I Am Not Sure What Kind of Ammo it Takes....

[Titan6]

It is happening more and more. People are buying guns and are quite clueless about them. I was at the Walmart and walking by the ammo counter and there was a man sitting there looking at two boxes of ammo. We already know that Walmart is a hopeless when it comes to their staff but the issue was the gentleman this time. You see he needed ".45 caliber bullets" for his new gun and because the gun shop where he had just bought the gun was out they had sent him to Walmart.

Normally I mind my own business but I know ammo is non returnable and I don't want to see anyone hurt.....

We discuss, he needs 45 ACP but one box says 45 auto and the other 45 colt, so where does that leave us?

Anyway what kind of gun is it? Where do the "bullets" go? We determine it is .45 ACP and he takes one box (because 50 seems like a lot).

Anybody else running into this? This man said he had not fired a gun since he was in the Army nearly 15 years ago.....

 

[Rancho Relaxo]

Yep, very common. The wal-mart clerk is just as clueless usually. From ages 18-21 I was asked very frequently if the 30-30 ammo I was buying was for a rifle or pistol. Another time a "senior" clerk told the lady that she didn't need to ask if my 22lr was for a pistol or a rifle because it plainly said "long RIFLE" on the box!

 

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

I had a guy in my concealed handgun license class show up to the range for our qualification with a tacticool Glock( it was camo painted or something.)

He had a box of .45auto with him, and was surprised when it wouldn't go into his gun.

When he asked the instructor what was wrong, the instructor very politely explained, "Oh, your gun is chambered for 9mm. This is the wrong ammo."

I mean, I know guys that've forgotten more than I know about guns, but I still resisted the urge to Facepalm.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

"Another time a "senior" clerk told the lady that she didn't need to ask if my 22lr was for a pistol or a rifle because it plainly said "long RIFLE" on the box!"

I like this, next time I'm asked, I'll just tell them to read the box!!!

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Heck, I myself have not been sure with the Colt .45, 45 ACP and 45 something else..

So I stick with just one item that works.

We once had fun with a truck tire man in the North east.

His question.

"Which tire?"

Answer "The one on the trailer"

Man eyeballs two rigs side by side and asks which truck and which wheel.

Answer "The one with the flat."

Pause.

"What kind of tire?"

Answer.

"this big *Holds arms round and has a black color"

We had some fun that day. For sure we wont be doing that again.

Back to Ammo.

I suspect that people bought alot of guns very quickly and then discovered they needed to feed these guns with alot of ammuntion. So I say that first there was a wave of gun buying now a wave for ammuntion buying and soon if not already a wave of Conceal Carry Permit Buying.

 

[rbernie]

All of us have been FNGs at some point. Education is a better response than ignoring the need for help.

Ya done good, Titan6.

 

[LibShooter]

Awhile back, I walked by the WM ammo counter to see the clerk and customer looking at two boxes: .357 magnum and .357 Sig.(Those were the good ole days when Walmart had plenty of handgun ammo.) I loitered long enough to realize the customer had no idea what ammo she needed and the clerk had no clue how to ask the right questions.

I asked if she had a revolver or an automatic. Blank stare. I said: "Do you put the bullets in a separate box that goes in the handle?" "No," she says, "They go in a little merry-go-round thing."

I'm glad I didn't suggest some cheaper .38 Special. Her head might have exploded. However, I'm not sure I did the world a favor helping that lady leave with ammo.

(BTW, what would have happened if she had tried to shove the .357 Sig rounds into the revolver?)

 

[Kind of Blued]

(BTW, what would have happened if she had tried to shove the .357 Sig rounds into the revolver?)

They wouldn't have chambered enough to close the cylinder, and therefore couldn't be fired.

I like to think some higher being sets up THAT situation with the merely uneducated people, while this higher being allows the genuinely dumb/ignorant people to buy the wrong ammunition which will fully chamber, fire, and blow up their gun.

 

[kd7nqb]

A buddy of mine who I consider one of the more educated gun guys I hang with had inherited an old Iver Johnson revolver. He took it into one of the better shops and asked for their help. It was obvious that what we were looking for was not our regular .38spl so the counter guy hands him a box of what I believe was called .38 long , well those were way too big even with just an obvious eye. Turns out it was a pretty outdated load that he was able to find online but the counter guy told us multiple times "Ah I bet a .38spl would work just be careful", thats what I call UNSAFE.

 

[Superlite27]

Was talking to the guy behind the counter at the local gun shop today.....

He said some guy had walked in earlier and wanted to buy a gun. Since this is a gun shop, it wasn't much of a surprise. But, when the clerk asked, "What gun would you like to purchase?" The guy said, "Oh, I don't care. One of the one's that are supposed to get banned."

I didn't find out whether or not the guy walked out with anything, but knowing this gun shop, he probably left empty handed with some advice to get some training first.

Evidently, with the OP and what I've encountered, not only are experienced shooters buying up stuff left and right, America is experiencing a record uptick in new gun owners.

Hooray! The more, the merrier!

I just wish they'd stop buying all the ammo.

 

[chuckusaret]

Anyway what kind of gun is it? Where do the "bullets" go? We determine it is .45 ACP and he takes one box (because 50 seems like a lot).

BS!. He must not have been in the US Army because very few people forget their weapons training

 

[jerkface11]

From ages 18-21 I was asked very frequently if the 30-30 ammo I was buying was for a rifle or pistol.

Then the clerk knew MORE than you did. After all you can get .30-30 handguns.

 

[armoredman]

Just today at WalMart a customer was telling the manager that the reason ammo was disappearing is that Obama ordered them all coated with and numbered.

 

[Rockwell1]

BS!. He must not have been in the US Army because very few people forget their weapons training

You sure do call BS a lot.

I spent 8 years in as a 71G. (Medical Admin Specialist I.E. PAC rat for MEDDAC)For half my hitch I was assigned to hospitals (MAMC/ EACH), I wasn't even issued TA-50 OR an individual weapon. I worked around Dr.s and Nurses who had NEVER qualified W/ a weapon. I actually worked with a Dentist who was afraid to fire an M-60 loaded with BLANKS at NTC, he had never fired a weapon previously.

for every 11B in the field there are someting like 12 support soldiers who rarely if ever qualify with a weapon. It's entirely possible that titan ran into one of us.

Oh, and since I know your going to ask I chose my MOS because I wanted the college money with out the field time. The fact that Civil Service hired me as my own replacemeant a month after I ETS'd helped too.

And to get on topic with the thread I ran into a guy at the range with a 30-30 rifle and a box of .30 carbine rounds once I loaned him my M-1 (supervised) and showed him where it said right on the breach what type of rounds to buy.

 

[A-FIXER]

chuckusaret
Senior Member



Join Date: 12-06-08
Location: West Palm Beach Florida
Posts: 556 Quote:
Anyway what kind of gun is it? Where do the "bullets" go? We determine it is .45 ACP and he takes one box (because 50 seems like a lot).

BS!. He must not have been in the US Army because very few people forget their weapons training

Agree chuck, the statement you heard was not no I didn't shoot a gun.... but its been 15 yrs since I shot a gun and you just don't forget something, but if you did qualify in the military you don't call your weapon a gun... as you know; This is my weapon this is my gun.. one is for killing one is for fun.
I am a Marine and you learn this 1st thing....when you touch the rifle not the gun.....SEMPER FI.....

 

[bonza]

I've worked in a couple of gun shops, on two continents, over the years. People not knowing what kind of ammo they needed for their firearms was pretty common. Ignorance is universal!

 

[Zach S]

(because 50 seems like a lot)

lol. I was once asked if there was a war going on in Asheville because I got a case of 9mm.

Thankfully, I didn't see her in sporting goods again.

So I say that first there was a wave of gun buying now a wave for ammuntion buying and soon if not already a wave of Conceal Carry Permit Buying.

There is. I know a guy that used to teach a class of 10-15 twice a month, now he's doing 15-20 every weekend.

When I got mine, I was the only one there about a carry permit. I think it took about an hour. When I went to do the paperwork for my renewal, four people came by to pick theirs up. I was there maybe 30 minutes.

 

[Riphalman]

We ALL started somewhere. Be patient, help to bring them over to the right side. After all, they DID buy a gun. God Bless America.

 

[CapnMac]

Be patient, help to bring them over to the right side. After all, they DID buy a gun.

Yeah, and when I ask them "When are you going to the range, maybe i can come along?" far too many looked shocked as if actually shooting the weapon had never really occured to them . . .

Perhaps "proficiency' sounds too much like a sports supplement at the weird vitamin store in the mall . . .

 

[bromdenlong]

Perhaps "proficiency' sounds too much like a sports supplement at the weird vitamin store in the mall . . .

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Conceivably, Wal-Mart (or whoever) could be sued if someone put the wrong ammo in his firearm and damage or injuries resulted.

 

[swiftak]

Rockwell1, The US Army I was in had everyone qualify with a weapon, regaurdless of MOS. Even Dr's, nurses, clerks, cooks etc. Its was called basic training.

 

[Rockwell1]

Rockwell1, The US Army I was in had everyone qualify with a weapon, regaurdless of MOS. Even Dr's, nurses, clerks, cooks etc. Its was called basic training.

Drs. and Nurses (By definition) don't go to basic training they go to OBC and some of them (believe it or not) don't even do that, they go in under what the Army calls the direct commission program. Especially if they're in a critical specialty Drs. get to break a lot of rules in the Army because they are in such short supply. I've seen military Drs. fifty pounds over weight and still in, I've seen some that had one arm, still in. Ever heard of the 525th Nuerosurgical detachment? 5 Docs every single one of them a Ltc or better, that's the entire unit, and they are 100% non-deployable.

Amed is kind of a different beast than the rest of the Army; it operates under different rules. I f the Dr. is a captain and the nurse is an Ltc. The Dr is still the Dr. I once watched a PFC (91C) kick an SFC(91B) out of the E.R. at Evans Hospital, he tried to pull rank on her and got reminded who was the field medic and who was the LPN.

Bottom line if you think everyone in the Army qualifies with a personal; weapon you are dead wrong

 

[Rancho Relaxo]

Then the clerk knew MORE than you did. After all you can get .30-30 handguns.

This is wal-mart, I'm pretty sure he didn't know about the one handgun made that can shoot 30-30.

 

[UpInSmoke]

I was at a local gun shop the other day and i guy came in andsaid he was trading his 9mm for a .45 and wanted to know if he could use the ammo he already had for his 9mm for his .45.