Anyone else ever noticed this?

[wheelgunner357]

I was in one of the big outdoor type stores today, one of the ones where they supposedly only hire people that know what they're talking about to work the gun counter. Well, I was at the counter trying to decide how mad my wife would get if I came home with a pistol costing more than both of our car notes when I overheard/eavesdropped on two of the workers talking between themselves. Didn't hear the beginning of the conversation, but the more senior appearing of the two wound things up by informing the younger guy that the .380 is basically the semi-auto version of a .357 Magnum . The other guy told him he thought the .380 was just a shortened 9mm to which the older gent scoffed at him for being uninformed and told him very patiently that the .380 has some of he most vicious recoil in a handgun. I thought about getting involved in the discussion, but I had bigger issues on my mind at the moment.

At another time I was in a gunshop and was told by a young man showing me a Ruger .454 casull that you couldn't use .45 Colts in the same gun because the Colt round had too much pressure.

So my question to all my fellow enthusiasts is this: Have you ever been somewhere that was SUPPOSED to have people that had at least some knowledge of what they were talking about behind the counter but it turned out you doubted they ever even shot a gun? Just curious.

By the way, I decided my wife would be less mad if I put the gun in layaway and paid it off over a couple of weeks instead of dropping the cash all at once.

 

[m.p.driver]

Was behind an older gentleman who told the kid at the counter that he had received an SKS for Christmas and needed some ammunition.Evidently neither were firearms enthusiasts,the kid said he couldn't tell him because it could be chambered for anything.
Was told by another clerk that his buddy just came back from the gulf,who was special forces,and he was issued a pistol that would fire 9mm and .45 auto out of the same barrel,that way you would always have a supply of ammunition.

 

[HotShot.444]

Those types abound.

I have been known to pick up a periodical from their news-stand and ruffle through it to find a SERIOUS study on the topic they are blowing away. I drop in to every gun-store I pass on my way to where-ever, and check out just about anything I see laying out. I have built up rapport with several "right guys" (one is a gal) and am kept up to date on shipments of goodies before they get there, dates of when inventory prices are rising (ammo), etc. One place it doesn't work is WallysChiComMart, because NO-BODY tells any-body anything until the truck is at the ramp!

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

It's called "The Human Condition".

It happens in car dealerships, gun shops, beauty salons, pizzerias, bar rooms, courts of law, the White House, race tracks, computer stores, internet forums.... places wherein you find people.

Everyone always knows all about that which they speak, even when they have no idea.


(Incidentally, I have found .380s to have some of the nastiest, as in "ouch", recoil of any handgun. "Recoil" is not, however, equivalent to "power".)

 

[JohnKSa]

Stood in line at an indoor range/gun store/gunsmith and listened to the owner's kid tell the person in front of me how steel cased ammunition would ruin the extractor on his AK.

 

[cougar gt-e]

Ah yes, I harken back to the days when the parts counter guy at NAPA knew what parts went on what cars, where they were in the store, how much they cost and the best way to put the new one on -- without looking in a book or online.

Today, it's hard to find someone that even knows the name of the store they work for, much less what they sell, how much it costs or how to use it.

FYI - back in 1970 the average pay was about $6500 per year. A lot was expected for that pay too!

 

[8shot357]

It happens in car dealerships, gun shops, beauty salons, pizzerias,........

Pizzerias? I once was told that the pizza doesn't have to be perfectly round.

 

[Flint Ridge]

At a tiny gun shop. Only open after the guy got off work and opened the place up after 5:30 or so.

Guy walks in says he's never owned a gun but needed something for home defense. Stated he wanted a semi-auto 9mm and what did he have?

Owner says basically 9mm is a play round, good for nothing, he needed to get a 38 special (not saying that's a bad idea to get a revolver). He went over, opened a box of 9mm, pulled one out and set it on the counter. Opened a box of 38 special and proudly slapped it down towering over the 9mm. "See there - look at all the more power ya got behind that round".

I left.

 

[Jbar4Ranch]

Was told by another clerk that his buddy just came back from the gulf,who was special forces,and he was issued a pistol that would fire 9mm and .45 auto out of the same barrel,that way you would always have a supply of ammunition.

I had one customer claim, "Ya, I carried a fifty caliber Desert Eagle when I was in the sandbox, but they only issued me a hundred rounds for it, so I had my (brother in law, cousin... something) send me some more ammo every month."

About every tenth person who walks up to the counter was Special Forces or a "sniper" in "Nam", the Gulf, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.

 

[Eagle0711]

Some real pearls of wisdom.

 

[Nasty]

JBar - That's in real life. Multiply that by a million and you have a snapshot of the internet.

Folks...do your own research ahead of time so when you walk into *any* business, *you* are the expert on what you want.

 

[CajunBass]

So you're saying you don't believe my story about being a Coast Guard sniper fighting the Nazi's in the Gulf of 'Nam?

Darn. It was a good story too.

 

[blume357]

Actually the older sales person is kind of right in that

380s, at least the ones I've shot do have some serious recoil... well at least as much as a standard 9mm....

but then we are all going to be right about something no matter how stupid and ill-informed we are.

a broken clock (the old dial kind for you new bucks) was right twice a day.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

380s, at least the ones I've shot do have some serious recoil...

I'd agree. My LCP recoils pretty hard but then again its a small, light weight gun and I've got pretty big hands so I can never a good grip on the darn thing.

Anyway, I usually expect to know more about my purchase than the person behind the counter. If that person happens to be knowledged I consider myself lucky.

 

[spacecoast]

Guy walks in says he's never owned a gun but needed something for home defense. Stated he wanted a semi-auto 9mm and what did he have?

Owner says basically 9mm is a play round, good for nothing, he needed to get a 38 special (not saying that's a bad idea to get a revolver). He went over, opened a box of 9mm, pulled one out and set it on the counter. Opened a box of 38 special and proudly slapped it down towering over the 9mm. "See there - look at all the more power ya got behind that round".

The recommendation was good even if the reason was inaccurate. It's possible he was using that because it's the most plausible readily visible reason to someone not firearms-oriented.

 

[kraigwy]

Sometimes un-informed store clerks pays off:

A friend of mine, ( a pistol shooter who shot for the NG International Pistol team) was in a large box store's sporting goods department when a guy wanted to return a 38 pistol because it wouldnt shoot 38s. The clerk took a box of 38s, and sure enough they wouldn't even go in the clips. Yeap, it say right on the gun 38 Special. So the clerk took the gun, gave the guy a refund.

My buddy looked at the gun, told the clerk he would buy it for $150, saying he knew a gun smith that might be able to fix it. The clerk checked with the manager and sold my buddy a brand new Smith Model 52 wad cutter gun for $150.

We (the AK NG Marksmanship Unit had tons of WW 38 WC match ammo that worked in the gun perfectly.

 

[alloy]

I like books and search engines, here and elsewhere, and try to research purchases as far away from salesmen as possible. Preferably miles away.

 

[shortwave]

Sometimes un-informed store clerk pays off:

How right you are kraigwy.
Just prior to the so-called ammo shortage, went into the local Waaalllly World and as always went back to the sporting goods. On the front of the glass, locked ammo display case where the PMC 45ACP ammo was stored was a sale price sticky of around $4.75(don't remember exact price). I called the clerk over and asked him if that was the right price. His response was a very snappy "Just as marked".
I bought all the store had which consisted of several cases.

 

[Daryl]

Such things work both ways, and people's logic isn't always all that logical.

I worked in a gun shop for a short time back in the mid-1980's, and had some "interesting" encounters.

One fella came in, and asked specifically for a Win 94 chambered in 30-30. I showed him what we had, and he chose one.

When he mentioned needing a scope for it, I asked if he had a preference in fixed VS variable, or for a particular brand. He replied, "No; I just need something that will allow to to hold dead on out to 2500 or 3000 yards."

Another guy came in and wanted to buy a small handgun for his wife. After picking the cheapest one we had, I asked if he needed ammo for it. He replied that he definitely didn't want ammo for it, since he was afraid his wife might hurt someone. He just wanted it so that she'd have some sense of security.

You have to learn to laugh...after they leave.

Daryl

 

[James K]

One of the best I heard from a customer was that firing a bullet left a vacuum in the barrel and the noise was from the air rushing back in!!

And I didn't know that.

Jim