Wal-mart ammo purchase

9

9ballbilly

New member
I went to buy a box of .45 colt ammunition from the sporting goods department. As the clerk rang up my purchase she asked to see my pistol permit. Hit with a sudden urge I told her that I would be using the ammunition in a rifle not a handgun. She advised me that according to the programming in the register she could not sell me the ammunition until I produced a valid handgun permit. I understand it was not the clerk's fault and showed my permit to make the purchase without any argument. Anyone else run into such nonsense policies at Wal-mart?
 
In Illinois they ask you if the ammo is for a pistol but we don't have handgun permits in our state.

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Bought 22 LR in TX and they asked me if it was for a handgun. If I am over twenty one. I said, 3 times. One clerk got it and the other didn't know there was going to be math at WalMart.

Such is life.
 
9ballbilly said:
I went to buy a box of .45 colt ammunition from the sporting goods department. As the clerk rang up my purchase she asked to see my pistol permit. Hit with a sudden urge I told her that I would be using the ammunition in a rifle not a handgun. She advised me that according to the programming in the register she could not sell me the ammunition until I produced a valid handgun permit. I understand it was not the clerk's fault and showed my permit to make the purchase without any argument. Anyone else run into such nonsense policies at Wal-mart?
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Wal-Mart's policy is to comply with the law. In my state, the registers are programmed to remind the clerk to ask if the ammo is for handgun or rifle and, if for handgun, to ask if the buyer is over 21 years of age. I may have been actually asked in a Wal-Mart where I don't usually shop, but I'm a senior citizen. It's been a very long time since I might have looked like I could possibly be under 21. What generally happens is that the register dings or buzzes or whatever it does, the clerk reads the screen, looks at me, and pushes the override key. They haven't actually ASKED me if I'm over 21 or if the ammo is for a rifle or a handgun for several years ... but the procedure is coded into the registers.

I've never been asked for a permit, though. What state was this in?
 
No permit required to buy ammo in in Iowa.
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None here either, but Wal-mart still asks whether or not certain ammo is for a handgun. Reason is minimum age to purchase. Not a big deal to an Ol' Greybeard like me.
 
I'm not feeling the love in having to show anything other then proof I'm old enough for ammo purchases-those 'laws' need to be changed.
 
I've never been asked here in Nebraska for a permit. Also, during the Great Ammo Drought of '09, there always seemed to be plenty of ammo on the shelves in my neck of the cornfield.
 
Yes, I currently live in NYS ( and am 21 a couple times over ). The age question makes perfect sense to me since I have held an unrestricted pistol permit here since the age of 19 (sarcasm intended). Then again, they didn't ask me to show my permit to buy .30-30 ammo for my T/C Contender :D.
Just pointing out some of the absurd policies regarding firearms here.

For those who don't know, handgun licenses are broken down into three catagories in New York state: 1. Hunting and target only
2. premises only
3. unrestricted
 
Whenever I go to Wal-Mart for ammo I'm asked if its for a handgun. If I say no, I pay for it and I walk out. If I say yes they then ask if I'm 21. Of course I say yes and that's it. No ID, no permits etc. are needed.

Its all got to do with what the laws are in your area - Wal-Mart doesn't restrict gun and ammo sales - your state/country/local municipality does along with the feds.
 
If you POSITIVELY KNOW what type of ammo your firearm needs, by all means, you can purchase it at Wal-Mart. If you have are new to shooting, with a firearm you are not entirely familiar with, patronize your local gun shop.

The following two incidents were personally witnessed by me, taking place in a Wal-Mart in upstate NY.

Customer: I just got a new deer rifle from my uncle, and I need some 7mm. Magnum ammunition for deer hunting.

Wal-Mart employee: I was just reading about the best 7mm. magnum ammo, and what you need is the 7mm. Weatherby magnum ammunition. What kind of rifle is it?

Customer: It's a Browning semi - automatic rifle, I think they call it a BAR.

Wal-Mart employee: Yup, that's what you need, 7mm. Weatherby magnum ammuntion. (Browning's BAR is 7mm. Remington magnum) Hmmmmmh???!!

This ammo was NOT purchased, because I interrupted the conversation and set the customer right.

2nd Customer comes in: Do you have any 7.62 x 54mm. rifle ammo?

Wal-Mart employee: "No ,but we have 7.62 x 39mm. , that's the same thing".!!??

2nd customer: (Knowledgeable about his firearm). "No, it isn't the same thing, not by a damn-site." --- Walks away.

Moral to this story: Buy your underwear, toothpaste & toiletpaper at Wal-Mart, and support your local gun store for ammo and important things your not positive about.
 
One of my nephews bought some ammo at walmart, he is 20, and they asked if it was for a rifle. He just says it is for a rifle and no problem from there on out the door. (The ammo is actually for a rifle.)

On those rare occasions that I do buy factory ammo, I am never asked.
 
One of my nephews bought some ammo at walmart, he is 20, and they asked if it was for a rifle. He just says it is for a rifle and no problem from there on out the door. (The ammo is actually for a rifle.)
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I believe that Wal-Mart's computer system red-flags ammo that's commonly used in handguns.
 
Interesting ... I've never been asked for anything when I shop at Wally World -- except money, of course ... no permit or registration needed in the Free State of Texas for gun ownership ... and I haven't looked 21 in many moons ...
 
I am going back about 35-40 years, but that was a Federal law at one time. You had to be 21 to buy .22 ammo because it fit in a pistol. There is much complaining over little things now. Some of us could tell you about " The good old days" in the USA. Not really.
 
I am going back about 35-40 years, but that was a Federal law at one time. You had to be 21 to buy .22 ammo because it fit in a pistol.
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The law is still with us, but it is somewhat subtle in its interpretation, and causes a good deal of confusion.

In the simplest possible terms, it is illegal for an owner or employee of an FFL to sell ammo to a person under 21 if the seller has reason to believe that the ammo will be used in a pistol.

Notice that I didn't write "pistol ammo". I wrote "ammo... [to] be used in a pistol". It's a very important distinction! IOW it's legal to sell 9mm Luger to an 18-year-old for use in a Hi-Point carbine, but not .30-30Win for use in a T/C Contender pistol! :confused:

In practice, if the seller understands the law, this amounts to a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy because the law does not actually require the seller to ask the buyer how he/she intends to use the ammo. Since almost every commonplace pistol cartridge has been used in some sort of rifle at some point, if the buyer doesn't volunteer this information, the seller can argue that he/she assumed the buyer would use it in a rifle. However, IF the buyer opens his/her mouth and says it will be used in a pistol, ID must be checked! :(

Wal-Mart uses the blanket "No Sales Under 21" policy for CYA purposes so they don't have to educate every clerk in the store on the subtleties of this law. :rolleyes:

MANDATORY DISCLAIMER: I am not an attorney, not do I play on one TV. ;) This is not official legal advice. YMMV and caveat emptor.
 
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