Whats the best lie you had a gun seller tell you

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I've had a couple pulled on me before I knew better.

The first guy tried to sell me a Winchester '94 beat to death then drug behind a truck on a cross country trip. Said it was a great beginners rifle! Only for $450!



Next was the guy that sold me my EAA Witness :banghead: If I had known what the springs were supposed to look like, I would have known that this LNIB gun probably had well over 20K rounds through it. :what: :banghead: (Again I was young(er) and that was my first handgun)



Last was this dealer at the gun show I got my Saiga .308 at. I couldn't decide whether I wanted the .308 or the .223 from another vendor. The guy with the .308 wanted $400 but the guy that had the .223 wanted $700 and change. When I asked him why his was so much more expensive, he went "Oh less of these were imported in the US so they're worth a lot more." BTW, at the time the .223 and 7.62x39 saigas were about 3x as prominent as the .308 models. I got a steal there! :D
 
I heard a sales man one time trying to convince a customer that a Springfield Armory GI 1911 was both double and single action. I disagreed and he went out of his mind on me. I made him "prove" it and when he couldn't he got yelled at for not checking the gun before pulling the trigger and lost me and the other guy as a customer.
 
Gun shop owner tried to sell me an AR15 about 10 years ago. Pretty good price. "It'll shoot nickel groups at 500 yards." I told him I didn't need that one because since I only had access to a hundred yard range it's be too hard to measure the groups.
 
I went to my first gunshow figuring I'd be sure to find that little "something" that would catch my eye and maybe even be affordable. I may even find another mag for my .45 Witness. And I did! The guy says it's brand new, never been loaded and is a real deal at $65. Cant find 'em cheaper than that anywhere. I said, "it's sure got a lot of powder residue to be a new mag." and that kind of stumped him. I went home and bought a new one on the net for $25 plus shipping. I LOVE modern technology!


Ps- there wasn't any powder residue on my new mag. Should I be upset? LOL
 
Not really a lie, but sort of funny... Guy at Dick's was talking to me and my buddy about shotgun ammo, and he says "I would use buckshot for home defense. Get you some 00, and line up the bad guy with your bedroom, and no more bad guy, and no more nagging from the wife, if you know what I mean." I lol'd, bought the buckshot from him, went home, and thanked my parents for having a good relationship.

And there's a shop near me with great staff. Honestly, some of the nicest guys around. But their WASR-10/63's are $600. M91/30's are $120. 870 is around $400 for the HD Express model. I just can't bring myself to support their long gun sales. Decent pistol and ok ammo prices, though.
 
This thread all but proves the study I heard about several years ago.

They did a study to show that some folks are so dumb they do not even know how dumb they are. Also, the more a person brags and acts like a know-it-all, the less likely they are to know anything.

They took a bunch of college kids and gave them all a math test. The test had problems ranging from simple arithmetic to advanced calculus. They interviewed each student when they finished the test. Basically they asked them how they think they did.

Some students bragged about how easy the test was. Some students felt confident about their efforts, but could recall a few math problems they had some doubts about.

Any way, they then scored the tests and compared the results with the interviews. The students that bragged the most did the poorest. The confident, yet with some doubt students did much better. In other words, the dummies didn't know how dumb they were and overly compensated for their shortfalls by bragging.

I am positive that this princilple applies to many folks in the gun business.
 
This guy was a friend, but it still sort of bothered me because it might mean other customers believed it. He worked at a shop, and firmly believed that, to cut a shotgun down to under 18", all it would require is a $5 tax stamp, and that you could apply for and get the stamp AFTER doing so.

I had another guy try to sell me a Nagant revolver for $170, when they were $69 from J&G, and told me it was "well worth it," and he could get more.

I bought a broken shotgun from a pawn shop after being told that it worked perfectly and I could bring it back if there were any issues. I brought it back and they refused to do anything, even to give a partial refund. It wouldn't even load shells, but I wouldn't have known that unless I brought snap caps into the shop, and that was my first 12ga purchase so I wouldn't have had a reason to own them.

I had a shop guy tell me that my Remington 1900 is worth less than $150 in any condition, because they're mainly "owned by farmers who don't have anything else."

I check out a lot of shops and consider buying and selling often (not as easy as with other hobbies, such as buying and selling music gear, which I do constantly), so I'm sure there are more, but those come to mind.


I think the issue is two-fold. I've noticed that with the firearm interest comes a lot of fairly outdated practices and mindsets. A lot of the guys that are still around are of the older generation, and are often very set in their ways, irritable, treat younger people as lessers, and approach selling used firearms like used cars. It's worked for them before, so they continue to do so. I've probably met more crotchity, angry gun shop owners than friendly ones, and I'd say I'm a pretty friendly customer.

The second issue is that I'm younger, I am small, slim, and I have a fairly passive, entirely intimidating tone with strangers. With this older generation of people who think they can fool the lesser experienced, I think they try their hardest to pull beginner's tricks on me. A year or two ago, it might have worked better, but buying and selling a lot, and thanks for forums like this, I think I'm decently informed on the topics I have interest in (revolvers and shotguns, I know very little about autos and rifles), and I've had a number of people lie to me to my face, whether it's from their intention to trick me into a sale or just out of their own ignorance. But you also can't tell those people they're wrong, especially when you're younger and built like a kid.
 
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One day i was in Fred Myer's sporting goods section. I over heard a young (teen age) clerk telling another young male that he really needed to buy a Glock 19 9mm. He said it was the best hand gun ever, made for bear protection.:eek:
 
I was in a small gun store and just was browsing the case. I guess the guy behind the counter thought I was eyeballing the Hi Point, which I wasn't but the firearm that was close to it.

"Everyone needs one of these for home defense, they are very affordable". No thanks I said, I already have something for HD. ;)
 
just the other day i heard a gun store employee talking to a young woman that was in the store. she was looking for a round that she could put in a 44 mag for close range protection while in the local outdoors. (northern cal, so we have some black bear and mountain lion). the gun store empoyee proceeded to tell her that a hollow point round would likely get caught up un the animals fur and not do any damage, and that she should use full metal jackets only. lol
 
didn't read all the replpies but if it's a repeat sorry. Was at a gun show during the AWB and heard a dealer tell a customer that he couldn't put a pre ban hi cap in his post ban Ruger P89.
 
just the other day i heard a gun store employee talking to a young woman that was in the store. she was looking for a round that she could put in a 44 mag for close range protection while in the local outdoors. (northern cal, so we have some black bear and mountain lion). the gun store empoyee proceeded to tell her that a hollow point round would likely get caught up un the animals fur and not do any damage, and that she should use full metal jackets only. lol
He is correct in part in that a deeper penetrating bullet will do damage to internal organs much better then a hollow point will...Remember we're not talking a 150 to 200 pound man with a heart three/four inches beneath the skin but a deeply muscled, massive, 300 to 500 even 600 pound black bear with a heart much deeper within and protected with a thick shoulder (scapula) bone and dense musculature.

Hollow point are designed to expand their energy instantly and many bears have been wounded with them because they haven't made it passed the first layer of fat and muscle...The reason for so many bullet companies being formed was to combat this one item--Controlled expansion.

Maybe a JHP or some of the Keith style bullets would be the best compromise...FMJ may get the depth but looses out in the expansion department...Old adage "The bigger the hole the faster the death'...Then again it also depends a lot on her loads...Speculation here only, but being a woman she MAY, quite probably have reduced loads in her .44 Rem mag which will be more then adequate for mountain lion--being so soft skinned, slight framed animals but may have to step it up a notch for big black bears or for sure a good, deep, expanding bullet.
 
One day i was in Fred Myer's sporting goods section. I over heard a young (teen age) clerk telling another young male that he really needed to buy a Glock 19 9mm. He said it was the best hand gun ever, made for bear protection.:eek:
I don't see a problem with that statement on face value since any modern .380/9mm semi auto with fourteen plus rounds in the clip (magazines to you Yanks) will be just as effective against black bears as any five/six shot .44/11mm will be and against grizzly both will work but shot placement and of course bullet type is the major issue with any of the smaller calibres.
It wouldn't be my first choice but if I can only afford to own one handgun it isn't a bad way to go--they have fabulous reputations with lots of the world's military and police...I'd rather choose the Model G20 or G29 in 10mm (which is quite comparable to a .41 Rem mag that I shoot exclusively)...Maybe the G37, G38 or G39 is .45 GAP or the G21, G30 or G36 in .45 ACP would be better choices for the customer.
 
just the other day i heard a gun store employee talking to a young woman that was in the store. she was looking for a round that she could put in a 44 mag for close range protection while in the local outdoors. (northern cal, so we have some black bear and mountain lion). the gun store empoyee proceeded to tell her that a hollow point round would likely get caught up un the animals fur and not do any damage, and that she should use full metal jackets only. lol

he was right. although a hardcast bullet would be better than fmj. penetration is your friend when it comes to big animals.

hardcast>FMJ>hollowpoint when dealing with bears and and other thickskinned animals with internal organs protected by a thick layer of fat.
 
One told me that a Taurus Ultralite was just as good as the equivalent S&W.
At what?
  • putting holes in paper or bad guys, then yes it would be equvilant.
  • comparing manufacturing techniques then S&W might have a slight edge.
  • comparing costs then the Taurus wins out.
My Charter Arms does the same thing for less money--does that make it a "poorer" weapon?

Sorry, but I'll give this one to the store clerk.
 
At gun shows, selling a lot of M-1 Garands at $900 is comical, all by itself.

Many came from the CMP, were Service Grade ($595 or less: if bought years ago) and not only could have had parts replaced since the CMP's evaluation, but have different stocks.
 
I once walked into a local store asking if they carried CZ products. Was specifically trying to find a PCR. The guy behind the counter said "No, but I have some Taurus guns over here, they're just as good if not better than CZ."

What could I do but laugh and then turn around and walk out.
 
with as many Taurus guns that are out there...I refuse to believe that they don't make a good gun. I do not own a Taurus right now, but I have in the past and I will again in the near future. Every company makes a lemon once in awhile. I think much of the Taurus bashing comes from second or third hand information and internet complaining.
 
once walked into a local store asking if they carried CZ products.

Asked that same question. The clerk pulled me aside and showed me the only two cz pistols in the store.

In a hushed voice he said: "Only real gun guys know about CZ's...guys that really shoot."
 
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