Gun Store Nut

[Moon Glorious]

audihenry--Thank you for noticing I only have 2 posts. I know some people (not naming anyone specific) have trouble with numbers. Now that the numbers are out of the way, you might want to check the post by spencerhut. Read it carefully. He was the store owner. I am not defending either side, just trying to point uot there are two sides to every story. OP declined the offer by law enforcement to fill out a statement. I think he understands why spencerhut reacted the way he did. Maybe we all can try to understand BOTH sides instead of trying to justify one side or the other. Thats how we learn from others mistakes. How many posts does that make? Am I getting smart yet? How many posts till I can be legit?

[calidefector]

The OP is lucky he split quick enough when the hyper-vigilant owner experienced premature-brandishing. If the movies taught me anything it is that encounters with SBOs can quickly escalate into really odd situations. Think of the store owner in "Falling Down", or the "Pulp Fiction" basement scenes. Next thing you know you got a rubber ball in your mouth and they're bringing out the Gimp!

[Wycoff013]

I wasn't there or part of the situation as all of us here, just the OP and Spencer. So I will not add to the should or should not have. I will add this though. As someone who has frequented the store and have some knowledge of the area. There is a gate around the area, but there are also 2 other businesses that share the gated area. Don't know for sure, but maybe one of the other businesses had people there or other reasons for the gate to be open. Just wanted to add some info in about this gate issue.

[tcrpe]

Read all the posts. This store owner is simply an untrained danger. Shame on him, he should be prosecuted. For being stupid, if nothing else.

[tcrpe]

Sounds like you seriously need proper training.

Until then, IMO, you need to put the guns away.

You made a number of serious errors. Go enroll at the Police Science Institute in Fresno before you kill someone.

That pretty much sums it up.

Time was ~9:30 to 9:45, we close at 5:00 on Saturdays, I understand he did not know our hours. No other cars were in the parking lot. My truck was parked sideways in front of the store, running with lights on to cover the store exit while we loaded money and guns to leave. A vehicle I've never seen pulls up at a rate I feel was a little fast. This is exactly the kind of nightmare we prepare for and I was absolutely in fear not only for my life but my wife and every person that would be harmed if my store full of guns and ammo falls into the wrong hands.

My gun was never pointed at anyone, it was at low ready.

I spoke to the person in the SUV and told them we were closed hours ago.

I assume the person that started this post is the one who sent us an e-mail last night ~10:45 with his phone number. I called that person this morning and apologized for any hurt feelings and explained my perspective and reason for my actions.

We are sincerely sorry for any misunderstandings, but our safety and the safety of others who may be harmed if we were to be robbed must come first.

[oldsmoboat]

This is complete and udder nonsense! He drew his gun on you and your family! This is soo wrong given the facts and circumstances.

It is udder nonsense and I think they are really trying to milk it.

[sfbay]

Dang! Someone got it! Lol

[finsfan21]

I keep thinking 2 things. #1 the owner drew his weapon on a family that was no threat.
#2 If the owner was overly jumpy because of the area or because of what he was doing, then it is his responsibility to take the proper precautions. I would think locking the gate and having someone to watch his back would be the minimum.
We have guns to defend from the "what if" but if owning a gun is all you do then you are a fool. We lock our doors, park in well lit areas, stay aware of our surroundings, etc. We do all these things to reduce the threat. If your excuse for drawing a weapon is you were afraid of being robbed, but you didn't think a possible threat warranted locking your gate, I have a problem following your logic.
In this climate, gun owners have to be smarter than that.

[BIGDJG]

I stopped by that store before right off 41 before ave 15. Me and a co worker on lunch break stopped in to check out . lady was very nice, guy was rude made some comments i didnt like ,like i was there to rob him . i was in full work uniform and my co worker also and in wrk van .so i decided never to go tht store agian .Sucks to because there on the way up to sun mountian gun club.(last minute supplies).glad your fam safe madera

[bodger]

If there was a gate, why not close it and lock it? Seems like the smart thing to do if you're handling cash and guns and ready to draw your weapon at the first sign of a threat.

[honeywalnutshrimp]

after reading this entire thread which has been very interesting... I believe the "fail" that occurred here is the store owners lack of correct protocol when it comes to being at the shop after hours... especially when receiving shipment or loading cash or product.. he needs to begin to close his gate that's the bottom line and maybe even take more precaution like investing in a large CLOSED NO TRESPASSING sign to go on said gate... having a gate and not using it in the vulnerable situation he was in is bottom line lazy and irresponsible further more it's even more irresponsible to draw a weapon on anybody who hasn't shown to be a legit threat...And no excuse of any past event or the area being shady or the situation etc works here because the gate wasn't utilized and like a previous poster mentioned what did the op do to deserve a gun being pulled on him other then drive a car to a business wondering if it was opened.. that imho is the bottom line and the business needs to change this way of conduct... furthermore the business did apologize and is in full recognition of what happened obviously because of this thread and now have a chance to make it right and do what is right... sans the excuses however..

to the business- you guys have a large amount of firearms ammunition and personal information on hand take every smart and possible precaution you can.. don't make excuses for things you should've been doing but weren't... Your nerves won't jitter as much

[tenpercentfirearms]

I won't comment on the scenario here as I wasn't there. I would like to think that if I rolled up into a gun store's parking lot late and night and the dude drew on me, I would probably understand. As long as his gun was not pointed at me, I would probably get over it. The more interesting thing is what would I do since I wouldn't be traveling to my Granny's House in Northfork without my Glock either. Would I have drawn too or would I have backed the hell out of there? Well now I know I wouldn't even pull into the parking lot. I might stay out on the highway and call them instead to see if they are open.

What does crack me up is how everyone on Calguns likes to get fired up abut these threads. Monday morning quarterbacking at its finest. People who have no idea where this store is nor its actual layout have Spencer's security plan all laid out for him.

And my all time favorite, "Well I will never shop at your store!". Of course you won't, you live in San Diego or Redding. LOL.

Hell I will probably get some "You are defending him! I will never shop with you either!" Oh noes! Not the Calguns lynch mob!

I am glad this thread exists. It might bring a little more awareness to the general public that if it is late at night and there is only one car in the gun shop parking lot, they are probably closed. Get on your smart phone, find their phone number, and call before pulling in. Again, Spencer's is a unique location (never been in his store, drove by more times than I can count) and so most of you don't fully understand it is not normal for vehicles to pull into his lot late at night and it wasn't like they were just cruising through the strip mall and stopped to ask.

If it wasn't the OP posting this thread and instead he was robbed and killed, all the keyboard commandos would have been wondering why he didn't see them coming and draw sooner.

[tcrpe]

"You are defending him! I will never shop with you either!"

[12voltguy]

Great, so let's pull out guns on every person we deem to be suspicious, that will do everyone a whole lot of good.

if someone draws on you, you draw *& shoot back

it could have gone that way...........read any "1 in the chamer or not" threads & people sound like they will plug anyone that looks odd, & a guy pulling a gun would get shot wouldn't he?

[bombadillo]

Why would an alert store owner be unloading "firearms" plural, in a shady neck of the woods in a parking lot to begin with. Why wouldn't this be done in the store, or in the safety of a running vehicle that is a little more out of sight. I just figure a firearms person would/should know how to handle themselves a little more discretely than that.