Has this ever happened to you?

[M-Cameron]

i wonder how the clerk would have reacted if your brother in also law also flipped the safety off on his carry piece.......im willing to bet it wouldnt be well received.

that comes off to me as a sign of aggression, and i wouldnt even want to handle the gun that guy pulled out for fear that i might inadvertently do something to startle him and end up with a gun in my face.

is there a risk of robbery when selling guns.....well yes of course.......but im willing to bet more gas stations get robbed in a week than gun stores in a year....and yet the guy at the gas station doesn't treat me like a threat when i go in to pay for my gas.

 

[K-Rod]

It was a "Power Play". Like the people that play Rambo & have never been the the Military or the Security Guard that couldnt pass the exams to be a LEO.

A shop here has one of those "Wing Nuts" (great term!) as well. You walk in with your AR to have some work done & this Ex-Marine gets all puffed up talking "weapon this & side arm that" or "15 years in the Corps I could tear that down & back blindfolded in 45secs" (insert grabbing crotch & sniffing here). Come to find out the "Wing Nut" served his whole term in Santitation!!!

Maybe the guy has past issues with customers. Maybe he's over cautious. "Wing Nut" definately. More than likely this guy gets off by makng people think he's a "Tough Guy". "Dont mess with me! I got a gun! See, I flipped off the saftey!" Like the person who can carry concealed but carries in the open. People like this make me think their "Wing Nuts" looking for trouble. I NEVER carry open. I don't need the unwanted attention & if I can't get to it if need be (pray to god everyday I don't) then I shouldn't be carrying anyways. It's things lie this that "Gun Haters" look for. Be responsible & safe. Promote your sport & don't do anything that may shead ill light on it. It's "Wing Nuts" like these that's going to ruin it for us all. Thank God I live in N. Idaho!

 

[Mike J]

I would not patronize that shop. I would also make the shop owner/manager aware of why I was taking my business elsewhere. That salesman has problems.

 

[Corporal K]

No, but years ago I was in a gun store in Baton Rouge where all of the employees were carrying openly. I was browsing around when two of the employees started having a minor disagreement about where to stock something or other. One of them pulled his gun, stuck it in the belly of the other and said something like "I win! Ha ha!".

I was off like a prom dress and never went back.

 

[MrOldLude]

Salesman should switch to a Glock, as there's no safety to flip off.

 

[ForumSurfer]

I would speak to the manager. The manager would likely be unaware of such practices, and be highly upset over something that is easily viewed as hostility towards potential customers.

 

[cesarv]

So while it's entirely possible that the OP's story depicts the exact truth, it's also possible that the poster's BIL came in with "gangster" written all over him and got everybody's hackles up. And it's also possible that the 300 pound salesman needs a better gunbelt, and his effort to keep his pants on was misinterpreted as hostile. It's frankly kind of hard for me to imagine someone responding to a customer - even the scariest possible customer - by disengaging the safety of a holstered gun. I don't have the best imagination, though...

Not gangster/thug-looking at all. His clothes are fitted and not sagging. He is a 42 year old man and he owns and operates his own Limo company, so his attire is always proper and his speech is not improper, either.

He thought it was discrimination because he is black, and the guy behind the counter was white. I told him to contact the owner and ask him if it was his store policy to do this every time a potential customer asks to see a gun.

 

[dagger dog]

Who in their right mind would ever rob that guys store?

Every one in my home area has at least 4 clerks toting their iron open or "concealed" iron, (Hey are you happy to see me or is that a Glock in your pocket ?).

I really can't see wearing a hand gun as a status symbol, most clerk types do and that's why I would stay away from that shop, the clerk has a SCREW LOOSE!

 

[Asherdan]

That ain't policy, that's a salesman who needs a talking too, at the least.

Fowlers has the Stockade in Westminster and the Gun Room in Orange, CA. They are great to have around because stores that have a reasonable inventory of reloading components and tools are in short supply in SoCal. Their prices can be a little high on rifles and handguns, some of their staff can be a little aloof/snobby/whatever, but on the whole I've been treated fine in both locations.

Some of their staff does carry, but I've gotten used to that in many gun stores in CA. and it has never been an issue. Last time I bought a gun from them, at the Gun Room, me and the sales guys chatted while I pulled the bolt and looked it over before making a deal and it was cordial.

I'm just like the guy the OP describes, 42, male and professional, except for black. I'd call the store manager and clue him in and I would've walked out.

 

[Hatterasguy]

No, and in a lot of gun shops around here they open carry.

 

[rozziboy18]

no, never. you will get yourself shot in these parts for that.

 

[jerkface11]

If he honestly thought your brother was a threat why hand him the gun? Sounds like he just like intimidating people.

 

[jhco50]

Some of you are trying to make excuses for the salesman. He was wrong, seriously wrong and what he did could be construed as a what in Colorado would be breaking the law. You are not allowed to make threatening displays like he did.

 

[KodeFore]

It sounds like a show force, sending a message. If you actually plan on drawing there is plenty of time to disengage a manual safety during the draw. I aggree with the above who say he should have left the shop imediatly and called or wrote to the owner and asked about the store policy on that. Not a place I would feel like spending my shooting $ in.

 

[Davek1977]

Some of you are trying to make excuses for the salesman. He was wrong, seriously wrong and what he did could be construed as a what in Colorado would be breaking the law. You are not allowed to make threatening displays like he did.

While I am most certainly NOT saying what the clerk did was "ok" in any fashion, prosecuting such an action as a threatening display would be difficult at best, Colorado or elsewhere...essentially, he put his gun in a condition to fire while still holstered. In that respect, his firerm is in a condition no different than a revolver or a semi-auto pistol, round chambered, without a manual safety, and many people carry these weapons in that fashion. While I can certainly undersatand FEELING threatened under the circumstances, prosecuting such an action would be touchy at best. I undertstand the sentiments of the posters who were made uncomfortable by this situation, as I too would be. However, imo, it wasn't a criminal offense, just someone being a bit "weird"....to the point I'd refuse to shop there

 

[bonza]

If he honestly thought your brother was a threat why hand him the gun? Sounds like he just like intimidating people.

Bingo!! A business has every right to refuse service to someone. If the customer appears suspicious don't give him the gun in the first place. There is no reason at all to be so openly aggressive in such a situation.....it could only make things worse. I've found most of the LGS employees around here open carry, & most of them that do also seem to be the 'mall ninja' type who are trying to look the part by flaunting their assumed authority. I've worked in the firearms business (retail/wholesale) for about ten years in the past & never had the desire/need to open carry, though I did concealed carry when I was working at one store, but that wasn't so much because of the customers as much as my walk to the bus stop after work in the evening took me through a less desireable area. And, yes, I have declined to show customers a gun, usually due to them being intoxicated or, seemingly, mentally deficient, & always had the support of my managers in doing so.

 

[Robert Wilson]

If I'm "defending" the salesman it's only insofar as I just have an awfully hard time accepting the story at face value. If I'm wrong, then I sincerely apologize to the OP, but I still can scarcely imagine someone reacting to a threat - real or perceived - by taking the safety off of a holstered gun and then handing a weapon to the threatening person.

At least with the guns and holsters I use, it would be almost impossible for someone to see me manipulating the safety while holstered. After all, the thumb would be hidden between the gun and my side/back. Perhaps if I had an ambi safety a very observant viewer would note it moving, but with most guns it would be about impossible to see the difference between me grabbing the gun to move it into a more comfortable position and me grabbing the gun to take it off safe.

My bet? The OP's BIL asked to see a gun. The salesman bent over to retrieve it from the case and his pants headed south. He grabbed his gun/holster/belt to get everything back where it belongs and the BIL interpreted that as hostile. Again, I could be wrong, but Occam's Razor and all...

 

[Arkansas Paul]

No, it's never happened to me. I promise you it wouldn't ever happen twice in the same shop either.

 

[jcwit]

It really amazes how so many folks know exactly how they would react with no knowledge of any of the circumstances or what was going on at all. None of them were there, but all can spout off as to just what they'd do.

Glad our courts aren't run this way.

 

[rondog]

Glad our courts aren't run this way.

You mean, they're not?

 

[jcwit]

Thats what I ment, yup, facts are presented to the jury, or did you forget that fact?

 

[Sauer Grapes]

I've seen shops with very strict dress codes and cell phone policies. I was in a range\gun shop where an employee told a guy to take his hoody off and take his hands out of his pockets. I thought that was kinda stupid. I talked to the guy after the employee walked away and it turned out this guy just graduated from West Point and was going to buy a handgun for his wife to keep in the house for HD. They lost a sale that day.

I was going to talk to the owner or manager, but decided not to stick my nose where it didn't belong. I have never been back to that place ever since that day.

 

[jeepguy]

i think the clerk has issues, and i would have left right away. i see no reasons for his actions.

 

[Gouranga]

At every shop near me with the exception of the box stores you can count on the staff OCing. IMO, this is clerk a psycho. Assuming this went down exactly as the OP stated.

First, he would have to assume thew BIL was a threat. So he hands him a gun? Yeah that makes sense.

Second, if I am faced with a threat, I am not showing my piece, I am not flicking off the safety, I am not showing my hand in any way, shape, or form. When my hand grabs any part of my firearm it is taking it out of the holster to address a lethal threat.

Even at a gun store I would not buy crap from a man who acts in that manner. I would talk to the owner. If he was the owner, I would have a word with the police. Sooner or later he is going to shoot someone.