Dicks lost a sale

[TommyMac]

Just want to vent a little. I have a .17 HMR Golden boy on order through a small locally owned store. Been 3 weeks now, uggggh .... Anyway, I brought my son to Dicks yesterday for some running/track shoes. After picking them out I had to venture off to the big boy side of the store. Lo and behold there was a Golden boy .22 on the rack. I asked the salesman if I can see the Henry, If there are no marks on it, I would buy it. He said sure, Can I see your license? I left my wallet at home and I told him that, So I turned to my wife and said, Let him see your license. He takes her's but looks at me and said, You can't touch it, only her. I said, Seriously? He said yes. OK, So my wife is holding it, turning it over for me so I can check everything out. It looked great to me so I said, Get the paperwork out, My wife will be buying it. He again looks at me and said, Sorry, I need to see your license and you need to fill out the paperwork as I heard you say, You would buy it if it is in good shape. I was floored. I looked at him and told him you just lost a 500.00 sale on the Henry and I am putting these 65.00 track shoes back. Goodbye.
I know NYS is a (edited by daytime dave) but come on. I have a lot of guns and I have never been asked to see my license just to hold a gun. Then for my wife to be denied a purchase because I said I would buy it? Oh well, I'll keep waiting for my Henry i guess.

(TommyMac, sorry for the edit, but I wanted to let the discussion continue, regards, Dave)

[CT_Shooter]

I disagree that Dick's lost a sale. Rather, I would say you passed up a rifle you really wanted to buy and your son didn't get those track shoes. Dick's will still sell both of them, I'm sure.

CT has strict regulations, too. I likely would have given him a deposit to hold it, then returned later to conclude the purchase. But, that's just me.

[Mistered]

Dick's will still sell both of them, I'm sure.

Possibly but the OPs posted experience might be read by other and may be enough to influence them to pass them by. In my area Dicks has been largely in part boycotted by all gun owners - and potential buyers.

[GFK]

Yes. That is interesting. I have been thinking about how there seems to be a concern with firearms. I just wonder if there would be the same concern with matches and gasoline if people use those more to do evil instead. Or maybe, there are people being killed with fires. And, the media just does not report that as much. Just a thought.

[PT7]

I'm curious....

Is the requirement to show a license in order to handle a firearm Dick's policy? I've done a little gun "window shopping" at the two Dick's shops near me, but cannot recall if I had to show my license. If not a store regulation, then your state's regulation? Almost hard to believe it is at that level, but I guess anything is possible nowadays. What state do you live in? Generally the state's firearms rules & regs here in MO are not excessively restrictive, and of course, there are the fed-level regs also. Cannot figure the whys of some of them, but still have to live with them.

A couple of years ago, there was a humorous and not so humorous moment in the checkout line at my nearby Cabelas. A good friend of mine was visiting from my home state of IL. IL has some tough firearm restrictions. My friend wanted to buy me a thank-you-gift for our hospitality of the B&B we had for him. After the usual hem & haw session we had about buying me something, I said okay. So he bought me one box of .357 ammo for my Henry rifle.

When he got to the checkout clerk, he actually didn't know what to do! He turned to me with a most puzzled, almost nervous look, started to hand the ammo to me, and said "How do I buy this?" To legally possess or purchase firearms or ammunition, residents of IL are required to have a FOID (Federal Owners Identification) card; it's that controlled. Here is one of the "whys" I don't get. This is a state law identified/listed as a "Federal" ID. Such is the weird way of it.

Anyway, there is not that ammo-purchasing restriction here in MO. So my friend was stuck at the counter. I was surprised, a little amused, but then later NOT so amused. When he buys his ammo at home, he has to jump through the IL hoops. End of this story....all he did at Cabelas was to put the ammo box on the counter, pull out his plastic $$$, and buy it. He walked away astonished that he could do that. I won't forget our experience that day whenever I think about firearms rules & regs.

Sorry you missed out on your Henry purchase, but 'twas your call. For me, it would have been fun to figure out how to barrel through Dick's roadblocks and buy it anyway...if I really wanted that Henry. On the other hand, it may have been the gun clerk who wasn't interesting in selling their products. That happens, too. It is also a reason I'm rarely at the Dick's shop. At the shop closest to me, there never even is a clerk at the sporting goods counter. It's a desert there for Customer Service!

My less than two cents.

[Mistered]

Get the paperwork out, My wife will be buying it. He again looks at me and said, Sorry, I need to see your license and you need to fill out the paperwork as I heard you say, You would buy it if it is in good shape.

This might be the ONLY part I can rationalize - MOST shops would regard this as a 'straw purchase' and refuse the sale.

[Henry88]

Get the paperwork out, My wife will be buying it. He again looks at me and said, Sorry, I need to see your license and you need to fill out the paperwork as I heard you say, You would buy it if it is in good shape.

This might be the ONLY part I can rationalize - MOST shops would regard this as a 'straw purchase' and refuse the sale.

Hey, my girlfriend wants to buy a gun, man.................

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[tractortad]

Actually, the Dick's sales guy did what is required by Federal law by denying you the sale of the Henry. He cannot legally sell a firearm if he knows it is being bought for someone else. I've seen this exact scenario play out at my local Gun Shop a couple of times. The part about showing a license just to handle a firearm is probably some silly "Dick's only" requirement. I'd stick with the small local gun shop - he may not have the best price or the largest inventory on hand, but I bet he belongs to the NRA and he fully supports the 2nd Amendment like most of us that own firearms in this great nation....

[Dennis H]

I gave up on dicks when they pulled their semi-autos the first time.

[The Wiz]

Isn't this thread getting close to being political? Just wondering...

[Henry88]

I would think we're talking legal matters, not political but then.......................

[GFK]

Actually, the Dick's sales guy did what is required by Federal law by denying you the sale of the Henry. He cannot legally sell a firearm if he knows it is being bought for someone else.

Please excuse my ignorance. But, does this mean that family members are not to use or handle the same firearm?

[tractortad]

Actually, the Dick's sales guy did what is required by Federal law by denying you the sale of the Henry. He cannot legally sell a firearm if he knows it is being bought for someone else.

Please excuse my ignorance. But, does this mean that family members are not to use or handle the same firearm?

No, but you can't legally go to a gun store and buy a firearm for someone else. You can buy a firearm and later give it to a family member (except maybe in California), but if you tell the salesman that you are buying it for someone else (even a family member), he won't sell it to you. He will lose his license if he does and the ATF finds out about it. I think this is even one of the blocks that you check in the background check paperwork - you have to certify that you are buying the gun for yourself and not someone else.

[GFK]

Okay. Thanks! I probably seen that block. But, I do not recall. It seems rather impossible to live in a house with your spouse and not share.

[Shakey Jake]

Proxy sales are prohibited by law. I think the guy was just trying to keep his job. I realize it's a sticky situation when a family member is involved but I think the salesperson was just abiding by the rules.

[GFK]

Agree.

[PT7]

OP TommyMac,

I needed to grocery shop today, and near that store is a Dick's shop. Decided to go in and "test" the procedures in this MO store, per your original comment. My curiosity was piqued when I read your vent.

Just want to vent a little...... I have never been asked to see my license just to hold a gun......Oh well, I'll keep waiting for my Henry i guess.

It was also a good excuse to browse their racks of shotguns....just for fun. Yes, I do know that is dangerous to my wallet, but had good controls in place today!

OK. I asked the manager if I could look over a 20-ga shotgun. FIrst thing he asked me was to see my driver's license.
Test done with the same scenario you had.
Then I asked him about the need-to-see-the-license regulation, and he said it is a Dick's nation-wide policy for their shops.

So not only was the "display rack shopping" fun, I learned some things from this manager. It was an interesting LGS visit.
Oh yes, my original comments plus this note might now be worth that famous 2 cents. Have a good day.

[daytime dave]

Yes, it's skirting the limits. It will continue with one edit. You may continue to discuss the strict limits you may have in your state or country. It is interesting for people to read about them. Please continue to be polite to each other and abide by the no political discussion rule.

Yes, the clerk was following the rules governing the Federal Firearms License. He may not have explained himself well enough and he cost the store all of TommyMac's business. I believe the seeing identification to hold the firearm is a store policy. I'm not 100%. I don't shop there, but for many other reasons.

[RanchRoper]

At least you don't live in Canada with your trigger locked pistol locked in a case....

Count your 2A blessings folks!

[Mistered]

Probably the BEST part of this forum is the political restriction- any of you’uns A member of a forum where it’s a free for all?