Gun Store Clerks

[Socratic]

I think it's a combination of low IQ and lack of exposure. Gun store clerks see a woman customer and think .380 Auto. I've seen very petite women easily qualify with .40 S&W and .45 ACP.

Clerks need education. A size 0 woman can easily shoot a 1911A1.

A .380 Auto with best available ammo is good for medium-size rats and similar vermin.

[Teachu2]

My wife shoots a 1911 in 45acp very accurately, and very, very slowly. She shoots a 1911 in 9mm very accurately, and much faster. She shoots a M&P 9C in 9mm almost as accurately and much, much faster. She won't carry ANY of those. She will carry a Shield 9 on occasion, but her EDC is a LCP - because she can carry it without changing her wardrobe too much. She is not unique in this decision.

Her preferred range gun is a 1911 in 9mm. Her preferred house gun is a Glock 30SF. The LCP is her least favorite personal gun to shoot, but she shoots it well, it fits her carry criteria, and she does carry it - making it a clearly superior weapon to everything she leaves at home.

[Blade Gunner]

Don't rely on LGS clerks. With that said, up close and personal a 380 can be a lethal deterrent.

[cvigue]

A .380 Auto with best available ammo is good for medium-size rats and similar vermin.

Sure, because no one has ever been killed by a 380 or it's twin, the old reliable 38 spl.; real manly men shoot themselves a couple times with each before breakfast, right?

[PolishMike]

Most women that are new to shooting are not comfortable with full size guns. It takes a lot of time to explain why they want a bigger gun. Usually they end up getting a small gun anyway because of perception. Then they come back in and buy a full size. Not a stupid clerk, just working on two sales

[BonnieB]

FOLKS, THIS THREAD IS IN THE WOMEN'S FORUM. For those of you who routinely pick up random discussions from the "new topics list" and the "OT" fans, we do NOT welcome snarky remarks about women shooters here, so please knock it off. We are not amused... (Yes, Elven and Polish, I mean you.) The Women's Forum has RULES. (see sticky at the top of the Forum).

That said, I think the OP is talking about clerks in LGS's making assumptions about women customers. It doesn't generally happen to me, but I walk in with a major attitude and my American Express Gold Card held over my head. (well, I only carry it over my head if there's a crowd of lookie-lou's around...).

If you want to be taken seriously anywhere, act serious, ask intelligent questions and for the love of god, don't ask sales clerks what gun you should buy.

If you want to find out what gun to buy, go to a good range and rent several guns in a couple calibers and find which one(s) YOU like. Yes, it costs to rent five or six guns, but it's still cheaper than buying the wrong gun and hating it.

And just in passing, small light guns KICK. If you have small hands, what you need is a small grip, not a small gun. Not the same at all.

And if you have trouble holding up a larger, heavier gun, which will be much easier to shoot, strengthen your arms until you can do it. I sat in front of TV doing forearm curls with some large tomato cans for a couple weeks until I got comfortable with my all-steel full size 1911 .45 And when I got my first Glock, I couldn't lock the slide back with one hand. Again, watching TV, squeezing a tennis ball until I could.

And if you get ANY guff from a sales clerk, ask to speak to the OWNER. Really.

[BonnieB]

I should add, "shot placement trumps caliber every time". If you put one through an assailant's eye, you drop him every time. Even with .22lr

[nedro]

The one thing I noticed that would go a long way towards dispelling that type of counter person would be to talk a bit louder.
I notice that most (most not all) women will revert back to the primal instinct of acting a bit shy and letting someone come in to save her.
As a Man, this is my perception. As a Woman, you need to realize this and not fall into this trap. I hope that sounded a bit insulting, because this needs to stop if you ever want to get ahead.

Be assertive from the start.
I see lots of guys doing the same thing at first. But usually, they will start questioning a sales person's logic if not in line with his. Eventually, most Men end up with the gun they went to the shop to buy.
This is another point. Be you Man or Woman, know what you are looking for before ever entering a shop for a purchase.

Last thing;
Let the sales person show you a gun if they want to. But when they are done, firmly ask to see the one YOU are interested in. Heck, you don't even have to know what brand or caliber you are asking to see. Point and say, "Let me see that one right there." Then as he hands it to you, you can make a comment like,"You know it's all BS until you actually hold it in your hands."
Do not worry about perceived, juvenile jokes that it might conjure up, even the guys have to deal with that one.

Bottom line, "Don't get pushed around." This can be accomplished cordially, and doesn't have to be insulting to the sales person.

[Killer Bee]

I think it's a combination of low IQ and lack of exposure. Gun store clerks see a woman customer and think .380 Auto. I've seen very petite women easily qualify with .40 S&W and .45 ACP.

Clerks need education. A size 0 woman can easily shoot a 1911A1.

A .380 Auto with best available ammo is good for medium-size rats and similar vermin.

so you know what is going through all gun clerks minds now do ya?

clerks are not any more unreliable than what gets posted online..

you're off on several accounts by as wide of a margin as my experience with counter clerks..

I have coached and trained many new and first time shooters and several of them women.. both in the .mil and .civ

I've introduced everything from .22lr to .50bmg to lots of less or no experienced people..

your estimates of what is 'easy' for 'women' is not typical..

however nor would the same estimate be for a man of similar stature you're describing..

you're over thinking the gender and not looking strictly at the physical aspects of the person and the pairing of the gun..

and btw, I have a 226 .40 and xds .45 on my permit as well, but my bg 380 is in my gym shorts while I type..

you are foolish to underestimate it..

[KyleGunGuns]

Gun store clerks, for me, are just to facilitate the sale. Prior to purchase I do my research and I know exactly what I want. For the ladies, it should be the same. Do your research, know what you want and don't listen to them. In my experience they have little knowledge on firearms aside what's in sales brochures.

[code_blue]

Wouldn't the generalization of gun store clerks be as bad as the generalization of women shooters?

I don't think I've ever steered a gal towards a .380 at first. I typically start with a P226 and a G17 then determine what the person likes/dislikes and go from there. Throughout the discussion, education of size, weight, felt recoil, muzzle flip, material, purpose of firearm, etc... is all discussed.

The worst is typically when their "expert" friend/bf/family member is pushing them towards a particular firearm and I have to counter them. I enjoy the smile on her face as I ignore and override what the escort said.

There are 3 things that I stand by for new shooters:

1. Get the largest gun that you can comfortably and ergonomically wield/conceal depending on the purpose of the firearm.

2. Revolvers and 1911's are typically not beginner guns overall. They are simple in function and use, but more complicated overall in relation to your growth with firearms.

3. Ignore what everyone tells you to do or get. Get what feels better to you after fully understanding the pros and cons of your options.


My evaluation takes considerably longer than what most counter-folk would do, but my main mission isn't to sell guns; it is to educate and nourish a developing firearms enthusiast. I don't get commission so I really don't care what you buy. Just go home with more knowledge than when you walked in.

[etwinam]

Ya I've had my run in with lgs clerks, some are really insightful and helpful but most are just there to make a sale. It's like going to GNC and expecting personal trainer/kenesiologist like advice. I hate to break it to you but most the retail clerk's aren't Larry Vickers or master gunsmiths. They're retail clerk's.

[bubbala]

As someone who has helped first time shooters both men and women, I would hesitate to







let someone buy a gun that they haven't shot first. As bonnieb
said ,Rent or borrow a variety of guns and calibers and see first hand what suit you. Not a clerk or your spouse or best friend.

[Win231]

As a former gun shop employee & instructor, I learned a long time ago that gender & size have nothing to do with sensitivity to recoil.

My ex GF was 115 lbs with tiny hands that couldn't get around most gun grips, but her favorite gun to shoot was my Glock 21 - the older version with the large grip. Even though the gun was completely vertical with each shot, she liked shooting it & shot it well.

A few years ago, I was at the range with my S&W 500 & a guy asked if he could try it. I said "Sure." He was around 6'7" & at least 300 lbs & obviously a serious bodybuilder. He fired ONE shot, let out a high-pitched scream, set the gun down quickly & said, "Oh, Jesus."

[BadKitty]

FOLKS, THIS THREAD IS IN THE WOMEN'S FORUM. For those of you who routinely pick up random discussions from the "new topics list" and the "OT" fans, we do NOT welcome snarky remarks about women shooters here, so please knock it off. We are not amused... The Women's Forum has RULES. (see sticky at the top of the Forum).


I think some of the gentlemen here forget that the CalGuns women are generally "in the know" with firearms. So, your suggestions to us about what you think we should buy and how we should behave inside a gun store are perhaps misplaced.

That said, I've had gun store clerks tell me all kinds of dumb stuff. For the first gun I ever bought, I went into the store and asked for a Glock 19. That's the gun I had already researched, already shot on the range and already decided was the one I wanted. All that was left was for me to pay money and fill paperwork. However, the guy decided that a Glock wasn't right for me and tried to mock and downplay my choice. He tried to tell me that the $900 Sig was better blah, blah, blah. I ended up not buying my gun there. It's been 7 or so years and I never set foot in that store again.

When I went to buy my first off duty weapon, I was looking at the Shield in 9mm or possibly the Glock 42. I prefer something higher caliber than the .380; but, at the time, Glock wasn't offering a single-stack 9mm option. A friend had just bought an XDS 9mm on SSE and he suggested I take a look at it as well. When we got to the store, the clerk brought his XDS out (still in jail) and I looked at it. After handling it, I immediately ruled out the XDS as not suitable for CCW on my body due to the shape/size of it. I gave my friend's gun back and asked to see the Shield in 9mm. The clerk handed the Shield to me, but, to my surprise, he began making comments to me such as, "You know, you could do better than a 9mm. You don't have to be afraid of a .45. They're not that bad."

What?

I then politely explained to the gentleman that I'm a LEO and don't have "issues" shooting large caliber weapons. I explained that I was considering 9mm for my own personal reasons. He then decided to double-down on his awkward comments by launching into a story about how one of his friends is a female, federal agent and SHE chooses to shoot a .45 and and she is a tiny little thing, half my size and if she doesn't have any problems with it, neither would I.

Seriously?

I don't give a toot what this guy's "federal agent friend" wanted to shoot. To each her own. I wasn't speaking in a quiet, unsure manner. I was confident in my requests to see certain models. So, I don't get why this guy assumed that I didn't know what I was doing. (Well, I do have an idea. He has preconceived notions about women in gun stores.) I have money to spend. Give me what I'm asking for! I handed the Shield back, thanked him kindly for his time and left. I didn't buy my weapon there.

The moral of the story - let the lady purchase what she wants.