Whyyyyy do people pester me whhhhhy (While buying a gun)

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boredelmo

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Was at academy with a friend who was purchasing a 6in Revolver.

Friend was filling out paperwork when bald overweight white guy dressed as a thug come downs and talks to the clerk.

Clown: Yo', you sell hollowpoints?
Clerk: Yeah
Clown: Damn, cop killers.
Clerk: What?
Clown: Nothin'
Clerk: Mhm.

He then turns to my friend:

Clown: Yo, you got a gun?
Friend: 'bout to
Clown: Damn man i want a Glock fortay so bad, i cant afford it tho.
Friend: Mhm
Clown: You gettin' that!?! (6in stainless revolver)
Friend: Mhm
Clown: I bet now aint nobody goin to f*ck with you huh?

I sense my friend and the clerks annoyance because he was trying to fill out paperwork.

Me: Nobody does now (currently) (my friend is 6'2 190lbs)
Clown: I was just saying
Everyone together: Mhm.

So read all the stereotypes on THR about thugs and guns, but today, almost all of them came true with this one guy. Wow.

Anyone get pestered with ignorance and annoyance from people like this?
 
They don't really annoy me. As I usually walk off or cut them short
before it gets annoying.

Sounds like you handled it well.
 
I've seen and heard worse. Been a victim of much of it. I try and forget these experiences.


They do have a bright side. They remind me why I prepare for a SHTF - because when law and order is gone - I have to share a geographical area with people of that mindset.


Think about it.


At least you encountered stupid people during a gun purchase and not on the line of a firing range. That's much worse (Been there, done that).
 
It's a combination of ignorance and poor social skills. But mostly ignorance.

I recently took someone I considered pretty intelligent to the range for an introduction to shooting. He had never so much as held a real gun before. Though he was obviously (and understandably) nervous, he eventually got over it through repetition and familiarity with the 4 rules. By the time we finished (2 hours) he was comfortable and was even shooting decent groups at about 10 yards with a Ruger .22. We didn't shoot anything but the .22.

He treated me to lunch afterward. Here's a part of the conversation:

Me: The .22 is an entry-level caliber used for training and fun. Most people carry at least a 9mm for protection. Virtually all cops carry a 9 or something more potent.
Him: I could never be a cop. Mainly because I could never shoot someone.
Me: I don't want to be a cop either, but I'm pretty sure I could shoot someone if it came to that.
Him: I guess we're just different.
Me: So you wouldn't shoot someone who was intent on doing harm to you or your family?
Him: Oh, yeah. I would do that. Absolutely. I just don't think I could shoot someone for any other reason. Only if they were going to seriously harm or kill me or someone else could I do it.
Me: What other reason could there be for shooting someone?
Him: Like, I don't want to shoot the guy stealing my car radio, or get myself into a gun fight in downtown Philly.
Me: You can't shoot the guy stealing your car radio. Carrying a gun doesn't give you the right to shoot, or even draw your gun on, someone who is commiting a crime. You can only use deadly force on people who are a direct, lethal threat to you or others.
Him: Oh. I didn't realize it worked that way.

The conversation didn't end there. We talked about things like conflict de-escalation, levels of awareness while carrying, etc, etc... But it shows that people who aren't exposed to responsible gun owners only know what they see on TV or read in the paper. This was a pretty smart guy that had NO idea what CCW was about.

The guy you mention doesn't sound very bright, but my guess is that his problem has more to do with ignorance than stupidity. (With some bad manners tossed in.)
 
Been there.....Saturday

I went into Gander Mountain on Saturday (my husband wouldn't go in this time and he always does) and this big bald obnoxious guy (maybe it was the same one) was already being helped but then walked away so I moved up. I knew that I wanted the Taurus .38 special as I had already looked at it elsewhere. The whole time I was filling out my paperwork he wouldn't leave me alone. I love to talk about my having guns but not when I'm doing that. He said oh well a little lady should start out on a .22. Not to sound b****y but my first thought was do I look like I need help and "little lady" what era is this guy stuck in? I walked right in and knew what I wanted. Then he started going on about how his uncle is a cop in PA....again, did I ask? Why is it every guy that wants to prove something seems to know a cop somewhere. Big deal! I was totally excited about my gun as I have been wanting that one for a while but this guy just about ruined it. The guy behind the counter has helped me several other times so he kinda made faces towards this guy like shut up. Then some guy came out of nowhere and said "oh a girl with a pistol YAY!!" Part of me thought damn right so shut up and move on while the other part was just really embarrased. So I have been there and know what you mean.
 
At least you encountered stupid people during a gun purchase and not on the line of a firing range. That's much worse (Been there, done that).


Scary thing is that the guy I dealt with would be the kind to tap you on the shoulder as you are all lined up and say hey do you have some ammo I can borrow? Haha!
 
Good on you COLT. We (the gun guys, and gals) need to educate people, not shun them.
Gunbabe, if you had told the guy, hey, this ain't my first gun buddy, I've been shooting for X years and I had this gun picked out.
Or maybe something to the effect of the little guns just don't do it for me anymore...

Anyway. Educate People, it's the only way we are going to keep what we got.
 
35Rem...I told him I started with a .22 and I have a 9 mill so he looked shocked and that is when he had to go into the story of his uncle being a cop. And they say women talk. Haha!
 
When people annoy me like that I just ask the clerk if the store gives a law enforcement discount. Shuts 'em up most of the time... :evil:

If it's not someone dressed like a thug and trying to impress, I'm generally willing to help anyone out who has genuine questions. I love it when I can help someone with accurate information. My biggest problem comes when I'm in a gun shop and I hear a clueless clerk telling someone something that's totally inaccurate, dangerous, or likely to get someone in legal trouble. If it's something really bad, I usually try to intervene gently. I'm pretty well known in the shops around here, so it doesn't happen very often. Still, once in a while...
 
I've caught flak a couple of times buying ammo. usually at wal-mart. twice it was the same fat, bald guy. I was buying the 100 rd value pack of 9mm winchester white box, as I was on my way to assasinate some pop cans. he was just walking by with his shopping cart, saw someone buying ammo, and decided it was time to get up on his liberal soap box.
I should mention that I'm a young man, but I was well dressed in chinos, brown shoes and a blue polo shirt, tucked in. I sell cars for a living, and look nothing like a "thug"

him:"I don't see why anyone would need that many bullets. what are you planning on doing, shooting up somebody's neighborhood?

me: "they don't come in any smaller packs than 50. it's cheaper to buy them this way. and I'm not sure how it's your business."

him, to the clerk:" you guy's shouldn't sell more than ten bullets at a time. there's no reason he needs that many bullets"

me, bag in hand, getting in the last word: "you look like you enjoy french fries. what if every time you went to McDonald's, they only let you have ten french fries? or what if you could only buy 10 dorito's at a time?" then i walked away.

ok, sort of mean, but keep in mind I'd been harrassed by this same gentleman before. since the clerks at wally world aren't exactly gun advocates, they have nothing to say.
 
That reminds me....

I forgot! He also whipped out one of those badges to say he could carry. I don't want one to begin with but I have seen plenty of ppl warn against those. Cop wanna be. I just kinda stopped listening at that point. I'm sorry but this guy probably checks himself out in the mirror and with his gun in one hand and badge in the other. I'm not trying to argue what everyone is saying I'm just shocked at the boldness of ppl sometimes. I share if I want to I don't like someone coming up to me while I'm filling out the papers saying "what are you getting" like how dare I be in his man shop buying something. Haha!
 
supraneurotoxin said:
"you look like you enjoy french fries. what if every time you went to McDonald's, they only let you have ten french fries? or what if you could only buy 10 dorito's at a time?"
Click to expand...
Love it :D
 
sacp81170a I kind of do the same thing, but I just ask if they give military discount and show my ID. Most of the time works fine. i just kind of hate when I encounter people like that. Part of life? I guess
 
"you look like you enjoy french fries. what if every time you went to McDonald's, they only let you have ten french fries? or what if you could only buy 10 dorito's at a time?"
Click to expand...

Love it! Great come back.
 
sacp81170a I kind of do the same thing, but I just ask if they give military discount and show my ID. Most of the time works fine.
Click to expand...

The reason it works is that these guys probably feel like they're venturing into dangerous territory even being in a gun shop. They get a little thrill and they're uncertain if it's socially acceptable or even legal to be there. If you're in the military or LE they automatically assume that they can't BS you and they shut up. If only they knew how little I actually know... ;)
 
Quote:

you're in the military or LE they automatically assume that they can't BS you and they shut up. If only they knew how little I actually know..

:D I'm in the same boat, lol :D
 
Dont feel the need to be standoffish just because of how a person is dressed and they lack proper gun education. I think We all had to learn better. Just because of how the person is dressed doesnt mean he is a "gangsta" or criminal. I think the original poster handled it well.

when im not at work, i dress probably as many of you would describe a "thug". I am also 6'6" black guy, with long dredlocks i have been growing for almost 12 years. I've noticed the atmosphere with gun store clerks change from entering a store to once they started speaking to me and and realise they arent dealing with someone ignorant or a criminal. Even at my first trip the range, the range master was kind of short patienced and cold with me and my friend at first, by the time we left for the day he and i were joking around with each other and he was telling me to come back and see him.
My friend with me is a police officer in another state. Both of us i'm sure got the "gangsta" label when we entered the range. We could tell by the looks of all the clerks on the floor of the gun store entrance.

I am a rapper part time, and but i am also graduated from college Summa Cum Laude, and i now have a juris doctorate and i am a young lawyer and responsible gun owner.

While there are alot of ignorant people perpetuating the Gangsta stereotypes, Dont judge a book by its cover. I see the "thug", and "gansta" stereotype throw around very often when describing scenario's, and i just wanted to speak on that minor annoyance.. Not everyone is up to no good just because they dress with a more hip hop style.

Just wanted to kinda make people aware of how prejudices can alter your interaction with people who are just different.
 
supraneurotoxin - that was an awesome quick thinking response!

sacp81170a - I think it's because they are so big and always right in their OWN world so they try to pass on their "wisdom". I have only one person that I ask anything of. I think he is quite knowledgable and too many opinions get confusing and always lead to disagreements.
 
it's true

Why is it that the most ignorant are the boldest? It takes all kinds, I guess.
Click to expand...

I read an article that said stupid people often assume they are smart!
Smart people assume there is a lot they do not know.

I had a problem with Reno co workers when I first got here and had to qualify at my old job at Loomis, the locals assumed they could shoot better then me because they grew up around dads hunting rifles, as if accuracy can be gotten by osmosis.
They grew up shooting jugs in the back yard , I was taught accuracy in the Army first with a rifle and later at an indoor range by a good instructor. (pistol)

I had small groups and they got it on paper, all over the paper:neener:
 
as colt mentioned, this was a result of ignorance and limited social skills. from listening to your dialogue i don't think this fellow was trying to be rude, harassing, or even annoying. indeed, i'm convinced that he fancies himself quite a friendly fellow, and that he was trying show that he's into guns too.

the fact that his comments were juvenile and in non-standard english don't change that basic underlying friendliness.

I understand your revulsion (and yours as well gunbabe), but perhaps in the future you might help our cause by making an attempt to educate the other on the difference between the ordinary media swamp skimmer citizen and a THR member?

I work in one of the worst neighborhoods, and poorest, in the country. I get a lot of kids and adults who try to be friendly but approach me in totally the wrong way.

examples are adults who like to share how they "handle" (hit on multiple women) or kids who like to share how they make deals with crooked cops.

most of the time, I try my best to engage them in a discussion about their self-perceived merits, and try to show them that there is a certain value in personal integrity and honor.

the same extends to firearms. if some fat bald guy comes over and wants to compliment your new acquisition by commenting on how many cops it can kill, perhaps you might be able to steer that into a discussion of why cops are so often vilified, and whether such an adversarial and stubborn position can ever hope to alleviate that.

just my 02.
 
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