Bass Pro

cordo

Had a bad experience today. My adult son and I went to a gun show, then to Bass Pro. At Bass Pro I decided to but a Browning 22 Auto. Filled out the Fed form, and asked my son for the 300 dollars I had given him at the show. The clerk came back, loudly accused me of a "straw purchase" refused my purchase and walked away, all in front of 20-25 people. We walked away and I went back and told him the guy was my son and he was giving me back my own money in front of all who could see. I have an FFL03, and CCW fo OHIO, and have never been in trouble or had a problem like this.
Obviously I won't go back for anything, let alone a 500 dollar 22. And how many felons are "straw purchsing" a 500 22 boys rifle? Has anyone else had this happen? I bought a Uberti 44-40 at the same store last Chrisymas and it was bad because they did not know anything about the pruducts and then lost the pistol I had ordered along with the paperwork, including the 525 dollar reciept. I will not be back, and I spent 3000 a year at least there on ammo.

steveaustin

No repeat business.

kidthatsirish

I had a bad experince with a Bass pro shop last year. It was at Spanish Fort. I walked in to the front and they had a sign that said all firearms must be checked at the door. Normally they do this for consignment, but wanting to be a "law abiding" citizen, I walked up to the counter, let the woman know that I had on me a 38 snub nose, showed her my CCW ID (which was behind my military ID) and I figured I would be on my way to shopping (as this is what normally happens).

to my surprise, she then said I would have to unload my little peacemaker and have it zipped tied and that I could collect my bullets when I leave, and that I could not reload until off the store property.

I have not been back sense.

cordo

Never even thought about the fact that I had my .380 "summer clothes" carry pistol in my pocket. The clerk would have had me taken away if he had known! I am concerned that they will "flag" my name and make my next purchase a problem.
It really is worth the extra little money that it costs to go to a real gun shop that knows the products and dosen't think every customer is a potenial criminal. Noth College Hill guns here in Cincy is always great to deal with and they are knowledgeable, the big package stores are a waste.

n/a

I usually deal with locals when it comes to gun purchases.

Corporate policy usually sucks vs. Mom & Pop.

JMHO

cordo

UPDATE:
Just got a call from the manager at the Bass Pro I was in. To his credit, he said he was sorry I felt it was handled poorly and that the clerk was rude. I stayed pretty calm and quite, I have learned the hard way that getting angry is sometimes not the best way to do things.
NOT to his credit, he stated to me 7 times, yes, I counted, that what my son and I did was the Definition of a "straw purchse". Silly me, I thought the "definition" of a straw purchase was a legal buyer buying a firearm for some one who is not leally allowed to purchase one themselves. 1. The gun was for ME. 2. My son gave me PART of the money, and it was MY money. 3. My son is NOT legally disallowed a firearm purchase. Sounds like it was anything BUT the definition of straw purchase.
Just for the heck of it, because I don't want to go back there anyway, even if I could win the arguement, I asked him;
1. If we were committing the crime we were accused of, would I have taken the felon in the store with me?
2. Would I have had him hand me the money in front of the clerk?
3. Dosen't the question number one on the form state the gun is for me? If it is up to a minimum wage clerk to decide if I am committing a crime, why have the form at all?
4. And last, I asked him that, if my son had handed me 1 dollar, instead of 3 100 dollar bills, is that your definition of a straw purchase? Neither was enough to buy the gun. You guessed it folks, the answer was yes, 1 dollar would have had the same affect. Me, a crimminal, embarssed in front of many, and told to leave.
If we must have gun control laws, shouldn't they at least make sense? No. That is why we search the old lady at the airport and appoligize to the terrorist behind her for holding him up. I am done, sorry for rambling. CG

Don McManus

quote:Originally posted by cordo
UPDATE:
Just got a call from the manager at the Bass Pro I was in. To his credit, he said he was sorry I felt it was handled poorly and that the clerk was rude. I stayed pretty calm and quite, I have learned the hard way that getting angry is sometimes not the best way to do things.
NOT to his credit, he stated to me 7 times, yes, I counted, that what my son and I did was the Definition of a "straw purchse". Silly me, I thought the "definition" of a straw purchase was a legal buyer buying a firearm for some one who is not leally allowed to purchase one themselves. 1. The gun was for ME. 2. My son gave me PART of the money, and it was MY money. 3. My son is NOT legally disallowed a firearm purchase. Sounds like it was anything BUT the definition of straw purchase.
Just for the heck of it, because I don't want to go back there anyway, even if I could win the arguement, I asked him;
1. If we were committing the crime we were accused of, would I have taken the felon in the store with me?
2. Would I have had him hand me the money in front of the clerk?
3. Dosen't the question number one on the form state the gun is for me? If it is up to a minimum wage clerk to decide if I am committing a crime, why have the form at all?
4. And last, I asked him that, if my son had handed me 1 dollar, instead of 3 100 dollar bills, is that your definition of a straw purchase? Neither was enough to buy the gun. You guessed it folks, the answer was yes, 1 dollar would have had the same affect. Me, a crimminal, embarssed in front of many, and told to leave.
If we must have gun control laws, shouldn't they at least make sense? No. That is why we search the old lady at the airport and appoligize to the terrorist behind her for holding him up. I am done, sorry for rambling. CG

Both the clerk and his manager have not only accused you of an attempted straw purchase, they have accused you of perjury on the 4473. Did you ask if they destroyed the form and your information?

FWIW, I do not believe that it is necessary in a straw purchase for the true buyer to be dis-allowed. A straw purchase occurs at any time question 12a on 4473 is falsely answered with a 'yes'.

kidthatsirish

Yeah, when it comes to buying guns, I only support the small private shops now...every gun I own (with the exception of a war trophey) was bought at a smaller gun shop.

Ammo, Ill buy anywhere I can get it for cheap....except Bass pro shops.

thebigsd

Hardly ever shop Bass Pro. Their prices are overly inflated. I bought a blackhawk holster for $50 and later that day found the same one online for $30 at 3 other retailers.

amanderson

Very embarrassing, but I'd say the sales person was just doing his/her job. In all the business's around here, if a customer tries to purchase an item that has to have an I.D. to complete the transaction, that person can't use someone else's credit card, check or cash that someone else hands them in front of the sales associate. Sales associates that fail to comply with those rules are subject to termination and local criminal charges. Nine times out of ten its an innocent mistake by a customer, but there's that one percent that take advantage of the rules and ruins it for the rest of us honest people. So try not to hate on the poor sales person that's just trying to do his/her job so he/she doesnt get into trouble. Instead, hate on the boss's that make the rules.

wittynbear

File a civil suit for $1Mil for slander and defamation of character against Bass Pro Shops. That will get your point across to them.

tomahawk

i just deal with Mom and POP shops.....better deals and no hassle[;)]