Gun Shop Safety Violations

[DHJenkins]

The only gun shop I visit now is tiny little mom & pop that usually has 1 customer or less. I got tired of dealing with the inflated prices and egos at our other locally-owned gun store.

 

[NewColonial]

Not a gun store, but along the theme. When I took my CHP class we all sat around a table and the instructor passed around various types of handguns. There were folks there who I don't think had ever touched a gun. We were supposed to rack the slides, spin the wheels, etc. With one exception, everyone put the guns between their legs, pointed at the floor and actioned the guns. The girl at the end would raise the gun straight at my head and rack the slide. Twice she did that. Then the guns stopped making it to her.

This was the same girl whose reason for taking the class was "My husband leaves his guns in the truck at times and I might get in trouble if I'm driving the truck if he's left a gun in there."

It's scary to think they have a baby...

 

[Prion]

Accidental sweeps are gonna happen. If you don't like it don't go. Order from Buds and arrange to meet the owner at opening or closing. Spare the rest of us.

All this self righteous indignation is what really makes me dislike gun stores and a lot of their customers. Much more than being accidentally swept!

 

[w_houle]

... So there I was: Standing in a gun store, talking to my (now ex) wife about the virtue of muzzle discipline. I didn't notice someone had entered the store and was standing to my left, so now has a gun pointed in his direction. Somehow, that was my fault?

 

[7X57chilmau]

I'd suggest that you'd showed a lack of situational awareness, and that the direction of the entrance of a store is NOT a safe direction, as it can be anticipated that folks will enter via the entrance....

So, yes, that would be your fault.

J

 

[herohog]

sure, you will sweep SOMEONE in the act

My point exactly.

You skipped right over:

Pointing one down isn't all that safe as a concrete floor makes for a dandy ricochet as I noticed at one show as the 9mm round whizzed over my head into the back wall after 2 dealers doing a swap let one fly into the floor at their feet!

Is a SHORT sweep with a finger off the trigger worse than getting shot indirectly? Also, with a gun laying sideways on a table, how are you going to get it off the table and pointing without sweeping someone? You Cant! Wouldn't having it pointing at the ceiling be best if you want to check the sights/feel? Come on, there HAS to be some give as we do not live in a perfect world, we have to do the best we can with what we have!

 

[w_houle]

Okay, so it wasn't 100% laid out. I didn't have the entrance covered... anyway, he was aware of the situation before I was and elected to stand there (trying to get my atention by clearing his throat). I still have a suspicion it was intentional, but that's for another post.

 

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

Quote:
sure, you will sweep SOMEONE in the act
My point exactly.

Quote:
What I like to do is make a big scene whenever someone sweeps me at the gun store
This boarders on paranoia, or just wanting to make a scene, and draw attention to oneself.

Quote:
accidental sweeps at a store dont bother me as much as a idot that just points it at me
Right on!!

Call it what you will, jcwit; it always gets a laugh because I do it with a big grin on my face.
Besides, I'm tall, dark and extremely good looking, so people seem to pay attention to me anyway.

What can I say, I'm that kinda guy; I love to make people laugh.

At the same time, I let the guy doing the sweeping know he's doing something wrong without offending him.


I've seen people say "YOU IDIOT #@#%&*$, DON'T SWEEP ME OR I'LL THIS AND THAT"


Not really my thing.

 

[loud-mouth shnook]

"loud-mouth,
Why do you insist on clearing a weapon with your back turned? I have always cleared a weapon facing the person I was going to hand it to just so they could see how to do it when they hand it back."

Scythefwd, your point is, of course, quite valid.

It's just a habit that I fell into decades ago that was motivated by the desire to avoid inadvertantly pointing the muzzle in an undesirable direction.
Protecting myself from myself, as it were.

Believe me, if you knew me like I know me, your only response would be, "Carry on."

Have a good one, brutha.

 

[fatelk]

Long ago I walked into a small gun shop and noticed a small red dot dancing on my shirt. I looked up to see the shop owner pointing a pistol with a laser right at me, laughing. He was showing his buddy his new laser. I turned and left. A couple years later I heard that he went to prison for some pretty blatant gun law violations.

 

[jcwit]

Call it what you will, jcwit; it always gets a laugh because I do it with a big grin on my face.
Besides, I'm tall, dark and extremely good looking, so people seem to pay attention to me anyway.

What can I say, I'm that kinda guy; I love to make people laugh.

At the same time, I let the guy doing the sweeping know he's doing something wrong without offending him.


I've seen people say "YOU IDIOT #@#%&*$, DON'T SWEEP ME OR I'LL THIS AND THAT"


Not really my thing

Say that puts a whole different outlook on it. I didn't pick up the humor in your 1st post.

 

[Erik M]

I've only known one gunsmith, and he always told me that he diddnt allow live ammo into his shop.

I couldnt tell you how many times I have had a gun pointed at me or whomever was with me , or had a gun handed to a friend or myself without the chamber being checked for ammo. I think noticing things like that just means you have safer gun ethics than the people working at the store you are in.

 

[RustyShackelford]

Gun shop horror story....



A few years ago I saw a middle aged couple(man-woman, 45-50 yrs old) bring in a newer model Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 Casull. They were both red as boiled lobsters and intoxicated! They wanted to sell the big Ruger revolver and were showing it to clueless young sales clerk. The male gun owner waved the .454 around and looked drunk as a skunk! The Ruger .454 was unloaded but I was still a little tense.

The gun shop clerk should have been more concerned but like many retail sales clerks and shop owners, he was more concerned about the $$$ then gun safety, .

RS

 

[danbrew]

So I'm in a local gunstore the other day drooling over the S&W 625 and thinking about adding to my revolver collection and the guy goes on about how cool moonclips are, and I'm about to say, 'yeah, i know, i've got a 325 in my bag here and a ****load of moonclips'. Before I can say it, though, he hands me a moonclip full of .45 hollowpoint ammo and says 'try it out'. Now I'm standing there with the 625 in one hand and the moonclip full of ammo that he's just handed me and my jaw is on the floor. I can't believe what this guy just did. I look at the moonclip and I see that there are no primers and somebody has created some dummy rounds.

I'm shocked and tell the guy this is the most unsafe thing I've ever seen in a gun store (ok, probably a stretch, but right up there with stupid stuff, right?). He tells me that it's ok because they're dummy rounds. I tell him, yeah, but I've got three moonclips full of real .45 ammo in my pocket (they were really in my bag, but how's he gonna know?) and how does he know I didn't just put one of them in the gun?

Then he just had to hollywood close the cylinder on the 625 when I handed it back to him - you know, one handed, cylinder open, flip of the wrist to smack the cylinder closed. Aiiiyeee. That's like fingernails on the chalkboard for me. Of course he did the same thing to the next few revolvers I looked it. Sigh.

 

[danbrew]

dupe post

 

[punkndisorderly]

To be perfectly honest, in a reputable gun store, I don't even notice. In a reputable gun store, the clear the weapon before handing it off. If it's not a reputable gun store, I leave quickly and don't come back.

In a gun store, you should expect to be swept. If you can't handle that, perhaps gun stores are not the best place for you. I think many are just looking for something to be indignant about. I was taught that just because someone else is a jackass first, doesn't make you any less of a jackass for reciprocating.

Out side of a store, pointing a weapon at anyone is a totally different matter.

 

[CombatArmsUSAF]

I don't mind being accidentally swept in the gun store. What I do mind is when the gun shop employees are idiots with their gun handling.

I was in one of our local shops here in San Antonio and one of the employees was showing a customer a double action pistol. He was demonstrating the ability to pull the trigger a second time if you get a light strike on the primer. All the while actually pulling the trigger kind of haphazardly.

Not really a problem, until I point out that the gun was pointed at my gut from about 4 feet away. At this point I walked out without saying anything and haven't been back since.

If anyone in San Antonio wants to know the name of this place PM me.

 

[AKElroy]

My favorite local shop is pretty good about this, showing appreciation & engaging the customers that observe proper handling. If they were to correct every buyer, they would be likely be out of business quickly. We used to have a shop that was rabid regarding good handling. While I appreciated the safety preaching, the former LEO that ran that shop never related to his buyers & he is OOB now. Better to praise good handling in front of a crowd to get the point accross. They can ALWAYS control never handing a loaded gun to a patron.

 

[WoofersInc]

I had the clerk at the Bass Pro here in Vegas pull a S&W 500 out of a box and thumb back the hammer while it was pointed right at me. I jumped to the side and then layed into him. He had no clue to what he had just done. He wasn't even showing me the gun. He had brought it out to show to someone else. The customer also saw no reason why I was so upset.
How the heck do any of them know that the factory didn't screw up after testing it and left a round in the thing.

 

[33-805]

I spent a lot of time working in gun shops as a younger man. I saw a lot of stupid stuff done on both sides of the counter. I have witnessed more than one unintentional discharge in a gunshop. This topic can never be considered old or out of date. I don't think we can ever talk enough about gun safety, can we? As I have seen posted here, if it doesn't apply to you, let it go. But if you seriously think it doesn't, please think again.

 

[heavyshooter]

A bad experience in a gun store (especially poor muzzle management) is enough to keep me from visiting a gun store. I am more of a stickler for bad customer service. The Gander Mountain in Aurora, CO will nevr see my business again for this very reason. I tend to visit smaller stores where I know everyone and they have more common sense.

I was in a shop once and had one of the employees take his very loaded S&W 442 out of his pocket and show it to a customer because they were discussing pocket holster. I took off A.S.A.P.

 

[cyclopsshooter]

handed a guy a snubby 357 with crimson trace drips- he tested the laser on my shirt-

my first knee jerk reaction was to test some knuckles on his face

opted to veer the muzzle off with a smooth light back hand and informed the customer of muzzle trajectory rules...

i really need to get health insurance...

 

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

I was in a shop once and had one of the employees take his very loaded S&W 442 out of his pocket and show it to a customer because they were discussing pocket holster. I took off A.S.A.P.

That's ridiculous.

If he was pointing it at a person, or doing something silly, then fine, I can see your point.

But why should that make you leave?

 

[ChCx2744]

I am 90% certain that more than 90% of anybody on this forum who has handled/held a gun in thier lives have swept someone at least once, whether you/the other person noticed it or not. True, it doesn't make you very happy when it happens, but accidents will happen; that is why YOU must be alert and not blame the person doing it, even if it is thier fault. It would also be "hoo" of you to explain to them basic gun saftey if they seem as if they don't understand, if the staff have not already, if they do not know how to read, etc.

 

[Sixgun86]

2x Health Insurance

Anyone pointing an unverified weapon at you should be considered a threat and dealt with quickly in a deserving manner. It would help to teach the 4 laws of gun safety when you see them being broken to save the guy behind you. Ignorance is not always disregard.