Small gun shop and 'pig in a poke'

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critter

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Visiting my daughter, son-in-law and 3 great grandkids in Warner Robins, GA. Decided to make the local gun shop rounds as I intended to purchase a M98 Mauser. Had cash in hand!

Enter small gun shop. (I'm ONLY customer from beginning to end.) Present are several SKS's, several Sweed Mausers, one Yugo M48A and three Czech VZ 24's.

Asked to see the 48A. Ok. Poor bore. Passed. Asked to see one of the VZ 24's. It was tagged as a Yugo K98! Bore was a sewer-SEVERE counterbore. Wanted to see another. (That was only two of the four guns that I was interested in at the time.)

I was curtly told by the proprietor that they had NO INTENTION of allowing me to see all of the rifles as they were all identical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, THEY still have their guns, I still have the money and if you guys want to go after them, have NO FEAR that I will compete with you for them. Wonder how long they will be in business! I'm sure they will be completely flabbergasted that they couldn't make a go of it. So sorry.

Evidently, if you want on of them, you can go in, put your money on the counter, fill out the paperwork and they will, I guess, hand you one of them pig-in-a-poke style!

Woder if they buy clothes, cars, groceries, etc. like that!!!!!
 
That proprietor has a very disadvantageous attitude problem.!! From the way things are described, I'd say it would be fair to assume he had ''something to hide'' ... viz, that the others as yet unseen were also in the lemon category.

If had been open and helpful ... he may not have sold you a gun but ... you would have felt treated fairly and possibly even sent someone else along.

Not the sorta guy who deserves to succeed it would seem.!
 
That's ridiculous. Several times when I've bought guns at shops, the clerks brought out every identical gun they had from the back and let me pick the best one (even though they were all NIB). There was no reason for them to not let you see them all.
 
I was curtly told by the proprietor that they had NO INTENTION of allowing me to see all of the rifles as they were "all identical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Yeah...they all sucked. At least he was honest. :p
 
When I am behind the counter at the store I will show you every firearm you wish to see. Hopefully you will buy but that is not a foregone conclusion. It wears on you sometimes but it goes witht he territory wherein the customer is always right. If I want you as a repeat customer I am going to go out of my way to make sure you are happy.

Sounds like you ran into a grumpy guy who does not want your money. Can't see how he'll stay in business long with a piss poor atitude like that!
 
I've been on both sides of the gun counter, and while behind it, I always let the customer see which ever guns they wanted to see, one at a time, and offered to bring out from the back any that were in the ball park of what they were looking for. On the buying side, if a seller won't let me inspect the weapon, I wouldn't buy from him, anyway. (Internet sales aside. I can't wait for my C&R to show up. I just sent it off, so I'll just have to wait and placate myself with going to the gun show tomorrow, and asking guys with AK's if it has the chrome switch!
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Critter,
Sorry to hear that you didn't get your Mauser.

I'm also sorry to hear that you had a bad experience at a gun shop. You're right to take your business elsewhere.

-Jim
 
I've run into the exact same attitude at Dunham's stores when they have milsurps on sale (man I really have to get a C&R license). One time I asked to buy a 98/22 and asked if they had anymore in stock, the guy at the counter gave an emphatic "no". I started filling out the 4473 and the clerk took the rifle into the stockroom. It was at the end of the clerk's shift and a new clerk came to take his place. I told the new clerk that the rifle was a 98/22 and was put in back. She went in back, came out 5 minutes later with an unopened box. SHe opened the box and the rifle was in much better condition than the first. I said nothing, and bought that one instead.:scrutiny:
 
I was curtly told by the proprietor that they had NO INTENTION of allowing me to see all of the rifles as they were all identical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

You should have said "oh, they're all this bad. Thank you for saving me the time."
 
I would have informed the jackass behind the counter that I had "NO INTENTION" of letting him see the money in my wallet as all of the $100 bills were identical."

:evil:

But that's just me. I have an extremely low tolerence for people who are both rude and ignorant.
 
critter, did you stop at Chucks? Every time I stop in here they wont leave you alone handing you stuff to look at or asking if they can help. They have a good selection also.
 
Quick, YES I stopped at Chucks. Nice place with a LOT of guns and other things that call my name! (Chucks IS NOT the place I mentioned above.) I also stopped in at a new place (to me) between WR and Macon called the Rifleman. Very interesting place with some rather 'exotic' type guns.

All in all, I really like WR and the places there. I visit once or twice per year and try to make all the ole 'watering holes'.
 
Hey Critter, is the proprietor of this gun shop a female, in her late 40's/early 50's, by chance? I wonder because I had a VERY similar experience at a shop in Warner Robins.

I was looking for an AR-15, and stopped by this shop. I wanted a 16" Bushmaster. I asked to see one rifle, but once I got it in my hands I saw that it was a Colt, and I didn't quite have the funds for that. When I asked if they had any Bushmasters, she rudely told me that she wasn't going to get the rifle out unless I was going to buy it. I told her that I wasn't going to buy anything until I at least saw it first! Needless to say, I left, and never went back.

I've heard many stories similar to yours from others that have gone into this shop.
 
YUP! YOU GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Guess it wasn't just me, huh? Thought she didn't like my looks! HA. No matter, she won't get another chance.
 
I can almost see a clerk not wanting to show you every single instance of a NIB weapon in the shop. Heck - They're Factory New In Box, so they should all be practically the same.

Used guns, particularly Military surplus, can (and often do) vary all over the spectrum. Looking through a bin of those to find one you're happy with sounds like prudent shopping.
 
Oh I see you've met HER too!

She did you a favor and prevented you from over-paying for something that they won't stand behind.

I think the shop you're talking about is on Russell Parkway and I'm NOT talking baout Aardvark Arms. They are well known for their poorly lit shop and sour attitude. I live less than 1/4 mile away and will travel 100 miles to buy an item at the same (or even higher price) rather than deal with that cranky, yankee-go-home demeanor. Of course, in their defense they treat nearly everyone ????ty, not just "foreigners".

My first vist there, I asked to see a BM they had on display. I was the only one in the shop and her response was "are you gone buy it?". I asked her if she was having a bad day and she repeated "are you gone buy it?. I said "no" and apoligized for darkening the shop's doorway and promised her I'd never do it again... and i haven't in three years.

This is a military small town with only two gunshops (this one and Chuck's on Watson). All people want is to be either treated nice or ignored... but not insulted and treated like a bother. Really I don't think they make much on retail sales. I think they make their money on gunshows. I know they don't make any off me.
 
I can almost see a clerk not wanting to show you every single instance of a NIB weapon in the shop. Heck - They're Factory New In Box, so they should all be practically the same.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily - this depends a lot on the type, make, and model of gun you're buying. I've noticed MAJOR differences in "tightness" and trigger pull in, for example, Para Ordnance .45s I've looked at, all brand new. And some years ago, a shop had a bunch of Kimber "Super America" .22 rifles . . . the shop was empty, I had money in my wallet and was ready - heck, I WANTED - to buy, but do you think the lazy so-and-so would open any of the stack of boxes he had and let me pick one with nicer wood? Not on your life. (Yes, there can be MAJOR differences in grain, even if they're all rated "AAA Fancy.") He even had the chutzpah to say "You GOTTA take this one" as he held one with all the grain of a construction-grade 2x4. "No, I don't GOTTA" was my response as I left.
The worst enemy of a gun-dealer in quite a lot of cases is the gun-dealer himself
Click to expand...
+1 on that.
 
Kinda makes you wonder how a shop with no customers, no intention of HAVING customers, has survived this long....I knew a place that was just like that, and they were a front for another "business". Not making accusations, but incredible poor business practices tend to drive newbies out of the game quickly...
 
Go see the airplanes at the base- way better. I looked for a gunshop while I was there getting a heat treat oven for airplane part mfg; and couldn't find mexican beer or a decent shop, looked harder for the mexican beer though..... :rolleyes:
 
Oh so the bores on the other ones are sewer pipes too? Thanks for saving me the time and effort of checking for myself. Good bye.
 
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