Gun shop experts and their quotes

[derekmelton]

I asked a "certified Glock armorer" at a gun shop if they sold Lone Wolf or other conversion barrels for their police trade in Glock 23's. The guy told me I'd blow the gun up in my face if I tried shooting a 9mm barrel in a .40 caliber gun. I tried to explain but they just got more belligerent. Lost me as a customer for life when they said I was a "moron" for even thinking that would work.

[Steve Moneypenny]

When Kimber was all the rage I walk into a kimber master dealer ask to see then gun, while checking it out i field strip it... his response was priceless, If you can't put that back together, your going to have to buy it!.... the shop owners name was Tex. ... i could barely stop snickering long enough to get the gun back together.

[Dranoel]

"STI? Never Heard of them."

I have had people at just about every gun shop in Columbus say the same about Caspian.

[gm iprod]

When Kimber was all the rage I walk into a kimber master dealer ask to see then gun, while checking it out i field strip it... his response was priceless, If you can't put that back together, your going to have to buy it!.... the shop owners name was Tex. ... i could barely stop snickering long enough to get the gun back together.

Sounds like a perfectly good sales pitch to me. I would have slipped one part off the counter while you were reassembling it, then request your credit card

[jhgtyre]

When Kimber was all the rage I walk into a kimber master dealer ask to see then gun, while checking it out i field strip it... his response was priceless, If you can't put that back together, your going to have to buy it!.... the shop owners name was Tex. ... i could barely stop snickering long enough to get the gun back together.

Sounds like a perfectly good sales pitch to me. I would have slipped one part off the counter while you were reassembling it, then request your credit card

Afterwards you sell him the missing part "at cost". Just because you are such a good guy.

[Doc Neeley]

I call them educated prostitutes (F--ing know it alls).

[gm iprod]

Who said I was a good guy, nasty way to treat a bloke. Casting such aspersions on a mans character.

[Lazer]

I will say one thing though. I had no idea that taking a gig at a gun shop is basically volunteering to have idiots point guns at you constantly. I know most of you probably already don't but please think about that the next time your in the local gunshop. We don't like them pointed at us any more than you do.

I've actually been on the other side of the situation.

I frequented a local shooting range for a number of years, and became friends with all the employees and the owner. I walked into the range office one day to find the clerk had a 1911 pointed directly at me!

There was a surveillance camera system, and he had seen me coming in from the parking lot. Seems he thought it would be funny to surprise me like that.

The first thing I did was instantly create a vacuum in the room by sucking all the available oxygen into my butt. After that, I came totally unglued. I almost went over the counter at him. His response was “But I made sure it wasn’t loaded.” He honestly didn’t seem to understand why that did not make it okay.

To this day I vividly remember how HUGE the muzzle was from that perspective.

"The first thing I did was instantly create a vacuum in the room by sucking all the available oxygen into my butt" I just almost died laughing thanks for that wonderful sentence.

I've been slowly working my way through this thread thinking that my shops are generally pretty good, as I haven't experienced anything quite like most of these. Then I went to a local indoor range yesterday and had a funny one. Guy in a bay next to me asks what I was shooting, (I think after already seeing it was a sig 229) and wants to show me his fancy Sigs. I realize he has an x5 and wants me to try it, Ok rad. He's showing me the gun and points to his rear sight, a big target style one, blacked out no dots or anything and says "See I don't have a rear sight, I just use front sight, center of mass" . I couldn't bring myself to say anything so I just said "Oh, cool" and enjoyed a few rounds through the x5.

I had no idea that if you didn't have markings on your rear sight it's apparently useless and doesn't even count as a sight. So I guess if you shoot a blacked-out rear you can start bragging to all your friends about how rear sights are for suckers and you're way to good for that nonsense.

[NicVerAZ]

He accidentally did the right thing by blacking the markings on the rear sight and he was inadvertently teaching himself good shooting skills. Of course I did not see him shoot, maybe he also had the best Weaver stance, finger all the way to the knuckle on the trigger and either a cup-and-saucer grip or support thumb behind the slide, as many beginners do.

I have stopped talking to anyone at the range. Only once someone asked me how I managed to do sub-6" groups at 20 yards while he had a shotgun pattern at 7.

Folks are extremely opinionated when it comes to guns and everyone is a flipping expert.

[rustybayonet]

I was asking about a rock island 1911. Clerk said they are garbage. I told them about there life time warranty on the gun (not the buyer).

He said: see they know there guns are garbage if they have a life time warranty.

[JayDee]

Not a shop expert story, but related to the random "expert" advice that comes unsolicited from strangers. A couple weeks ago I took my new 6.5 creedmoor to the local range during public hours to sight in. The fellow next to me was shooting a 308 and talking all about how awesome he was at bench rest competition.

The conversation was like "Hey, how are you? Can I ask you a question so that I can tell you about me?" After being distracted by him several times, I just put muffs on over my plugs. Did he get the idea? Nope, just got louder with more "Enough about me.......what do YOU think about me?"

Through my hearing protection, I managed to hear him tell me that 308 was far superior to any 6.5 chambering, I needed to clean my barrel after every shot to shoot a decent group, and that 6.5mm would soon be an obsolete caliber....... I am not a BR shooter, I just like 6.5s for longer ranges.

At target change, it was obvious that his best group (out of 20 groups) was about 1.5" at 100 yds. It seems logical that if you are grouping that wide, that close, it's probably not very competitive at 1000 yds. When he saw my five shot groups all within the 1" square on the target, he started giving me pointers to further improve my shooting!

I already knew this, but the experience drilled it home: actions trump words. No matter how loud or confident someone is, look at their targets/scores/ranking before accepting their advice in the gun store or at the range.

[Beastly]

I was at the CMP store before a match a few weeks back with a bud/wingman.

Asked counter guy if they had any of the 'defense' M1 carbine loads as my wife prefers this for a home defense gun. 'Expert' customer chimes in with the old 12 gauge is the only answer, just rack it and bad guys will flee' routine. I see my wingman start beelining for the exit. I fail to make eye contact with or respond to 'expert', so expert moves in and engages counter guy.

I make eye contact with increasingly desperate looking counter guy and beat feet for the exit with my so-called wingman disappearing into the distance in front of me.

I don't get paid to listen to that smack, counter guy does. BYE!

Edited October 4, 2015 by Beastly

[TerryYu]

Not a shop expert story, but related to the random "expert" advice that comes unsolicited from strangers. A couple weeks ago I took my new 6.5 creedmoor to the local range during public hours to sight in. The fellow next to me was shooting a 308 and talking all about how awesome he was at bench rest competition.

The conversation was like "Hey, how are you? Can I ask you a question so that I can tell you about me?" After being distracted by him several times, I just put muffs on over my plugs. Did he get the idea? Nope, just got louder with more "Enough about me.......what do YOU think about me?"

Through my hearing protection, I managed to hear him tell me that 308 was far superior to any 6.5 chambering, I needed to clean my barrel after every shot to shoot a decent group, and that 6.5mm would soon be an obsolete caliber....... I am not a BR shooter, I just like 6.5s for longer ranges.

At target change, it was obvious that his best group (out of 20 groups) was about 1.5" at 100 yds. It seems logical that if you are grouping that wide, that close, it's probably not very competitive at 1000 yds. When he saw my five shot groups all within the 1" square on the target, he started giving me pointers to further improve my shooting!

I already knew this, but the experience drilled it home: actions trump words. No matter how loud or confident someone is, look at their targets/scores/ranking before accepting their advice in the gun store or at the range.

I ran into a guy like that at the flea market. He was selling some m9 parts still with military stock tags on them (don't even want to know how he got those) and was telling me how he could hit the bull at 100 yards with his beretta.

"You just aim at the target, raise your aim (as he elevates his aim by about a foot) and bam!"

I told him how impressed I was and asked him to come show me at the range but for some reason he just couldn't ever make it out there.

[titandriver]

Not a gun shop experience but a gun show expert yesterday was telling me about his shooting 1&3/8 inch groups at 1000 yards. About all you can do is tell 'em "that's great" and move along.

[Firefight5243]

"We don't deal in them race guns, you all shoot to fast"...... As he stands in front of a class 3 full auto..... I shake my head and buy online.

[Nebwake]

Yeah, but nobody is going to respect you at the water cooler when you tell them you went and bought a 22 over the weekend.

I don't even talk guns at work. I've learned you shouldn't, except with a couple like-minded dudes.

Im glad I carry a gun for a living and work pretty much exclusively with like minded folks. Im not sure what I will do if I ever have to get a "real job"

[TerryYu]

Im glad I carry a gun for a living and work pretty much exclusively with like minded folks. Im not sure what I will do if I ever have to get a "real job"

Be endlessly bombarded by people boasting of their feats of skill that are either physically impossible or not a feat at all for an experienced shooter.

That and clips. You're gonna want a clip for your clips so you can clip them together like they did in Vietnam.

[NicVerAZ]

An ex-coworker felt so awful after I corrected him on some gun-related idiocy that I made an enemy out of him. He then proceeded to bear false witness against me, questioning my skills and knowledge and overall making it hard for me to do my job. We were consultants for the same contracting agency and, as a result of his campaign, I was removed and my employer lost the contract for my position.

I therefore wholeheartedly agree: folks are so full of pride about their perceives shooting skills, there is no need to argue. I've instead invited them to come shoot a steel or IDPA matcn. No one ever accepted the invite.

[Warkitz]

Clerk in the store is carrying a glock 26 on his hip. Starts showing me " I haven't clean this glock in 2000 rounds. I never clean this."

Edit: glock dang auto correct

Edited October 28, 2015 by Warkitz

[TerryYu]

Clerk in the store is carrying a flock 26 on his hip. Starts showing me " I haven't clean this glock in 2000 rounds. I never clean this."

What's wrong with that? It'll go bang at least once.

[gerritm]

Sometimes they are experts.

89 year old lady with a walker comes into the gun store I worked at and muscles her way up to the counter during a very busy time around Christmas and the boss helps her. She says she needs some thing for self defense because a guy who worked at her house is threatening her because she will not pay his bill. He shows her a new S&W 38 hammerless lightweight revolver and explains how simple and reliable it is. Explains how to load it and He gets her a box of self defense loads. She asks if he can load it for her and he explains not in the store, but shows her again how it works without actually loading it. . She fills out the 4473 and takes the new boxed gun home . Next day comes back screaming as she walks in the store with her walker and demands to see him because he sold her a defective gun. Loudly enough so all the customers could hear her. Shoves the S&W box towards him and the box of ammo and says the gun is defective and will not load. He opens the box, takes the gun out, does a quick look, opens the cylinder, removes the round, bright yellow safety piece that is covering the cylinder and calmly tells her it is fixed.

Sometimes it is not the gun store guy.

gerritm

[SiG Lady]

I'm wondering what ultimately happened to the "guy who worked at her house" . . .

[Dranoel]

I'm wondering what ultimately happened to the "guy who worked at her house" . . .

I'm wondering if her refusal to pay him is based on the same sort of logic she used in the gunshop.

[gerritm]

Pretty sure

I'm wondering what ultimately happened to the "guy who worked at her house" . . .

I'm wondering if her refusal to pay him is based on the same sort of logic she used in the gunshop.

Pretty sure it was the same sort of logic. She was extremely rude and obnoxious never did hear or read anything about it. I think if I remember right she even had a CHL. We always said that there should be an IQ test before buying a gun. All of the guys and ladies at our gun store were very professional and knowledgeable. Maybe thinking there should be a section about stupid customers and what they ask and do in gun stores. There are thousands of those stories out there.

gerritm

[ruffinit]

Ok. First, thank you to all of you that shared on this post. I have just spent a very entertaining (albeit a bit frightening) couple of hours reading this from start to finish.

I consider myself very lucky that the private gun stores near me seem to employ people willing to tell you that they don't know and grab another employee that is more familiar with what you are asking about. Perhaps, I don't appreciate them enough. (or didn't before reading this thread)

The only story that I have to add comes from the seller's side of the counter courtesy of my girlfriend. She and I have been shooting together for many years now including Cowboy Action, and recently a bit of 3 gun. I make all our ammo and over the years, she has picked up a fair bit of reloading information from me (I'm no expert by my judgement, but I have managed to not blow us up in 10 years of loading ammo). She worked for a while at a local big box sporting goods retailer that also sold reloading supplies. She is a 5' tall, slightly built woman and often had trouble with customers not wanting to be helped with firearm purchases by her. One the one occasion that really merits telling here, she was working with only one other employee (male) in the firearm/reloading section of the store when a customer walked up to the counter directly in front of her and begins loudly calling "Hey, buddy!" to the male employee (who was working with another customer at the time). She asked the fellow politely if she could assist him. He declined and began again calling loudly to the other employee across her shoulder. After a minute or two of this, she politely (the girl is an angel) explains to the customer that the other employee is busy with another customer and she would be happy to help him with whatever he needs. He (a bit rudely) says he will just wait on the other employee.

After several minutes go by, the male employee finishes with the other customer and finally gets to the person that was calling out for him. My girlfriend and the other employee shared a quick look (they were used to this sort of thing by now, unfortunately) as he walks up beside her. She turned away from the customer and resumed stocking product that they had received that day and had yet to get put away as the male employee asks the customer what he needed help with.

"I need some help with reloading stuff." the customer tells him.

"You need her then." the employee says and turns and walks away again.

Apparently, the customer was acting both stunned and sheepish while my girlfriend got him sorted out and on his way with what he needed.

(No one else in the store did ANY reloading so my girlfriend helped where she could and would reach out to me or one of our shooting buddies when she was hit with questions she couldn't answer.)

This story was told to me by the male employee the next time I visited them in the store. He said it was all he could do not to laugh in the jerk's face when he saw the stunned look the customer gave him when he told him he should be talking to my girlfriend.

Ruffy