Overheard at the counter today.

[Boats]

I stop by Sportsman's Warehouse in Salem to finally get myself a Klawhorn Ready Edge for my keychain and as I cannot get out of the place without going over to the gun section, I head on over. This nice young gal, whose father taught her a thing or two about guns as she relates it to me (and it shows by how much she can tell me about each model), is showing me every weapon I want to look at because the foot traffic is fairly low at the time. I am checking the lock-up on various revolvers when a guy in his late 40s strolls up. I lay the S&W 360 I am looking at on the rug so the clerk doesn't get anxious that I'll lift it or something, and I nod to give her the go ahead to help someone who might be buying today.

"Hi, I bought a Glock here two weeks ago. Do you have a gunsmith that works here?"

"Yes," the clerk says, "he isn't here on Sundays. He's the manager and can do light work on most of the pistols we sell. What's wrong with your Glock?"

"I disassembled it and I can't get it back together."

"The field stripping procedure is in the manual." as she tries to be helpful.

"No, you don't understand. I took it completely apart. I can't figure out how to put it back together again."

"Well lucky for you the manager is a Glock Certified Armorer. Just come by tomorrow with your Glock. I'll get your name and number and he'll give you a call for when it would be best for you to come by."

At this point I had moved down the counter because I was having a hard time not laughing. I didn't catch the guy's name, but I'd bet his number was 503-DUMBASS.

 

[itgoesboom]

What do you want to bet that the first thing he does after he gets it put back together is head to the nearest pool to see if it really will shoot underwater.

I.G.B.

 

[Shake]

Yes, inexperienced people new to the sport who need assistance are worth ridiculing. . .

I know I've always known everything there is to know about handguns.



Shake

 

[MMcCall]

I know you like to stir the pot, Boats. GOD FORBID someone wants to learn their pistol inside and out, and made a mistake.. now he gets a free lesson from a Glock armorer.

Oh, right, I forgot.. if it's not a 1911 or a Garand, it's not a REAL gun, right?



[Text cleaned up to THR standards by moderator.]

 

[dsk]

Dirty Harry once said "A man's got to know his limitations".

Some folks exceed them every day, and still never learn.

 

[c_yeager]

Yeah, its much better to set the bar really low. That way you never embarass yourself by learning something.

 

[Powderman]

itgoesboom:

Hate to mention this, but the Glock will reliably shoot underwater.

So will any handgun--IF it is done correctly.

MMcall: Boats was relating a humorous story. Do you REALLY have to try to skin him alive for this?

I think some one once said, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

 

[faustulus]

I am sure the $40 in stupid tax the guy will have to pay to get it back together will sting. I have done things to incure this tax myself.

Bet it won't be free. You make a mistake people are going to ridicule you, think of it as negative reenforcement. Like the guys that bring stuff into the gun smith say "I got the dremel out ..." I don't fault a man for trying to learn, but I think I would have some idea what I was doing before I attempted it, and there are somethings I just wouldn't attempt -- say open heart surgery, just because I want to learn the human body inside and out.

 

[c_yeager]

Are you honestly going to equate open heart surgery with detail stripping a glock? I dont know a single guy that DOESNT like taking stuff apart to learn how it works. This is something that should be encouraged.

 

[Baba Louie]

As a youngster, I took apart everything I could get my hands on to see what made them tick. Usually had a part or three left over and dangit... the thing usually did not work for diddly afterwards (surprise), unlike my Dad, who'd work on cars and there was always a part or two left over (how'd he do that?) and the dang thing still ran.

If only the character in question had known about the internet and Glocks, etc. He could have probably done it himself (it's not that hard with the right punch).

Live and learn. Maybe, just maybe, the manager/smith will allow him to visit the surgery room during reconstruction and education will follow. I'm sure that every gunsmith who's been in business more than 6 months has similar stories to tell.

Adios

 

[Serpico]

I once tried open heart surgery on myself...it sure was embarrassig walking into the emergency room with a home made rib spreader sticking out of my chest...

 

[Mal H]

No matter how you feel about statements made here, there will be no ad hominem remarks allowed. Keep it civil.

 

[Boats]

Yes, please PM me with any vile remarks you may have. I apologize for calling a spade a spade. Isn't the Glock supposedly the easiest pistol ever invented in terms of the detail strip? Aren't there like only thirty some parts? Sounds as if this anecdote has struck a little to close to home for some.

 

[Kentucky Rifle]

C. Yeager...

For a while I wondered if you REALLY were Chuck. Sometimes, you even talk like him. Been a while since I've spoken to him though.

KR

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

A man had better learn how to detail strip his piece and reassemble it.


Kudos to the guy for trying.

 

[themic]

i...i... just didn't get why this was funny. are glocks hard to put together? should peopl not take apart their guns completely? should he not ask for help when he gets stuck? i'm at a loss for figuring out the social norm we're poking fun at.

 

[hksw]

Dirty Harry once said "A man's got to know his limitations".

Some folks exceed them every day, and still never learn.

Others exceed them and learn a lot.

 

[spacemanspiff]

some people have a bug to take things apart. when i was a kid, somewhere around 11 or 12, i forget exactly, i took apart the .22 pistol i found in my brothers room, following the field stripping instructions in the box it was in.

but i was able to put it back together.

 

[Mike Irwin]

How much you want to bet that he'll get VERY bent out of shape when the manager charges him a reassembly fee?

I had one person get VERY huffy with me years ago when she brought in her .44 Desert Eagle for me to reassemble and I told her there was a $10 fee.

Don't want to pay it? No problem. Here's the box with all of the disassociated parts in it.

Maybe you can use them as paperweights until you figure out how to put them back togeter again...

 

[Tamara]

I know when I worked in gun shops, I never made a point of poking fun at folks who came in with what is known colloquially as "a box of gun". (...and believe me; it happened to every brand of pistol and revolver, rifle and shotgun you can name. Maybe this also partially accounts for my lack of rabid loyalty to any given make or model... )

 

[grenadier]

We've all made mistakes somewhere along the way, and I'm certain someone has snickered behind our backs at our honest mistakes.

This guy is at least doing the right thing by asking for help, and learning something in the process.

 

[PCRCCW]

Hell, Ive got one for you Boats...and its about ME

For years I shot a Ruger Mark 1 of my dads/moms/everyother person I knew had one and could strip them/reassemble them without a hitch.

After a 15 year break....I cleaned and shot my moms same MK1 and after the session, brought it home give it a good throrough once over. For the life of me...I could not get it back togethor......something Id done 500 times in the past (felt like a previous life time at this point )

I had to take the damn thing to a local range and hit one of my buddies up....."Pssst, Hey come er".....can you help me?

Stuff happens....I can reassemble a 1911 completely in less than 4 minutes...but that damn Ruger bit me hard.............flame away......what the hell.

Shoot well

 

[Delmar]

It seems to be a shared experience with people who take their firearms apart that most of us started out as children disassembling most anything we could lay our hands on, much to the distress of our parents.
I see the humor in adults taking things apart and not being able to get them back functional-its a chance for self deprecating humor, and if you can't chuckle at yourself, you are way to serious for your own good.
As adults, most of us have learned to get a good teardown manual for whatever it is, being a Colt or a Briggs and Stratton.

 

[Poohgyrr]

Doesn't Glockmeister have the directions linked on their website ?? Once you know how, a Glock can about be taken apart with a nail if need be. Put back together too ...

 

[mcole]

that guy should be neutered so he can't pass his gene's on. mcole