snapped

[ratfortman]

So I was at a gun shop yesterday(on Memorial Day, getting my Vet discount), and a guy comes up to the display case next to me, and wants to know if they have larger "clips"for his pistol. He pulled out the magazine.

As he hands the gun to the young man behind the counter, his finger is inside the trigger guard, and he sweeps me with the muzzle. The young man quickly and wisely racks the slide and what do you know, out comes the round.

I held back for a few seconds, and then I let him know what he had just done. He didn't turn back to face me, just kept leaning on the counter and muttered a sorry.


People make mistakes: I get that. I just was shocked at how fast it happened, and how it caught me off guard. I was also somewhat surprised at how fast I went from calm to wanting to take his head off.

I make no claims on being an expert on anything, including guns.
I am sure it happens all the time.
Be careful out there!

PS, good job behind the counter young Mosinguy!

 

[CitiusFortius]

Why did he take the gun out???

 

[MikeDVB]

Why did he take the gun out???

He wanted to know if they had any magazines for his gun... So he pulled it out and handed the guy the magazine... Not that he couldn't have just told the guy the gun make/model/caliber...

Here's hoping he won't make that mistake again but based upon the OP's description I'm sure it's not the first nor the last time he'll sweep somebody. Here's hoping nobody ends up shot/dead.

 

[BKExpress]

I would have been incensed by that egregious breach in safety and ettiquette. You did the right thing when you informed him of his mistake. I think I would have been pretty upset because the idiot didn't look at me after correcting him.

You're right, people do make mistakes...However, they need to learn from their mistakes and you're well within your rights to let him know it by putting you in danger.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[JetGirl]

Happened (once again) to me Saturday.
Loaded M&P 45.
Not a happy camper.

 

[MikeDVB]

Happened (once again) to me Saturday.
Loaded M&P 45.
Not a happy camper.

NEED MORE DETAIL.

[Caps demand attention.]

 

[snapping turtle]

This is why most gunshop have the "unloaded weapons only please" sign on the door.

It is not for us ingoer's but for the common person who has no idea of what they should do. We ingoer's are a bit more aware of things but the shops make the bread and butter from the rest of the public. Heck there are only 30,000 of us in the state now.

I have even seen over under shotgun brought into a shop and when the counter guy presses the lever the shells get popped up. I say popped up because when he placed them on the counter you could tell these paper hulled shells had been in the gun for a few decades. They should have ejected from the barrels.

 

[JetGirl]

NEED MORE DETAIL.

[Caps demand attention.]

Not much more detail to give...

Guy came in looking for a holster. Tried several in the holster aisle.
Brought one up to the counter to purchase... holding M&P (finger on trigger) sweeping all of us.
Put my hand over top of the barrel and pushed the muzzle down and away to point where there was no one...and I madface said, "Don't point that at me, please!"

He said (near as I can quote from memory) "Oh, sorry...I didn't mean to do that and usually don't... but there's nothing in the chamber, just the mag is loaded. I popped the one from the chamber out"...

Now you understand what that really means happened, right?

So, yeah... not by far the first time. Probably not by far the last.

Boogerhook. Bangswitch. SwissJetCheese.

 

[shooter521]

Happened (once again) to me Saturday.
Loaded M&P 45.
Not a happy camper.

And people wonder why we have "the sign"...

 

[Hookeye]

Put a ball bat up front in a rifle slot.
When they ask, tell 'em. Better yet, when some idiot screws up in the manner of this thread
topic, make it demo time.

 

[MikeDVB]

And people wonder why we have "the sign"...

People wonder why it says "No loaded guns - NO EXCEPTIONS" instead of "All holstered weapons MUST STAY HOLSTERED - NO EXCEPTIONS" [or something similar] but it's your shop, and you can run it as you wish. I do like the way Gander Mountain's signage is worded but I understand why yours is the way it is.

I was discussing Bradis with my wife the other day [she's only been there once, while I've been there numerous times] and she was asking about the sign and talking about it being hypocritical... I said, "When you work somewhere that guns are handled regularly by people you do not know and more often than not those people do not handle firearms safely... You begin to think about whether you want to go home at the end of your shift or if you'd rather visit the hospital and/or die..." Needless to say she understands why you have the sign.

It's easy to see why you have that sign but, that said, you won't ever have any issues from me with a holstered firearm. If only we all had more of this 'common' sense...

 

[No2rdame]

The problem is that too many people just don't think when they are handling their firearms. Unfortunately, you just can't fix stupid.

 

[ScouT6a]

Got swept numerous times in Afghanistan by Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police holding AK's, safety off and finger on the trigger! I always gave them a stern, impromptu class on weapons safety.
Was walking across the top of a concrete dam over there and a security guard for the governor was right behind me and had an accidental discharge with his AK and the round hit the concrete about 2-3 inches behind the heel of my boot. Luckily it was inferior Pakistani concrete and the round penetrated instead of ricocheting into my calf. They had to get that guy away from me fast so I didn't break him.

 

[MikeDVB]

Got swept numerous times in Afghanistan by Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police holding AK's, safety off and finger on the trigger! I always gave them a stern, impromptu class on weapons safety.
Was walking across the top of a concrete dam over there and a security guard for the governor was right behind me and had an accidental discharge with his AK and the round hit the concrete about 2-3 inches behind the heel of my boot. Luckily it was inferior Pakistani concrete and the round penetrated instead of ricocheting into my calf. They had to get that guy away from me fast so I didn't break him.

That's scary **** right there.

 

[JettaKnight]

Not much more detail to give...





Boogerhook. Bangswitch. SwissJetCheese.

Why am I hungry for pastrami and rye now?

 

[calcot7]

This is why most gunshop have the "unloaded weapons only please" sign on the door.

It is not for us ingoer's but for the common person who has no idea of what they should do. We ingoer's are a bit more aware of things but the shops make the bread and butter from the rest of the public. Heck there are only 30,000 of us in the state now.

I have even seen over under shotgun brought into a shop and when the counter guy presses the lever the shells get popped up. I say popped up because when he placed them on the counter you could tell these paper hulled shells had been in the gun for a few decades. They should have ejected from the barrels.

Not all shotguns have auto ejection. Some of the old ones had only extractors and you had to pick the cartridges ou by hand. Actually for someone who reloads, this type of ejection would be preferred.

 

[JasonB]

So I was at a gun shop yesterday(on Memorial Day, getting my Vet discount), and a guy comes up to the display case next to me, and wants to know if they have larger "clips"for his pistol. He pulled out the magazine.

As he hands the gun to the young man behind the counter, his finger is inside the trigger guard, and he sweeps me with the muzzle. The young man quickly and wisely racks the slide and what do you know, out comes the round.

I held back for a few seconds, and then I let him know what he had just done. He didn't turn back to face me, just kept leaning on the counter and muttered a sorry.


People make mistakes: I get that. I just was shocked at how fast it happened, and how it caught me off guard. I was also somewhat surprised at how fast I went from calm to wanting to take his head off.

I make no claims on being an expert on anything, including guns.
I am sure it happens all the time.
Be careful out there!

PS, good job behind the counter young Mosinguy!

What Shop? Most are OK with carry "unloaded" even the carry friendly shows tend to get very nervous if your arm brushes holster...

So I'm surprised guy behind the counter didn't have his muzzle sitting on the young man's forehead...

 

[PKendall317]

I was in the shop when that happened and the first clue this jack*** didn't know what he was doing was when he said "clip" instead of magazine. In retrospect, I should've thought something was wrong when he showed the MAGAZINE rather than just telling us what the Make/Model/Caliber was.

It's instances like this where I almost think that to get an LTCH you should be required to take a basic safety class at the least. Almost.

 

[Mark 1911]

Wow. Totally understandable reaction on your part to a very careless and boneheaded move on the other guy's part that could have ended very badly. And if there had been a ND, besides the potential for serious injury to people in the shop, all of us stand to lose from the negative publicity frenzy that the media would undoubtedly unleash. Hopefully for all of us, your reaction will be one that he remembers for a long time, and his move one that he never repeats.

 

[guncakes]

I had an interesting incident recently. I went into a LGS to check out some holsters (apparently I have the impossible tri-fecta of holster shopping- smaller gun, I'm a chick, and a lefty, but I digress...)

Once he knew what kind of gun I had, he asked if I had it on me. I told him yes. He said, go ahead and un-holster it and we can see which holster it fits in best. So I unholster (IWB, appendix carry), drop the mag, lock back the slide and remove the round from the chamber while pointed away and at the ground.

When I turned back to hand it to him, his face, as well as the two looky-loos nearby had their mouths gaping open. I figured I must have done something wrong, as I haven't been carrying long and figured I broke some rule that hasn't been posted in INGO yet. He said "Wow, you sure know what YOU"RE doing".

While it felt like a compliment, so I took it as such, I was concerned at the same time that this poor guy was impressed with what I consider, minimum basic safe gun handling.

I'm not sure I could get paid enough to work in a gun store.