The Reality of working in a Gun Store

The Reality of working in a Gun Store:

By Spike Bowan.

©FrogDogWriting 2014

Over the past year I have worked in 2 gun stores. As a long time buyer and gun enthusiast/ 2A supporter; I have always wondered what it would be like to work in a Gun Store. The usual flights of fancy obviously filled my synapses… “get to play with guns all day…. I get to have pick of the litter… I can help educate the unknowing… I can make a TON OF MONEY….” so forth and so on.

Some of this is true and some of it is mere fantasy.

I am here to tell you the reality of the situation. The shop I am currently working in is the oldest surviving gun store in the Pittsburgh area here in Pennsylvania. Established in 1958, Braverman Arms is a landmark in the Pittsburgh area. The current staff is very well educated and experienced. We each have our specialties that we are able to cover. Frank the armorer/gunsmith is darn near a miracle worker. Big John knows every form of revolver there is on the planet it seems as well as many more modern firearms. Old Bill knows more about antique firearms than I can ever hope to learn especially when it comes to black powder, reloading and military historical firearms. You wanna know about kicking in a door, home defense, personal protection, urban combat or concealed carry…well then, you come to me.

We have our fun and our problems. Chief among the problems is that we are located in a failing community. Sadly, the Wilkinsburg area of Pittsburgh used to be a jewel in the Pittsburgh crown back in the 50’s. Now gang issues, failing businesses and a rising drug influence are making our jobs very difficult.

On a daily basis we have people trying to perform “Straw Purchases” (Illegal appropriation of a firearm for another person) , underage kids trying to come into the store, hell 2 days ago the pawn shop across the street was robbed of a .45 ACP pistol and at least $10 K in cash! It’s not all glam and glory folks. The paperwork we have to do mountains up in front of us. We don’t make nearly the profit on guns and ammo that people think we do. No gun store does.

Our newer customers are scared as well are our regulars. Times are changing, and not for the better in this country. Everyone feels it coming. They’re all stocking up on ammo, .45 ACP, 9 mm Para Bellum, 40 SW, 5.56 mm, 7.62x 39; it’s hard to keep the ammo on the shelves. Especially 22 LR, WHEN WE’RE ABLE TO GET IT IN.

Trying to help the honest customer, whilst trying to weed out the shady ones is very taxing. Add that to the ever multiplying mountain of paperwork and… damn! No wonder I drink! I just wanted to let everyone know…

We don’t make UBER amounts of cash! You wouldn’t believe the amounts of dumb questions we get, the paperwork we have to do, the Federal hoops we have to jump through or the amount of BS we have to deal with. I am on the other side of the fence looking back; and I am here to tell you the grass isn’t always greener.