Should I take job at LGS?

That is a double edged sword. On one side you can enjoy the surroundings of guns and related all day. You can talk to people about shooting. You can handle every new gun that hits the market.

Then, you can work late evenings, weekends. You can put up with blowhards that think they know it all. You will be tempted to spend all your salary (and more) on the new wonder 9's etc that arrive in the shop.

Give it some good thought before jumping in.
 
I hope to do that in the next few years. The drawback is those guns all still look good from the other side of the counter as well. With constant temptation, you may end up explaining to your better half why you are working for guns and supplies.
 
Since I don't know you, I am going to just throw this stuff out for your consideration:

1) How are your knees, feet and back? Do you think you can be on your feet all day? I know I can't.
2) If you are retired, are you willing to get back into the regimentation of having a regular job? That means setting an alarm clock (and actually getting up when it rings) and commuting to work to be able to arrive on time and then put in a full day's work? I was retired for 2 years when a former employer asked if I would be interested in coming back to work after my replacement died. The answer to my own question here is not only 'NO", but HECK NO.
 
Golddollar said:
Since I don't know you, I am going to just throw this stuff out for your consideration:

1) How are your knees, feet and back? Do you think you can be on your feet all day? I know I can't.
2) If you are retired, are you willing to get back into the regimentation of having a regular job? That means setting an alarm clock (and actually getting up when it rings) and commuting to work to be able to arrive on time and then put in a full day's work? I was retired for 2 years when a former employer asked if I would be interested in coming back to work after my replacement died. The answer to my own question here is not only 'NO", but HECK NO.
Click to expand...

I considered all that and the biggest NO NO to me was going on a schedule. Being retired as long as I have been I have grown quite used to a relaxed life style.
 
Will you be able to sell a firearm to someone who is otherwise legal to have it but you know in your heart of hearts that they shouldn’t be within a mile of one? I’ve thought about doing what you are talking about but that is what I struggle with.
 
I've been working part-time in a box store now for 14 months. I work the used gun counter. We have a couple of cabinets with used Colts and S&Ws. Some of the firearms are beautiful. We have one cabinet with 1911s. The other 12 cabinets are black plastic firearms. The customers walk past the revolvers and 1911s and crowd around the black plastic. When I am asked what the difference is between an Bodyguard and a LCP I want to say "The name." Then there are the small groups of young men coming in where one of them is buying a firearm. As you show the buyer a firearm, everyone of them must comment and "giggle" at their knowledge. Then there are the "regulars." One comes in with a Blue Book and compares the prices on firearms to the values in the book. If he finds one under the Blue Book value, he buys it. There is a couple of young men that come in once or twice a week with different girls and they go around and work the bolts on the rifles and showing off to the girls with their vast knowledge of firearms then leave. BUT, now and then, people come in truly looking for the right firearm for their needs. You get to help them pick the right firearm and that makes your day. Most people don't care about you knowledge, they know what they want. Your knowledge comes in when purchasing firearms. I like that part of my job.
 
The other day, we had a man fail his background check. He looked the 4473 over and could not figure out what he did wrong. A couple hours later he returned with a big grin on his face and said he knew what his mistake was in completing the form. I asked him what he thought he did wrong. He said he put a different weight on the 4473 than what was on his driver's license. His friend was shaking his head enthusiastically yes with a big grin as well. I told him that would not result in a failure. People make mistakes on the 4473 all the time. Unfortunately, we cannot help them. You can tell many of these people are good people but are not use to critically reading documents. As a retired attorney, I understand the 4473 is very clear in its wording, but most people do not read this type of language or are not used to the words used and they get confused.
 
Good post Doug627....
I did enjoy that part enough to actually go into Firearms Instruction, teaching Basic Pistol and our state's CC course. Not associated with the store(s).

And yep - 'lookers' are always a part of it. Everyone has the ones that make you grind your molars.
Here's one you could count your life savings on : Store gets in a S&W .460 or .500 S&W Magnum revolver with one of the longer barrel lengths.
It's put in the cabinet on display.
Pick any weekday 'lunch crowd' or Saturday.
You will extract this revolver multiple times to show it to different small groups of men.
You will get to share in the chuckle of incredibly original quips the whole gang enjoys such as:
"Does this thing come with WHEELS? Har, har, guffaw"

"My Gawd man, that thing would take a man and a boy to carry!! Har, har, etc"

"Boys - that right there'd be a 'crew-served weapon'!" Hilarity continues...

Note that in my experience, these were never buyers of that firearm or similar.

But - I digress. Some stuff is just nails-on-chalkboard.
 
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Think about the possibilities! Could help fund your addiction, you'd get first chances on valuable/rare trade or sell ins? I could see this working.
 
I worked part time in the gun department of H. Cook Sporting Goods in Vegas one of the times I was stationed there (early '80s).

Guns were different then. People were different then.

I like people, and I like guns. I didn't let the silly questions bother me, and I could easily overlook the guys who "knew more" than me. I became the master of "Oh, really" or "Is that so?" as I was being educated by some know-it-all. Like water off a duck's back, I didn't take it personally. I knew our guns, and I didn't have an ego that needed to be stoked. I dealt with more folks who appreciated my help than the few knuckle heads who knew more than me. It's life.

I loved it.

I'd give it a go today. My learning curve would be a vertical line for a while till I learned what I need to know about ARs and those odd things with slides and no cylinder, but I wouldn't let that dissuade me if I had the chance to do it.

Eager to know what you decide.

Bob
 
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I considered it when I retired, and even put on a coat and tie and went in and sat down with the owner of a local place that was looking for counter help. It was a smaller family owned shop, and everyone seemed nice.

They offered me the job, but the pay was pretty pathetic. I don't really need the dough - I have a good pension and a healthy 401k, but I'm not working for burger-flipping money.

I found a couple of other things I like - firearms instruction for a big defense contractor a few days a month and backgrounds for a local PD that I can do mostly from the house. Keeps me as busy as I want to be, which is less and less these days, and the pay is good.

Good luck with your decision.
 
The other side:

My experience is that probably the majority of the clerks in most gun shops or the gun departments of big box stores are arrogant know it alls that don't know as much as they think. There are good clerks. I won't say good ones are the exception but they aren't the rule.

I've heard some amazing statements from some that were way off base. Some get an arrogant ego because they work with retail guns???

Another phenomena is the younger ex-military guys, and I greatly appreciate their service. They often have the ego and think ARs etc. are what the world revolves around, that and suppressors.

I was at a big box the other day and there was a lady, obviously new to guns, who had just purchased a G43. The clerk is already telling her about all sorts of customization's and that she should get a soldering iron and stipple the frame. Good grief! Yeah I POed the clerk when I told her she should get some ammo and shoot the thing a bit before she starts messing with it.

Now we have a Lotus GS in the area. Their first year they had some know it alls working there that embarrassed me with the "knowledge" they spewed. A real turn off. Now they have a older guy in there that used to work at a Cabella's gun section. He's good. He reads me like a book when I'm just looking at a gun. Plus he's knowledgeable. He's confident but not arrogant. And he listens. The bugger has sold me at least four guns I didn't walk in intending to buy. They aren't on commission but he should be.

I'm not trying to discourage the OP. There's lots of gun shops that need some GOOD help.
 
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I try not to mix business with pleasure.

My hobbies are guns and Harley Davidsons.

I will NOT take a job working for either a gun store or the Harley shop.

Makes me wonder if the thrill would be killed once it became "a job". There's lots of things a person can do including volunteer work.
 
This reminds me of a young man who took a job at goodwill to get the first pickings on the used stuff coming in.

To me working at a LGS I’d be like a wolf in a hen house plus more broke then I an now.

Good luck.....
 
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