The people who work behind the counters at gun shops have seen all kinds of behavior from customers, including things like customers handing over loaded guns, muzzle first, that endanger both the worker and other customers.
Here are seven tips that will show your respect and responsibility when shopping for guns:
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1. Much of the safety etiquette for gun stores applies in general, everywhere, whenever someone is handling a gun, according to blogger CK Suzanne, who wrote about
gun store etiquette for Cheaper Than Dirt:
• "Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
• Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Never point it at something you are not ready to kill.
• Know your target and what is behind it.
• Always check to make sure the gun is unloaded. Never hand a loaded gun to a gun store clerk and never let a gun store clerk hand you a loaded gun."
2. “Look at one firearm at a time,”
Concealed Nation offers as advice to those who are shopping in gun shops. “While it may be beneficial to compare them side by side, it is recommended to have just one on the counter at any given time.”
3. Don’t just walk into the store holding a firearm that you’re looking to trade, Concealed Nation said. Bring the gun into the store in a case. “We’re dealing with firearms here, not jeans you’re looking to return at Wally World,” the writer pointed out.
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4. Ask the clerk before dry firing a weapon. This advice came from both Concealed Nation and Cheaper Than Dirt, and it’s important because dry firing can damage a weapon, the sites said. Dry firing is shooting the weapon when there’s no ammunition in it.
5. Never bring in a loaded weapon or accept a loaded weapon from a sales clerk,
according to Guns411. Always “do your check” to make sure it’s unloaded, and check it even when a clerk hands you a gun, the site said.
6. Gundata.org advised gun shoppers to be professional and respectful when visiting gun shops. "Very few things in life are more unnerving than the guy with a gun in his hand — loaded or not — that's just acting too excited. Don't be the guy waving the gun around and going, "bang! bang!' with a big smile on his face like he just got his hands on this year's most popular toy," the website advised. The site said don’t walk in looking like someone who might be robbing the store or as the greenhorn who picks the gun up by the muzzle.
Instead, be an “informed novice,” the site said: “By being honest, you'll develop a rapport with the salesman and he will, more than likely, take measures to keep both of you safe as you're handling the weapon.”
7. Cheaper Than Dirt offered a few additional tips on gun shopping that the writer collected from gun store clerks. They included:
• Do not talk about killing the president.
• Do not talk about making your gun fully automatic.
• Keep your children close to you and under supervision at all times.
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