Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters I thought I'd seen everything.

I've run into a lot of folks who believe the bullet weight is actually the grains of powder. They usually say they think the 180's are the best because 150 grains of powder isn't enough in the .30-06.

I am still wondering if the guy I saw at a Cabelas store ever found a Piccadilly rail..

Heard a counter guy recommend a 7-08 to a guy for elk.

Not a bad choice but his explanation was weird : "This is a 7-08, it's a 7mm necked down to 308 and will knock an elk on its ass at 1000 yards".

Overheard some urban yutes asking if a pistol came with a beam on it!

They were there to buy some .30 cal ammo but didn't know specifics but would recognize it so the guy working the counter put 5-6 different cartridges on the counter the fellow chose .30 Carbine so they sold him a box.

I can just see him shoving it into an sks or ak of some sort and wondering why it won't work.

Mike

He may have been a rectal fitter himself.

Saw a local guy advertising "sal" hunts. Ad had a picture of a good size sow. Still trying to figure out what a "sal" is

Pronouncing it, "Sig Sawyer".

Then there was the guy who brought in an Italian Carcano rifle because he had a round jammed in the chamber. "Is that gun loaded, sir?" "Of course not," and pulled the trigger to prove it. After we picked ourselves up off the floor, the idiot got his ass tossed out the door, literally, and the stupid rifle pitched out onto the sidewalk beside him (it clattered out into the street and a couple cars drove over it before he had a chance to retrieve it).

I could also tell you about the old retirement age cop who came in 40-couple years ago looking for someone who could give his service .38 a good cleaning before he turned it back in. The Colt hadn't been out of the holster for years. Decades maybe. There was so much dirt/lint/crap filtered and packed down in there that it was a tug o' war getting it out. The ammo was all corroded in the chambers- so bad that we had to tap a couple of them out with a hammer and dowel. The bore was rusted and filled with lint so bad that there was just a little tunnel of light shining through. The heck of it was, he was a great guy who was a very good cop. He just never had to draw his weapon, and obviously got around re-qualifications somehow. His billy club on the other hand looked very well used...

There is nothing A5 about the new A5's.

A couple came into the store Saturday to buy a .38 special snubby to carry in their car. Their friend the expert was with them since they had never owned a handgun. The couple chose the least expensive .38 we carry, a Rossi. The expert then asked me if regular .38's could be fired out of the revolver. I said, "I don't understand your question, to me a regular .38 means .38 special." He got visibly upset and said I mean regular .38's, everyone knows what they are. I said, "Are you talking about .357 magnum?" He got madder and said no, I mean regular .38's. I explained that the only other .38's I knew about were the .38 Long Colt and .38 S&W, but they are not in production anymore and ammo was pretty rare.

The expert told me to forget it. He did talk to the store manager and suggested that I receive more training.

I have often wondered if some of these big stores that sale firearms actually interview the sales people they hire to work the gun counter. I try not to go to these places for anything unless it is absolutely necessary, or if they have a good deal on something I want. If any of you guys work in those places then I am not talking about you.;) Is there a bonus to the sales man if they sale the magnums, or is it just the counter jockeys thinks that is the best? Most people around where I live are after deer or pigs. I Have no idea why they would advise a person they need a 300 RUM. I am sure some people who come in ask for those rifles. I know a sale is a sale but you don't make a repeat customer if the rifle kicks the crap out of them, and they give up hunting because they cant stand to shoot the rifle that someone told them they had to have. cdb do you have try to talk some people down, or do you often give in and let them buy that hammer of thor, and just tell them to bring it back if they want to try something different? I am not talking about all salesmen. I have heard this happen a few times while standing near the counter looking at the guns.

Earlier this year, an LGS had a "guru" behind the counter that was trying to convince a new gun owner that the Glock 32 in .357 SIG was a better choice for carry and home defense because "he could fire cheaper .38s in it for practice and then load the more expensive and powerful .357s for carry".

I know I cost him a sale when I called bullschit, proved the point, and the customer left. I might have cost him his job, but the LGS closed relatively soon after that anyway (no real loss). He was their "apprentice gunsmith", too.

My 2 favorites.

Was in the local Walmart right after Christmas 2007. The guy working the gun counter answers the phone with a customer asking about 7mm-08 ammo for a new rifle he got for Christmas. The clerk informed him that the only ammo they had in stock was 07 ammo, the 08 ammo would be in next week.

My brother relayed the 2nd story, I wasn't there. Guy walks into a reputable gun shop asking if they carried 357 Sig ammo for his new Glock. Clerk answers yes and walks to the ammo display asking how much he wants. The answer." Well, I have two 13 round magazines so I'll take 26 rounds" as he hands the clerk the 2 magazines to fill up for him.

Where I work we have some incredibly knowledgeable people and our fair share of idiots. We are not measured or paid by what or how much we sell. We are measured by how many credit card apps we get.

Had two of the sales staff in a certain gun library in a big sporting goods store ask me if I knew anything about proof marks as I looked over a winchester Model 54. I said some. Their question was,,,

We have a customer on the phone in Arizona that is interested in this Holland & Holland 500 Nitro express. (Handed me the double rifle). He wants to know if it's proofed for Nitro.

I didn't know if it was a "Prince Albert in a can" joke or what???

And the beat goes on...

Shortly after the 300 RUM came out you could buy them used pretty cheap

More often than not, you get to sell them a 300Wby, then a 300Win, then a 300WSM, then a 30-06, and finally a 308.

Daggum BPS's!! I called 'em "Ziplock shotguns". Guy'd come in with the receiver and a ziplock bag fulla parts. It's one of the very few I wouldn't let them watch me work on because I never really knew how long it'd take. One would go right together and you'd look like a genius and the next would be a 45min reminder of how much I still don't know.

The original "Dick's Clothing and Sporting Goods" was a real goo family owned store on Court Street in Binghampton, NY. They had a great gun department back in the day. I was in there once in the mid-70's and watched a kid behind the counter trying to sell an older guy a Ruger No. 1 in .25-06. The kid was almost sputtering and spitting with enthusiasm as he said to the guy, "This is a great caliber for road hunting!!! You can kill a deer as far away as you can see it with this rifle!!!"