Concealed carry in gun shops


B2Tall said:
Gun shops and ranges are the only places down here where I've seen signage prohibiting firearms. They do have legal value down here although the courts upheld the right to have a gun in your car while on private property (i.e. a driveway or parking lot).
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And if the parking lot is also private property, even if seen loading/unloading the police won't do anything. That is how I do it. Both gun shops down here have signs saying no loaded guns or magazines (except LEOs) inside. One even has a metal detector that says which side the gun is on. I trigger both sides. But that's ok with the dealers. The one with the range hasn't checked mine in about 3 months. They know who is a regular buyer or user of the range. And as for the shop owners/employees, they all are armed. The one with Class 3 weapons might even have some of them loaded. Cops work in the store.:biggrin:
 
ayotte50 said:
Hello usa carry community. My first post today. I have a small gun shop in Maine (Just 4 months now) and we are wondering how some of you veterans handle the concealed carry in the gun shop. What is the proper protocol for pulling out loaded firearms in the shop or not doing so. It's a bit unnerving to me.I know there are some folks that like to show their carry piece and even discuss trading them. Gun shop owners Please give me some of your thoughts on this one, Thanx
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My advice is more for the customer. If you want to put a gun shop employee at ease, ask to see a handgun from the case and demonstrate that you know how to safely and responsibly handle one before reaching for yours. When you do reach do it slowly and deliberately while saying "I'm going to take out my firearm now". Keep the gun pointed at the floor, remove the mag and clear the chamber. Then hand the gun to the employee for him (or her) to verify it is "safe".
 
chevfan3 said:
My advice is more for the customer. If you want to put a gun shop employee at ease, ask to see a handgun from the case and demonstrate that you know how to safely and responsibly handle one before reaching for yours. When you do reach do it slowly and deliberately while saying "I'm going to take out my firearm now". Keep the gun pointed at the floor, remove the mag and clear the chamber. Then hand the gun to the employee for him (or her) to verify it is "safe".
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Again, why are you drawing a loaded firearm anywhere but on the range in the first place?

Aside from self defense I can think of nothing that is so imperative that I must draw my carry weapon right now. Unnecessary administrative handling is how NDs happen.
 
A number of shops that I have been in have posted "no loaded firearms". I have seen a number of times where someone is carrying concealed asked by the store personnel if they are carrying and if so, unless you are a LEO, take it back to your vehicle. As an LEO, when I take a firearm to a shop it is always unloaded and encased. Play it safe...
 
When I needed a holster for my 38 I was also carrying my NAA 22 mag concealed. There was no signs for or against carry. I told the clerk what I wanted and that my 38 was in my pocket in a bag and unloaded. The clerk showed me the holsters as I pulled out my 38 with the cylinder open. I bought the holster and the clerk commented that he wished everyone would do it the way I did. There were other customers there and none seemed concerned. I said nothing about my concealed 22 mag. I agree that you should always have at least 2 carry guns and practice with both.
 
local pawn shops that say no firearms don't get any business ......
shops that say no loaded guns sometimes get business...


the best method i have seen tho is a sign that says "Guns must be unloaded and in a case" then right underneath that it says "Concealed carriers welcome"

and under that "Open carriers welcome"

basically the way its explained if anyone cares to ask....since i did just to see the owners opinion...was

"if ur bringing in a gun for a holster or to trade or for gunsmithing etc... it dam well better be empty"...."if u want to carry for your,my and other ppls protection go right ahead....just so long as it stays in the holster unless u need it"
 
At my LGS, (Shooter's World) In Phoenix, AZ, they have a sign next to the front door "Please clear your weapons here'. Each employee is required to carry condition 1 and have 2 extra mag's on their belt. I figure, if I was in there, and it was robbed, they would have my back. I'm ok with it.
 
Whenever I am on the hunt for a holster or other accessory for a given gun, I will always remove it, clear it, and case it, before I leave my car. That way, I am walking into the shop with a closed case in my hand. I walk right up to the counter and let them know why I am there, and that it is for the handgun in the case. NO questions as to safety. I will always allow them to safety check.clear the weapon themselves before we get to our business. Fine. I may well do that with my own HiPower in a CC holster on my person.. but the gun I am desiring to fit with some accessory will be brought in cleared and cased. What is on my belt stays on my belt. I find this approach is always appreciated, as they realise I am there on business, and am concerned about everyone's safety. Same goes if I am wanting to sell what I bring in. Once, I came into Cabelas with a rather collectible pistol, old but brand new in original box. I explained at the door check in (where they want to clear and boreflag and trigger lock everything) that this is a rare, new, collectible piece I am interested in selling to the Gun Library. I wouuld rather not have it handled, and no locks, etc.... the chap said "fine, come with me"... took the cased pistol himself and escorted me and it directly to the gun library manager. We worked out a deal that made both of us quite happy..... no one felt in the least bit unsafe.
 
Treo said:
Again, why are you drawing a loaded firearm anywhere but on the range in the first place?

Aside from self defense I can think of nothing that is so imperative that I must draw my carry weapon right now. Unnecessary administrative handling is how NDs happen.
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The one occasion I had to "draw" my loaded conceal weapon I was just browsing in my local gun shop (Boise Gun). I came across an acessory for that weapon and wanted to see if it fit. I informed the clerk that my weapon was loaded, that I was going to take it out and clear it. I did it safely and responsibly without incident. No one was alarmed and I purchased a nice new "toy" for my favorite conceal weapon.
I live in one of the most gun friendly states where the laws and attitudes toward gun owners are very lax but this may not be a good idea where you live.
 
guns in gun shops

It is hilarious that proponents of carrying a gun anywhere they want, even around people who don't want them around, are so concerned when someone brings a gun to where THEY are.

ha ha ha
 
Loaded weapons in gun stores

dootman said:
When I have the occasion to take a gun into a gun shop, for whatever reason, I always bring it in some kind of container, this can even be a paper bag. I lay the container on the counter and open it after Ive been asked,"how may I help you". I then explain what my business is. I let the clerk pick the gun up. It goes without saying that the gun is ALWAYS unloaded.
As for my concealed carry weapon for which I of course have a permit, it never comes out of concealment unless I would have the occasion to use it. [So far Ive never had to, thank God!] If for some reason, I can't imagine what, I would want to show my concealed carry weapon to the store clerk, I would first return to my car, unload the gun, and then return to the counter and present it to the clerk in the same manner as described above.
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People are careless and dangerous. A gun store is no place for careless people.
 
chevfan3 said:
The one occasion I had to "draw" my loaded conceal weapon I was just browsing in my local gun shop (Boise Gun). I came across an acessory for that weapon and wanted to see if it fit. I informed the clerk that my weapon was loaded, that I was going to take it out and clear it. I did it safely and responsibly without incident. No one was alarmed and I purchased a nice new "toy" for my favorite conceal weapon.
I live in one of the most gun friendly states where the laws and attitudes toward gun owners are very lax but this may not be a good idea where you live.
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Is it Florida? Florida is a cool state in many ways - at least North Florida. I just bought a home there and will quit AT&T in Dec and am now a "Floridian." The rural areas and gun shops and owners are intuitive but laid back and gun-owner-friendly. You described North Florida gun attitude.
 
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antietam said:
Is it Florida? Florida is a cool state in many ways - at least North Florida. I just bought a home there and will quit AT&T in Dec and am now a "Floridian." The rural areas and gun shops and owners are intuitive but laid back and gun-owner-friendly. You described North Florida gun attitude.
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Actually it's Idaho, the state with the 2nd highest gun to resident ratio in the country (so I've been told by LEOs)....
 
I always ask before I pull my gun. Then I immediately clear the weapon in front of the clerk. On one occasion the clerk got a pistol from the case that was of the same make and model as mine so I had no reason to check out the holsters I was looking at. Now I know that the weapons in the case are kept empty but I would have felt more comfortable if the clerk had cleared the weapon in front of me. I do not have a round in the pipe when I enter a gun store. I can remove the magazine before presenting the gun. I have received favorable remarks from gun store personnel with my practice. The only one who uncomfortable with my having a loaded magazine at all chewed me out for not having one in the pipe. I found that interesting. If I saw a sign saying no CC I would leave. If I saw a sign saying no loaded weapons I would probably leave. You would have to have something I wanted really bad and didn't want to wait for. A sign that said that I should keep my weapon holstered would be fine. I don't like showing my weapon in public. The guy that pulled their pistol out of the case was great. Had he cleared that weapon he would have been perfect.
 
This can be a tough one you want guys to come in and buy stuff so you don't want to piss them off but you have a duty to yourself and your other customers to maintain a safe enviorment, put up your sign No Loaded weapons in store, but you know guys with CCWs will come in with them, which is OK, but you have the upper hand here, which is even though you have your sign and they have a loaded weapon as a concealed carry, if they do anything even remotely dangerous, you tell thats not cool, bottom line here is its your store, you can have whatever rules present that you feel is nessessary, you just have to be able to bend the rules a bit to facilitate your sales
 
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