Share your dumbest gun store stories.

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What handguns move the most(fastest)?....

In 2013, Id think a FFL holder/gun shop could offer a few "greatest hits" that would sell quickly with most demographics(gun owners).
The models I think would sell on a regular basis include; the Glock 22 & 23 .40S&W, the M&P full size in .40 & 9x19mm, the S&W J frame 442/642/638/36 .38spl, the Beretta 92FS 9x19mm, the SIG P229 or the P226(9mm or .40), Ruger GP100 4" .357magnum, the 1911a1 .45acp(S&W, Colt, S-A, Les Baer, Wilson, SIG Sauer, etc).
There are other brands & models you could say would sell quick(Taurus, Kel-Tec, Kahr, CZ, HK) but the handguns listed would find a good home faster in most areas of the USA.
 
its unsafe to use 38 special in a 357

its really good to use 22 short for deer hunting. tiny bullet profile acts like m2 heavy ball penetration wise



have seen gunstore clerks seeing if barrels can be changed between the display gun and the gun their friend just walked in with. one reason im leary of semi autos that dont have TONS of cosmoline in the barrel.
 
I recently bought a older used pocket pistol from a small-town gunshop that shall remain nameless to protect the guilty. ;) The shop has a small gunsmithing operation in the back. In this scene, there's myself, a man whom I assume is the shop owner, and an older man who worked as a gunsmith; he referred me to the other fellow when I asked questions about the pistols in the display case. The older man spoke with a strong Southern drawl. The scene works best if you imagine the accent. :)

I generally begin haggling with an offer about 30% below the asking price, since I figure the shop probably gave the seller ~60% of the price on the tag, so they could take my offer and still make a little money. The pistol has a price tag of $225.

Me: "I'll give you $170 plus tax for the <pistol>".

Owner: "Hmmm. How about $180 out the door?"

<short pause>

Gunsmith: "Uh, <owner name>, you DO know that that offer is BETTER than what he told you he'd give you for it." [Sales tax in TX is 8.25%, so $170 + tax = ~$184.]

Owner: <mutters> "Aw heck." <hangs head in shame> "OK, $180."

It's the only time I've ever seen a gun shop employee haggle HIMSELF down. :cool:
 
Cabela's: Guy wants to buy a pump shotgun because the racking sound will scare away the BG. Clerk- fine idea. Guy - also want some blanks in case the racking sound doesn't do it. Clerk - fine idea and you should buy some rubber buckshot so as not to hurt the BG.

LGS - guy comes in with an SKS. Wants to put some parts on it. Clerk - bellows - that will make it an ILLEGAL gun. Guy - but I read that you could...

Clerk - Bellows - you will go to federal prison.

Guy - bellows back - you are an rude type of hole. He leaves

Clerk - bellows to store - he called me a rude type of hole.

Seemed reasonable to me.
 
Gun store owner in Indianapolis IN back in the 80’s. Used to buy a lot of gun from him when he brought them up to the store I worked in.
One weekend I was over night in Indy and was setting in a hotel room with the stupid box on.
He appeared on the TV and white beard and hair looking like a TV preacher.
He said,,,, “I don’t want to make money, I just want to sell guns!”
 
I still remember the day while waiting my turn at a LARGE sporting goods store I listened to the counter-man expounding on the virtues of a Ruger 22/45, since I had one at the time I was listening, then he drops the bomb, "The reason it is called a 22/45 is that you can convert it to a .45! I couldn't take it anymore and explained why it was called a 22/45 (grip angle), I don't think the counter-man appreciated it very much.

I actually used to work at that very store behind the counter many years before while in college. I got the job I think because during my interview the manager and I got to talking reloading, powders and ballistics. It was a fun if low paying job and just couldn't stand one of the employees misleading a customer that way.
 
I was in a Sportsman's Warehouse a few months ago listening to a customer trying to explain a part he wanted to a guy behind the gun counter. The customer had done his homework on some obscure part and was being the rude hole to the counterman who repeatedly stated it wasn't a part they kept in stock. After several back-and-forths, the counterman called for help and the customer turned to me and said something about how useless young kids are. I looked at him without responding 'til he turned away. The older guy who always works the counter showed up, pretty much told the customer the same thing the younger guy was trying to say, and left the customer to pick something they had, order the part, or go elsewhere. The guy finally left. The young guy was right in what he was telling the customer but received no benefit because of his age.
 
The young guy was right in what he was telling the customer but received no benefit because of his age.
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You should see the treatment female employees get. I've had guys who will utterly ignore or contradict valid advice from a female employee, only to accept it willingly from me.

Then there's the dismissive "can I talk to one of the guys?" I'll sometimes pretend I don't know the answer so they have to talk to her.

Then there are the folks who have the most outlandishly strange ideas and refuse to budge. My personal favorite was the guy who called and asked a clerk for "choke tubes for a .30-06." The clerk asked him the customer if he might have been referring to something else, since there's no such thing. The customer got huffy and demanded to speak to me.

I reiterated the clerk's answer, and they guy wouldn't let up. He said, "son, if you don't know what I'm talking about, why don't you just admit it, already. No need to be a tool about it."

My response was, "you know, I just remembered. We're out of stock on those. We really don't know when we're getting them back in."

"Well, can you order one?"

"Sorry, but none of our distributors have choke tubes for a .30-06."

"Well. Humph. If you're not willing to help, I'll take my business elsewhere."

Whenever someone needs a good laugh nowadays, we just bring that up. Sometimes you just have to embrace the absurdity. :)
 
at a well known gun store in Loveland, CO

I know that place quite well. One guy tried to sell me a $1000 scope based on blah blah and I just said "uh huh, I'll take this other one instead". I just ignore those yahoos and buy what I want.

In every gun store I've ever been to, I've seen customers blather endlessly to the clerks and never buy anything. To me, wasting someone's time is pretty dumb.
 
Yeah, not all the dumb stuff one hears comes from behind the counter.
A guy and his son walked into a shop, when I was there getting something or other.
He wants to get ammo for his rifle, for an upcoming hunting trip.
The clerk asks what caliber.
The guy says it's for a Browning.
The clerk asks what caliber.
The guy says it's for a Browning.
And that's the way the conversation went.
Guess he thought all Browning rifles used the same ammo.
 
Setting behind the counter reading an NRA magazine, the front door opens and a double barreled shotgun appears and I hear “Get in there” with a loud voice.
You couldn’t see out because the owner had all the windows covered in large posters.
I had my gun pulled and crouched down when an 8 year old came into the door followed by his father.
There was a big sign on the door “no uncased guns allowed.”
When he saw the gun in my hand he laid the shotgun down and realizing his mistake apologized.

The owner realizing his mistake took many of the posters down so you had a clear view around and through the door.
 
ClydeFrog said:
One Youtube.com clip had him suggesting viewers/2A supporters to buy products from their local gun shops & FFL holders(retailers). He stated how a gun industry member told him that many US gun shops were failing
I could understand the Yankee Marshal's viewpoint & wouldn't want any US small business to go under in these tough times but IMO, if a gun shop can't stay in business or the local customer base won't support them, then there may be a valid reason or 2 why the shop isn't doing well.
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This is an easy one.
During the recent couple buying panics the huge retailers, who enjoy favored son status with the distributors, were buying everything available, leaving the little guys, who don't possess huge buying budgets, without any inventory to order.
As they sold off their existing inventories they could not replace them.
So the little guys were very wealthy for a few months, then "out of business" for lack of inventory.
Buying only from the little guys would leave the giant retailers with excess inventory and slow their ordering, making more inventory availably to the little guys.
 
The other day I had a customer ask for a magazine for a 10/22. I showed him what we had.

Him: No, I need the mag for the tactical version.

Me: These will work, all 10/22s use the same magazines.

Him: No, mine uses different mags than those, it's the 10/22 with the tactical shell and the rails.

(At that point, I thought maybe he had some sort of 10/22 conversion kit that used some sort of extended mag to make it look like a larger-caliber magazine and make it easier to grab.)

Me: Sir, I'm not exactly sure what kind of 10/22 conversion you have, but the standard 10/22 mags should work in your rifle, and if the conversion stock you have makes it hard to reach the mag well, the 25-round mags should make it easier. But if your rifle is modified so that normal mags won't fit, I'm afraid we don't have any mags that will work for you.

Him: I don't have a conversion, I have the 10/22 that comes with the tactical shell around it. It takes skinnier mags like those (points to some other .22 rifle mags on the wall).

Me (trying to be as polite as possible): Sir, all 10/22s take the same magazines.

Him (starting to get visibly annoyed): No, mine takes different ones

Me: I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I don't know what rifle you're referring to, and it appears we don't have the right mags for your rifle.

(At this point he's starting to get really annoyed with me. He angrily pulls out his phone to text his buddy about the rifle. It's pretty busy so I go to help a few more customers. After a few minutes he waves me down, still pretty annoyed.)

Him: I have the Ruger 10/22 with the Mossberg tactical shell around it.

At this point I was completely and thoroughly confused, and the customer was completely exasperated at having to deal with such an incompetent LGS employee. Luckily, my co-worker figured it out; he went to the wall and pulled down a Mossberg 715T and showed it to the customer and asked him if this was the rifle he had. It was. So then we explained that this was a different rifle than a Ruger 10/22 and did indeed use different mags, but unfortunately we didn't have any in stock. The customer, still visibly annoyed at having to deal with such incompetence, walked out of the store.
 
Theohazard (and others with 'challenging' customers.) I had a friend in the computer tech support business that once said, slowly and seriously to a customer on the phone, "Sir, I don't know what you're talking about and I don't think you do either."

If you ever figure out some way not to let that kind of confrontation bother you you'll be a retail clerk hero for ever. (But an understanding boss DOES help a lot.)
 
Share your dumbest gun store stories.
There are a lot of good stories of not so bright people working behind the counters at gun stores.
How about sharing yours. No names and no company’s names allowed.
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And why not?

Gander Mountain, Rockford, IL. About 10 years ago. Pimply faced kid behind the gun counter laughed at me when I asked after 9mm Makarov. I guess he, with his vaaaast knowledge of all things gunny, had never heard of such a thing.

Don't ever do that in retail. It will not win you customers.
 
An early one sticks out in my mind... I was a teenager. Old gunshop, unfinished wooden floors, dim lights, aisles you had to squeeze sideways through, THOUSANDS of tightly packed guns in homemade wooden racks hung on walls behind the counters so you couldn't even see them all...

Clerk sells, to what was really (though not to me at the time) a young guy there with his girlfriend, an M-1 Garand to go deer hunting with. I thought:

"what a tag-team of morons."

My future BIL, maybe ten years older than me and in the firearms business as a back-office clerk, pointed out it WAS a .30-06. I told him I understood that and thought:

"what a trio of morons."
 
Every time I go in a shop and ask for 9mm Mak-KAR-ov, (the way it's supposed to be pronounced) instead of MAK-ar-ov, I get told in no uncertain terms that I need to say it correctly unless I want to be thought of as an idiot who doesn't know what he needs.
 
H&K?....

When I hear a gun show seller, clerk or FFL holder say; "H&K" I get a little smirk. :D
Heckler & Koch(pronounced COKE) uses the label HK not H&K.

In the late 2000s, I had a young pawn shop/gun dealer clerk say; "I don't like pistols that you can't cock, they don't sell very well."
I was showing him my nearly mint, LNIB Beretta 96D with Robar custom work. :rolleyes:

Clyde
 
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