Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters "Interesting" conversation with a new clerk at LGS

I started doing my own question and answer sessions at about 15. Had a late start to shooting (city kid) and was at the mercy of older fellows who believed their 06' was THE best one ever built. Or a 30-30 was only good to 75 yards and you HAD to use it in the thick woods. No good anywhere else because the bullets were only good for pounding through trees.

I actually bothered to shoot as many guns as I could find and read ballistics charts. Compared how bad they hurt to how flat they shot. Came to find O'Connor may have a notion. The 270 won hands down. And as far as I knew you BOUGHT guns so choice was somewhat limited making the 270 choice even easier.

Now after listening to you guys for years and parting out everything I buy to build something else "just because I can" I KNOW the 270 wins but I had to listen to preachers preach otherwise for a very long time. And it helped me as a kid understand just because you know your right doesn't make it so

All the little gun shops up here near the border have BS oozing out the door save for one. I don't blame them for speaking what they think they know. Or passing on what has been given as gospel over generations. I actually enjoy listening to the stories of holding on hair with the Mighty STW at 600 yards with a 100 zero. Because your shooting 140's. And the 20" barrel with a brake feels like a 243 so you can watch your shots. Through the 6.5x20, set on 20. Freehand. Running.

And god so loved the shooting world and all it's misplaced children. Would not want it any other way...

Cheers

W

You ain't tumbling into some sorta mid life crisis, are ya?

I sense a bit of cynicism creeping into a few of your recent contributions. Or maybe it's the result of some of us cranky old bastards here getting on yer nerves a bit? ;O)

I tend to discourage conversation with most LGS counter leaners, but have often enjoyed overhearing their prattle.

One former shop here only hired people that reflected the knowledge of the owner, which was about nil. He once insisted that the Marlin 336 scope base "fill" screws I wanted to buy, wouldn't fit my 444 Marlin. But sold them to me anyway, with the loud admonition that I couldn't bring them back when they wouldn't work. And another time I listened to two clerks there try to talk a young lady into buying a 357 magnum, because the 38 Spl. she was interested in, "couldn't kill a flea". She walked out.

Only good thing about that place, was that they consistantly under priced used rifles. So I made it a point to stop in frequently when in that area, to see what they were trying to give away and wound up buying a few. It was open for maybe four or five years.

Heard a guy at another shop once tell a customer that the reason a new M70 had the BOSS on it, was because Browning had allowed Winchester to use it under agreement. The customer didn't seem impressed by that jabber, looked at me like the clerk was on something. So I butted-in and added that the M70 was likely wearing a BOSS, because both manufacturers were owned by the same parent company? Then the clerk went ugly on me, when I asked why two identical pistols were priced differently, for no apparent reason. That place also folded after a few years.

My favorite LGC near hunting camp, has had some doozies behind the counter over the years. Mostly retired guys that had moved to the country and worked there part time. Only two or three of 'em actually had much knowledge about firearms, but that never impeded the rest of 'em from trying to impress customers with their BS and getting in over their heads.

That place was a great source of firearms and related items for over 40 years, until the original owner sold it several years ago. We don't expect it to last through 2014.

Lately, when I hear similar comments at the range, I say "I'm out here a lot, and I haven't seen one of those yet" or something similar.

I have seen a few genuine half MOA rifles though, 308's put together by Terry Cross and Mike Bryant come to mind.

Oh, no doubt. Gun counters are great places to listen in to conversions, but perhaps not so much to be in one (unless for the entertainment factor).

I just did a 308 to 30-308 conversion. Cheapest work I've ever had done and group size was halved.

dubePA,

I'm probably no more cynical than I was at 12, after hearing about the .30-08. But this conversation was outstanding in its repetitive "wrongness."

Such things do seem to come in cycles. Last week I was in the same shop and picked up a "sporterized" 1903 Springfield, a typical job from the 1960's with a sloppily bedded, roll-over comb aftermarket stock. As is also typical of that era, it had the original barrel (and why not?) with the rear sight base been removed. I could tell all this at a glance because I've owned several such rifles, including a couple I did myself, heating up the sight base to melt the solder.

As I looked at the rifle out of curiosity, a young man nearby said, "That's been rebarreled."

I said, "I don't think so."

"Oh, yeah it was," he said. "There's a big step at the rear of the original barrels."

Again, I didn't bother to try to persuade him otherwise, because he was absolutely certain and there was no way to demonstrate his mistake.

My favorite LGS is a gunsmith who sells a few guns on the side. The sign on his counter reads:

Caution:

Hunting and fishing stories told here. Protective footwear may be required.

I learned something new on Armslist the other day too. The seller was advertising a RG revolver (with photo) and said RG stands for "Real Gun" and is made by Ruger. I had always thought RG stood for "rotten gun" so, see what I know

I find that replying with "If you say so." generally stops the conversation.

Kinda funny today, saw a guy a Cabela's try to cycle a Steyr 1895 straight-pull bolt action carbine that was in the used gun rack. No matter how much muscle he put into it, he couldn't get the bolt handle to rotate upward. I watched he and a friend dick with it for about five minutes, then asked if they could use a hand. They'd never seen a straight-pull rifle before and thought that it was a very cool concept. Noticed that Cabela's used gun prices, which are usually pretty high for most things, seemed unreasonably high.

Jeff

One evening when I was working behind the counter in a gun store, a gentleman in his 30's doubled timed down the main aisle, took a sharp left turn down the aisle to the gun counter and screeched to a halt. This entire time, he had been carrying a Remington 742 at port arms, his finger throught the trigger guard. The barrel was pretty well lined up on my bellybutton the entire time. When he caught his breath, he explained that he had a live round in the chamber that wouldn't extract. As I remember, I was a little less than courteous to the fella.
Another favorite was the dentist that brought in a Ruger SuperBlackhawk, Hunter model with a Burris scope. Beautiful setup. He had missed twelve deer with it from his tree stand and wanted to know what could possily be the matter. I asked him what range he had sighted it in for, and he gave me a puzzled look, and asked me "What do you mean, 'sight in'?"
Neither side of the gun counter is lacking in (insert your own word here).
royce

After seeing some of the accumulated expertise at the campfire here I have no doubt that 1/4" all day long rifles do exist, and not just the full blown bench rest jobs, either.

But somehow at the range ownership of these amazing sporting rifles is always in the past tense. And the poor owner of said rifle must really, really miss it as the two or three he is shooting on that particular day seem to be capable of averaging only about 1 1/2 to 2 inches all day long, at best.

At the range I used to frequent over twenty years ago I saw a lot of rifles that could do even better than 1/4" pretty often. Of course they were being shot by Don Geraci, Francis Broussard, Marcy Lyons, Carroll Green, et al.

One of the bargains obtained at the shop whose owner didn't want to sell me the "wrong" Marlin fill screws, was a very nice 1903 US Remington sporter for around $225, maybe 16 years ago.

Nice walnut stock that was bedded properly, Weaver bases and in excellent condition. It is one of two rifles I still own, that is glass bedded.

The clerk said it was a custom 1903A3. I pointed out that since it had a 6/42 barrel date (flaming bomb ord. mark) and machined bottom metal, that it was more likely a pre-03A3 Remington with original barrel. He refused to budge on his assessment.

Still have it, still shoots very well and has killed three whitetail bucks, coupla baldies. Put an old, but as-new steel Weaver K4 on it back then, because it gave the rifle a 1960s "period" look.

That Weaver came on the 444 Marlin and had been on there since the rifle was new (mid 60s?). I removed it and installed a Williams receiver sight, which was why I needed base fill screws from the idjuts.

Older I get, the more I like old rifles.

I may go back and buy the 1903 in the LGS. It reminds me an awful lot of the rifle our neighbor across the alley, a co-worker or my father's, put together in the early 1960's, and killed a pile of deer, antelope and elk with, despite not having a scope (he installed a receiver sight, though I can't remember if it was a Lyman or Redfield).

In fact I wouldn't be totally astonished if this one is his rifle, and the price is very low. In fact I've spent as much money to stay one night in a not-very-good hotel.

"If I do my part" Is usually included in the statement.

LGS are a hoot, both from behind the counter and in front of it.

One of the more knowledgeable clerks i've ran in to was working the counter at wal-mart, of all places. I wasnt really there to buy gun stuff, but they had some .243 sierra MK that I like to shoot in my 6/06. So I put them on the counter, the guy asks "what you loading for"..Wanting to avoid the 20 questions I just said they were for my 243win..he says, "oh I really like them in my 6/06". I talked to the old guy for awhile about guns after that.

I never seen him in there again, probably got fired for being a gun nut.

Is there any way he could have said 30-338

Wish every old rifle that I've stumbled onto and brought home, had come with an owner's diary. As many here have noted on this subject, damn shame old rifles can't talk.

Some came from people I knew, or elderly relatives. So at least there's some history that came along with them.

Stuck around long enough to hear some history on the last one I obtained, from the old boy that parted with it. Happy to have listened. Even happier that he'd kept it in a warm, dry place all those years, after he'd quit hunting with it.

I will never forget opening the bolt on a Rem 700 in my local pawn shop, and having a 22-250 round fly out onto the counter. Smacked the glass hard.

I made them take an additional $50 off the price for the "I just saved your ass" fee. They really did not have too much to say.

I did run into the complete opposite of this once.

Before Sportsman's Warehouse closed here there was a beautiful young lady that worked the counter. Absolutely a great looking woman and friendly, about 27 years old or so. I was in, looking over some rifles and she asked me what I was looking for exactly. I was also feeling like an ass that day and said - "I'd love a Ruger #1 in 275 Rigby" to which she replied - well, we do have a couple 7mm Mausers at the distributor, can I order one of those till you find the Rigby?"

She had this chit eating grin on her face too. I felt about 2 inches tall but she definitely knew her stuff.

The gun shop new-hire might be kin to Dick Fickle.