Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The Sh*t You See Working In A Gun Store...

There are times when you can have fun with some of these puffed-up experts. When working in the same shop, I had a guy in his 20s come in with a couple of his buddies. He was interested in buying something in a big magnum caliber (can't remember exactly which one, but probably was a .338 mag.) that he needed for hunting deer. We had only one gun in stock in that caliber and it was a Ruger No.1. I show it to him and he's looking at it skeptically. So I ask him, "Are you a good shot?" The customer answers that he never misses. I said, "Well this is the rifle for a guy who only needs one shot." He bit hard. He had to buy it to show his buddies that one shot WAS all he needed. When my boss came in the next day, I thought he was going to kiss me for selling this rifle that had been in inventory for a couple years. A year later that same guy came in to trade in the No.1 for a repeater in an actual deer caliber. We got it back cheap because we explained that there wasn't much demand for that caliber in a single shot in upstate NY.

years back i had a small shop in California. had a nicely dressed woman and her son-in-law come in one day with a polished wood case.
the lady asked if i bought gun parts. i said yes and asked what she had. she said she had two broken, (according to the son in law), shotguns. she said she would like $200.00 for them.
i said well lets see. he put the case on the counter, i opened it and there nestled in red velvet were a broken down matched set of Purdy's. i explained (after fighting with my conscience ) what she had and that i wasn't the place to sell them. still dream of them once in a while.

A customer of limited knowledge brought in the pieces of a .44 Super Blackhawk wondering why it was in such a scattered condition. It came to light that he used a Lee Loader for his handloads. One scoop of powder (2400 if I recall correctly) for light loads and two scoops for heavy loads and all was well. One day he ran out of powder and went to a discount store for more. He asked the clerk for some pistol powder. The clerk sold him a can of Bullseye. Two scoops was a bit too much. Fortunately he was not struck by any of the pieces.

You're a good man for not taking advantage of her, even though she was a Californian.

felt like kicking the son in laws rear. he was convinced the guns were broken and the only real value was the fitted case and accessories. i later saw them in the B&B gun store in the valley for 35k. Never did get to ask them what they had paid.

I might be starving but before I'd work in any so-called gun shop.....I'd make my bread picking up beer cans along the roadside!!

You and I differ, I will do what ever it takes to keep my family going. And I do not see any problem with firearms retail.

Me either. The world is full of dumbazzes. Gun shops are no different.

In a local gun store and shooting range,(about a year ago), a lady and her son went to the rental counter, rented a handgun, bought some ammo and went into the range.
The lady loaded the gun and shot her son in the head.

Saw the video of that.

Deerstalker, I remember that set of cased Purdy shotguns at B&B. I used to go in there a couple times a week looking at the used guns, etc. Got to know Bob and Barry Kahn pretty well over the years. Started shopping at B&B when they had the tiny store on Cumpston St.

I wonder if I were ever in your "small" shop? If it were in the Los Angeles area, I might have been.

L.W.

What part of AR?!? Had a Guy a few miles from here about 7 years back that was (he thought) selling semi autos to a foreign government and was offering "free personal samples" to the govt rep. Thing was, the govt rep was from our govt. FBI undercover if I'm not mistaken. Ended up in federal court a few months later and is back in the business. How, I'm not sure!!

Had the opposite happen to me at a gun show (one of the reasons I don't go to many shows). It was a few years ago during the time that 22 LR ammo was so hard to find. Guy at a table had 50 Rd. boxes of Rem Vipers for 6.50, and 500 Rd. bricks for $95. I looked and asked if it should be $65, instead of $95. He replied nope, their more expensive in bulk because everyone is looking for rimfire ammo right now. Asked him if he ever bought anything in bulk to which he said, "hell, all the time!" I said "when I buy in bulk it is cheaper per unit in the larger amounts." He said "well that's backwards. Bulk costs more. For everything."

I said "well you're gettin screwed and if people are looking for rimfire ammo so bad, then why is your table still full?!?" He got pissed and I walked. Can't stand people taking advantage of stuff like that!!😡😡

This is a combination rifle rangle/LGS variation. I'm working at the range the weekend before the deer opener. We're full up, with others waiting. A guy comes in with a .270 Weatherby Mag and gets set up to shoot. 'Tells me the gun should be good to go, but wants to run a couple to familiarize him self with it, as he borrowed it off a buddy. I assign him a target, and get back on my spotting scope to help the other shooters assigned to me. I was looking at his target when he took his first shot. No hit. I look over and he's white as a ghost. This beautiful rifle's in two pieces and there's wood splinters on the table and all over him.

Turns out he walked into a gun shop and asked for a box of .270 ammo. Yep-they sold him a box of .270 Winchester. So somebody loaned him this beautiful gun and he blew it up with one shot. There was brass all through the action. We couldn't even get the bolt handle open all the way. Thank God he only put one shell in it.

Friend can't understand how his Marlin 336 barrel can be stamped 35 Remington. Tells anybody that will listen that it's EXTREMELY RARE

Happened here recently. The guy even left the range fees and rental fees in a baggie with a note to the owner apologizing for the mess and inconvenience.

There use to be a pawn shop on Hwy. 19, north of Zachary,La. I was in there a few times, but his gun prices were way too high. He got locked up for selling automatic guns to people that didn't have a license to own them. I heard he was out of prison, had moved, and was back in business.

Sometime there's dummies on both sides of the counter.

Was in a store when a guy comes in wanting 8mm ammo. The counter guy says he's got some 8mm Magnum ammo. The customer thinks "magnum" ammo would be great. I 'splained that if he had an 8mm Mauser, the cartridges wouldn't chamber. They both looked at me like I was the village idiot. I walked away reasonably confident that no one was going to get hurt, at least, except maybe in the pocketbook.

Another time, I saw some South-of-the-Border types trying to buy some 7.62x39 ammo for deer hunting. The clerk was having a heck of a time explaining why they needed the expensive soft-points rather than the cheap FMJ. Don't know how that one turned out either.

I was working the gun counter at Dick's once and another employee came over and asked how you bought a gun. I explained that once he picked one out, he had to fill out the paperwork so we could call it in and verify that he didn't have a criminal record. He asked what kind of crime would disqualify him. I explained that any felony and even some misdemeanors, like a domestic violence conviction would keep him from being approved. He hung his head a little and said, "oh" and walked away.

I believe I would have to keep that trunk and contents in a safe place as well as stocking up on ammo for it.

A young lady dropped by my shop and asked if I could fix her handgun.

She had been shooting one day and forgot it inside her open truck bed....for about 3 weeks

I looked it over and told her she had been rewarded a $400 lesson in responsibility

I offered her $50 for it but sent her on her way..