Gun Store Woes

I went to a local gun store yesterday on my lunch break with a coworker. He needed a shotgun, and after calling around to find the best price on the model he wanted, we went and got one. While he was dickering with the clerk, a noticed a man and woman a little down the counter being helped by another clerk, and the man handed his wife a Ruger LCP, and told her to manipulate the slide. She couldn't, so he took it from her, set it down, and handed her another equally diminutive firearm, which she was also having trouble with. The guy behind the counter was no help, either. He was not making any bad suggestions, but he wasn't making any good ones, either. I spoke up, and asked the woman if this was her first gun. She said it was, and she was a realtor,  and after what happened in Arkansas, she figures she might need a handgun. I told her that I did not want to be nosy, and that I was sure her husband was going to do a great job helping her find the best gun need for her, but that she needed to be sure to try out a bunch of guns before buying one. I told her that those tiny semi-autos were great to conceal, but hard to manipulate and shoot. I told her the same applies to snubby revolvers. They are easier to load, because you are not fighting the stiff slide on a tiny object, but the sights suck, and the trigger pull is heavy and long. She asked me about lasers, and I told her that there were benefits to them, but negatives as well, but being diligent about changing the batteries and getting a grip-activated style mitigates some of the negatives, and they are a great dry-firing aid.

I made sure to compliment her husband in the process, as I didn't want to step on any toes, and I even complimented the range, pointing out their great rental policy. Her husband was shaking my hand as I left, and she had 4 firearms on the counter to rent as my friend finished up his shotgun purchase, a S&W airweight with crimson trace grips, a Ruger LCR with lasergrips, a S&W M&P Shield, and a Kahr CM9.

She smiled and thanked me as I left. I just hope that she will be able to make a choice about what she likes and can shoot, and not be forced into a gun she doesn't know much about. When I left, at least she seemed closer to finding something she wanted than when I went in.