My Gun Store Experiences

7-When You Go Into a Gun Store, Please Dont...: As has already been mentioned by ProtectandServe, i get guns pointed at me a lot. Like a lot a lot. Pro Tip, gun stores dont mind you carrying a gun into the store, but please dont whip that shit out suddenly...or at all unless you are very specifically talking to an employee who has asked you to do so. Thats less for our safety and more for yours. Walking up to a counter and reaching for, and placing your hands on a gun, without any prompting is a good way to piss off a number of individuals who take defensive gun classes for fun. I wish i could say this was mostly the young fellas inexperienced actions but we get that from old timers too. If you need to bring a long arm into the store, for Godssake put it in a case or gun sleeve. Hopping out the back of a pickup and waltzing in with a shotgun at the low and ready stance will often see you banned from our store.

8-People Love To Incriminate Themselves: Folks filling out the 4473 (the federal form required for gun sales) often laugh and ask if anyone actually checks the box that states whether or not they are a felon. The answer to this is YES THEY DO. See, the 4473 is about 3 pages of information that is arranged in such a way as to get you filling it out on instinct: Name, address, age, birthday, social security number, city your were born, you ever been a arrested? blah blah blah. It is very common for people 'in the groove' to honestly answer that question, upon which, the system will alert us (and the Va State Police). At this point, the sale is immediately over. What sometimes happens though, are savvier folks will skeeze by that portion of the paperwork and make it to the background check. Here in VA, we do a VA state background check, if you get popped by that, we typically get a call from a trooper who tells us to stall you while they come to either arrest you or talk with you.

The VA background check generally goes pretty quick, we put in some info you gave us from the 4473, and the State form (yeah, VA requires another form for gun purchases). For our military folks, this often results in a DELAY status, as security clearances and out of state residencies need to get bumped up to federal level and that check can take upwards to 10 minutes. If you are a VA citizen born and raised and you dont work for a government agency and you get Delayed? you either have a common name, or something fishy happened in your past.
 
I'm guilty of walking into a store with a long gun not in a case. I always carry it in bolt open and like holding the buffer tube but I kinda get what you were saying.
 
Well, hunting items are generally an item that a gunstore will never be able to move successfully because the margin on them is super slim. your talking profits of a few bucks an item. Stores like Walmart will under sell us and get away with it because of the sheer volume they can stock and move. bringing in half a pallet of camo neoprenes and selling them doesnt net us enough money to warrant the cost of stocking it.
Ok. I thought there was a decent profit margin on clothing. Makes sense to not carry it then.

What is your opinion on haggling on prices? I've never done it because I don't haggle out of principle, but I've seen it happen in gun stores. Sometimes it works, sometimes it just pisses off the employee. The last time I remember it happening a guy was trying to knock the price off a shotgun because Walmart had it cheaper. When locally owned gun shops are getting scarce I find it odd to try and squeeze a few bucks out of them on something like that.
 
I'm guilty of walking into a store with a long gun not in a case. I always carry it in bolt open and like holding the buffer tube but I kinda get what you were saying.

That's one reason why I have a handful of chamber flags. Any non-personal defense gun that leaves my property gets one. That way at least someone picking it up can be sure the chamber is clear. I still transport them in cases just for another layer of security and/or confidentiality.
 
Ok. I thought there was a decent profit margin on clothing. Makes sense to not carry it then.

What is your opinion on haggling on prices? I've never done it because I don't haggle out of principle, but I've seen it happen in gun stores. Sometimes it works, sometimes it just pisses off the employee. The last time I remember it happening a guy was trying to knock the price off a shotgun because Walmart had it cheaper. When locally owned gun shops are getting scarce I find it odd to try and squeeze a few bucks out of them on something like that.
i personally love to haggle, but only if the customer is being realistic. Im willing to knock some cash off a gun especially from repeat customers or throw in some incentives like free pack of targets or whatnot.
most haggling is really over selling us used guns. and its gonna come down to two things, the condition and the 'rarity'. No sense trying to haggle us on a remington 870 express. its as common as a liar in government. But a real nice wingmaster variant. yeah we'll work with you. especially if a well kept gun has a cool story behind it. my favorite is a Lebel rifle that got brought in by this young cat. His grandpappy had given it to his daddy way back when and was now coming to us since it was so old and ammo for it was rare, but the real story was that that Grandpa was a black serviceman who served with French units during WW1 because of how the Americans segregated units, So war ends, he is released from sevice, and to save money the French government offered to let its soldiers keep their rifles. Well so this lebel 1886 comes back, has the service release form and issueance letter and everything with it. you can tell the stock had been sanded and refinished years ago, great looking gun. i gave that guy 750 for the rifle and kept it myself.
 
Would you say it might be easier to haggle a bit over say, parts... like red dots, stocks, trigger groups and such instead of firearms or the other way around?
you know, its never come up before
 
@Roaming East

Let's say I wanted to trade in a gun for something you stock. Here's a hypothetical. You've got an $1,100 pistol I want. I've got an Action Arms Uzi Pistol that generally goes for around that same amount on Gunbroker. Would you trade straight across? What factors in to the deal for you?
 
What do you think of the Mossberg Patriot? I was only going to get a 500 but then I actually took my gun safety course, played with some guns and now I want a bolt action too... They are god damned expensive in Canada but the Patriot is reasonable.
 
What do you think of the Mossberg Patriot? I was only going to get a 500 but then I actually took my gun safety course, played with some guns and now I want a bolt action too... They are god damned expensive in Canada but the Patriot is reasonable.
Not directed to me but my friend has a 30-06 Patriot and he's taken 2 elk, a blacktail, a whitetail, and a black bear with it.

Loves the thing.
 
@Roaming East

Let's say I wanted to trade in a gun for something you stock. Here's a hypothetical. You've got an $1,100 pistol I want. I've got an Action Arms Uzi Pistol that generally goes for around that same amount on Gunbroker. Would you trade straight across? What factors in to the deal for you?
yes, we've done straight up trades before. Those are always manager approvals.

What do you think of the Mossberg Patriot? I was only going to get a 500 but then I actually took my gun safety course, played with some guns and now I want a bolt action too... They are god damned expensive in Canada but the Patriot is reasonable.
Surprisingly good rifle in its price range. Fluted barrel, pretty nice wood. The long action models like the 30-06 SEEM like the bolt has a lot of wobble when the action is open but they lock up tight. The magazine floor plate feels kinda cheap to me though but i havent had a customer come back and be disappointed with them yet. The scope they come with is junk though but thats true for most rifles that bundle with an optic, save the Savage series. the Bushnells the Axis models come with are serviceable and some of the 10/11/16 series come with pretty nice Nikon scopes.
 
yes, we've done straight up trades before. Those are always manager approvals.

Not the answer I was expecting.

So...interested in trading me something for an Action Arms Uzi Pistol? :cool:

I originally bought it because it could be modified to accept the full auto Mini Uzi bolt. I sold my Mini since it's not legal here in Hawaii, nor is the semi-auto pistol. Now I'm looking to sell or trade it for something that I can get some enjoyment out of. It's currently boxed up in Colorado awaiting a new home.
 
Not the answer I was expecting.

So...interested in trading me something for an Action Arms Uzi Pistol? :cool:

I originally bought it because it could be modified to accept the full auto Mini Uzi bolt. I sold my Mini since it's not legal here in Hawaii, nor is the semi-auto pistol. It's currently boxed up in Colorado awaiting a new home. Now I'm looking to trade it for a P226 SAO Legion.

LegionSAO.2.jpg

Ftfy
 
Great thread! the only thread i have read every single post in a very long time.

what do you think of the mossberg shockwave? have you sold a bunch already?
here in NY, there are still alot of confusion whether its allowed or not. some LGS would sell them, other only to LEOs and some wont even touch them.
 
yes, we've done straight up trades before. Those are always manager approvals.


Surprisingly good rifle in its price range. Fluted barrel, pretty nice wood. The long action models like the 30-06 SEEM like the bolt has a lot of wobble when the action is open but they lock up tight. The magazine floor plate feels kinda cheap to me though but i havent had a customer come back and be disappointed with them yet. The scope they come with is junk though but thats true for most rifles that bundle with an optic, save the Savage series. the Bushnells the Axis models come with are serviceable and some of the 10/11/16 series come with pretty nice Nikon scopes.

Cool thanks.
 
Great thread! the only thread i have read every single post in a very long time.

what do you think of the mossberg shockwave? have you sold a bunch already?
here in NY, there are still alot of confusion whether its allowed or not. some LGS would sell them, other only to LEOs and some wont even touch them.
I didnt even know what that was when it first came out. i had customers tripping over themselves to order it. Its actually become a very popular shotgun for us and is constantly back ordered.
@Roaming East

I think you can get Patriots that come with a Vortex.
yep, that model is 200 bucks more for the addition of a scope we sell for 129.99. So we dont bother stocking them. As a note, vortex has quickly become my favorite scope and binocular company. i got some of their glass on an AR-15 and my Tikka atm.
 
yep, that model is 200 bucks more for the addition of a scope we sell for 129.99. So we dont bother stocking them. As a note, vortex has quickly become my favorite scope and binocular company. i got some of their glass on an AR-15 and my Tikka atm.
I figure all the glass from this point forward, for the forseeable future at least, will be Vortex.
 
Ha! I'd call you a mind-reader but you're the dude who planted that seed. :D

The Uzi might be worth a hair more so he'd have to kick in something extra. :cool:

I was trying to find a price on the uzi you have but the models/makes and whatnot had prices all over.


Those legions are pretty spendy. Most retail stores from what I've seen have them around $1179-1239.
 
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