Share your dumbest gun store stories.

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They're worth repeating IMO, some of these are pretty funny though scary as well.

The worst part about all this, is that the ignorant ones are usually the poster child examples that the gun grabbers use to justify their "Oh so holy crusade" against the RKBA.
 
Maybe 10 years back I was remarking about the scarcity of new Colt 1911s in a certain shop, except for a Super .38.

I was told by the youngster behind the counter that the US Government owned the design and it would not allow Colt to sell .45s to civilians. I did my best to show skeptical disagreement, but was mellow enough to know that winning an argument was not needed to preserve my manhood.

In the years since no such idiocy has been seen at that shop and I have purchased at least 3 handguns from them. So balance was restored to the cosmos.

Bart Noir
 
It always annoys me that people expect an hourly retail employee making barely more than minimum wage to know everything there is to know about firearms.
 
Over the years the strangest/dumbest things I have seen at the LGS, even Wal-Mart, is not the folks behind the counter, but the customers. Folks that know it all, even store policies and what a fair price for a firearm is, better than the owner of a family run business that's been around for 80 years. 25 year old kids fresh from the service that know more about firearms and what makes them work than 60 year old gunsmiths with more work on their bench than they'll ever finish in their lifetime. Folks whose hunting/shooting knowledge comes from what they read on the internet as opposed to learning it themselves in the field or at the range. These are the same folk that rush back to their computer and four or five different gun related forums after visiting their LGS, to proclaim their superior knowledge and intellect over all the other folks there.........:rolleyes:
 
g.willikers said:
People who work in gun stores should have to pass a test.
And we get to design it.
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Microgunner said:
^ and so you should have to pass their test to enter the store.
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Exactly. It goes both ways.

I just had a father come in the store with two teenage boys looking for a .22 rifle. He was abrupt, bossy, and didn't want to hear any of my advice even though he didn't know what he was looking for. So I shut up and sold him a rifle. During the whole transaction he demonstrated terrible safety techniques to his son and his son's friend, immediately putting his finger on the trigger of each rifle I handed him and even pointing it at me a few times.

We don't get paid very much and we deal with stuff like this on a daily basis. And yet a surprising number of us are polite and very knowledgeable about firearms; we work in this industry because we love shooting and we love what we sell.
 
I was looking for a price on a Bushnell 6-24x50 for a varmint 223. The clerk proceeded to tell me the scope was a major over kill, but he searched a price anyway.
Then we got chatting and he mention he has a 260AI custom built rifle with a 26" barrel which he uses for stalking deer, and where I live the bush is mighty thick, and 200yards would be a long shot.

Yet some how my scope was over kill but his rifle wasn't.
 
Buddy & I was in a gun shop looking for reloading supplies. A gentleman came in looking for a pistol, found one he liked and then inquired about if they did trade-ins. They did accept trade-ins and the customer went to his car to get his trade. The trade-in was a beautiful 4 inch nickle Colt Mk III Trooper. Salesman and then the manager looked the Trooper over, The manager then proceeded to tell the customer that the frame of the gun was cracked and had no value except as a wall hanger. But since he buying a gun, they would allow him $200.00 trade-in. Customer got a bit upset, gathered up his trade and left. Buddy & I followed Customer out and proceeded to examine the Trooper. The crack in the frame - It was a crack. The crack where the side plate meets the frame at/near the pivot point of cylinder crane. Customer was relieved to know the gun wasn't damaged after all.
 
Some people are getting annoyed at the stores about people that work in gun stores.
Yes they are underpaid (I was too) but most of the people that work in gun stores if their ego’s don’t get in the way become knowledgeable and helpful.
The problem is with those that work in stores that have no idea what or how to do their job and don’t really care are making suggestions to people that need help. If you’re going to stand behind a counter and sell guns and have no interest or knowledge or unwilling to learn, then go sell shoes where it won’t get someone killed.
From my experience with two different gun shops I have worked in the prerequisite to getting a job was not several years at McDonalds and in many of the cases that have been shared here my guess is that most came from Mc’s.
You can’t fix stupid on either side of the counter.
Have I ever done anything stupid behind the counter, if I said no I would be lying.
 
buck460XVR said:
Over the years the strangest/dumbest things I have seen at the LGS, even Wal-Mart, is not the folks behind the counter, but the customers. Folks that know it all, even store policies and what a fair price for a firearm is, better than the owner of a family run business that's been around for 80 years. 25 year old kids fresh from the service that know more about firearms and what makes them work than 60 year old gunsmiths with more work on their bench than they'll ever finish in their lifetime. Folks whose hunting/shooting knowledge comes from what they read on the internet as opposed to learning it themselves in the field or at the range. These are the same folk that rush back to their computer and four or five different gun related forums after visiting their LGS, to proclaim their superior knowledge and intellect over all the other folks there.........
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That actually has a name, the Dunning-Kruger effect.
 
If he keeps that up, eventually Darwin will come into play.
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Yeah, but unfortunately, the Darwinian bill may be paid for by his wife, son, daughter, or hunting partner....people whose only mistake was standing too close to an idiot.
 
Does every thread have to get all snotty and mean-spirited?

No wonder there are so many stories to share. Lots of chips on shoulders. :o No shock that everyone seems to get so annoyed on either/both sides of the counter. I've had FAR more positive or completely bland & forgettable gun store experiences than I have had obnoxious ones.

Maybe some of these gun stores need more mirrors. That way, everyone can keep an eye on the trouble maker! :D;)
 
These stories, among other reasons, are why I barely ever shop in brick-and-mortar stores anymore.

I'm a big guy, 6'5" 250lb, but I'm also pretty nerdy looking (and nerdy, to be fair, I love sci fi and video games). I have thick glasses and curly hair. I'm also a huge nerd about firearms and pretty knowledgeable about them, though I might as well be a babe in the woods compared to some of the phenomenal resources on this forum. I'm also pretty young and young-looking, 25 but I always get carded.

I have absolutely had it to the point I can't take anymore being treated by gun store owners like I'm some dude that just came from playing Call of Duty and thinks guns are a game. I know a lot of people who look like me are like that, but it's not okay to treat retail customers like what you expect them to be if you want to make a sale.

I've also seen too much dry firing, rough treatment, slamming closed on empty chambers, etc. of the floor model.

So I buy from online sources almost exclusively. When I buy from Bud's, I get a gun that's soaked in factory grease, still in factory packaging, and hasn't been touched more than once or twice for the Bud's folks to confirm inventory. I absolutely love that. It takes out any guesswork.

Some folks say I should feel bad for not supporting local business, but I do support the very small number of good ones by buying ammo/accessories and I support local shooting ranges. More broadly, I just don't feel that guilty. Blockbuster retail stores were garbage and I have never felt bad about switching from them to Redbox, Netflix, and Hulu. That's called capitalism.
 
Large, well stocked sporting goods store. " Do you have any 7.62 x 54 ammo?"
-- Reply, ,"No, but we've got 7.62 X 39, that's the same thing." (Buyer knew better.)
 
I remembered another one from the previously unmentioned gun shop in Loveland, Co:

A lady came in while I was browsing and said she wanted to get a 12 gauge for her husband for his birthday. She wasn't very knowledgeable, but she wasn't clueless either. She wanted to get it for him for goose hunting.

She asked to see a Browning pump and asked if it was a good gun. The same guy who tried to sell me a $1k scope, was like "yeah, sure. It's a good gun." He kept looking around like he had some place else to be.

Then she asked to see an 870 and again he was saying "uh, sure. That's good too. Whatever you want." He wasn't rude, but he sure wasn't helpful.

She had obviously come in asking for an opinion but didn't get one and left without buying anything. That bozo let a sale walk right out the door.

If I was the owner and had witnessed that, I would have fired him.
 
I have yet to hear or read any Heckler & Koch employee/sales rep refer to the firm as "H&K".
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Just thought I'd share that Jane's Infantry Weapons uses "H&K" in print. I can't tell you how it is spoken since I don't have access to the audio book version :p

Not everybody will consider that book to be the Holy Writ of current weapons. But I don't know what else is!

Bart Noir
 
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