Marc
Well, hey, we're here at Gunner's Firearms again with Maggie. Maggie, it's always so good to see you.
Maggie
Welcome Back,
Marc
Thank you so much. It's always fun to be here.
Maggie
I'm happy you're here. Me too. This is fun. It
Marc
Is fun. Yeah.
Maggie
So what do you want to talk about
Marc
Today? Well, okay, so we've maybe touched on this subject a little in the past, but as we see society kind of getting a little less patient, a little angrier, a little, not everybody, but as a whole, generally in America, I say you kind of have, society is changing. Let's just put it that way. Let's just say it's changing. It is. And you also have millions and millions of people that are like, I might buy my new first gun when I go in the gun store today. So I want to take a moment and just ask, what are things you should never do at the gun store?
Maggie
Don't buy somebody else's firearm for them. That should just go straight without saying, but I feel like I do need to bring this up because it still happens. That's bad all the way around. That's bad for the person you're buying the gun for. That is bad for you yourself. That is bad for the gun store that is local to your community and trying to earn a living. Straw purchases are kind of a, well, they've always been an issue. People don't want to wait for their background check to finish and well, hey, this guy over here always gets a good to go every time. If I give him the money, he'll buy me this gun. That's a straw purchase. Be patient, wait for your background check to finish. If you do not walk out with the firearm on the day that you make your purchase and fill out your background check, it's not a big deal.
Maggie
As long as the store that you are patronizing follows a Brady Transfer law, you're not going to have to wait indefinitely and be left on hold or never pick up that gun. You just have to wait X number of business days, whatever that store's policy is. And then after that time is elapsed, you pick up a firearm. If you are now under the age of 21, you have a mandatory 10 business day hold. That doesn't usually include weekends. That doesn't usually include federal holidays, so be heck and patient, just wait for your gun. I can see how it's kind of, well, it sucks to wait. It really does. I've been put on delay and I work at the gun store. I know I'm okay on paper. Squeaky clean. I don't have any speeding tickets or parking tickets or felonies or warrants. So I mean, it just sucks to see. Yeah, I'm just on hold. It's just government working at the speed of government and they are working on government equipment, which doesn't always work, and it does break down and it's frustrating from our side of the counter. And I know it's very frustrating for that side of the counter, but please don't send somebody else in to buy your guns for you. Just you don't want to open that can of worms. It's awful. Don't do it.
Marc
That's a good one. Because it also, I would argue because you're talking about how it's not good for these people or that people, it is also not good for generally this idea that we're kind of really losing a lot of our Second Amendment rights as time goes by and when people are doing this sort of thing, it's kind of like we were talking about earlier. You got a couple people ruining it for a ton of people because then if you're buying it illegally, chances are it's going to be used for illegal purposes
Maggie
Or hey, if it gets stolen out of the truck or car or your house, God forbid, but it does happen and you're just like, well, I need to do a police report on that, but I didn't buy that gun, so how am I supposed to do a police report on a gun that I didn't buy in the first place?
Marc
What else you got as far as don't do this at the gun store.
Maggie
Please ask if we use a term that you don't understand or you've never heard before, or I mispronounce something because I've heard it pronounced seven different ways on that side of the counter. Ask this side of the counter to explain. The other day I handed a customer a rim fire firearm, and I asked them, please do not dry fire this gun. It is a rim fire. I do not have any sort of snap cap or safety in there to prevent that firing pin from striking the rim there. So the gentleman looked at me, he smiled, he nodded, okay, thanks. Immediately pulls the trigger on a rim fire. And I said, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on, stop. So it was a miscommunication. I was not speaking in terms that he understood. And so I don't know how to clarify any further. If somebody doesn't ask, what do you mean by that?
Maggie
What does dry fire mean? Why wouldn't you pull the trigger on a rim fire? Those are valid questions. If you don't know the answer to 'em, please ask. So that kind of sucks a little bit. Then I have to be kind of mean and go, hang on, give me that back. And I really don't want to be mean to people, but unfortunately, please ask if you don't understand the question, the same thing goes when you're filling out your background check. If you get to a question that you don't understand the way it is worded or written on that form in front of you, ask somebody on this side of the counter to explain it in plain English. So many issues and problems can be resolved if we can just kind of get on the same page and our vocabularies might be different, but at the end of the day, we're still trying to do the same thing here. Absolutely. So I mean, you want to adopt a firearm, I want you to adopt a firearm. So let's make this work as easily as we can. Just ask if you don't understand.
Marc
I would argue too that even if you're an expert, if you're going to buy a firearm, you should have a handful of questions with you because even the last firearm I bought from you, I am sure I asked a couple questions.
Maggie
I hope you ask more
Marc
Questions. Yeah, I mean, it's important that you ask questions whether you're an expert or a novice or wherever you are, unless you happen to build that gun or be an expert on that exact gun. Ask questions. Yeah,
Maggie
It's very important to ask questions. Clarify the answers. If you don't understand, that is super duper important.
Marc
All right, so we got don't do straw purchases,
Maggie
No straw purchases.
Marc
Ask questions, don't be foolish. Ask the questions that are necessary,
Maggie
Please ask us to explain. And another thing, don't hold one gun store and the way things work at that one gun store and expect it to work at every other gun store the same way each gun store is unique. Unless you are shopping at a chain or a corporation that has multiple locations over an area, they're going to have a corporate policy that is going to be the same and makes all of their stores look and feel and work the same. And it has to work like that for all states, not just the ones that have nice easy rules like Missouri. It has to work in states like California, New York, Illinois, the places where it's more difficult to obtain firearms. So it has to work for everybody. If you're shopping at a corporate store, things will be different. And shopping at tiny gun stores, it'll be different than a corporate store. And each store will have their own store policies. And if you don't like that store's policies, then that's probably because one customer ruined it for everybody else. And now that has become a rule and that's what everybody else is going to follow because Jim, Bob, Joe, just really, really, really screwed the rest of you wonderful souls over.
Marc
Well, that's interesting because there's two gun stores locally that I don't go to because I don't like their process. It's not that it bothers me, it's just lengthy. I add an hour to the process essentially just because I chose that store. So it's really more about the time. This takes way too long. I'm not doing it here. Or there was a gun store, like a Cabela's or something out on the East coast, and they lost like a hundred million rounds of ammo from people just stealing the boxes off the shelves. So all of their stores now have it behind the counter because of one store and
Maggie
One issue. Yes. So that is a very, very, very good explanation of how one person can totally just screw it up for everybody else across the board. And that does happen. So please don't walk into a gun store expecting them all to be the same. You won't meet the same people at every gun store. The selection won't be the same. Small gun stores might specialize in certain things here or there, and it's not going to hurt our feelings if you shop around. It might not hurt my cousin's feelings. It might not hurt any of the other gun store owners' feelings in the city, but you want to find a place where you fit in, you're comfortable with do find that place, but don't expect every store that you walk into to be that place.
Marc
That's great. That's a good one. I never even thought about that until you had mentioned it. I thought, oh, that's why I don't shop here and that's why I don't do this other thing.
Maggie
But those stores that you don't like to shop at, there are other people that really do like that and that have planned out the additional time for that process and that's what they want to do. Great. That is so awesome. And I'm really happy for those people that they found their place too, but not every place is for everybody. No big deal. So just yeah, don't expect
Marc
It to be the same. Yeah,
Maggie
Don't expect them to be's a
Marc
Good one the same.
Maggie
Yeah, that's
Marc
A good all. So no straw purchases,
Maggie
Please no
Marc
Straw. Ask questions.
Maggie
Ask questions. Don't expect
Marc
Them to. Don't be the same. Those
Maggie
Good. Don't expect them to be the same. Please also realize that your purchase is a final purchase. That's a good one. All sales are final at the gun store. You better really, really, really like what it is that you have picked out. Don't just go walking into the gun store just to see if you can pass a background check for the cheapest thing on the shelf. Do not do that. Please, please, please don't be that person. Find the firearm you're looking for. Save up for that one and go buy one that you want because you want that specific one, not because you just want to see if you can pass a background check. I don't know if other, now other stores have policies in place most likely because this has been a problem. And so yeah, there's places that won't allow certain people to buy certain firearms and they'll profile you based on a few bad apples that ruined it for everybody else.
Maggie
Gotcha. So that goes back to, don't expect every store to be the same, but do realize that what you're buying, you're stuck with that you may not be able to turn around and sell it right back to that store. They most likely will not get you your money back on that. That being said, there are a few exceptions on those things. I know personally when we have dealt with firearms that are used and they return to us the same day and we missed something that should have been obvious on that or it was broken and it shouldn't have been sold as a functioning firearm, it should have been marked on it that it was a parts gun and somebody's like, yeah, I didn't see where it said parts gun on there in small print. Your tags are so small and I bought this thinking it'd be a working firearm. I can't help you on there. I couldn't make that sign any bigger when the tag is only so small. So please, please, please check your purchases over very carefully. Inspect them, make sure it is exactly what you want to buy because no take back seats.
Marc
Yeah, that's interesting. It is. I know anybody that's ever bought a gun, there is that feeling where once you've kind of paid and you pass your background check, it's yours. That is kind of a humbling feeling, you know, can't return it. And just like any product, there's always lemons. So I know my guess is you probably get people that come in and they're like, Hey, I bought this yesterday. It doesn't work. I want to return it.
Maggie
And a lot of time, if it's a new firearm and it's not functioning, I hate to tell you these, but if you've ever bought a new gun and it doesn't work, you're not alone there. Some firearms will require a break-in period, some break-in periods are longer a higher round count than others. And when you are still within that break-in period for your firearm, expect hiccups. So it's not going to magically resolve itself within a magazine worth of bullets. It might be something you're going to work on for boxes and boxes and cases of ammo until you and that firearm kind of work it out.
Marc
That's interesting because Laurel and I, we came in and we bought matching couple shotguns and her shotguns and her cycle's fine. And mine was having hiccups, and I know it has was really more when you're doing birdshot through it kind of thing. But in my head I thought, well, why is yours work flawlessly? And mine is having these hiccups. But I was glad hers worked flawlessly because hers is for home defense. Mine was just a review. Yeah.
Maggie
So yeah, just don't expect it to be
Marc
No, it happens.
Maggie
It's not the same. Happens a
Marc
Lot for every
Maggie
Single person happens. No. So your mileage may vary there.
Marc
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Maggie
I think that pretty much covers it. There's a list of other things. There's plenty of other people that'll light up the comments, and this is something that I'm sure we'll come back around to at some point. But for now, we'll leave that as a small, short list
Marc
Of heads. It's a good one. That's a great list. That's couples I never thought of.
Maggie
Please be nice to your good story and let us be nice to you too, as much as we possibly can.
Marc
Well, there's a fifth one right there. Be kind. Be
Maggie
Kind, be kind. That should just go without saying. Absolutely. Some
Marc
Days don't be mean.
Maggie
Some days it's easier to be nice than others. That's just being a human. Some days it's way easier to be in a good mood and be nice than others.
Marc
Right. Well Maggie, gosh, these are a great list. Thank you so much. You're so welcome. We always appreciate, we always appreciate your insight and yeah, gosh, thank you so much.
Maggie
This is so much fun. I'm glad that you swing by the shop to do this, and I'm glad that you guys think this is entertaining and helpful too. Absolutely. Definitely. Hit the like button. Subscribe. This man does all the hard work and heavy lifting. Give him his mad props. He deserves it. Thank you. Until then. Bye everybody. Bye.
Credit: God, Family and Guns