"And I need some ammo."
"What ammo?"
"For my Ruger.
"Which type?"
"Practice."
"But what kind?"
"Full metal jacket."
Slight pause, then "But what cartridge?"
"Just regular stuff", looking at me like I should have known that.
It had been a long day, and the headache wasn't helping, and I think my voice went up a bit when, in desperation, I said "What kind of bullets?", wondering if that would get through.
He just looked at me for a moment, either wondering why I didn't know what he needed or deer in the headlights, I don't know which. At that point I saw a box among his stuff and picked it up to check, at which point he apparently realized what the hell I was asking and said "9mm." Which allowed me to get this done before I had a stroke or something.
This was followed by a group checking in with one guy carrying an AR with no sights.
"Sir, do you have any sights for that?"
"No."
"You cannot shoot it without sights."
Actually looked a bit dumbfounded. "Do I have to take it back to the car?"
"That would be best(because we've dealt with clowns like you before), but if you keep it with you you CANNOT shoot it."
"Ok."
Which, of course, meant we had to keep an eye on him, because we don't trust people who show up with a AR with no way to aim and expecting to shoot it.
It's a good thing this day is over.
11 comments:
Appears to me you have been interacting with a lot of Biden voters, with all the stories you post about the range, or maybe some people are just stupid and shouldn't own firearms, it's not always easy to tell the difference.
We've had people say "I need some bullets" and had no idea what kind of ammunition their gun used. We've had people try to buy 9mm for a shotgun, and who thought their pump shotgun was a rifle(he was very surprised when I told him "This isn't a rifle, and it uses these shotgun shells").
Some think that they can buy any magazine and it'll magically fit their pistol.
Some of these are new owners who need to learn, but some...
My worst was...
(very abbreviated)
Another clerk called me over to help with a customer.
"I need .22 bullets."
"What type do you want?"
".22 bullets."
Show him some .22LR.
"Not those *.22* bullets."
Show him some .22 Short.
"NO!.22 bullets!"
-sigh- "Okay; what kind gun are these for?"
"I need .22 bullets for my police gun."
Oh sh!t. "Your department issued you something in .22?"
"Of course. And I need .22 bullets."
"Sir, wwhat *is* your 'police gun'?"
"It's a pistol."
-cringe- "Do you know the make and model?"
"It's a .22. What's the problem? The guys in the armory always know what I need."
-lightbulb blinks on- "Sir, is your pistol a Glock?"
"Yeah! I think so."
"Sir, I think you have a Glock 22. Could you show it to me?"
"I don't have it with me. Just give me .22 bullets."
"Sir, I think you have a Glock 22 chambered in .40S&W. But unless you can be sure, I'm not selling you anything. If you have the wrong ammunition it can be very dangerous."
"But I need .22 bullets now!"
"Sorry, you clearly don't know what you need for what. I'm not helping you kill yourself." Walked off.
And the other idiot clerk sold him a box of .40.
Sell them a bunch of snap caps and see if they can figure it out... funny af, and safe.
Good lord! You must have the patience of Job to deal with this level of gun owner. Maybe it is time to re-do the Sgt. Snuffy edumecation movie shorts for new gunners in the 21st Century and not allow anyone to approach the counter until they have seen it.
I get your frustration on the new shooters coming in to your shop... But really, you are sounding like one of those guys so far up on your pedestal that you can no longer see the ground... You are the expert and they are coming to you for help. A few minutes of your time keeps them from loading 9mm into a 40SW magazine. I agree that if they are doing that they have bigger problems but, it may be enough to stop the intruder that night in their home.
We need these guys and we need you trying to help to make them a responsible part of the gun community. Nothing worse than trying a new hobby and the staff is so full of themselves you get turned off immediately. The more shooters, the harder it is for the new administration to pass some of the crap they are wanting to push.
Before you blow me off as one of them... I'm not... but I have friends and relatives that are new to the community, some out of fear from the events you have in the news and some from a new found passion. I always try to take new shooters out and teach them the safe and responsible gun safety.
We are all you your side here and if you are just blowing off steam, I get it. Just please, don't let it turn somebody new to the community away.
There, that was my soapbox.
You need a different side hustle. You are going to vapor lock at an early age.
"I need some bullets".
"Yes sir. What cartridge?"
Problem solves in 1/7 of a second. Duh.
Ron, newbies get a lot of slack. And time. That's not a problem. It's people who may well have done a fair bit of shooting over time but still seem to have no idea about things, and- sometimes- think you're a jerk for trying to straighten something out. Throw in the "I know everything so stop trying to tell me I'm wrong about this" types...
Drew: you think that's not tried? I've had people who treated 'cartridge' as a foreign word of no applicable meaning to what they're doing; anything other than 'bullets' doesn't make sense. Often they're also the ones who 'need some bullets for my Glock/S&W/Ruger/Hi Point' and actually have no idea what ammo they need. Believe it or not, I make a point of being as patient as possible with people; this is my 'I can't believe the crap I heard today' release point.
I imagine people at automotive parts stores have similar stories about people who don't know what they drive, just the brand name.
So...
People are stupid, they were stupid in the past, they are stupid now, and they will be stupid long into the future.
Maybe next time ask "loaded ammunition, or just projectiles?" then narrow it down even further by asking "what caliber?"
If you expect that almost everyone you have to deal with is functionally retarded, you will be pleasantly suprised.
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