Question: does it Irk you to be handed a gun with the action closed at a gun shop?

[VW_Factor]

No, it doesn't bother me.

Follow the rules, and work the action to check it yourself. Even if you watched someone else do it, check it again. Always check again.

 

[gunnoob75]

Nope.

It shouldn't be the shop workers fault if you blow a hole in your own stomach.

Check it your gosh darn self, no matter if the action is open or closed.

 

[boxer13]

I must be lucky because I've never had a clerk hand me an unchecked firearm, rifle nor pistol. Not to mention I always rack the slide to make sure its empty and to see how it feels.

 

[pokerace]

NO

 

[Jammer Six]

It's so consistent that I've always assumed that for whatever reason, that was the way the shop owner mandated that it should be done.

If I owned a shop, and you worked for me, if you didn't follow the procedure I had laid down for something as important as giving a customer a weapon, you'd need another job.

The other issue I've seen is pretty transparent. At the three shops I'm in most often, they don't hand a weapon to you. They take it out of the case, clear it, drop the slide (close the cylinder) dry fire it at the floor, re-insert the mag and lay it on the counter between you. The only variation to this is that one of the shops usually places a small piece of carpet on the glass counter first.

Then they watch you.

If I were working a counter in a gun store, I'd be watching to see what you did next, for a number of reasons. The obvious one is safety, but there are sales reasons in there, too. What you do next is a direct, accurate, crystal clear indication of how much you know about firearms and how much experience you have handling them.

 

[Rapid1]

I can't remember a time when I've been handed an unchecked weapon either...but I don't think it would bother me. To me, all guns are loaded until I clear them.

 

[NCW Ray]

Even if the clerk shows me it's clear I still check the weapon once it's in MY HANDS.

 

[Bob D]

I know my gun shop owners and employees pretty well, and there's people I don't deal with. That includes every new employee until I've seen them enough to trust them, and anyone I've seen hand over a closed action weapon or flag a customer when showcasing a weapon. I usually just go straight to one of the owners and bypass the riffraff. They know by now that it's usually worth their time, and I've even complained to them about their employees nonchalant behavior with deadly weapons.

 

[Flopsweat]

Even more, I don't like having a gun pointed in my direction when someone else is handling it.

Had this happen this week. Guy flagging me with his finger on the trigger. I politely asked him not to. He apologised and then a minute later swept it within 3" of my right foot, finger still on the trigger. I just stepped back and stayed behind him until he put it back down. Not sure he even noticed. If this had happened at the range I'd have pressed the issue, but I'm less inclined to cause a scene at a friend's shop, especially since he seems pretty much resigned to getting lit up regularly. Not my cup of tea, but his shop, his rules. And I really like doing business with him.

 

[Flopsweat]

It's so consistent that I've always assumed that for whatever reason, that was the way the shop owner mandated that it should be done.

If I owned a shop, and you worked for me, if you didn't follow the procedure I had laid down for something as important as giving a customer a weapon, you'd need another job.

The other issue I've seen is pretty transparent. At the three shops I'm in most often, they don't hand a weapon to you. They take it out of the case, clear it, drop the slide (close the cylinder) dry fire it at the floor, re-insert the mag and lay it on the counter between you. The only variation to this is that one of the shops usually places a small piece of carpet on the glass counter first.

Then they watch you.

If I were working a counter in a gun store, I'd be watching to see what you did next, for a number of reasons. The obvious one is safety, but there are sales reasons in there, too. What you do next is a direct, accurate, crystal clear indication of how much you know about firearms and how much experience you have handling them.

Why dry fire? It would seem to me that this just adds an unnecessary step. And for me - not passing judgement here - I wouldn't want to make a habit of pulling the trigger when I'm not ready to fire. An exception to this would be dry fire practice at home, where extra precautions can be taken and distractions eliminated.

 

[Jammer Six]

That doesn't bother me-- it's a standard part of showing clear in many leagues, and is a required step to leave the firing line in the army. It's hard to say that a weapon that has just dry fired is loaded.

I teach that a weapon that has had the magazine or brass removed and the chamber visually and tactilely inspected (no, No, NO, not "tactically"!) is clear, and can be left open or closed.

I teach to hand a handgun, cylinder or slide open over by grasping the barrel and presenting the grip to the other person is such a way that the weapon is pointed straight down and the open action is towards the person in such a way that they can look at the open action before they grasp the grip. It also allows the person releasing the weapon to guide the barrel away from sweeping them, and if there's a question in their mind about the person they're handing the weapon to, such guidance can be used to give a gentle, subtle or not-so-subtle hint that says don't point this weapon at me.

But, like I said, I'm sure the shops have sales reasons involved, too.

 

[oasis618]

Nope.

 

[AudibleEnforcer]

It depends on the manner in which the gun is handled prior to being given to me to fondle. If the clerk is nervous; ie, doesn't have that natural comfort that comes from years of firearms handling; and he hands it to me closed while waving it all willy-nilly, then yes it bothers me.


My experience:

Gun Shops- 95% handed over after clearing w/ action open

Pawn Shops- 2%

 

[sadiesassy]

NO - I will always assume loaded and will verify before doing anything else. ( Pick up gun - verify it is unloaded.)
I always assume the sales person does nto know what they are doing ( Not thinking gun shops - but retail places).

I do get irked when a firearms instructor ( Oregon firearms instructor) handed me a gun without it open and then we found something that looked like live ammo loaded in the gun.

 

[Mark W.]

everything annoys me on some level even this thread.

 

[pokerace]

everything annoys me on some level even this thread.

AH A man after me own heart..

 

[Flopsweat]

That doesn't bother me-- it's a standard part of showing clear in many leagues, and is a required step to leave the firing line in the army. It's hard to say that a weapon that has just dry fired is loaded.

I teach that a weapon that has had the magazine or brass removed and the chamber visually and tactilely inspected (no, No, NO, not "tactically"!) is clear, and can be left open or closed.

I teach to hand a handgun, cylinder or slide open over by grasping the barrel and presenting the grip to the other person is such a way that the weapon is pointed straight down and the open action is towards the person in such a way that they can look at the open action before they grasp the grip. It also allows the person releasing the weapon to guide the barrel away from sweeping them, and if there's a question in their mind about the person they're handing the weapon to, such guidance can be used to give a gentle, subtle or not-so-subtle hint that says don't point this weapon at me.

But, like I said, I'm sure the shops have sales reasons involved, too.

Ah, didn't realise the Army connection. Got it. I was also taught to hand a revolver off the way you describe - with two fingers through the frame as well, to assure that the cylinder is seen to be open and stays so. Visual and tactile inspection are mandatory in the classes I teach.