Be careful at the gun shop

[dwarven1]

I was at a local gun shop today... I was a little surprised when the owner insisted on seeing my LTC when I lifted an M1 Carbine off the rack to take a close look at it, as I've bought several guns from him in the past and he knows me - and he's never asked before when I looked at one of the rifles in the racks.

Seems that within the last few weeks, somebody came in and asked to look at a pistol. Shop owner checks the action and hands him the gun. Just then, someone else comes in so he looks over to the new person to see if he needed anything. First guy hands back the gun the owner didn't think to open the action again.

Well, the next day someone asks to see that gun and when the shop owner checked the action before handing it over, a live round fell out!

9mm, with a hole drilled in the top (not a hollowpoint). The shop owner told me that his heart didn't stop racing for about three days! He didn't know if this gun planned to rob him or if he was just an antigunner trying to get some bad publicity, but he's checking EVERYONE's LTC before handing over any gun... even if he just sold you something the day before.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Good habits are a lifesaver! Check the action every time someone hands you a gun.

 

[Cross-X]

Did this occur in your favorite Marlboro gunshop?

 

[FPrice]

First guy hands back the gun the owner didn't think to open the action again.

IMNSHO, that was the problem. Anytime a gun comes back into your possession you should check it. Now, I can't fault him for checking the license, but what is that supposed to do?

 

[tools8288]

Well it is highly unlikely that the anti-gunner would possess a LTC. Therefore checking for one would not hurt.

 

[Jose]

Whatever would we do in those states where there is no LTC-anything?

 

[dwarven1]

Did this occur in your favorite Marlboro gunshop?

Nope. Another one not too far away.

And the point, guys, is to remind you to check the actions. He got distracted once, and it could have been fatal for someone. I'm really puzzled by the hole drilled in the bullet... was it an antigunner who didn't realize that hollowpoints are common?

 

[highlander]

maybe someone was to cheap to buy hollow points

 

[RKG]

MORAL OF THE STORY: Good habits are a lifesaver! Check the action every time someone hands you a gun.

Actually, the rule I teach (and believe I was taught) is that you don't ACCEPT a gun unless the action is open; if someone tries, you ask him to open it.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Some anti-gunner like Rosenthal? Regrettably, I'll bet he has a LTC, probably from Boston and unrestricted too! He's either a super-liar or dumb as dirt about guns too (at one time I recall he stated that he didn't know whether he owned a rifle or a shotgun)!!

The drilled hole indeed sounds like evidence that someone was trying to create a "dum-dum" bullet for media effect.

 

[JonJ]

Actually, the rule I teach (and believe I was taught) is that you don't ACCEPT a gun unless the action is open; if someone tries, you ask him to open it.

+1
One of the Patrol Supers (SGT) at work would always close the action on the M4s when he handed them out before the shift. I bitched him out everyday that he handed me one with the action closed. I'd return the rifle with the action open and start to hand it over. He'd reach for it and I'd pull it back and close the action. He'd reopen it and ask why I closed it. I told him he gave it to me that way and that's how he'd get it back. He didn't get the hint.
He stopped doing this one day when I reopened the action in a way that caught his attention and I made my point
BTW: He's a Marine.

And as far as shops checking permits before letting you look something over...I was in a shop in full uniform (armed) and the owner asked for my LTC. I didn't have it with me so I explained that I didn't need one and he finally let me handle it.

 

[depicts]

dwarvan1, if it wasn't you posting this story, I'd think it was an urban legand as I've heard this same story three or four times this year.

For whatever reason, and However the gun got a bullet in it...there's some bad voodoo going on there, and if I were the shop owner, I'd be especially careful myself. Scarey!

 

[dwarven1]

I understand about the urban legend thing... but I've known this guy since he opened his shop. And he certainly seemed dead serious about it. I think it's because I was so surprised when he asked me for my LTC that he mentioned it.

 

[News Shooter]

I think I know which shop it was

That doesn't matter because I was in there when the owner barked at a guy he actually knew about touching one of the long guns. He wanted to see his license.
I didn't get the explanation, but it fits with the story and it is near Marlborough.

 

[Len-2A Training]

When GOAL ran gun shows, someone loaded a gun on a vendor's table and someone let a round go from said gun. Very luckily nobody was hit, but I spoke with someone who was very nearby when it happened.

 

[dreppucci007]

And as far as shops checking permits before letting you look something over...I was in a shop in full uniform (armed) and the owner asked for my LTC. I didn't have it with me so I explained that I didn't need one and he finally let me handle it.

Show off

 

[matt]

Wow... It is just disturbing that some anti is willing to go to such a length to "prove" a point that would otherwise be unsubstantiated.

an even more distrubing thought is that it could have been one of us (pro gun), and was just being malicious for fun...

If I was the shop owner I'd be reviewing the security tapes to ID the guy.

 

[Len-2A Training]

And as far as shops checking permits before letting you look something over...I was in a shop in full uniform (armed) and the owner asked for my LTC. I didn't have it with me so I explained that I didn't need one and he finally let me handle it.

I wouldn't let you handle it without a LTC!

On a serious note:

- Rumor, but heard from two independent sources . . . a female MSP Trooper in full uniform allegedly went into Wal-Mart in Attleboro and somehow convinced them to sell her ammo without producing a LTC. Allegedly she turned that info into someone (it could well have been a "sting" operation) and the local chief pulled their MA Dealer's and Ammo Dealer's Licenses PERMANENTLY! This allegedly happened some 3-4 years ago and they haven't been able to sell a round of ammo since.

For our visitors' benefit: ANY LEO (from any US/state/local jurisdiction) can carry a gun/ammo on their badge in MA (law's been in effect for >30 years that I'm aware of). HOWEVER, they can NOT purchase anything at all (ammo, hi-cap mags, or guns) without a LTC (or FID for lo-cap rifles/shotguns and ammo for same) per MGLs. [Slight correction: NON-Residents (even LEOs) can NOT purchase any of the above legally in MA even if they possess a MA NR LTC.]

 

[BillO]

Just ask the guys at Four Seasons how many times people brought in a loaded consignment guns. Scary.

 

[iodonnel]

Wow, another eye opener that I read on this site. I work at S&W in the range/store, and that is a great point on how it just takes a millisecond for someone to do something wrong and harmful. Just good to know that something didn't happen there. Can you all just imagine what the next few years would be like if something had happened? The papers would read ( ahem I mean twist) "Gun Store Hands Over Loaded Weapon to Underage Teen"...Or something to that extent. Think about it.

 

[Shane]

I sell guns at work.

I'm going to start being extra careful.

 

[boomerang]

The person who put the cartridge in the gun, may have been suicidal.

 

[Shane]

At my work, we never take the trigger locks off.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

If I owned a gunshop and someone willfully loaded a gun and handed it back to me without notification, that person would be banned for life and a day.

I would also persue reckless endangerment charges against them, either criminally or civil or both.

If they had an LTC, they wouldn't for long as they'd have proven themself far too stupid and negligent to be in possession of or around firearms and their chief of police would be getting a call post haste.

Stupid and or malicious conduct like that just feeds the fire for anti gunners.

 

[vellnueve]

At my work, we never take the trigger locks off.

Loaded gun + trigger lock = just as if not more dangerous.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Loaded gun + trigger lock = just as if not more dangerous.

True....it fosters a sense of assumed safety. There is no substitute for opening the action and checking the chamber under any circumstances, on the firing line, at home, in the shop wherever. A gun is not "unloaded" until the action is open, magazine out and the chamber is visibly empty.....any other condition its assumed loaded.....trigger lock or not.

I follow this proceedure reflexively and insist it be followed when letting others handle or shoot my guns before they leave the firing position or give it back to me.

 

[Shane]

Loaded gun + trigger lock = just as if not more dangerous.

I understand the need to check the chamber.

But I certainly never implied that we put trigger locks on loaded firearms.

 

[Weerd Beard]

I understand the need to check the chamber.

But I certainly never implied that we put trigger locks on loaded firearms.

Indeed, but if somebody was to place a live round into one of your firearms, you now have a loaded gun with a steel-bar running through the trigger guard. All the trigger locks I've seen are a violation of rule #3 (Never place your finger inside the trigger guard untill sights are on your target)

So frankly that goes double for trigger locks. If the lugs aren't secured on the trigger guard, or if you jostle the lock as your remove it, you can pull the trigger. Do that on a loaded firearm, you have yourself a ND.


-Weer'd Beard

 

[Rob Boudrie]

It all depends on the model of the gun and how the trigger lock is applied. If you apply the typical trigger lock to a S&W revolver with the post behind the trigger, there is no way you will jostle the trigger into discharge (not sure if there is room on the smaller ones). The better designs are the trigger locks that prevent the gun from even being in a firing position when locked (cable locks are generally good for this), however, these are not as practical for a shop to use when guns are on display.

 

[Another_David]

I always thought plugs made a lot of sense. There's no replacement for safe handling and the cardinal rules but if I owed a store I'd use plugs over locks.

See, this thread is clearly not loaded

Okay, and before you collectors start griping, no i wouldn't wedge a plug in a priceless firearm

 

[Danguard Ace]

A gun is not "unloaded" until the action is open, magazine out and the chamber is visibly empty.....any other condition its assumed loaded.....

I understand what you mean. But shouldn't it be in this order?

1. Magazine Out

2. Action is Open

3. Chamber is Visibly Empty



Sorry, I'm still a newbie and get upset with myself if I do not make sure the gun is "safe" within that order.