Working Rural Kings Gun Counter and dealing with management store Mgnt. Sigh....

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

There was once a shop around here with hundreds of guns in stock. People to this day dont believe me when I tell them the owner was a merchant, and not so much a gun guy. Turns out he was a little ignorant of the rules, too.

 

[Tactically Fat]

There was once a shop around here with hundreds of guns in stock. People to this day dont believe me when I tell them the owner was a merchant, and not so much a gun guy. Turns out he was a little ignorant of the rules, too.

I 'member. I was juuuuuust getting started when I stopped in there on a break from work. I was (And still am) amazed at his inventory and *cough* display method.

 

[Fixer]

If the OP does get another job, I hope it isn't with Dunhams. If you even mention buying a gun for a spouse or child they will not sell you a gun period. Even if you wanted to buy one for yourself after. That being said Rural King in Ft Wayne is not run any better. I can not speak to their gun policy on gift purchases for family members but my daughter worked their briefly. Corporate runs these stores with limited staff and they seem to hire the most incompetent managers out there.

 

[worddoer]

the thing that burns me about rk is that they "think" they know gun laws, but in fact, they don't know s**t from shinola!

had a guy come in and ask questions about buying a gun (I don't work at rk), I told him we do an online check with nics and get one of 3 responses

1-approved, you can take the firearm with you
2-denied, you cant take the firearm
3-delayed, that the government has 3 business days to look further into your background, and that the brady law says that after 3 business days we can give you the firearm

he replied, "why wont rk give me the gun then?" I asked what do you mean? he said 2 months ago he bought a gun(and paid for it), and they wont give it to him because the government hasn't given them an answer on the delay

I said, must be their policy no approval no transfer, I asked "did you fill out the 4473 again?" he said no, I had to tell him that the paperwork is invalid and after 30 days, it has to be filled out again, and most likely he'd get delayed again, so it would be a endless circle, that he'd never get his gun from them. I suggested he get his money back, and buy the gun from a us.

30 minuets later he walked back in with cash, bought the gun, got delayed, and 3 business days later, we gave it to him without a response back from the government.

and don't get me started on the "gun barn" employee who didn't know the difference from 22 long rifle and 22 magnum (he had to go find someone else to ask!)

Again, coming from a past RK gun barn employee.....

What you experienced is 2 of the main problems.

1. Corporate teaches their employees "what is legal". You have to complete a class to be authorized in the gun barn. However, most of what they are teaching is store policies or Illinois regs, not what is legal for Indiana. This is all what I label as the Illinois mentality.

2. Because they only pay minimum wage (or barely above it), they usually cannot find knowledgeable people to work at such low wages. There are a few exceptions in the company. However, it has been my experience that the knowledgeable people are 2nd job people....and usually part timers. That means it's the luck of the draw if you have a knowledgeable person or not. When they cannot find knowledgeable people, they take anyone (and I mean anyone) who can pass their class / test even if they know absolutely nothing about firearms. Basically someone to be a cashier, not a resource.

RK is OK if you already know what you want or you want to coonfinger something before buying, but don't need any advise. I will admit they do have some great sales on firearms sometimes, so that can be helpful.

If you need help or advise, RK is NOT the place for you. Spend some extra cash and visit your local gun store.

 

[Clay]

The only issue I've ever had at the RK gun counter is that they require any gun purchased to be in a locked case because there is a school in their "back yard". It's not a federal law, just something they think is a good idea. So if you buy a firearm there that doesn't have a lockable case, they require you to buy one then return it. BS, but I deal with it when they have good deals.

 

[russc2542]

Again, coming from a past RK gun barn employee.....

What you experienced is 2 of the main problems.

1. Corporate teaches their employees "what is legal". You have to complete a class to be authorized in the gun barn. However, most of what they are teaching is store policies or Illinois regs, not what is legal for Indiana. This is all what I label as the Illinois mentality.

2. Because they only pay minimum wage (or barely above it), they usually cannot find knowledgeable people to work at such low wages. There are a few exceptions in the company. However, it has been my experience that the knowledgeable people are 2nd job people....and usually part timers. That means it's the luck of the draw if you have a knowledgeable person or not. When they cannot find knowledgeable people, they take anyone (and I mean anyone) who can pass their class / test even if they know absolutely nothing about firearms. Basically someone to be a cashier, not a resource.

RK is OK if you already know what you want or you want to coonfinger something before buying, but don't need any advise. I will admit they do have some great sales on firearms sometimes, so that can be helpful.

If you need help or advise, RK is NOT the place for you. Spend some extra cash and visit your local gun store.

No, not really since they won't remove the trigger locks. Otherwise spot on. you get what you pay for, that goes for employees too.

The only issue I've ever had at the RK gun counter is that they require any gun purchased to be in a locked case because there is a school in their "back yard". It's not a federal law, just something they think is a good idea. So if you buy a firearm there that doesn't have a lockable case, they require you to buy one then return it. BS, but I deal with it when they have good deals.

Only certain ones due to proximity to schools and local ordinances or past history of suicidal shoppers. Most just have the manager walk it to the door with you.

 

[bigbaloo95]

Most of these policies are new, (last 2ish years). They were brought about since Rural King brought on a consulting firm called FFL guard to protect their corporate interests. The idea is to go well above the letter of the law to protect the ability to sell guns in over 100 locations. There were several stores corporation wide that got in hot water with not just how they sold guns but how they kept the books.

 

[finnegan]

No issues for Rural King from me. Fair prices, helpful staff, and the kiosk wasn't that bad compared to trying to flag down a guy in a big local gun store.

 

[Clay]

Only certain ones due to proximity to schools and local ordinances or past history of suicidal shoppers. Most just have the manager walk it to the door with you.

*THAT* is my problem....... there is no law or ordinance. They do it because they think they should or they want to, not because they have to.

 

[Trapper Jim]

RK has always treated me good. Never a problem.

 

[wcd]

RK has always treated me good. Never a problem.

The RK here is really good to deal with, good selection nice people at gun counter. Maybe not the most knowledgeable, but always courteous.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Yep. IF you are prone to delays, avoid big box stores. Dicks (if you are still so inclined to shop there) follows the same strict "no explicit 'Proceed', no sale" policy. Regardless of what the law says they CAN do; they simply choose not to by policy.

Knowing that policy, my advice is if you are ever delayed by a big box store, just walk out and do not try to complete the sale. The odds are not in your favor because as I understand it, when NICS gets overloaded, they do not bother to call back to the retailer for an explicit proceed because they know the sale can complete after a couple more days. So they assume the callback isnt required and let it ride knowing the retailer will likely hand it over anyway. (unless they call back with an explicit "deny")

 

[1775usmarine]

Still waiting for RK to come to Laporte,

 

[rugertoter]

Unless you have another job up your sleeve I'd delete this thread. Ignorance really hates light.

LOL! Now that's funny right there!

 

[russc2542]

*THAT* is my problem....... there is no law or ordinance. They do it because they think they should or they want to, not because they have to.

True but sometimes it pays to not **** off your neighbors. They may not be able to push direct legal action but there are ways to make a business hear your complaints. zoning changes, building permit approvals, accessibility maintenance. That indirect BS is what politics is all about and city councils love it.

May be legal to carry an AR in all sorts of places but that doesn't mean you'll make friends with the general population doing it. The antis will flip and half the pro2a crowd will be thinking "look at this clown making a scene".

Anyone who's been married more than 5 minutes knows being right can put you in a lot more trouble than if you were wrong.

 

[VERT]

Rural King has adopted policies that can be easily administered among stores and employees in different States. People can get upset about it but that doesn't make it a bad decision. I also find it humorous that people think they can go to Rural King for advice and service pertaining to guns. They are a big box store. I don't go to Home Depot looking for advice on a lawnmower. If I want something specific I would go to the local lawnmower shop. Otherwise I go to Home Depot and buy my cheap mower, when the transmission goes out I haul it away and buy another. Guns at Rural King are just another consumer good, no different then the generator or sprayer I bought at their store. I wouldn't expect anyone in there to know how to work on it or would even drive up there expecting them to carry parts.

Edit: Just to be clear I have never bought a gun at RK. I will probably never buy a gun at RK. I have bought guns at WalMart over the years, they were all inexpensive consumer type firearms that met my needs to blast pheasants and squirrels.