Working in the gun store, I'm very disciplined about opening the action of a firearm before handing it across the counter.
Occasionally, an older one will cross my path that I'm not familiar with, and I have to ask someone how to open it. Once in awhile it's the customer, who usually knows more about the specific gun they're searching for than I do. They're always glad to help, and I'm always glad for the lesson.
It's just good practice to treat every gun like it's loaded, because until you verify FOR YOURSELF...it is.
Last week someone filled out a federal 4473 form to buy a Colt 1911. While they were finishing up the paperwork, I went in search of the Colt's box before I called in for the background check. When I returned with it, the customer and I were putting all the Colt's belongings in its case and we noticed there was a Kimber magazine in the magazine well.
Thinking that someone accidentally switched them, we went looking through the Kimbers to see if there was a Colt magazine in one.
Not having found one, and also establishing that the recent Kimber sales all had Kimber mags...we determined the cause of the switch to be a previous customer testing his mags in potential guns to see if a newly purchased gun could possibly share mags with what he already had.
The kicker is that if he'd done this with a loaded magazine, even to test for fit, there could have been a loaded firearm on display.
Although I always rack the slide to verify the chamber, I never look at the bottom to see if the appropriate mag is with the correct gun.
We've even found a Ruger in the case with the magazine inserted (and jammed quite stuck) in backwards.
It always pays to check, because when things get overwhelmingly busy, and there aren't enough hands and eyes to supervise from one side of the counter to the other...things can happen. Bad things.
After finding that mag in backwards and finding the Colt with the Kimber magazine, it adds a step to the self-imposed rule of checking the chamber..."check the mag, too".
Thankfully, it was no big deal, other than a switched name brand...but it could have been. And that's what should keep us all on our toes; the "could have" part.
4 comments:
It's all theatre anyhow. The police, the fences, the airports, the paranoia... if someone felt like doing damage, they'd bring a loaded mag and rack the slide. You cannot be everywhere at once. Hence the point of vigilance, hence the point of carrying. You cannot stop all bad things from occurring. In my experience, without stepping on innate rights, you can't stop any of it. Just be prepared and do a better job of checking mags.
- 1.260"
Should mags *have* to be checked in a *public*display*case* in a *gunshop*?
Mistakes can happen but Customers 'checking' to see...could easily be subplanted by Good common sense.
Oh yeah-DinG!- the gubmint bred that out during the preceding generation and the media hyped to all "This.is.good" but uh huh "be prepared" (to be thwarted by the lack there of) is good advice.
ps could
it
be
the
one
in
the
gun?
"In the gun" would be correct! ;)
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