"you can shoot 357s out of that 38 special"

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Superdave70_02

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I was at Acadamy in Amarillo tx a couple days ago and decided to check out the guns. While I was waiting at the gun counter, the guy in front of me asked to see a 38 special snubby and as the clerk handed it to him he said "you can shoot 357s in that you know." After I caught my breath me and about 5 other customers quickly corrected him.

My question is what do you do in this situation? Is correcting him enough or should I have asked to speak to a manager?

I got to thinking about it later and wandered what kind of bad info he has given to other people, wrong ammo for their gun, or who knows what.
 
I would call and speak to the manager so he can be properly educated. NOT fired, just properly educated.
 
Don't be a jerk. I was asking If I would have been out of bounds reporting him to a manager? If you can't take "the high road" please keep your response to yourself.
 
I worked part time in the Gander near me and I have to say they hire warm bodies not knowledgeable people. I was going home pissed after each shift until I just let it go and had grown tired of always correcting other employees. This is what you get in a box store instead of a mom and pop type of shop.
 
Wow! I wouldn't be able to restrain myself from correcting him. Even though 38 spcl. revolvers won't typically chamber .357's, it's still a serious situation to which should be clarified. Calling the attention of a manager to his employee's ignorance, is certainly in line with what's the right thing to do, I would think.
 
But everyone knows that .38 caliber is bigger than .357 caliber, right?!?!?
;)

So the real question is, how the heck did a guy with such little basic knowledge of firearms get hired to work at a gun shop?
 
19-3Ben said:
So the real question is, how the heck did a guy with such little basic knowledge of firearms get hired to work at a gun shop?
Click to expand...
Because minimum wage sometimes only gets you the minimum. In this case as long as the guy can run a cash register, he is probably qualified. I don't expect expert techincal information out of store clerks.
 
He might have just slipped up, you know. Talking to the manager seems a bit ridiculous to me. I imagine being embarassed in front of a customer will be enough to help him remember. No need to be so tightly wound.
 
I would think that politely correcting the clerk is the proper thing to do.

Also, I would expect that the manager would want to know about this. After all, the clerk is representing the store and if the clerk is ignorant (or dishonest) that would reflect poorly on the manager and store. The manager can't correct what he doesn't know about.

This doesn't need to be a major situation with manager (no need to loudly call out for the manager and demand the clerk's head on a platter)... a short polite conversation would suffice.
 
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Go to Walmart and ask questions about the Colts they are carrying..That outta be an education. I will pay the extra couple bucks to deal with Mom and Pop. Even our local gun shop guy ain't the sharpest knife in the drawer but beats the 18 year old kid that just got transfered from pet supplies...
 
After he was corrected he repeated the same thing he said before, at which point the other clerk took the gun from him and put it back up. I walked away at that point but just thought later that maybe it wasn't just a brain fart and he really was completely clueless to certain firearms/ammo combinations and maybe should have been reported for the sake of customer safety.
 
I don't think .357 will fit in a .38 special and have the cylinder close so from a safety standpoint he probably won't cause too much harm. He probably meant to say +P.
 
The was you tell it is rather vague. You said the person in front of you asked for a .38 snubby. Was he pointing at a specific revolver? Did the revolver actually say .38 special on it?
 
.357 brass was built deliberately longer to keep people from blowing up their .38's, they shouldn't chamber at all in a .38 that hasn't been mucked with.
 
Not a big deal.

Obviously wrong, but nothing unsafe here. .357 brass will not fit in a .38 special chamber.
 
Me personaly think there should be at least a basic test on basic firearm knowlege. Most people that dont know are the ones asking the questions. Its the blind leading the blind.
 
A logical question might be, if you were to load .357 Magnum brass with DEWCs (almost flush with the case mouth), they would not chamber in a .38SPL cylinder? If you charged them to .38SPL specs, would they not be safe to fire from that .38SPL?

Actually, it turns out, they won't chamber, and it has nothing to do with OAL. The case dimension is the same, but the taper inside a .38SPL cylinder happens too soon to accommodate a .357 case.
 
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As in anything it's "buyer beware". I had a local mom and pop gun shop clerk correct me when I was telling my friend that longer barrels don't equal accuracy. It's the sight radius that helps.
You can't expect people to know their job. It's always your responsibility to know what's right.
Im in the service industry and I see people all the time say, "Well this guy told me this and he does this for a living" It doesn't mean he's right!
 
I could have sworn that the entire reason .357/.44 mags use a case that is 1/8" longer than .38/.44 Special was so that they would NOT chamber in the Special cylinders.

Are we absolutely sure that he was showing him a .38 snub, and not a .357 snub and pointing out the benefit of the .357 snub?
Not that my hands/wrists find the shooting of .357s from a J frame to be any kind of "benefit".
 
Yes going to the manager discretely would be in order.
Not to be mean but reading the manual or obtaining a manual for any weapon is an owners responsibility. Regardless of what someone told you if you do something stupid with your weapon and someone is harmed it is on your head. (or would that be off with your head).
T
 
I could have sworn that the entire reason .357/.44 mags use a case that is 1/8" longer than .38/.44 Special was so that they would NOT chamber in the Special cylinders.
Click to expand...

And you'd have been correct. I was wrong. I had to trim a .357 down to convince myself.
 
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