Goofy Things Said At Gun Shops

I had known the difference between a clip and a detachable magazine long before I had ever fired a gun. That was about 65 years ago. About 5 years ago I had heard the improper use of "clip" so much that without thinking I found myself making the same mistake. I know better, but I guess it's like picking up the habit of saying "aint." My BA is in English!!! :D
 
Ever heard that a gun can fire a bullet at too high a velocity?
"It won't stay in him long enough to hurt him."
I have heard that little legend from both LE and hunters.
Once about the guy who shot an assailant with a .44 Magnum. He "ran off" but the bullet kept going and killed an old man in his rocking chair in the next block. Yup, the bullet had to slow down to kill the second man after whizzing through the first one with little effect.
 
I had an employee INSIST that the Colt he was selling me was a "series 70" even after I locked the slide back and showed him the firing pin lock plunger.
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There was some overlap between the introduction of the Series 80 and the discontinuation of the Series 70 guns, and a few Series 70 were made with the firing-pin safeties. I have a Gold Cup with it, and I've seen a Silver Star with one. Many people (including manufacturers) misunderstand what makes a gun a "Series 70." It is not the lack of a firing-pin safety.

the Lee Harvey Oswald commemorative Carcano he made.
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I did once admonish a customer not to "go shooting Jack Kennedy with this" when he bought some 6.5 Carcano. He didn't get the joke. Ironically, the poor guy bought the rifle at a gun show after being told it shot 6.5 Grendel.
 
When I was lung, I used to go in and ask for a box of .22 lr bullets... Still have a habit of calling them that..lol... The good ole days... I used to save my money and go to the department store and buy a brick of .22 (I was around 12-13 then). Pretty soon I will have to have. Background check to buy my bullets..lol
 
I still fail to see the problem with ".22 LR," given that some firearms and some ammo boxes are so marked.

Then again, I tend to say "CC" instead of "Cubic Centiliter." Bad me.
 
Had a customer come in just last week and ask how much the 223 ammo barrels were. He was talking about AR drum mags.



Ike
 
Then again, I tend to say "CC" instead of "Cubic Centiliter." Bad me.
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No, no, no! It's supposed to be milliliters! Somewhere, somebody's having an existential meltdown over that very distinction as we speak :)

Frankly, I have no issue whatsoever with ".22 LR." That's an accepted name for the cartridge, and its usage helps prevent confusion with the other 2,183 other .22-caliber loadings that have existed over the years.

It's like griping about "five point five-six" or "point two two three." What matters in those conversations is clarity, and that's good enough.
 
At the gun shop, it almost makes me run. Anyone seen that guy who will slam cycle a shotgun behind you, no warning?
 
I think the .22 thing was that he was calling them "bullets" and not "cartridges."

Though if I'm wrong, both "lr" and "bullets" should get the point across.
 
Ironically, I was safe with "cc" but screwed up the long form, which should have been "cubic centimeter". Although as Tom Servo noted, milliliter would work...
 
my favorite is that springfields are croatian garbage, made in a third world country but whenever I ask them to point out croatia on a map they get real clammy all of a sudden.... I bet most are surprised to go home and have google tell them it's right next door to austria and is one of the nations least affected by the recession.
 
Yeah 9mmfan, you caught my goof. Just growing up I had always referred to them as bullets and not ammunition or cartridges. As a few more years went by, I learned to correct myself...
 
I grew up calling ammo "shells" and still do in casual conversation with old friends and family who do the same. Not sure where the name "shells" came from, but if it is common lingo I don't have a problem with it. Only when talking to someone who isn't really familiar with the term.
 
I was talking to a fella about hunting and I was telling him that I finally drew a buck permit for a trophy antelope area. He told me "I don't even put in for those things, if I want to shoot one, I just go out on the farm and get one".

I said "Oh. you just better be careful because the wardens are always out and about during hunting season" he replied, "I'm not worried, they don't ever come around the farm because one year a warden came around when me and my buddy were hunting without tags and we just took a couple warning shots at him and he's never been back".

I just said "uh huh" and walked away...

I'm sure government law enforcement would just let that one go ;)
 
LED said:
I have a feeling we are getting a little smug here. While there's no doubt know-it-alls exist and draw chuckles, people do say the wrong word or get distracted. How about a story of your own moment?
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The closest that I can offer is below. In person I am typically the last to offer my opinion...

One day I went to my local gun store, which was then ran by a longtime family friend. (He was my Dads age, etc, plus he didn't use polite terms either, but he is a great man if you see past the minor impoliteness) When I walked in the store, which was almost empty, he greeted me with "Your <blank> Grandmother fell and broke my <blank> Moms hip! <blank> you!" I was taken back for a brief moment, until it hit me that my Dad had told me a couple of days ago that my Grandma had fell at a social and hurt another woman, but unbeknown to me I didn't know exactly who that other woman was until I walked in the gun store! I have to admit it was funny in an "inside joke" way. Its still an "inside joke" between him and I. Whenever he and I disagree I always quip "let me call my Grandma..." and then we both chuckle. Ah, good times with friends that will unfortunately be reduced in time, as the majority of those I congregate with are older then myself. Such is a part of life. No one else I know of understands the fear that my Grandma puts in the guy. Yes, it was just an unfortunate accident too.
 
I was once passing a table at a gun show when I overheard one fellow explaining to his friend that he doesn't like revolvers because you have to cock the hammer back before each shot. He was holding a double action revolver as he said it. :rolleyes:
 
I've been working behind the counter. I'll be leaving the business at the end of my shift on 6/1. These are some things that I have learned from customers:

1. My understanding of distance conversion was all wrong. I now understand the "Rule of Divide by Three". This means that:

- when measuring the distance to the target, 1 yard = 1 foot. When a guy makes a shot at the length of a football field, that is 300 yards.

- when measuring group size, rounds 1 foot apart = a 4" group.

2. What Newton meant was, "Every action with a .45 ACP produces a mushroom cloud."

3. If you don't know whether or not Les Baer picked his nose & ate it while hand fitting a 1911, you are unqualified to sell guns.

4. Glocks > 1911s.

5. 1911s > Glocks.

6. .22LR is a great defensive round, because you can just shoot a bad guy in the eye.

7. If you use a weapon mounted light, bad guys will shoot at it. They are unfazed by 150-200 lumen lights being pointed at eyes adapted to dim light. They will look straight at it, and shoot at you. Daylight shoots are a lot safer. Without a light to aim at, bad guys won't know where you are.

8. "6 degrees of separation" is a myth. I know this, because everyone I have ever met has a cousin who is part of SEAL Team 6. Naturally, those guys can't talk to anyone about what they do, unless that person is their cousin.

9. Everybody who has ever owned a Five Seven pistol has LE restricted AP rounds.

10. Single stack 9mms are better for women, because they are less powerful than full size 9mms, and have less recoil. For a woman, Kel Tec PF-9 > Beretta 92FS.

11. You can't conceal anything bigger than a Ruger LCP.

12. You don't need a gun safe, you can just hide guns from your kids. It's foolproof. I know this, because "Trust me".

13. Guns with external safeties are child proof. It's science. Duh.

14. The gubmint is buying up all of the .22LR.

15. All you need to be your tribe's "designated marksman" is an AR-10.

16. Everybody needs a carbine, a handgun, a .22 rifle, a 12ga shotgun, and a long range precision rifle for when SHTF. You also need at least 2,000 rounds for each weapon. You'll be taking all of it with you when you bug out.

17. I am not hardcore. I know this, because if anyone screws with many of my customers, said bad guy is going to get hit with 2 in the chest and 1 between the eyes. The shooter will then represent himself in court, tell the jury how it is, and run off with the dead bad guy's super model widow. The only time I have had to draw my firearm, I didn't shoot the bad guy.

18. It's not safe to carry with a round in the chamber. Israelis train their special forces units to carry on an empty chamber, and those guys are almost as high speed as that guy on Hawaii 5-0.

19. Police and military service persons are trained on every firearm, ever. All they do is shoot all day, every day... and write tickets for "stupid things" like DUI.

20. One time, a sniper ran out of bullets. He whipped out a rubber band, and shot a guy in the eye with it. The guy died.
 
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