Obtuse gunshop/range statements

[NHT3]

I've heard this discussed before and contributed to the discussion a few times. The more I'm behind the counter and in the range, the more ?????, I don't know if shocked or discouraged is what I'm feeling. Question posed to me yesterday that I thought was in jest until I turned to see two sets of inquiring eyes. As a side note I had seen them in the range earlier. One felt confident enough in their own skills and may very well have been charging a fee to "train" the other.
"I have a Ruger LC9S, does anyone make a double stack clip for it? I would like to have more rounds in my pistol." It was in the afternoon and in my frequent tours though the range I had found 3 loaded pistols where they shouldn't have been which does nothing for my mood. This did brighten my day a bit and my first thought was "Glock does but they are REALLY hard to get". This is something that I specifically cover in the beginner class I teach and it highlights the glaring lack of knowledge some gun owners have of firearms.

Thoughts please? If you have heard something more comical please chime in, I could use the levity.. I guess Elvis was right when he said "the world's a stage and each must play his part".

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[/FONT]Certified Glock armorer- CertifiedM&P armorer[FONT=&amp]
[/FONT]NRA Basic pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] /[/FONT][FONT=&amp] RSO[/FONT]

 

[churchmouse]

 

[223 Gunner]

For a few years I worked the Indy 1500 with Tactical Shotgunner.
I had a guy ask me, and I quote, "How many bullets do it spit" while looking at a semi-auto shotgun that was on the table.

 

[DocIndy]

How about..."yeah, you can shoot .380 in a 9mm. It's like a 38 in a 357. That's why it's also called the 9mm short."

 

[M67]

45 long Colt

22 Long Range (duh, what else would LR stand for) Same goes for I needs some 22 long to go in my pistol. You mean long rifle right? NO! It's for a pistol not a rifle!

Ain't no knife worth over $30

A $30 scope will do just as fine as one of them high priced $150 scopes

Glocks nevar fail

Silencers are stupid, if I'm shooting I want the person who I'm shooting at or my neighbors to know I'm shooting

A 44 mag revolver recoils so bad it'll whack you in the forehead (that's a classic one, too much Dirt Harry, too little of actually shooting a 44 mag)

You can use smokeless powder in any muzzle loader right? (yeah, that's why most are stamped NO SMOKELESS POWDER or BLACK POWDER ONLY, but I supposed you can try anything once)



I'm sure there's a lot more I'm not thinking of

 

[pudly]

How about the following response: "No. That gun is designed to use only single stack magazines, but we have the Ruger SR9/9c right next to it which is designed for double stack mags. Would you like to see one?" Might even lead to a sale.

 

[Disposable Heart]

"It's not loaded"
".45 knocks em over better than any other round"
".44 mag can tear a guys head off "
"Polymer guns degrade within 3 years, glock told me so, that's why they are less expensive than some guns bc you have to buy them more often"
"I learned how to shoot a pistol from a Navy seal when I drove a truck in the army" (standing proudly next to a target that looked like a drunk chimp made a go at it with a submachinegun) "I could even teach you to shoot that well"
"9mm zips through them and doesn't do any damage" (and thus thinks I'm stupid when I thank him for his sage advice and tell him the 50s called and wanted their junk ballistics science back)

Worked at a range for 8 years, I could fill a book with the tsunami of stupid that cannot be refuted, changed and how dare you try. Some folks cannot accept science or the concept of someone knowing more than they do (which increases exponentially when their significant other is present, can't diss a bro in front of their lady man)

 

[BehindBlueI's]

My all time favorite was the guy who came in to ITP furious because his gun was broke. The slide would not go forward. The clerk told him to bring it in and he'd look at it. The guy brought it in, and it was simply locked back on an empty magazine. The clerk showed him how to use the slide lock release or to drop the mag and sling shot it, and the gun was then "fixed".

I've also seen several people there with "broke" guns that were simply not lubed, or "lubed" with the factory packing grease and nothing else and the clerk has "fixed" it with CLP.

 

[M67]

I've also seen several people there with "broke" guns that were simply not lubed, or "lubed" with the factory packing grease and nothing else and the clerk has "fixed" it with CLP.

Or the ones that are caked in WD40 and seized up, which then some people think adding more WD40 will help.


Or the guns that won't fire no matter what the shooter does...........then they're showed how to take the safety off and miraculously it works

 

[Drail]

At a big box sporting goods store - customer asks clerk if he can use .41 Magnum ammunition in his .44 Magnum revolver because "it's cheaper, has less recoil and is easier on the gun". Clerk's response - "Sure". Normally I try to stay out of these conversations but I couldn't let this go on.........

 

[pudly]

At a big box sporting goods store - customer asks clerk if he can use .41 Magnum ammunition in his .44 Magnum revolver because "it's cheaper, has less recoil and is easier on the gun". Clerk's response - "Sure". Normally I try to stay out of these conversations but I couldn't let this go on.........

You did right. Some things like the OP's item of the double stack for the LC9s is just worth letting roll off your back. It is a silly question, but you can gently lead them in a better direction while educating them at the same time. On the other hand, there is no sugar coating this one. It is simply dangerous and it was the "authority figure" that failed.

 

[shootersix]

my dad was at a lgs, and was listening to an employee tell a customer how to reload, the employee told the person that they could use rifle powder to reload in a pistol, my dad looked at the employee and said stop!, if you don't know what you are doing, don't act like you do!, then he looked at the customer, and said "if you want to die, do what he says, if you want to reload, ask somebody who knows how to reload", as he was walking out, he looked at the oldest employee and said "you need to stop hiring eye candy and hire people who know what they're doing"

 

[17 squirrel]

I was told at a local CC range this past spring that, This range doe NOT have that hot range, cold range, red flag , green flag stupid stuff here..
It was the President Of the Club that made the statement.

 

[looney2ns]

I can't hardly stand to be near the gun counter at the local GM because of the stupid being spewed from both sides of the counter.

 

[BE Mike]

The questions don't bother me (everyone needs to start somewhere), but it's the idiotic statements that grate on my nerves.

 

[2A_Tom]

I am the idiot that goes to gun shows and when I see M1 clips on a table, ask "Do you have any high capacity M1 clips?"

A lady sitting behind one counter told me they're not clips they're magazines. I looked at the man sitting beside her and smiled, he just shook his head.


Another time. the 20 something guy told me seriously "We don't have any here but I'm sure we have some back at the store." I really hope he was shining me on, but I couldn't tell,

 

[NHT3]

I can't hardly stand to be near the gun counter at the local GM because of the stupid being spewed from both sides of the counter.

Speaking of Gander I loved it the day I was in GM Greenwood and a guy asked the salesperson how a 1911 came apart.. He proceeded to shoot the recoil spring plug into the twilight zone. After about 30 seconds it just got so comical to me I had to leave. The look on both of their faces was priceless.
[FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member[/FONT][FONT=&amp]-- [/FONT][FONT=&amp]GSSF member[/FONT][FONT=&amp]
[/FONT]Certified Glock armorer- Certified M&P armorer[FONT=&amp]
[/FONT]NRA Basic pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] /[/FONT][FONT=&amp] RSO[/FONT]

 

[NHT3]

How about the following response: "No. That gun is designed to use only single stack magazines, but we have the Ruger SR9/9c right next to it which is designed for double stack mags. Would you like to see one?" Might even lead to a sale.

A great idea but I thought they were funnin me and was without words when I saw the serious stares. At that point I was so amused that all I could think of was what I considered an amusing response and I didn't have the heart to hit them with that.

[FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member[/FONT][FONT=&amp]-- [/FONT][FONT=&amp]GSSF member[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]Certified Glock armorer- Certified M&P armorer[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]NRA Basic pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] /[/FONT][FONT=&amp] RSO[/FONT]

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I lean towards the line of thought that there are no dumb questions. As in any other field there are varying interest levels and levels of expertise. I realize there are days when you've had enough or there's something that happens that a face palm or a giggle cannot be resisted. But we all started somewhere and if we're going to encourage non-gun people to become gun people, as for me, I'm going to answer honest questions (no matter how uneducated they may sound) to the best of my ability...and if I don't know, I'm going to answer them with that preface.

 

[NHT3]

I lean towards the line of thought that there are no dumb questions. As in any other field there are varying interest levels and levels of expertise. I realize there are days when you've had enough or there's something that happens that a face palm or a giggle cannot be resisted. But we all started somewhere and if we're going to encourage non-gun people to become gun people, as for me, I'm going to answer honest questions (no matter how uneducated they may sound) to the best of my ability...and if I don't know, I'm going to answer them with that preface.

I absolutely agree. Problem I have is when someone that has already make it clear that, as Donnie Baker would say "prolly knows more about the subject that anyone they know" then spouts something completely inane. First thing I tell people in my classes is "no dumb questions" any questions they can think up I"m happy to answer. The keyboard commandos get to me pretty quick but unless it's something to do with safety I generally I just walk away. I"m learning every day and I appreciate those that educate me.
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Glock certified armorer- M&P Certified armorer
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