Lucked out at the gun store!

Mark Pilcher

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Went to pick up my suppressor the other day at my local gun store, and while I was waiting, a woman came in and was wanting to give them some powder. Apparently her husband had passed away and she didn't want it in the house. She ended up giving them a 15 pound drum full of Bullseye. No one knew how to open the upressit top! I showed them how it works. I smelled the powder, and it was not acrid. It was also not rusty looking as degraded powder gets. I bought the drum and contents for $50 + tax. They made money and I got a good deal. If I hadn't been waiting I would have asked the woman what other items she was looking to dispose of. Oh, well. I'll settle for $600 bucks worth of powder for $50.

Some of you folks need help with reading comprehension. I had no conversation with the widow. None. No interaction at all. We didn't even make eye contact. I overheard snippets of her conversation with the gun store employees. I only figured out what had transpired after I had concluded my business with my silencer, and well after she had left the store. The keg of powder was still on the counter and the employee who received it was trying to figure out how to open the container.
What would you have me do? Should I take to lurking around the front of gun stores with a pocketful of $20's demanding to know the nature of the business approaching customers hope to accomplish? I'm sure that will go over well.
 

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Went to pick up my suppressor the other day at my local gun store, and while I was waiting, a woman came in and was wanting to give them some powder. Apparently her husband had passed away and she didn't want it in the house. She ended up giving them a 15 pound drum full of Bullseye. No one knew how to open the upressit top! I showed them how it works. I smelled the powder, and it was not acrid. It was also not rusty looking as degraded powder gets. I bought the drum and contents for $50 + tax. They made money and I got a good deal. If I hadn't been waiting I would have asked the woman what other items she was looking to dispose of. Oh, well. I'll settle for $600 bucks worth of powder for $50.

What year is the 15# Drum from? I know I have not seen one since 1982 or thereabouts.
 
And this suprises you how??

It really doesn't but I don't blame the OP. The LGS guys should have given that powder to the OP no charge, dumped it or taken it home for their own use. If they had paid for it and given the widow money for it, that's a little different but she gave it to them to dispose of it how ever they saw fit. She didn't give it to them to add to their inventory. If the LGS had given it to the OP, they would have been hero's twice over at no expense to them. The OP would have told all his shooting buddies what a great bunch of guys they are over at that shop. Having worked at a couple of LGS's over the years, I can't imagine any of the people who I worked for doing this. It's obvious that this shop only cares about one thing and one thing only and is a good example of why shops fail when the competition gets a little tight. It is a good example of bad business meets bad karma.
 
Everybody involved was happy with the transaction. I don't see the problem.

How much should the shop have paid the widow if the powder turned out to be spoiled? The woman get a potential liability out of her home. The shop got some satisfaction for helping, and a couple of $$. The OP got a lifetime supply of powder that may or may not start to go bad before he can use it all. Win win win!

Congrats to the OP for being in the right place at the right time.
 
I really wanted to give you a like for your post (op) but I just couldn't. Nothing wrong with the posting, but that is just wrong. I'd have given her a fiver for gas money.

I would have, also. I was just standing there waiting for them to get my suppressor and paperwork ready. I noticed the woman talking to gun store employees and handing over the powder. I didn't realize what was happening until I had concluded my business and saw the employees wondering how to open the drum. I learned a long time ago not to interject myself into other peoples business at gun stores, banks, restaurants, etc. Your mileage may vary.
 
Many years ago I was shooting trap while home from college for the summer, a friend let me borrow his reloader, along with the loader he gave me a keg like that of Red Dot powder. When I returned the loader he told me to keep the powder as he no longer reloaded. So I too got a keg of powder for free. Karma will strike again next month when my former supervisor will give me 6# of H4895, 8# of Unique and 1K CCI LRP. This will be payment for loading 1K 9mm for him, previously I've loaded several 1K lots of other calibers so this is payment for my labor and use of my reloading equipment.
 
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Took the liberty of rotating your picture.
Nice score.
What was the year that can was manufactured?
 

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Brings to memory the time I was hanging around "the range" with High Power Rifle X Course crowd and a elder man drove in trying to give away 25 lbs of surplus 4831. I gladly received it for use in my M70 match gun 30-06. All the others were using M1A's in 308.
 
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