Bang! Bang! I'm dead! :-)))

[DLBConductor]

Had a nice day wasting time visiting gun shops today. While most of the shelves were devoid of 9mm and .45 ACP ammo, I did find some CCI .22LR mini-mags at the local Academy Sports. It was on a cart waiting to be shelved. I took three of the 375-round boxes and left three boxes.


Then I went to one of the larger local gun shops to browse. As I surveyed the nice assortment of new .45 pistols in the glass case, the customer to my right suddenly racked a Springfield .45, aimed it at my right side, and pulled the trigger. From the reaction of seeing the barrel of a .45 aimed right at me, I jumped back about two feet from the counter. If the gun had been loaded, I wouldn't be writing this thread. I could tell the guy had no idea why I jumped back. Giving a knowing look to me, the clerk quickly took the .45 away from the customer and put it back in the glass case. Neither of us said anything. I decided there were far too many crazy people in the store, so I made my exit.


I realize that guns in a gun shop should be empty but, in my book, ALL GUNS ARE LOADED! If I do dry fire a weapon, I first ask permission, and then I CERTAINLY DON'T POINT IT AT ANOTHER CUSTOMER! I think I may just avoid visiting the gun shops until a little of the madness disappears.

[eureka40]

Good Lord the stupid was strong with him. Glad your still with us.

[GWE Chally]

Not surprised, but glad you are ok.

I have noticed that with very few exceptions, when a customer is looking at a gun, their finger goes straight into the trigger guard and onto the trigger. Most are at least aware enough not to point the gun at someone, but there are (obviously) some that just don't get it. I agree, I won't be visiting any gun stores until this craziness settles down...

[Jumping Frog]

Neither of us said anything.

Boy, I would have been very vocal and pointed in expressing my displeasure.

If people don't realize they should not step on my toes, they will continue to do so.

edited to correct typo

[gemini]

#1. Safety Check. Every "Gunstore" gun, every "Gunshow"gun , every gun, every time.
Then continue to obey the gun safety rules. Guess what? No AD's, no ND's no nada.

[Cjwglock19]

We would have definitely bonded!

[jmra]

I was at Dallas Market Hall for a gun show with my brother a couple of years ago. We had taken some things we had purchased out to the truck and were coming back into the show when we heard a loud boom.
Turns out a vendors BIL (a CHL holder) had come through the back door to help work the table. At some point he decides to see what he can get for his EDC. He pulls out the mag and replaces it with an empty mag but fails to rack the slide and eject the round in the chamber.
Of course you know what happened next. A shopper picks up the "unloaded" gun and pulls the trigger. The .45 round went through the table and chipped a neat little hole out of the floor. Must have been a decent hollow point round because it mushroomed and stayed right there.
The vendor, BIL, and shopper were all escorted from the building by LEO.

The scary thing was my brother and I had just been at the next table 15 minutes earlier. It is a wonder no one was hurt.

[Divided Attention]

I see so many counter clerks being careful about checking the firearm is empty yet having horrid trigger finger control and muzzle control. I actually told one that if he swept me or my family with his finger on the trigger again there would be a scene. I got the "little lady I have been around guns longer than you have been alive" and a wink. I will not buy a gun from him ever and I won't deal with him when I go there. I have been very impressed with everyone else there, but this one has no respect from me other than thankful for his prior service to our country.

I see poor indexing habits from many salesmen, sad examples....

[SRH78]

There is no excuse for that. We would have had words.

[gemini]

I was at Dallas Market Hall for a gun show with my brother a couple of years ago. We had taken some things we had purchased out to the truck and were coming back into the show when we heard a loud boom.
Turns out a vendors BIL (a CHL holder) had come through the back door to help work the table. At some point he decides to see what he can get for his EDC. He pulls out the mag and replaces it with an empty mag but fails to rack the slide and eject the round in the chamber.
Of course you know what happened next. A shopper picks up the "unloaded" gun and pulls the trigger. The .45 round went through the table and chipped a neat little hole out of the floor. Must have been a decent hollow point round because it mushroomed and stayed right there.
The vendor, BIL, and shopper were all escorted from the building by LEO.

The scary thing was my brother and I had just been at the next table 15 minutes earlier. It is a wonder no one was hurt.

Not trying to have a discussion about 30.06 at any gun shows. Simply the DACA (Market Hall Gun Shows). They have a "Safety Committee"
that constantly patrols the isles. Guys wearing blue DACA vests. Checking vendors, individuals etc. for sealed ammo boxes, cable ties
on guns etc etc. They also hire plenty of off duty DPD officers both inside and outside the building for security. They have had very, very,
very few incidents as described above. Their shows are the largest in Texas, if not one of, and they try to make them as safe as
possible for the thousands that pass through. The members also teach Hunters Ed courses at most shows.
As far as the BIL, vendor, and customer mentioned above. Good riddance. Stupity knows no bounds.
Edit: LOL. Make that stupidity.

[DLBConductor]

We would have definitely bonded!

Some very annoyed Gaelic would have been heard, had that been me; I'd have had little shame in putting that man in his place, right sharpish.

Boy, I would have been very vocal and pointed in expressing my displeasure.
If people don't realize they should [sic. "not"] step on my toes, they will continue to do so.

There is no excuse for that. We would have had words.

"Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda!"

I feel properly chastised!

In retrospect, neither I nor the clerk did this fellow any good by being silent. He will blithely go on his way in ignorance. I just hope he doesn't do the same thing with a pistol where a round has been left in the chamber.

While I did some shooting with a .22 rifle almost 50 years ago as a teenager, my only experience with handguns began a year ago. I started out by taking lessons from the very beginning and feel very good about my gun safety, self-defense training, and marksmanship. However, over 40 years in academe has programmed me to be non-confrontational. This is something I will need to work on. If I broke one of the safety rules, my teacher was not shy about getting in my face and YELLING! I guess I need to set some personal boundaries where I will not tolerate unsafe gun handling that could put me or others at risk. I will have to do some practice scenarios to get used to responding to this type of situation.

This encounter does point out that there are potentially a lot of new gun purchasers who have little or no training in gun safety. It would be nice if some of the local gun stores would offer a free one-hour seminar once a week on "Gun Safety for the First Time Gun Buyer." Who knows, such seminars might attract more buyers into the store.

Thanks for all of your comments.

[jmra]

I was at Dallas Market Hall for a gun show with my brother a couple of years ago. We had taken some things we had purchased out to the truck and were coming back into the show when we heard a loud boom.
Turns out a vendors BIL (a CHL holder) had come through the back door to help work the table. At some point he decides to see what he can get for his EDC. He pulls out the mag and replaces it with an empty mag but fails to rack the slide and eject the round in the chamber.
Of course you know what happened next. A shopper picks up the "unloaded" gun and pulls the trigger. The .45 round went through the table and chipped a neat little hole out of the floor. Must have been a decent hollow point round because it mushroomed and stayed right there.
The vendor, BIL, and shopper were all escorted from the building by LEO.

The scary thing was my brother and I had just been at the next table 15 minutes earlier. It is a wonder no one was hurt.

Not trying to have a discussion about 30.06 at any gun shows. Simply the DACA (Market Hall Gun Shows). They have a "Safety Committee"
that constantly patrols the isles. Guys wearing blue DACA vests. Checking vendors, individuals etc. for sealed ammo boxes, cable ties
on guns etc etc. They also hire plenty of off duty DPD officers both inside and outside the building for security. They have had very, very,
very few incidents as described above. Their shows are the largest in Texas, if not one of, and they try to make them as safe as
possible for the thousands that pass through. The members also teach Hunters Ed courses at most shows.
As far as the BIL, vendor, and customer mentioned above. Good riddance. Stupity knows no bounds.
Edit: LOL. Make that stupidity.

I love the show and think they do a great job. The fault fell squarely on those three. The vendor is responsible for all the items on the table. The BIL failed in too many ways to list. BUT, the customer pulled the trigger. The gun doesn't go bang if the customer simply verifies that the gun is unloaded before "dry" firing the weapon.
I constantly drill this into my 13 and 11 yr old boys. If I hand them a firearm and they don't perform a complete visual and manual inspection to confirm its current condition, they know they are in for a very long tirade about gun safety (and looking at time away from the XBox 360 ).
I constantly work with the boys trying to catch them off guard to see how they will react. My neighbor witnessed this at our house one time and thought I was nuts. I handed her son (same age as my oldest) one of the guns we had been working with. I then showed her that had her son picked up a loaded gun at a friends house she would now be planning his funeral. Her son now comes to my house for gun safety training on a regular basis.

[Purplehood]

other than thankful for his prior service to our country.

You might not believe just how many times you see 'stupid' when it comes to firearms handling in the Military. You'd think it would be otherwise, but it is not.

[SQLGeek]

Don't take it too hard, you were just much more polite than I would have been. :)