Help with gun shop etiquette

[Erik M]

Because of college and our careers It’s a rare occurrence when I get to spend time with both of my brothers. We all CC and have small gun collections. Today we decided to check out the stock of the local pawn shops and gun stores. We were in the local pawn emporium and I spied a Kahr 9mm, which they were advertizing as new in box for only $400, and had it on the same shelf as the kel-tec’s and ruger lcp’s. It made me wonder if they sorted their inventory by size instead of quality or had fubar'd on the value of this piece.

I asked the clerk, who I have never met before if I could look at the Kahr. He opened the case and said “which one?”. There was only one Kahr, so I thought there was no point in asking any technical questions because this guy didn’t seem to know much about his inventory.

He didn’t check to see if it was loaded. And instead of handing it to me he put it on the glass case. He seemed startled when I picked the gun up but didn’t say anything. When I dropped the magazine he held out his hand so I put the magazine in it. When I pulled the slide back to see if it was loaded he said “ok that’s it” leaned across the counter and snatched the weapon out of my hands. I asked him if he cared to tell me what he was doing, and he said that I had “devalued his gun because pulling the slide back scars the rails and breech, and I just cut the value of his gun in half”. He told me and my brothers not to move that he was getting the owner to come decide if I owed him any money for damaging this gun. We walked out, and there just happened to be a uniformed police officer watching this unfold. No one said another word to us as we left and We have all decided that this place of business wont be patronized by any of us again.

Am I psycho or would you not check to see if a weapon was unloaded before inspecting it?

 

[kingpin008]

Sounds like an idiot clerk. Admittedly, I don't -always- check to see if a gun is loaded or not in a shop, but if I'm being handed/shown a gun and the clerk doesn't show clear before handing it over, I consider it my right/responsibility to do so on my own.

 

[armoredman]

What an idiot. You did the right thing.

 

[TheWarhammer]

Do everyone else a favor and post the name and address of the shop. That clerk was a moron.

 

[chuwee81]

so 200 bux for a kahr 9mm not a good deal ? since you "devalued" it by half ?

 

[chevyforlife21]

 

[Archie]

Your Education is proceeding, Erik

Pawn shop owners and employees are in some measure worse then gun shop employees. Pawn shops deal in buying and selling stuff. Most have a speciality class of item in which they deal. Some really know about guns. Others do better with musical instruments, some tools, some electronics - you get the idea. Most of them have a fair knowledge of most stuff. However, not always as much as they think.

I've seen very nice and collectable guns for very cheap prices and I've seen old single barreled shotguns in bad shape that wouldn't go for the asking price if it had John Dillinger AND J. Edgar Hoover's finger prints on it. Some people know about guns and some - as you have discovered - do not.

Or worse, this particular employee thinks he can scare you into paying him for nothing. So he is either a dunce or a thief. One way or another, that is not a place to be seen or found. No matter what they have in the case.

There are a fair amount of decent places to go, I'm sure. Even if you have to drive further. It wouldn't hurt to tell your friends.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

I guess if you had rolled the cylinder on a 1st Gen Colt it would be worth practically nothing.

Geez, surprised he didn't say you looked at it too hard.

 

[Avenger29]

I stopped at a small country store that advertised "We have ammo!" on a sign outside back in June while I was on my way to another town. I was curious to see if they had any .38spcl or .223, and I walked in and inquired about the prices...

There was an AK variant sitting in a cradle on the counter, so I picked it up and pulled the bolt back to check the chamber. I got yelled at for doing that...the guy hollars "You don't get to rack it! Now, you'll want to dry fire it!!".

I just told him "You idiot, I check the chamber on any gun I pick up" and walked out.

 

[distra]

You've got to be kidding, right? This shop can't REALLY have an FFL can they?

 

[JellyJar]

Back in Texas I was once chided because I Didn't rack back the slide of a semi auto I wanted to look at in a guns store. I was a lot younger then and didn't know any better. It was a good lesson.

 

[Uncle Mike]

so 200 bux for a kahr 9mm not a good deal ? since you "devalued" it by half ?

LMAO...Yea...you should of offered him $200 for that Kahr...since it obviously was only worth that after you racked it!

ID10T's...see them at your local gun emporiums everywhere!

 

[Otis311]

what an idiot. Every new gun in a stores display case has been slid or spun. I never got money off for a marked gun nor did i expect to.

 

[Skillet]

that is THE first thing that you are SUPPOSED to do when you pick up any firearm.
this guy clearly had no idea what he was doing and should not have been working that job.

 

[Extremely Pro Gun]

I would have bought the kahr. Then sold it to a smart person. That price is probably less than they get them for.

 

[kingpin008]

That price is probably less than they get them for.

In a pawn shop? Don't count on it. Pawn shops don't lose money like that.

 

[NMGonzo]

Ah ... the things I don't have to deal with!

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

In proper firearms etiquette, he should have removed the magazine and pulled and locked back the slide before handing it to you.

When I pulled the slide back to see if it was loaded he said “ok that’s it” leaned across the counter and snatched the weapon out of my hands. I asked him if he cared to tell me what he was doing, and he said that I had “devalued his gun because pulling the slide back scars the rails and breech, and I just cut the value of his gun in half”. He told me and my brothers not to move that he was getting the owner to come decide if I owed him any money for damaging this gun.

God forbid you should actually shoot it. I would have had some very colorful descriptions of what he could do with that gun, none of which would be printable here.

 

[Gunman21]

NO NO NO the pawn shop owner was correct! Pulling back the slide does devalue the weapon by half! Be glad you didn't dry fire it, he would have been forced to throw the entire gun in the trash.

 

[FROGO207]

One wonders if he even knows what the slide, rails, and breech are. That's the kind of a person I would classify as a gun dope.

 

[Tomahawk674]

Did you bother talking to the manager? On the other hand, if the manager hired that guy.... you were better off leaving.

 

[Erik M]

I was thinking that I had stepped into bizzaro world. I'm glad that I'm not the only one that thought something had went 'awry'. I detest pawn shops in general but you can sometimes get decent deals there, i think I will avoid this one until the end of time.

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

Exit stage left and never return. Simple enough.

 

[mustang_steve]

The clerk is an idiot....given you should have asked before racking the slide, but he should have ejected the magazine, placed it on the counter, and locked the slide back before handing it to you.

That clerk probably has no idea what he's doing.

 

[highorder]

given you should have asked before racking the slide,

I don't see a need to ask to safely handle a weapon unless it's a collector's item.

he should have ejected the magazine, placed it on the counter, and locked the slide back before handing it to you.

Agreed.