Academy Sports. WTF?

[Steelharp]

Academy Sports; is it just me, or is this stupid policy? Isn't part of checking out a firearm being able to pull the trigger to see what it feels like? They will NOT remove a trigger lock so a potential buyer can try it.

Seems STUPID to me.

[xRUSTYx]

Yeah .... Its retarded.

When I buy a firearm ... 90% of it has to do with trigger feel

[Spots]

I think it has a lot to do with what happened at south clinton pawn. It sucks, but they dont want an employee shot hy some physcho

[DaveTN]

It’s a good policy. I rarely dry fire my guns and I would rather not have one that’s been dry fired a bunch. I wouldn’t ask to dry fire a gun unless I had made my mind up to buy it. But then, I make the decision to buy most of my guns anymore without handling the gun. However, I’m sure there are some gun stores that will let you dry fire to your heart’s content.

[Jonnin]

Heh there is one clerk at sportsmans that freaks on a dry fire like it you just broke the gun. But the snap caps he wants to put in are worn out, so no difference from a dry fire.

I do not care for the policy but at least they still carry guns and often have good prices. Decent ammo prices as well at times. The one here, excellent service, even if the guys are not super gun experts they try to help and put in more effort than a lot of places. They are a little odd about bringing your own gun in too; some guy has to walk to the front of the store, walk it back for you, and walk it back out. You can carry your own loaded one but suddenly the unloaded and checked one puts them at defcon 5.

Between thugs that would load up in the store and blast you to just general unsafe idjits, I would have some pretty hefty policies in place too. Just too many people that really need to learn the rules before they touch.

[10-Ring]

Seems that if all of the employes were carrying then they wouldn't need to worry about such things. Oh well, I guess I should be careful what I wish for.

[UncleJak]

That's odd. When I bought my Glock 23 from Academy the guy let me pull the trigger dozens of times...

[mj12]

Academy Sports; is it just me, or is this stupid policy? Isn't part of checking out a firearm being able to pull the trigger to see what it feels like? They will NOT remove a trigger lock so a potential buyer can try it.

Seems STUPID to me.

Kinda like buying a pig in a poke, if you ask me. Similar to what Pelosi said about obamacare... "We won't know what's in the bill until we pass it". HUH?? That's the most idiotic logic I've ever heard. Back to your point, my reply to the salesperson would've been, "Would you buy a car without test driving it first?"

[Jonnin]

Kinda like buying a pig in a poke, if you ask me. Similar to what Pelosi said about obamacare... "We won't know what's in the bill until we pass it". HUH?? That's the most idiotic logic I've ever heard. Back to your point, my reply to the salesperson would've been, "Would you buy a car without test driving it first?"

99.99 % of the products in most stores are inside a wrapper that cannot (or should not) be opened in the store (unless agree to buy it regardless).

Would you refuse to buy the new flamin hot cheetoz until you opened the bag and tried one?

Want to buy a lawnmower, going to insist they gas it up and put in the oil so you can start it first?

Cars are one of the few things we can try before we buy, and are an anomaly, not the norm, really.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Jonnin

[Steelharp]

99.99 % of the products in most stores are inside a wrapper that cannot (or should not) be opened in the store (unless agree to buy it regardless).

Would you refuse to buy the new flamin hot cheetoz until you opened the bag and tried one?

Want to buy a lawnmower, going to insist they gas it up and put in the oil so you can start it first?

Cars are one of the few things we can try before we buy, and are an anomaly, not the norm, really.

Interesting attempt at a point, but..

1) The bag of Cheetos is about $0.69, so no big deal.

2) The lawnmower comparison is silly. ALL work pretty much the same.

3) Cars are a costly purchase, and every one runs and feels different. Same as guns. Same as guitars, which are also available to try before purchase. One neck can feel awesome, the next like a board; even in the same model line. One trigger can feel awesome, one gritty and stiff; even in the same model line.

I understand where you're coming from... but where you're headed is wrong.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Steelharp

[Chris]

Bass Pro in Opry Mills does the same thing. Very annoying and pretty much a deal breaker for me. If I can't feel the trigger, I ain't gonna buy it.

[mj12]

Bass Pro in Opry Mills does the same thing. Very annoying and pretty much a deal breaker for me. If I can't feel the trigger, I ain't gonna buy it.

That's my thought as well. I noticed that Walmart has the same policy. All their rifles have trigger locks, not sure about the shotguns. IIRC, their policy has been in place for several months or longer, well before this event took place.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Dick`s sporting good had thesame policy in Knoxville a while back..We tld them that theylost out on a fewsales because of that policy..They didnt seem to care ..so.. what can you do?Their policy.

I dont care much about the trigger issue..I am more of a "grip-feel" person..if the grip doesnt feel a certain way.. I wont buy it.

But husband is a different story..he cant pull the trigger .. he wont buy it.

[Il Duce]

I never have that issue at the Hixson location. They have always removed the boat anchors for me.

[10-Ring]

Dick`s sporting good had thesame policy in Knoxville a while back..We tld them that theylost out on a fewsales because of that policy..They didnt seem to care ..so.. what can you do?Their policy.

Back in another life not too too many years ago when I worked retail that was the attitude towards everything. There is no pride of ownership, 99% of the employees at that location will take home the same amount of money in their paycheck regardless of whether or not an additional big sale was made. Most retail operations are operating on a skeleton crew of minimum wage employes and have been for the last few years. The only person that works at that store that might be slightly interested in whether or not a big sale is missed is the general manager. GMs often get very nice incentives if certain sales goals are met. However most GMs that I've worked with would still probably decline to take the locks off because they know that if the policy is in place and they get caught breaking it they could lose their jobs. It is very easy when you work in retail to tell people "sorry I can't do that because I could lose my job if I did."

[Guest Spurhunter]

If dry-firing any centerfire gun harms it, throw the piece of junk out an buy a better gun. Id never buy a gun that I cant test completely before leaving the counter.

[gjohnsoniv]

I've never had that problem with the one here in Knoxville. I guess it depends on how you look and how nicely you ask.

[Steelharp]

I've never had that problem with the one here in Knoxville. I guess it depends on how you look and how nicely you ask.

Guess that explains ME. lol...

[RichardR]

If dry-firing any centerfire gun harms it, throw the piece of junk out an buy a better gun. Id never buy a gun that I cant test completely before leaving the counter.

These days it isn't as big of a problem as it used to be, most manufacturers have redesigned both centerfire and rimfire firearms to help minimize dry firing related damage and the modern alloys used for making firing pins are a lot less brittle than the old carbon steel ones.

But there are still a lot of very fine older weapons out there that you could damage by dry firing, so make sure you know which is which or at the very least least use snap caps if you are unsure.

[Guest rockytop]

Dry-firing a rimfire gun can damage them. It isn't necessarily the firing pin that gets damaged. I know from personal experience. I just bought a Henry 22 mini-bolt rifle and when I got to the range to shoot it, the ammo would not insert into the chamber because dry-firing had caused a burr on the lip of the chamber. It's not pleasant buying a new unfired weapon that you can't even load and now the hassle of it having to go back to the factory.

I suspect the retailers using locks, do it for a different reason. Namely, it prevents the possibility of some nut live- firing it with a round they had on their person. Sort of "lawyer proofing".

[AU_88]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say insurance purposes... Just a thought though.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I like buying at a shop big enough that if I decide to buy a gun, they get down a virgin factory sealed box to sell, rather than selling you the shop worn demo model you were examining (and maybe hundreds of other folks had earlier examined). Though guns are durable enough it isn't a big deal buying that demo model at the small shop where the store doesn't have a big shelf of factory sealed boxes of the same item in the storeroom.

Guess some amount of dry firing is safe even on rimfire? My rimfire guns, the manuals say "don't dry fire". But then the described procedure for unloading, you remove magazine or otherwise unload, open the bolt, verify the gun is empty, then point the gun in a safe direction and-- dry fire it to decock.