll send $5.00 to the State Police so they can do a background check on you. It'll come back in about three weeks, which gives you time to take the NRA Basic Pistol Course in two weeks."

I mean, yeah, a large percentage will be shocked enough to turn around and walk away, but the ones who remain will be dedicated.

 

[fistful]

I was at a sporting goods store in Austin, TX and a couple of guys were looking for "AK-47 bullets." The proper ammo was sitting on an aisle shelf right at eye level, but they apparently didn't know what they were looking for. I didn't help them, because it really bothered me that they had an AK, presumably, but didn't know the first thing about it. I figured they were better off not having any rounds. Was I wrong?

 

[Roc_Kor]

"Well does it shoot AK-47 ammo or SKS ammo?" . . .
-Something I heard at a gun show on Friday.
Gotta be kidding me.

And as for the people who don't know guns (I.E. the guy in the first post with the SIG and teenagers), it takes time to learn. Heck, even I'm still learning (I'm 15.) And it's scary to ask simple (newbie) questions. I'm too intimidated to ask "What does the grain count mean on ammo? How does this affect firing and stuff?" Looking like an idiot is scary. That guy didn't know how stupid he was. Due to my fear of asking questions, I didn't figure out how a semiautomatic pistol could be Single Action until recently. (Slide moves back then cocks the hammer for each shot. I did not know that).


Oh and P.S.: Could you all answer my ammo question in a Private Message, thanks! I finally got the courage to ask. lol