Had a heartbreaking conversation with a friend a few days ago. She teaches entry-level classes in another part of the country, and offers personal firearms coaching as well.
One of her newest clients was a woman who had an immediate, serious need: her violently abusive ex-boyfriend was slated to get out of prison the next day -- years ahead of time -- and she
knew he'd be coming after her. She was terrified. And she'd never owned a gun in her life, nor shot one.
So she went to her local gun store, told them her story, and bought the gun that the guy behind the counter recommended for her. Then she called my friend for some one-on-one instruction. My friend gave her a rough rundown of the basics, using a dummy gun for illustrative purposes.
When they pulled out the new gun that the gun shop had recommended for a terrified new shooter who had an immediate self defense need, they found that
this woman literally could not pull the heavy trigger on her brand new gun. She just did not have the hand strength to do it.
This kind of stupidity and thoughtlessness at the point of sale -- for someone in crisis! -- is enough to make an angel weep.
My ideal local gun shop would
- encourage their salespeople shoot various types of guns (in all sizes and weights and in as many different calibers as possible), for the same reasons that good restaurants encourage their waitstaff to sample the entire menu so they'll be able to make informed recommendations to diners;
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- teach every person who works the counter how to assess hand/gun fit for pistol shooters, including the all-important question of whether the customer would be able to move the trigger (and never sell a gun to anyone who cannot reach critical controls or move the trigger back using only the index finger);
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- have a knowledgeable, good instructor on speed dial -- someone fully qualified to take a frightened new shooter and give them a fast track to building the most critical survival skills in the shortest possible time, and recommend that every new shooter contact that instructor as soon as they reasonably can; and
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- Never, ever, ever, EVER recommend a DAO snub-nosed revolver to a new shooter (even one who happens to be a woman), unless there's literally no other choice that the new shooter will accept. Snubbies are experts' guns, not great for beginners and especially ungood for women with limited hand strength.
As the first point of contact between new gun owners and the rest of the shooting community, people working the counters in local gun stores play a critical role in how people choose their firearms, and an even more critical role in what new shooters do next.
Based on that initial experience, does the new shooter decide to learn more about guns, and become a safe, serious, responsible gun owner who can carry the torch for the next generation? Or do they instead have a negative experience, and decide that gun ownership isn't for them -- or worse, that they will own guns but never really learn anything more about how to use them safely and well?
Does the new shooter meet someone behind the counter who welcomes them into the community of gun owners as a fellow traveler, or someone who's
just trying to make a sale? Do they meet someone who cares about the end user and can help them meet the needs they bring into the store with them, or do they meet a callously misinformed salesperson who's more interested in repeating old myths than in helping the customer find what he or she needs?
Does the new shooter always meet someone who knows what they're doing behind that counter? If not,
why not?
pax