A new pearl of wisdom from our Walmart "friend"...

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Sheslinger

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Another helpful hint from our Walmart gun counter clerk who is an FFL holder. See the previous one here.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36286&highlight=germany

So, I am at Walmart, shopping for gifts, and just happen to be at the gun counter. I look down and don't see any .357 SIG ammo. So, I ask the guy, "Do you carry any .357 SIG ammo?" He says that yes, they do, to which I ask, ok, am I looking straight at it and not seeing it. The guy (FFL holder) points to .357 MAGNUM and says, here it is. I say, no, you did not hear me, I said .357 SIG. He says, oh, it's the same thing. I typically would not feel like educating but there was a guy filling out the yellow form at the counter and I did not want him to be the next victim of stupidity. So I proceeded to say, no, one is a pistol round, and one is a revolver round, and you cannot use them interchangeably. So the guy says, oh, I was always told they were the same thing. So, I walked away and almost wished the gun buyer good luck. OK, thinking that all guns are made in Webemakingdemaldorf, Germany is one thing, but selling someone wrong ammo is plain dangerous. Should I go back and talk to a manager of sporting goods? My fear is that he might be the manager.

Sheslinger

P.S. If moderators feel that this belongs in Handguns, please feel free to move it. Thanks
 
I'm not one for tilting at windmills, but that is bad enough that it might almost be worth your time to try to fix it.

pax

The problem with most folks ain't their ignorance, it's that they know so much that just ain't so. -- Mark Twain
 
Good thing you didn't use the terms Rimless or Bottleneck for the danger that his head might have imploded. :banghead:


Either way all of the .357 magnum and .357 SIG comes from Wemakealltheammostan. They just put it in different boxes. :rolleyes:


BTW what makes you think the guy behind the counter has a FFL?
 
You might explain to the store manager or department manager in your most diplomatic way that it'd be easier to train their employees now than pay litigious attorneys later after selling the wrong ammunition to a customer who had a blowup or worse.

Regards,
Rabbit.
 
He told us one time he had an FFL. Not sure how we got on the subject. But, according to him, it was the ATF that told him that ALL guns were made in one factory in Germany and they are all the same gun.

Wemakealltheammostan. I love it.

Sheslinger
 
Another reason why I'll always be happy to go to one of the fine locally-owned firearms emporiums or Cheaper Than Dirt than Wal-Mart. I decided that I could do without shopping there some time back. I do have the luxury of not shopping there, I've worked hard for it, and I can exercise it.

It does sound like I'm missing out on some first-rate comedy acts, though. Thre's no cover charge or 2 drink minimum still, is there?

Regards,
Rabbit.
 
We do buy a lot of our ammo at local gun shops but we try to patronize Walmart for selling ammo and guns. Could be worse and they could just stop selling it, like KMart.
 
Good thing the rounds are diffferent sizes, I don't think it would be possible to get a KB in either a revolver or pistol like that...I doubt a .357 Sig would chamber in a .357 Magnum (it would probably slide out of the cylinder and I don't think that you could fit a .357 Magnum in a .357 chamber.
 
The guys at the counter generally dont know what theyre doing because they dont need to, the customers gennerally know what they're talking about. There always exceptions, take for example the new shooter about to buy some 9x23 for their new G19, and not to forget the guys that send their wives that dont shoot and dont know about guns (and vise versa), who are about to buy the wrong ammo.

Anyway, anyone with common sense could figure out something's wrong if they got .357 Sig for thier magnum or vise-versa. Although, with the abundance of warning lables on everything it seems most ppl lack common sense.

Another thing is that all ammo sales are final. No refund, no exchange. So some advice: If your sending someone to buy ammo, give him/her and empty box to take with them.

Wanna have some fun? take an empty magazine with you, when you hear "HI. Can I help you?" hand the mag over and say "I need a refill" In my experiance, handgun mags get a blank stare, pre-ban rifle mags may cause the clerck's eyes to pop out of his head. However, the was one time where the guy looked at me and said "Thompson, eh? I guess you want the valuepack?" Needless to say, the blank stare was on my face that day.

Nate, I may be wrong, but I think the 357 sig is in bottlnecked .40 brass, so it wont even fit in the cylinder of a .357 mag.
 
No excuse for such a level of ignorance; although it’s very common finding partially- or even completely ignorant people in the selling business, there should be a minimal standard to be expected in the gun and ammo trade; I heared over more stupid comments by gunshop sales people than I like to remember, especially when it comes to ammo, style of: I need shotgun ammo! Yeah, which one? Uh, I had the green package last time? Is it this one (holding up a box of 12GA Mag shells)? Ah, yeah, I think so? Deal perfect! And then people wonder if they hear about this dude who tried shooting a live 20GA shell out of his prized German OU with the appropriate 12GA shell behind it, ending up with a split foreend, nicely cracked-open under barrel right after the chamber and surprisingly no more body damage than a sore hand and ringing ears…..
Or the young shop clerk entering the range in a hurry with a customer’s gun to test and, without paying attention if everybody’s ready and wearing hearing protection, opens fire immediately and emptying the magazine, making me jump towards the ceiling, and when politely confronted with the suggestion of taking some looks around him the next time, he only gives me a stupid look, apparently not having the slightest idea what the the hell I’m talking about…
:cuss: :fire:
I could go on and on…. The few times I felt the necessity of (note: as politely and reserved as possible) intervening or giving commentaries in gun shops, the dudes, or gals for that matter, more often looked at me in a disgusted way, obviously thinking I’d be better to shut up because THEY would know what they’re talking about, than giving credit to what I was talking about. :barf: :barf: :barf:

I think some written comments to the management of the big stores like Wally’s, addressing proper training of their gun sales personel in general would be in order. The most basic advice from an NRA instructor could improve the standard a great deal, IMO. This would be in their own best interest, just think about the next time someone like Michael Moore feels the need to pull some pants...... :neener:

Quickloader
 
When our first walmart open up here years ago, my brother went in and asked the clerk for .357 maximum ammo. The clerk looked behind the counter, didn't see any and responded, "no, don't see any but we might have something else that'll fit instead." :what: The mgr was notified and that person was not in that dept any more! :D
 
if they are selling firearms and ammo, then they should have the proper people capable of dealing with firearms customers.
 
When our first walmart open up here years ago, my brother went in and asked the clerk for .357 maximum ammo. The clerk looked behind the counter, didn't see any and responded, "no, don't see any but we might have something else that'll fit instead."
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Wouldnt .38 special and/or .357 magnum both fit in the .357 maximum chambered revolver? Heck my local shop doesnt even carry .357max. It actually sounds like the guy may have been the only competant person to work a wallmart gun counter. Shame you got him canned.
 
I happen to believe that if they're going to comply with the dumb@$$ policies of "is it for a rifle or a handgun?" then they ought to have someone behind the counter that knows what the crap is going on. It's not just an annoyance thing, IT'S A SAFETY ISSUE.

Yet another reason I'm boycotting Wal*Mart.

Wes
 
Wouldnt .38 special and/or .357 magnum both fit in the .357 maximum chambered revolver? Heck my local shop doesnt even carry .357max. It actually sounds like the guy may have been the only competant person to work a wallmart gun counter.
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Yes, .38 special and .357 mag would've worked but the clerk seemed lost and confused where he was. His tone of voice suggested that. If he did indeed intend on offering usuable ammo, he'd have likely continued with the suggestion and offer one of those two cartridges. One has to wonder if he'd have sold someone else the wrong ammo. There's no need for ignoranc eof safetly behind a gun/ammo counter.
 
The guys at the counter generally dont know what theyre doing because they dont need to, the customers gennerally know what they're talking about.
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I would have expected this maybe from a regular clerk but not from someone who is an FFL holder and should know better. Not only is he telling Walmart customers lies but presumably his own customers too.
 
Agreed that the danger was not inherent with either .357 Mag ammo in .357 Sigs, or with anything that would fit into a .357 Maximum.

Now, if you had something like Tamara's UGLY shouded hammer alloy S&W .44 Spl, and asked for some .44 Spl loads (200 gr. only.), and got a box of .44 Magnums (which will fit; I tried it with 300g GA Arms JSP [Rhino Rollers] loaded to 1250 fps :what: ), you would have transformed a handy 5-shot carry gun into a grenade. :uhoh:
 
Why can't people just say"I don't know" anymore? Why do they have to make themselves out to be even more an idiot by making statements about something they have no idea about.

I've been guilty of it in the past, but do my best to shut up about things I have no knowledge of.

What's the saying..............open your mouth and remove all doubt............when talking about stupidity.

Ignorance is OK, everybody is ignorant about a great deal of things, stupidity is something totally different.
 
Consider: many of these people are not really trainable-not because they're inherrently stupid, they just don't care-have NO interest (well, some may be stupid, too). If we start pushing training to avoid litigation, Wally will probably quit selling guns and ammo, rather than try to do the impossible.

Maybe we just need to look out for ourselves when talking to salespeople, just like home security of personal protection!
 
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