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Dry firing at the gun shop counter?
- Thread starter Indynic
- Start date
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Since I started this thread and it is still alive, I will relay my experience today. I was in a gun shop that I have never been in before. I was OCing.
A 1911 caught my eye, Colt Gold Cup. I asked to see it. The guy behind the counter was more than willing to bring it out of the case. He places it on the counter and does not check the barrel. I momentarily pause, thinking he may just pick it back up and check the chamber. He says "you can pick that up if you like!"
Well, okay. So I pick it up and lock the slide back to check the chamber. I drop the mag and rack the slide, reset the mag. Guy behind the counter says "now don't dry fire it!!!!" I responded "I didn't and wasn't intending to, just checking the chamber and slide function." His response "well, I just know what comes next...."
Even if I were to intend on dry firing it, I would have asked permission based on my education here on INGO....
Just kind of ironic that this happened the way it did, after I posted wanting to know how common a practice dry firing at the counter is...sounds like this is kind of a "to each their own" kind of thing.
I think the next gun I purchase I will want to dry fire beforehand, but their is enough info out there nowadays about what the trigger is like on a given gun, I don't think that I am too concerned if I wasn't able to dry fire. I have bought many firearms now without ever dry firing them and based my purchases off of my research of those said guns. I got exactly what I expected out of each gun.
A 1911 caught my eye, Colt Gold Cup. I asked to see it. The guy behind the counter was more than willing to bring it out of the case. He places it on the counter and does not check the barrel. I momentarily pause, thinking he may just pick it back up and check the chamber. He says "you can pick that up if you like!"
Well, okay. So I pick it up and lock the slide back to check the chamber. I drop the mag and rack the slide, reset the mag. Guy behind the counter says "now don't dry fire it!!!!" I responded "I didn't and wasn't intending to, just checking the chamber and slide function." His response "well, I just know what comes next...."
Even if I were to intend on dry firing it, I would have asked permission based on my education here on INGO....
Just kind of ironic that this happened the way it did, after I posted wanting to know how common a practice dry firing at the counter is...sounds like this is kind of a "to each their own" kind of thing.
I think the next gun I purchase I will want to dry fire beforehand, but their is enough info out there nowadays about what the trigger is like on a given gun, I don't think that I am too concerned if I wasn't able to dry fire. I have bought many firearms now without ever dry firing them and based my purchases off of my research of those said guns. I got exactly what I expected out of each gun.
Since I started this thread and it is still alive, I will relay my experience today. I was in a gun shop that I have never been in before. I was OCing.
A 1911 caught my eye, Colt Gold Cup. I asked to see it. The guy behind the counter was more than willing to bring it out of the case. He places it on the counter and does not check the barrel. I momentarily pause, thinking he may just pick it back up and check the chamber. He says "you can pick that up if you like!"
Well, okay. So I pick it up and lock the slide back to check the chamber. I drop the mag and rack the slide, reset the mag. Guy behind the counter says "now don't dry fire it!!!!" I responded "I didn't and wasn't intending to, just checking the chamber and slide function." His response "well, I just know what comes next...."
Even if I were to intend on dry firing it, I would have asked permission based on my education here on INGO....
Just kind of ironic that this happened the way it did, after I posted wanting to know how common a practice dry firing at the counter is...sounds like this is kind of a "to each their own" kind of thing.
I think the next gun I purchase I will want to dry fire beforehand, but their is enough info out there nowadays about what the trigger is like on a given gun, I don't think that I am too concerned if I wasn't able to dry fire. I have bought many firearms now without ever dry firing them and based my purchases off of my research of those said guns. I got exactly what I expected out of each gun.
You can get a pretty decent variance in trigger feel/weight in the same model gun between different examples. I've handled two of the same model guns and one will have a much nicer trigger than the other. I would always want to dry-fire if I had the chance.
You should never practice live-fire malfunction clearances in a gun shop.
I think because Dunhams is a chain store they are required to have trigger locks on the guns at all times (store rule) It does seem a little ridiculous that they have to have them. Cant get a good feel for the gun with the trigger locks on there. My buddies and I always give them some crap for it when we go there to look at guns.
Yep, and that's why I won't even bother looking at guns there. I know I'm not going to buy it from them for this very reason.
In my case, the sales guy was just doing his job. I talked to a manager about it a few months later and the best I can describe his attitude would be condescending. His main thing he wanted to communicate to me was that the guns and related items were the primary source of income for his store and that they were awesome because they could beat anyone's prices.
This^^^!
Thank you!
Oh well, I guess that is what the local gun shops are for!
Safety comes first. There have been people killed by others (some well-known pistoleros) firing a gun that they thought was dry. At police stations, there have been a few clocks shot off squad room walls by "empty" handguns, as well. That being said, once a gun has been deemed safe by visually checking the chamber, most handguns can be dry fired regularly without damage being inflicted upon the gun (I have had to replace a couple of cracked firing pin retainers on 1911's). When in the market for a handgun, a potential buyer should be allowed to dry fire it, as well as, do all the normal operations associated with the gun. Besides seeing that everything works as advertised, it is a good idea for people to be able to determine if they are physically capable of operating the gun and/or determining if the operation is personally too awkward for them. I dry fire regularly and I think that anyone who wants to develop and maintain marksmanship must do it, unless you are a Navy SEAL and shoot 500 rounds per day at taxpayer's expense. Once I check the firearm's chamber or cylinder visually to determine that it is empty, I point the firearm towards an area, I know would be safe if a round were unintentionally fired.
Do you work at a Dunhams?
The store here has locks on the actions of the rifles. If you want to inspect the chamber or whatever, the "compromise" is that they will remove that lock and put a trigger lock on he rifle before letting you handle it. No way to dry fire and they don't seem to care that it costs them sales. Not maybe was going to buy, but changed the mind of someone who went there with the intent to buy a specific rifle.
I had a guy wanting to sell a revolver that he said had been tuned by some famous gunsmith for a price just below earth's orbit. You better bet that I was going to test the action to see if it had been enhanced. However, I am conscious enough to make sure it wasn't loaded and gave some thought about where I pointed the barrel before I pulled the trigger. Dry firing revolvers is common. Other auto loaders .... probably not.
nope, sure don't. We keep all handguns in locked cases and long guns with trigger locks behind the counter. But we can take the trigger lock off for a customer to look at the gun properly if they want. Most don't ask. I can think of 1 gentleman that asked while looking at a CZ shotgun and then there was the customer I volunteered to remove the trigger lock for. Handguns seem to be more commonly dry fired
A lot of people do. A high percentage of our customer base is new shooters. They don't know that dry firing exists, much less the point behind it. I think a lot of them pull the trigger because "that's what you do with a gun" without actually feeling what the trigger is like. Similar to working the bolt on a bolt action rifle without appreciating how smooth (or unsmooth) it is
Be very sure the firearm is unloaded. I went to a gun shop Saturday and picked up a shotgun to look at, as I was checking it out my buddy says that thing has a shell in it. Sure enough, there was a shell in the magazine! Very weird feeling, I ejected the shell and gave it to the guy behind the counter. He did not say a word, no thank you or anything. If it were my shop I would have checked.every gun on the floor right then!
