Hey /k/ I recently got hired to work as a sales associate full time at my LGS. It’s a fairly nice modern shop with a pretty large inventory and attached indoor pistol/rifle range. I wanted to ask any former or current gun shop worker anons what it’s like?
>Do you get special deals on firearms?
>Is dealing with customers/coworkers really as mentally exhausting as people make it out to be?
Honestly what are the pros and cons. I will add that it’s no a commission based gig and the pay rate is set at 18/hr.
Feel free to also just post good LGS stories in this thread
I work at an LGS right now but I'm leaving soon.
I can't guarantee that it'll be like this for you but where I work you do get a discount; I pay slightly above distributor costs.
Co-workers are just luck of the draw. I just so happen to like and get along with all of mine. As for the customers, it's just like any retail job, you'll deal with a bunch of morons day after day, only this time there's guns involved. It does get pretty draining after a while.
What would you say are the downsides of the job?
Like I mentioned before it's pretty much just the customers. The amount of times I've had to tell Black folk that I don't have any "extended taurus nine clips" is fricking astounding. You do meet some cool people sometimes though (albeit once in a blue moon.
Basketball Americans, or just your typical idiot who walks in, draws their gun, and then asks for ammo for said gun. That kinda crap will drain you mentally.
During college I worked for 2 years in a LGS. I've seen some really scary situations because people are just idiots by and large.
As far as pay/discounts, I think I made $15/hr but got everything at cost +5%, and could order pretty much anything. I'm a big hunting/fishing guy so I spent a lot of money that way.
i don't work at a gun store but something not too different. it's a relatively specialty shop where the staff typically posses far more knowledge than the customer base. because of this it's easy to fall into the trap of viewing everyone is an idiot and you may begin to treat them with contempt. do not fall into this trap because it is a poison that will kill you from the inside. you need to remember to have patience and understanding with people. i would assume your job may pay some commission on sales so remember that every person you insult or demean isn't just one lost sale but many because that person may have come back and bought more or told their friends and family to go see you because you had been friendly and helpful. if your coworkers have an attitude of contempt, which is all to common in gun stores, you need to give care to not fall into their bad habits.
no
>slightly above distributor costs
My buddy pays for shipping and BGC and he gets any gun at cost from the manufacturer.
If you're not a college student or retired, why are you settling for working unskilled labor, retail for chump change ?
Well for one, I am indeed a college student who just got out of the army. I want to work in the firearms industry regardless though. I have no desire to wire houses, unclog sewage lines, or weld pieces of metal together. I’ll leave that stuff to you (:
Nice cope, I'm a pilot in the USCG
What station?
>t. 15 year swimmer
>I’ll leave that stuff to you (:
The irony is you're acting smug over basically getting yelled at by boomers for minimum wage instead of working a trade job and making bank
moron tradies seething that you won't join up and destroy your body for slightly above $20/hr is genuinely the funniest shit
>Bu-bu-buh, you make so much cash!
Because you put in 20 hours of overtime per check, and busting your ass for a few extra bucks is nothing to brag about.
>Buh-but you learn valuable skills!
You'd already have that if you had a couple extra braincells or a decent father figure. Don't listen to this moron, he wants you to join the trade pyramid scheme so he can be a foreman
Lol you are so stupid and opinionated, you deserve the frustration you are going to experience.
You used your comma in the incorrect spot. Indeed, I am the stupid one though. Tell me how that trade job goes for you though. Two more years and you might finally make journeyman.
Hey bud, just got out of the firearms industry (manufacturer) and let me tell you, unless you're a machinist there's no money in it. Start your own marketing company and work adjacent or open your own gun store. Either way, it's a classic case of not wanting to see how the sausage is made.
Former gun store employee here. Worked at a pretty big store in the southeast. Here is what your daily life will be
>ayo can I get a new clip fo muh nine
>“what model is it sir?”
>I SAID ITS A NINE BRUH
And then you will get the ones who swear it isn’t loaded
>guy brings in a shitty folding Glock 19, wanting to find a holster for it
>we walk to the holster aisle and i grab his Glock 19 to put in the holster
>i ask him if it’s loaded
>“Oh no i checked it in my car”
>pop mag out, shiny brass
>rack slide, flying brass
Didn’t even know what to say to the sheer stupidity. You will also get fluctuations of politically agitated boomers who swear the bans are coming any day and they treat every transaction with this sense of urgency, trying to but their way to the front of the counter. And most people coming in know less than nothing about firearms. In fact, assume most people there are a danger to themselves, because working at a gun counter will show you the absolute lowest of retail customers.
Seems like nigs tend to be the common denominator here lol.
I would ask why "those people" are whats wrong with literally everything in our country but I already know the answer.
They're just idiots.
>Yo cuz, let me get a clip for a Glock 40.
>I hand him his magazine, and he goes on his way.
>Same customer comes in the store an hour later saying I sold him some bullshit, and his clip 'aint fit for shit'
>After about 90 questions, I find out Tyreese was looking for a Beretta 92 mag.
That kinda shit will just mentally drain you to the core. Other shit I ran into:
>Customer opens clamshell package on a can of pepperspray, and tests it out in the store by shooting random clothes in the hunting section.
>Customer stealing $45 for 3 broadheads by opening the clamshell package, then sticking them in their pants. They get caught because they're leaking blood on the way out the door.
>About once every other day someone brings in a gun they swear is unloaded. It'll be loaded. Never trust a customer at his word on the state of his firearm, even if John Moses Browning himself walks in and hands you a gun.
>The guys who will shoulder a gun to check it out and instead of pointing at the ceiling, will just point at a random dude or the middle of the store.
>The customers who don't know what caliber their gun takes. Or don't know the difference between 45 ACP and GAP. Buying 12g for their 20g then b***h at you like it's your fault their mom drank too much while pregnant.
>The guys who have nothing better to do than waste your time and store space by hanging out there for hours.
>Customer opens clamshell package on a can of pepperspray, and tests it out in the store by shooting random clothes in the hunting section.
holy based
I do understand the whole “point an unloaded at someone at the store on accident”. The shop I got to is a tiny hole in the wall place. So if there’s more than 3 customers you’re basically bumping shoulders. So if I’m holding a gun I might buy I want to point it somewhere and dry fire a few times. Not to mention the fricking employee just cleared it and handed it to me. I try not to aim at people but damn bro chill.
NTA but that's literally one of the four rules of gun safety: never point the gun at anything you don't intend to shoot. Yes, it sounds like nagging, but ignoring gun safety is where you end up with all these morons going on about "h-haha I've had 20 ND's this month alone, if you're not ND'ing all the time you're not handling guns enough, 'nuff said". The only reason none of these people talk about the importance of gun safety is because they're the rare few lucky survivors who didn't ND right into their brain or their friend.
Just don't point the gun at anybody if you can help it, it's simply good habits
Jesus the amount of MUH TRIGGER and MUH MUZZLE in 100% safe environments drives me crazy. They don’t even care about safety. They just get a massive hard on talking down to someone.
> let me just clear this gun that’s fresh out of the box that has never been loaded once since it came into the store. Lemme just rack the slide 5 times and wedge my pinky finger in there just in case.
>okay here you g-OH MY GOD ARE POINTING THAT AT ME THAT COULD BE LOADED NEVER POINT AT WHAT YOU ARENT WILLING TO KILL GOBBLE MY wiener THEN LEAVE MY STORE.
The reason people insist you should observe the four fundamental rules of gun safety at all times and situations is that when you make it a habit, you start doing so without needing to be prompted, or having to decide to do so. They're an essential layer of defense against what we call brain farts, completely inexplicable mistakes that people do on a DAILY BASIS thanks to our brains being a bunch of fat and fluids bouncing around in a bone basket.
I've seen a range officer giving a class on revolver basics pop a live round instead of a snapcap into the cylinder and fire it, right in the middle of his explanation on how you can use snapcaps to practise safely. He had no fricking clue how he'd made that mistake. Thankfully he habitually kept his guns pointed in a safe direction (downrange this time), so there was no damage. But it was a perfect illustration of how literally anyone, even with decades of experience, can frick up.
I quit after four years in the LGS because the shop owner was more worried about upset customers than us catching a bullet. There were three actual NDs in the shop space in my time, last one leaving me with hearing damage. Countless more in the indoor range. Close calls with "it's unloaded" almost every week. We begged the owner to make it a shop policy that the customer hands the gun to us in the bag or case and we handle it, but he insisted it would cause him to lose business. He pulled it out of his ass too; we ran with it without telling him for a month and a half with zero issues or complaints, and I left after he started giving us shit over it.
Don't worry about the customers; worry about your boss. If they're good, all other things can be squared or put up with.
Holy frick go back to gaygit you insufferable moron. Suck start a shotgun and frick off Black person.
>Muh hearing damage
>Muh NDs made me shit my panties
It drives you crazy cause youre a moronic homosexual and so is the other homosexual saying 'damn chill bro'
Kek they’re both me chuckle frick. I’m a very safe gun owner and have taught several newbies without error. I do believe in the 4 big rules and all. But for fricks sake at the gun counter chill the frick out.
have a nice day
I've had a few ND's over my time as a gun owner
At friends apartment at college. Just bought my first pistol from a gun show (I was 18)
Drinking with friends
Show them my new Jericho
Try to manually dewiener
Thumb slips on hammer, ND into celling
Upstairs neighbors too high and drunk (underage and illegal drugs) to call the police.
Second time
At range
Showing friend pistol
Think gun is unloaded
Point at ground show him how to wrack and pull the trigger.
Forgot loaded mag in
Shoot between his feet
Third time
At parents house.
Just bought a sig from a guy
Get home
Try swapping slides with another sig I had
Forgot the other sig slide was chambered.
Pull trigger
Shoot parents wall
Fourth time
At my new house
Playing with a friend's 5.56 AK
Release bolt
Slam fires round into ground
Fith time
Showing a friend how to use it
No idea how but a round got chambered
Show him how the trigger works,
Pull trigger
Shoots round into floor in the same place as before
Sixth time
Thought maybe the house was haunted
Grab a sig
Physically clear it, (racked the slide 3 times) with no magazine in
pull trigger at the same hole
Round goes off
Seventh time
Friend brings over a used Glock wants me to look over it
I grab it and pull the trigger without clearing it
Didn't even realize the thing was loaded.
Eighth time
Friend brings over his transferable Mac 10
I had no idea how open bolt guns worked.
He's showing it off to me
I put a loaded mag it and decided to try and release the bolt (I thought it shot from a closed bolt)
Pulled the trigger for some reason
Shot 3 rounds into my wall
Overall you shouldn't feel too bad about NDs. It's part of owning guns, and you should get used to them. Really, it’s no different than driving cars and having accidents
Opinions?!?
I was a soldier and have been a gun owner for almost two decades and I have never once ND'd. Do the world a favor and point the gun at your head next time.
newbie alert. Lurk more
got em
high effort bait
thank you for your service
>high effort
>copy and paste
Yeah. Took some real creativity...
Stay away from me please
It's not you I'm mad about. In a small store you're basically flagging and being flagged every day.
It's the morons who will basically point a gun at a customer and track them as they walk, that type of shit.
Just folks with zero common sense.
>The guys who have nothing better to do than waste your time and store space by hanging out there for hours
I've been guilty of that once, but it was a pretty big store with at least 5000 sq ft of sales floor space and I didn't talk to the staff except for the last 5 minutes when I was buying some small stuff. A-am I a gun store frickhead?
>Customer opens clamshell package on a can of pepperspray, and tests it out in the store by shooting random clothes in the hunting section.
Pls elaborate
the only lgs near me quit accepting trade ins on guns because Black folk kept on selling broken guns to them
i went in to trade in a couple of old guns i didnt shoot so i could get a WWII nazi mauser they had but the fricking Black person in front of me tried to sell a broken 'glizzy' and the boomer running the shop had a meltdown and said he was done with trade ins and he wasnt doing it anymore
i couldnt buy the mauser without being able to trade in those guns and by the time my next paycheck hit the mauser had already been sold
i blame that fricking Black person for denying me the arm of the 3rd reich
> Too poor to buy a gun you want on the spot.
> Has to break the prime rule of never sell, only buy.
Do you people not have rainy day funds or decent savings? I can't imagine going into a store without the money to buy the thing I want on hand.
>Melinated gentleman prevents a broke Wehraboo from achieving his wet dream.
And they say those people don't improve society in any way.
Oh no there are plenty of stupid ass people of all variety there just happen to be gangbanging Black person filth as well
duh
Anyone of these videos will work in this search:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=monkey+sounds
>meanwhile everybody else
We look at boomer tourists the same way
t. Young american
When you come to america thats you and so on and so forth, what a childish ignorant take on a worldwide occurence. Fricking dipshit humor for pinhead euros
It is incredulous to believe that this is filmed in what anyone would consider to be a first world country, and yet....
My LGS has a sign outside it that says something along the lines of
>There are only 3 reasons to draw your weapon in our store:
>You are robbing us
>You are shooting the person robbing us
>You are an idiot
>In each case, the following will happen
>You will be shot
>You will be thanked
>You will be informed of your stupidity and asked to leave
hahaha what a sign haha
hee hee hee
hoo hoo hoo
>honestly what are the pros and cons
dont get too into it with trying to sell the best gun to someone and learning all you can about new guns
dont take what customers say personally either, learn to just let it go in one ear and out the other in a way
if you take it seriously you will wind up hating guns after a few years and burn out
If someone comes in looking for something stupid, and you actually have said stupid thing on the wall, just sell them the stupid thing and let them be on their way.
It isn't worth trying to recommend something good they should buy instead.
OP, the sooner you learn this the happier you will be working at a gunstore.
It's a gun store, not Big 5.
ur mom's got a big 5-incher in her rancid anus
Imagine the smell
You'll learn.
This. Some guns are objectively better than others. But some guns just “feel right” or “look right”. Unless it’s an actual broken piece of shit, just give the man what he wants.
I want an lcp for a pocket gun i can point at the TV. Trying to sell me a glock for 6x the price is just not understanding why i want my gesture enhancing pocket pistol.
>Retail horror stories, the thread
Back when I worked as a supervisor in retail I had a homeless guy fall asleep and shit all over himself on one of our couches.
I made my team lead clean it up.
Not an employee of a gun store but last time I went to my local lgs the dude behind the counter told me I couldn't shoot 150gr soft point 30-06 out of my garand with out changing the "plug."
He's probably right. If it's loaded to modern pressure 30-06 levels it can absolutely damage your gas system due to peak pressure. You can get a new plug for like $50 and it can handle the old ammo and new ammo equally well
Maybe you should listen to them?
Modern 3006 is loaded to a higher pressure than surp and will damage your op rod over time.
I part time in the distribution center for a hunting store chain and it has some pretty sick perks.
>Employee discount is cost price + 10% so you can get a pretty good deal most of the time while also avoiding the fuddbroker-tier markups for ammo
>First dibs on all ammo that enters the warehouse before it gets shipped out to stores. This was a boon last year when shelves were picked clean the morning after a delivery at these stores.
>Get access to manufacturer discounts that are even more discounted than the employee discount. Currently I'm waiting on an MR556 that went from $3500 to now $2100. Shits bonkers.
>Since its warehousing get to hang out with chill people and avoid the moronation of working the counter.
Only things I dislike about it are the dogshit hours (4am-2:30pm) and the paltry pay. Otherwise its comfy as frick.
I walk into gun stores ask to see pistols drop the mag on the glass display and leave. I never buy anything.
Very based. Be sure to hand the gun back to them barrel first.
Of course why would I point it at myself?
I do the same but after rapidly pulling the trigger while making a "pooosh" sound each time.
>Same shit pay as working at mcdonalds
>much higher risk of robbery
>much higher risk of being shot by the stupidity of the general public
>if you know guns you have to deal with complete moronation
>lemme get a clip for this choppa bussin fr fr
>have to clean up brains when someone kills themselves in the range (if your store has a attached range)
>>have to clean up brains when someone kills themselves in the range
are you speaking from experience
I would literally just wear soft armor constantly due to morons with handguns
Having worked 3 years in a rather large gun store, the thing that gets me most isn't the brothers with a hard r, its the fricking SIGGERS
Frick every SIGGER, frick every old tan-vest wearing moron who proclaims the P320 has the best trigger in the world, frick these literal cattle who want "what the army got" but won't even glance at a P22X series or even fricking recognize it as a Sig, they're the epitome of not knowing what the frick they're talking about while simultaneously thinking they're better than you because they're trying to buy a Sig
I want to hear more.
I worked at one while in school part time for a few months, literal fricking morons day in and day out. Black folk every day doing Black person things, lots of boomers, some cool some not, oh, and get used to the smell. I don’t know why, but most gun shoppers don’t give a shit who’s around when they let one rip. They’re fricking disgusting animals.
Nice, sounds comfy. Do they have a warhammer night? Do you get a discount on minis?
>Hey /k/ I recently got hired to work as a sales associate full time at my LGS
Hope you get happy with your new job. Wish you a luck and a good time there!
My LGS is nice, and has a decent range, but I wish they had Berettas. I don’t give a damn about these shit tier glocks
Me and my friend went to Stoddards in frick head Atlanta a number of times but after the last time we said frick them as there was a guy working the counter who gave NO shits about anyone there and didnt know what the frick he was doing with either target counting to pay for our time or with clearing weapons coming out of the range. And before you ask no he wasn't fricking white.
No you dont get shit unless its some manufacturer thing, what you get is ammo at cost and a first pick/dibs for anything that comes in the store. Yes, be prepared for people to ask a bunch of questions and ask to handle things to get a feel for them then buy them online good thing its not comission else this might sour you. Focus on being factually/technically knowledgable and dont put your feelings into how you describe shit to potential customers.
what do you tell nogunz, when they ask for a good first self defense tool
>looking for a glock 40
>as in, the longslide 10mm
>go to 4 different gun stores in town searching for one
>every single time i ask they give me a weird look and ask if i mean a glock in 40 S&W
fricking glock nomenclature
>Looking for Glock in .40 SW
>As in, .40 Smith and Wesson
>go to 4 different gun stores in town searching for one
>every single time I ask they give me a weird look and ask if I mean the Glock in 10mm
fricking glock nomenclature
This confused the shit out of me growing up because my dad had a Glock 19 in .45 so he always called it his “glock 45”.
>Glock 19 in .45
Not how that works. The G19 is only in 9mm.
Don’t know what to tell you. It looks like a G19 and quacks like a G19. Buts definitely a .45. Literally only holds 6 shots.
>pulls out the firearm in question
>it's a Kahr
No it’s DEFINITELY a Glock. I’ve shot it many times. Even took some classes using it. I’m 99% certain it’s a 19. 100% certain it’s .45 though. My dad used to be in a gun club years ago so he might have stumbled onto something cursed and dangerous.
its literally not a glock 19. a glock 19 is a compact 9mm handgun. The slide cant even fit 45acp barrel, and the frame cant fit the larger 45acp magazines, and a 45acp wouldnt fit throught the opening on a 9mm glock magazine. What it could have been was a glock 39 in 45GAP, that is a six shot 45 caliber gun. And uses the same frame platform as the 9mm glocks
You’re probably right. My dad just always called it a G19 or G45 and hit me with some mean Mandela effect.
ya, I mean functionally as in controls and parts and any other knowledge needed it is the same. Its just glock models are all unique in size and caliber.
Sorry to break it to you man but you're dad's fricking moronic
I mean the funny part is he’s a fricking genius in construction and contracting. But on guns he speaks fluent “boomer sayings”. Literally any gun advice is 40 years out of date.
>use .38 special for practice, it’s dirt cheap!
> (insert most recent gun modification in the news) should be banned! Nobody needs it!
>uses .38 special birdshot in a Ruger SP101 as HD weapon.
"just learn a trade bro" is like the "just take a shower bro" of work advice. Either way you're prostituting your time or body away (or both) tp work for somebody else. I'm not a socialist or a commie but this shit sucks either way and you should probably just figure out how to make as much money as you can in the laziest way possible.
i work part time in a gun store, but only because i have a vested stake in it (i have a bunch of guns on consignment) and i like the owner alot
if it wasnt for my being friends with the owner and my guns being in there i wouldnt bother. frick normies and the general public