The Things That Store Clerks Say...

[devildog66]

So, I went to get some ammo at a Sportsman Warehouse yesterday so I could spend an hour or so at the range going through some basic refresher drills and the like. I carry either a .45 or .357 Sig depending on the several factors; yesterday the Sig was on my hip. Of course, ammo is more expensive and slightly harder to find for the Sig.

Long story made somewhat shorter - the clerk, who was helpful and friendly, told me in explaining the scarcity of .357 Sig ammunition that it is, "pretty much only used by state police forces as it is the only handgun round that will shoot straight through a car windshield.". Now I suppose that he meant of those handgun rounds likely to be used by law enforcement and that he meant it would shoot through without any deflection.

I thanked him for his assistance and chuckled silently to myself and got my ammo and headed to the range. Now I really like the .357 and the P239 that shoots it but simply amazes me just what is stated as ABSOLUTELY THE TRUTH without any critical thought from the person making the assertion. Now while the .357 Sig may be better than caliber X at said application, I didn't have the heart or frankly the patience to attempt to disavow him of that notion that there is a given magic caliber for a given application. Anyway I'm better now...

DD sends

 

[Mad Magyar]

It's not too unusual about those type of responses....Many clerks have little, or no experience handling & reading in this genre and listen to just what is said across the glass cases picking up info that might be mixed with the truth..
How'd your shooting go BTW?

Devildog66, jol vagyok, koszonom..... Glad you had a good outing. I spend a lot of time myself at close range using different scenarios....

 

[devildog66]

Hogy van Mad Magyar?

My shooting went well thank you for asking. I worked on weak hand and strong side single hand drills as well as doubles from the holster at short range.

 

[fins831]

I have been scouring stores around here to find night sights for my glock, and asking about AR-15's for my friend. One store visit was hilarious.

I enter the store and asked him about trijicon, because he had a huge trijicon sign hanging on the wall and on the glass leading into the store. "We don't carry trijicon, we carry meprolight." I laughed to myself about the sign, then asked ok , how much for meprolight, installed. He responds, 119 plus tax, and I laughed more, because I can find them for 60 online and figured 20 install.

Next, I asked if I bought them elsewhere and brought them for install here, whats the charge. His response, which is without a doubt the most amazing thing I have ever heard - I don't know, if you don't buy the sights from my store I can't guarantee my work. I was dumbfounded, and this was a Law Enforcement Depot - but they sold to civilians also.

I was done with my questions, because the answers were insane, but next came my questions about the AR-15 for my buddy. Within seconds, he was insulting my choice of brand, even though it wasn't my choice, and was trying to get me to buy a more expensive name, or one that gives him a kickback.

It was an unbelievable experience, and I will never go back.

So you aren't the only one to get a chuckle at a store

 

[RustyShackelford]

har har har...

Some of these gun store clerks make me laugh!

The problem is some dumb saps think these "experts" know what the $%* they are talking about, .

Buyer beware!!!

Rusty

 

[chucrusty]

I asked if I bought them elsewhere and brought them for install here, whats the charge. His response, which is without a doubt the most amazing thing I have ever heard - I don't know, if you don't buy the sights from my store I can't guarantee my work

with this guys apparent inexperience, i wouldnt let him anywhere near my gun!

 

[The Tourist]

His comment might be true. However there is plenty of SW .40 brass, 9mm bullets in every flavor and loading dies made by every supplier.

When we have guys out there shooting vintage 50-90 buffalo rifles and drawn brass Martinis, a little 357 SIG plinking ammo should be easy to make.

 

[Eric F]

ah and here is the problem,

However there is plenty of SW .40 brass, 9mm bullets in every flavor

.357 sig shoots a .356 dia bullet(according to some load data I have seen) just like the 38 super, however 9mm bullets(.355) can work just not as good.

>356 bullets are very scarce right now for what ever reason. Hence 357 sig and 38 super bullets are extra hard to find.

Just as a side note I have seen factory 357 sig in .355 and .356. I have seen load data for both diameters also.

 

[MechAg94]

I'm surprised he didn't tell you to keep your magazines unloaded to keep the springs from going bad.

 

[dm1333]

I was looking at a Bushmaster last year in a Dunhams. At $1100 there was no way I was going to buy the gun but the clerk was giving it his best shot. I almost laughed out loud when he looked left and right, then leaned forward and said very quietly "These babies are REALLLLLLL easy to convert to full auto, too!" He also kept calling it an M4 and corrected me when I called it an AR15.

The same guy marked down the price of a bunch of 16 gauge ammo for me one day when I complained that the same loads in 12 and 20 were a buck cheaper so he wasn't all bad!

 

[sm]

Store Clerk: Green ones for pests, red ones for birds.

Two weeks earlier I had been in this store with 17 year old lady, very attractive, tan, wearing cut off blue jean shorts, a see through blouse with a neon green and yellow bikini top underneath getting .410 shells.

Trust me, one can get waited on very fast with a young lady dressed like this...
Male clerks will trip over tongues and each other trying to assist you. *snicker*

[We will skip the tacky comments about this teenage kid being referenced as my daughter, or granddaughter, though the teenager quite enjoyed all of this]

Young lady asked for .410 shell not on the shelf, but were behind the counter getting ready to stocked.
Clerks are wanting to impress this young gal with wonderful wonderments of all things shooting.
They sorta look at me, and sorta decided maybe impressing this gal was not a good idea.
My adopted uncle look has a tendency to do this...

Teenage lady simply says she wants Green ones for pests, red ones for birds.
Remington slugs and Win AA #9 skeet loads.
Both get used for property duty, and most times from a single shot shotgun.

I was back in the store about 2 later and overheard this being said to another customer...

So...
If you are ever told by a young male clerk Green ones for pests, red ones for birds. in choosing .410 shells...

They got this from a hot looking young sweet thang that just got out of the pool and was out with their adopted uncle Steve.


*Grin*

There are some other things these clerks have learned too...
It seems short mini-skirts have a tendency for male clerks to pay attention to what a "hot babe" has to say about shooting.

Oh it is great to be the adopted uncle...*snicker

 

[gunshow]

I want to open a gun store where the clerks are not allowed to speak except to give prices and guidance filling out the form. I'll put a sign in red that says "MY GUN COUNTER CLERKS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE THEIR TWO BIT, UNINFORMED, IDIOTIC GUN PREFERENCES AND MORONIC "SCIENTIFIC" OPINIONS."

I'll bet I would clean up as people came to just shop for guns instead of listening to a bunch of vocalized fecal matter from other gun store clerks.

 

[Maelstrom]

Ramsey Outdoor Store in Ramsey found out what happens when you badmouth a customer fresh out of Boot Camp then hand him an AR 15.

What happens is 20 seconds later you have a pile of parts in front of you and your "customer" walking out the door, whether you know how to reassemble it or not.

 

[scrat]

hahahaha

I was near a Turners outdoorsman the other day. So i went in see if i could get some supplies. First asked if they had .44 cal Wads. Guy at the counter looked puzzled i said Black powder. He said no. Then i went up to the counter got some primers. Then asked for # 10 and #11 CCI. The guy again looked really puzzled. So i said #10 and #11 are caps for black powder. He then said no we actually dont carry anything for black powder.

Then i could not help myself. So i said ok forget black powder. I then asked if he had a bottle of 777 gun powder. He then said let me check. I quickly then went over to the bullet section. Found some hornady .454 round balls. Took them to the counter. He then came out with the bottle of 777. Set it on the counter asked if i needed anything else. I turned the bottle around showed him where it said BLACK POWDER SUBSTITUTE. I then handed him the .454 roundballs and said you might want to send these back if you dont carry black powder. By the way the shelf is full of them. One of the other guys at the counter started laughing at him as he sat there with a red face. I then said Ok i guess i have to go to a real gun shop then. BYE

 

[scrat]

Ramsey Outdoor Store in Ramsey found out what happens when you badmouth a customer fresh out of Boot Camp then hand him an AR 15.

What happens is 20 seconds later you have a pile of parts in front of you and your "customer" walking out the door, whether you know how to reassemble it or not.

hahahahahahahahahahahha i love it i really love it

 

[dm1333]

Maelstrom

Did you actually do that somewhere? What service are/were you in?

 

[Owen Meany]

sm said:

Trust me, one can get waited on very fast with a young lady dressed like this...
Male clerks will trip over tongues and each other trying to assist you.

It seems short mini-skirts have a tendency for male clerks to pay attention to what a "hot babe" has to say about shooting.

Isn't that the truth. There are many mindless, testosterone-laden fools in the gun business, I'm sorry to say. Of course, they're everywhere, in all businesses; it's just that it's tough to see such people contribute to the prevailing negative stereotype of the "gun culture", which is that it consists largely of under-educated, red-blooded (read "meatheaded") good ol' boys.

I'd love to see an icy professionalism maintained in gun stores with all clients, and the cold shoulder given to those who dress and behave in a deliberately provocative manner. Such foolishness as you've described, no matter how harmless it seems, reflects poorly on the gun community as a whole.

Regarding ignorant store clerks, I guess I've gotten off pretty easily: The most ignorant thing I've ever had a clerk at a gun shop tell me is that a .38 J-frame held 6 rounds in the cylinder.

Until he opened it and looked, of course...

 

[RP88]

it's worse when they advertise stocking.

For example, look over at classicarms. They will pretty much always tell you the truth about the gun finish and quality, even if it seems overly enthusiastic. But, they love to say things like "this is the last shipment of these that we'll get" or "hurry before they dry up" or "this AK cures cancer". However, you'll notice that alot of time they just say that so they can clear the inventory so that they can get the money to pay for the next shipment two months later.

 

[Nate C.]

Like it or not, being a sales associate at a gun shop is essentially just like working the drive-through at McDonald's: it's a low hourly wage job in retail. All you really have to know is how to run the register, and be willing show up for work on a more-or-less reliable basis. Any expertise is strictly optional.

 

[Maelstrom]

Did you actually do that somewhere? What service are/were you in?

Yes. In Ramsey, NJ. I was a jarhead.

 

[Big Boomer]

Hell if that's all that was said you should see my post about Guns Galore, it would make you puke!

 

[XD Fan]

There are many mindless, testosterone-laden fools in the gun business

Wait, doesn't that first part describe 99.9% of all guys between the ages of 13 and 25 (or 55) when an attractive women walk by?

I know this is not a gun store clerk, but I had a friend trying to buy a toy gun for his 9 year old son. He wanted some sort of military-styled toy gun. He did not find one at a local K-mart, and he mentioned it to the cashier. She said, "Oh we do not carry killy (Yes, that is right. She called them "killy") type toy guns."

So we should stop refering to ARs as EBRs, I propose we call them killy type guns.

 

[Dookie]

There are many mindless, testosterone-laden fools in the gun business

you just described ME, cept I'm 28. :banghead:

I heard a guy at a gun counter today tell a woman that she should never keep a round in the chamber because it might accidentally go off, in her purse, where her husband wanted her to keep it. and that only military and police should keep it with a round in the chamber.

First, never keep a gun in your purse
second, whats the point of having 27 different safeties on my pistol if it is just going to go off all by itself. not to mention if i is ever needed then racking the slide might be the last thing on ones mind.

 

[Kind of Blued]

Yeah... some people don't really question things unless they hear "conspiracy theory" or "free" in the sentence.

 

[hithard]

Okay, just got back from a big new store in Reno, please don't ask the name.

There's a 50 on the counter and a lady walks up and asked " what do you shoot with that big thing?" Clerk replies, "people".

I couldn't unappreciated attempt to circumvent language filterbelieve it!

The lady walks off, I spoke to the clerk and said, a better answer would be long range target shooting, or collecting. As these are better answers politically. He was amused by my comment. I spoke to his manager and explained the what was said. This guy say's, well that was what it was designed for! Yes, I said to him, but that is true of alot of guns. However, as responsible gun owners we should answer questions of this nature in a more politically responsible manor if we wish to continue to buy and own firearms. His reply, well he (clerk) wasn't all that wrong in his answer, that is what the gun is for.

Funny thing, The NRA had a few tables inside the store to sign new members up. I spoke with one of the guy's at the table representing the NRA and made him aware my new found knowledge, " Did you know that this store sells guns that are specifically used to kill people? A clerk just told us so!". Wish I had a picture of that guy's face.

Talk about stupid.....