Gun Store "Lizards"

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I'll give you examples. When in FL for business, I looked up some local places. One was a range and store - pretty nice, so I shot there.

One had a pseudo-parking sign outside that said: Perverts Parking Only.
Inside the boss guy was wearing loose shorts and sitting on a stool that let his personal reproductive concealment fail. OC - not a sight to see.

Another - deliberate sneers at a new person entering from the crowd of reptiles.
 
One had a pseudo-parking sign outside that said: Perverts Parking Only.
Inside the boss guy was wearing loose shorts and sitting on a stool that let his personal reproductive concealment fail. OC - not a sight to see.
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That right there is an unusual "business" model.

<runs>
 
I usually stop in for an hour or two once every few weeks but since its too damn cold to shoot, race cars, go digging for gemstones or any of my other outdoor hobbies its an easy way for me to stay motivated during the winter.

But yeah there are some people that will be there for hours on end. Waiting to have the same conversation with 10 different people because they found out some new tidbit and have to show it off like a golden nugget
 
aguila blanca said:
First, for things they carry that I can also get at the small shops, the big store is generally significantly more expensive.
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Your LGS must be MUCH different than any I've ever seen.

Exactly what items that both stores carry (LGS and big box store) is significantly more expensive at the big box store?
 
I think every small local gun shop has it’s “lizards”. They don’t bother me, and I don’t bother them. On occasion I’ll stop and listen for a while, usually to get a good laugh. Same thing in a motorcycle shop. There’s always the “ex-pro” talking about something he obviously knows nothing about. Again, it’s usually good for a laugh. I always wonder though, don’t these people have anything better to do? Like spending time at the range shooting? Or at the track riding? That’s where I seek my enjoyment, actually doing instead of talking. But, what ever trips your trigger…..
 
Around here - the best prices are found at the gun show from a consistent set of dealers and then GT Distributors. Academy (a chain) is next and significantly better than the Bass Pros, Cabela's, Gander Mts.

LGS - usually the same or close to big box except for one that has good used prices if you pay attention and can sometimes come within $20 of the show prices. If I wanted it now and it was hard to find, that's ok. They also have a good attitude. The other big name LGS in town is full of pompous rude folks.

They get sales as does as similar one in Austin, by playing up to the naive or to the good 'ol boy mighty hunter and commando. Male bonding, blowhard rhetoric, blah, blah.

There was another like that in town. We are THE place to go for expertise and wisdom. I think they are a Mongolian grill or a Maytag store now.
 
OK,given,there are all kinds of LGS .Some I connect with,some not.

But lets not forget,some LGS,and their Lizards,amount to the hub of enthusiasm that generates shooting activity.I can think of the late proprietor,Broken Butt,of Cache la Poudre Rifleworks in Northern Colorado.His shop,and the Lizards,amounted to the core of enthusiasm for Buckskinning,the Fur Trade,and Black Powder.

I used to enjoy reading Corey Ford's "The Lower Forty" in Field and Stream.

All about the Lizards .

Frankly,lets look in the mirror!!What are we,here?A bunch of Lizards!!

We just hang here,instead of the LGS.We write threads venting our opinions on Lizards who hang out at gunshops!!!

I miss going on the "tour" of the old gun shops....Glenn R,Dave R,Frank S.Claude S.Sarge K.,Louis B,CactusJack,.BrokenButt...Nothing quite like a lime Duffy's pop cold out of Louis' refrigerator...

It seems like it was better...going to each shop,with an old friend,looking for deals and treasures.The coffee pot,dog on the floor...stools,cribbage game..
And good old Mrs B,"Now Louis,you come in the house and get your lunch!! Don't you be hanging out with those boys...."
Yeah,I miss all the old Dead Lizards.
 
Frankly,lets look in the mirror!!What are we,here?A bunch of Lizards!!

We just hang here,instead of the LGS.We write threads venting our opinions on Lizards who hang out at gunshops!!!
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two shea! well played Sir. ;)
 
Personally, I gauge whether I do business with a shop by the type of lizards it attracts. If it's a mix (hunters, benchers, milsurp guys, defensive shooters, tactical guys), I'll tend to do business with them. If it's all Subdivison Commandos and Mall Ninjas, I just keep walking.
 
It really depends. There are some guys who hang out day after day, but they're not a problem. They know when employees have other stuff to do, and they don't interfere. In some cases, they can actually be quite helpful and pleasant. Those guys are alright.

But then there are the loomers. Every shop has them, and they're a terrible drain on business resources. They assume gun shops are their own personal hangout and that they're somehow entitled to devour employees' time and efforts at will. Usually the justification is that they're "customers" because they made a $5 purchase ten years ago (really...dozens of man-hours for a $5 sale?).

Sorry, but that just doesn't cut it.

It's really a balancing act. Generally, I'll make they get a couple of minutes' attention when they come in. If they're demonstrably just there to waste time on their coffee break, I'm finding something else for that employee to do.

If one of them decides to start extemporizing a rant on politics or bad technical advice to another customer, I will jump in and correct them, usually in a very stern and pedantic way. I will not have Tackle Shop Jed and his buddies driving off legitimate business.

So, what's the difference? The good guys don't mind when I redirect an employee to something else. Tackle Shop Jed actually has the audacity to get huffy about it. That won't do.
 
One thing I will do when I visit a LGS is if I dont find something of intrest I atleast buy a pack of targets or some ammo or something . I remember when some would come into the shop I worked at and would spend a hour or so roaming and pick up and dry fire everyother rifle in the racks , tell some big hunting story , give thier spill on recent events then walk out empty handed . Nothing wrong with that but its just not me .
 
I suppose I'm just a contrary type person, because I feel much more comfortable in the small shops where the staff aren't focused only on making the sale but on helping the customer, and encourage people to hang out and exchange information. I occasionally make the trek to a large gun store upstate, for reloading supplies, and I really hate being in the place. First, for things they carry that I can also get at the small shops, the big store is generally significantly more expensive. And the staff are often rude, uncommunicative, and unhelpful. It's just not a friendly, welcoming environment.
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No. You're just in the minority.
 
Ive worked in a sporting goods store for almost 30 years and have seen all types of personalities. Some people want to be social and others left to themselves. They are gun enthusiasts, hunters and fisherman and they are all full of it!!! Its nice to deal with all types of people however you do have to learn to deal with the ones who try to monopolize your time
 
When I go to a gun shop I usually know what I'm looking for...Sure don't need advice or to be asked questions by the annoying old guys who have nothing better to do than chime in on every conversation that is none of their business. That's the way most of those guys act in the shops that I've seen them in.

I'm with FrankenMauser, leave me alone......I'll avoid a place like that like the plague....People like that ruin it for many customers....
 
Damon, when you get to the counter ask the clerk how much for a box or Winchester sthp in whatever caliber you want, then ask him how much for the lizard to stfu? :D
 
2 cents

Goes both ways.

In addtion to the old retired guys that seem so despised (I am now one, don't hang out but make the rounds now and again) , there are the high speed low drag young guys too. And there are a bunch of clerks in the big stores especially (Gander, locally) that are not as near as sharp as they think . Example, one fellow told me there was no such thing as a "5mm rimfire mag" ......I'd asked if they had any of the newly released Centurion stuff.

A ton of people come into shops, wear the clerk out handling guns and spouting random info, often flawed, to impress anybody within earshot, then wander back out....never spending a cent. I'd not have patience for that sort of mindlessness for very long. Its no wonder staff gets burned out and cynical. Gunstore staff get my respect, usually. As much as I love the culture, I doubt I could work long in a shop or store. Too many idiots you have to deal with.

A LGS may well have the obscure item, part, component, or used gun I am interested in. I go in, cast about, and if I don't get an inquiry, I politely ask for help if I need/want same. No bid deal. I don't have any real expectation beyond a polite response.

FWIW, Ganders prices around here are insane. I had no idea my guns were worth that much!!
 
I can not stand it when one offers advice even though they are not asked. If i am looking at a gun and a lizard gives me their opinion on it it is just plain annoying. If it happens more than once at that shop i will usually avoid going there in the future. The lizards are one of the reasons buying online is so great.

Unless you are actually friends with the owners, you honestly need to find something better to do. And by friends i mean you actually social with them outside of the shop. If you play cards weekly, or go hunting with the owner, i can understand hanging out with him at his shop. If the extent of your relationship is just the gunshop, then why it is honestly kind of sad that you would spend that much t o me there.

But i am not the owner, so it really isnt any of my business, but it is something that keeps me from shopping at that store
 
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