Newby in local gun store to buy some "bullets"!
I'm standing there waiting to talk to the owner. Three people walk in, an old man and two women, one older, one thirty something. The thirty something looked like a serious liberal. I guess she was afraid to walk in a gun store without witnesses!! She stood there with that deer in the headlights look.
She said she wanted to buy some "bullets". Owner says "What kind of bullets?? She takes out her phone, looks something up and replies "Smith and Wesson three eight S- P- L." She pays for her three eight S P L bullets and the three of them quickly scurry out the door before one of us crazy, conservative, gun people shoots her. At least that seemed to be her fear.
I looked at the owner and asked if this was common now and he said he gets two or three customers a day pretty much just like her. He said one man walked in and asked for some ammunition for a Ruger. He had no idea what round his Ruger was chambered in. He thought the owner would know what would fit in his Ruger. This level of ignorance is amazing to me. I honestly wonder if when the three eight lady got home if she could figure out how to load her weapon!
She said she wanted to buy some "bullets". Owner says "What kind of bullets?? She takes out her phone, looks something up and replies "Smith and Wesson three eight S- P- L." She pays for her three eight S P L bullets and the three of them quickly scurry out the door before one of us crazy, conservative, gun people shoots her. At least that seemed to be her fear.
I looked at the owner and asked if this was common now and he said he gets two or three customers a day pretty much just like her. He said one man walked in and asked for some ammunition for a Ruger. He had no idea what round his Ruger was chambered in. He thought the owner would know what would fit in his Ruger. This level of ignorance is amazing to me. I honestly wonder if when the three eight lady got home if she could figure out how to load her weapon!
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wonder how many negligent discharges are to follow,,,, 0 -
So it might be a good thing if she can't figure out how to load her weapon??? 0 -
I would sell them exactly what they asked for which is bullets and not ammo. 12 -
We were all new to firearms at one point or other . Helping the liberal suddenly turned gun owner will do more to help our cause than you can imagine . We all need to do as much ch outreach as we can
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Smitty, I did just that with a pair of Chicano gang bangers who came in and wanted "380 boolits". I asked if they wanted bullets or ammunition and they repeated "Boolits." So I sold them a box of exactly that. They were back in 15 minutes, complaining "Day doan fit." To this day, I wonder if I saved anybody's life that day. 0 -
Yep, help them out. I'm just guessing. But she may live in an area that now feels threatening to her, has a threatening ex, or maybe a stalker. Someone she knows, uncle, father, friend..... loaned her a revolver but they didn't know much about it either. Maybe the gun was inherited. She reads the stamps on the revolver and correctly relays that to the man behind the counter, she's probably never heard some say "thirty eight special" and has no idea Smith and Wesson was the brand. She had enough sense to take a picture of the revolver stamps. Good job girl in getting the right ammunition. Just being ignorant of something doesn't relate to not having good sense.pulsarnc said:We were all new to firearms at one point or other . Helping the liberal suddenly turned gun owner will do more to help our cause than you can imagine . We all need to do as much ch outreach as we can
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Plenty of newbs bidding on auction side also. IF we could get them to vote with us, at least most of us, it would be a win. 0 -
Yes exactly. There is plenty of calling "ammunition" "bullets" on these forums. To the point that about 10-12 years ago I posted a cut away picture of a "cartridge" with the nomenclature of all the parts. I had my a s s handed to me on these forums........SCOUT5 said:
Yep, help them out. I'm just guessing. But she may live in an area that now feels threatening to her, has a threatening ex, or maybe a stalker. Someone she knows, uncle, father, friend..... loaned her a revolver but they didn't know much about it either. Maybe the gun was inherited. She reads the stamps on the revolver and correctly relays that to the man behind the counter, she's probably never heard some say "thirty eight special" and has no idea Smith and Wesson was the brand. She had enough sense to take a picture of the revolver stamps. Good job girl in getting the right ammunition. Just being ignorant of something doesn't relate to not having good sense.pulsarnc said:We were all new to firearms at one point or other . Helping the liberal suddenly turned gun owner will do more to help our cause than you can imagine . We all need to do as much ch outreach as we can
So sell the lady what she wants, and ask if you can help her in any way. No need to be an a s s about it, help the lady out. You might end up with an ally.9 -
Yep, that was my first thought, that a golden opportunity was missed to help and educate someone that was clearly lacking in firearm experience that could possibly save their lives. Very sad for both parties in the transaction. 3 -
I agree try and help I have had many co-workers to my house and show them how and teach safety and let them shoot various guns . more than a few went on to buy there own gun(s)
I use to cut open shotgun shells to show whats in them pull the bullets off a 22 to show them how it worked
my story when I was about 18 years old or so , I decided to try reloading I knew a bit about guns and ammo but reloading I knew complete zero about .
I knew no one who did reloading and long before the internet or that I even there were books on it , I stopped by a GS that has long ago closed on the way home from work one spring day .
I did almost like the lady I went to the counter said I need some powder, primers ,and 45 cal bullets .. for reloading
OK that's when I realized what a dummy I was ..
of course the counter fellow ask what powder, what weight ,and type bullets what primers .,
( me) what there is more then one type
no need to explain how I felt but it was the deer in the headlight look
lucky for me the old fellow at the counter had to be in his forties ( LOL ) took about ten minutes or so explained the basics and sold me a reloading book and the basic items to get me started reloading my 45 acp I remember it was bullseye powder large primers and hard cast 180 gr bullets .
I have never forgot his effort to help me , and damn sure glad he did ..
I started with a lee pocket loader and moved on up as my experience and funds allowed0 -
It's kind of funky you call your self a "conservative". 0 -
I started reloading shotgun shells on a Lee Loader in 1962. Lucky for me I had a grandpa and uncle that showed me how and they kept a close eye on me until they felt comfortable that I could be trusted not to blow myself and the house up. 6 -
its ovious these were new gunowners so why not be more helpful? offer instructions or some range time to ensure safe gunhandling techniquwa. giving them the cold shoulder helps no one. ridiculing them because they didn't use the correct terminology only showsignorance on your part.someone taught you about guns, so why not pass the knowledge on? 3 -
"its ovious these were new gunowners so why not be more helpful?"
In that case, the person should have been more inquisitive and open as to their lack of knowledge.
Part of me says, however many of these twerps kill/injure themselves due to lack of firearms experience is just a bit less stupidity in the world but of course this would feed the anti-gun movement when publicized. Part of me says, we should help these people as much as possible. However, their self induced exclusion of the Neanderthal (gun owner) elements makes real help nearly impossible.0 -
When I was 12 years old, my father took me to Washington, DC for the day. I wanted to take the tour of the FBI headquarters. At the end of the tour, they took us to a small range inside the building. An agent brought out a Thompson SMG, which he showed us. He then announced that he would fire 10 rounds for us. I was really disappointed, because I was looking forward to seeing him fire bullets. 10 shots later, I understood that "round" was just another word for "bullet". Sometimes we just make things more difficult than they need to be.Neal
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It isn't my store, she was on the other side of the store, she was acting scared to be in a place she was unfamiliar with so I just kept out of her way. If she had been asking questions and the owner (there were a bunch of customers) had asked me to help her I would have. I will always help someone, I took a 16 year old shooting Friday, it was his first time shooting. I had a lot of fun. 3 -
riff raff need not apply.3 -
The reason I have very little patients with newbies is the fact if they were shopping for a computer or lawn equipment or anything else they would have googled it and known everything known to man about it before they went shopping but they won't bother checking out even the simplest things about guns. Even the people that are making gun laws don't have a clue about what they're passing laws on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ospNRk2uM3U0 -
Sorry, I just couldn't resist.3 -
Wait until this all settles down, and see what's on the used market...... 0 -
I just bought my first motorcycle, and it's a whole new world to me. I sure am glad the guys at the Kawasaki place were helpful and courteous and walked me through everything I needed to know instead of making me feel stupid, out of place, and unwelcome.
We've all been new at something at some point. Be kind and help folks out whenever you can.
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Sounds like the owner missed an outreach opportunity to grow his customer base
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Educating newbies is good, but when the customer has face tattoos (as mine did) you might want to be a tiny bit less helpful. 0 -
Rocky Raab: 31540960438555/comments/31540952623387
Educating newbies is good, but when the customer has face tattoos (as mine did) you might want to be a tiny bit less helpful.
Very true. Different situation there, for sure.
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Yep, or if after a non condescending offer of help they want to be snotty, then the gloves are off.Rocky Raab said:Educating newbies is good, but when the customer has face tattoos (as mine did) you might want to be a tiny bit less helpful.
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Newbies can be interesting folks. I was in a local guns shop a few months back and in walked a rough looking dude with a Hi-Point 9mm carbine at the low ready position. He had on his medical mask and gloves and was mumbling to himself....
After a slight confrontation, where the counter guy drew on him and told the guy to put the weapon down, things settled down. The guy had been given the rifle for Christmas and he had no idea what ammo it needed or even how to load it...
The counter guy explained the situation to the guy and he realized how it looked when he arrived at the door. The counter guy gave him a range pass, set him up with proper ammo and showed him how to load and operate his rifle. The two went out on the range and the gentleman fired a couple mags through with the counter guy coaching him.Before the guy left, he bought a case for transportation and signed up for some more instruction time the next day..3 -
Grasshopper said:Plenty of newbs bidding on auction side also. IF we could get them to vote with us, at least most of us, it would be a win.
Exactly. I don't see why folks take it as an opportunity to jab and poke at folks who don't know better.. Helping them learn would go a long way for some folks to get over their irrational fears. As it stands there's just a lot of jerks out there that think they have some special ownership of gun knowledge that does nothing more than give gun owners a bad name.0 -
+1Mr. Perfect said:Grasshopper said:Plenty of newbs bidding on auction side also. IF we could get them to vote with us, at least most of us, it would be a win.
Exactly. I don't see why folks take it as an opportunity to jab and poke at folks who don't know better.. Helping them learn would go a long way for some folks to get over their irrational fears. As it stands there's just a lot of jerks out there that think they have some special ownership of gun knowledge that does nothing more than give gun owners a bad name.
There's a vast difference between Ignorant and Stupid. A little sound advice and shared knowledge goes a long way toward curing ignorance. One never knows, given proper guidance that young woman might share that knowledge with someone else just as ignorant as she was.0 -
I had a guy come into the LGS I was working, looking for ammo, so he could go hunting with a friend. He posed as a newbie, but things didn't add up. Even though I didn't have to, I asked for ID, which he had readily available without going into his wallet. With his appearance, demeanor & being willing to pay 150%, etc., it all said State Police doing some sort of check. So, despite being busy with other customers, I gave him a brief lesson in the laws regarding borrowing a firearm, etc. Never heard another word. 0 -
I'm fairly new to gun ownership. I did try and do my research before I went in to a shop, but without any frame of reference, I'm sure I still sounded just like her. Fortunately, the kid (probably in his early 30's) waiting on me recognized my ignorance. Instead of just mocking me or selling me what I asked for, he asked me a lot of questions. I thought I wanted a 22 pistol for home defense because it wouldn't weigh as much as a bigger gun. I left signed up for a training course and eventually a CHL course. Super patient guy and I left with enough information that my internet research now made much more sense.
That was several years ago. I'm still appreciative that I ran into someone that cared enough to take the time to help me.18
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