Gun Show and Tell is the number one thing I use to see from untrained gun people at the gun shop. They want to show off their carry gun to me, at the shop, while it’s loaded.
Your loaded gun comes out of the holster for self defense use and necessary admin purposes, not to show off to others.
If you want to play gun show and tell, go to the range and shoot.
One of the worse ones I had was a Police officer in McAllen at a gun show. We talked about different guns before the show started. He was in uniform talking about his Sig 226 and where discussing different iterations of the gun all the way back to the German made versions with a heal magazine release. He didn’t quite understand that he didn’t have an original German gun because he had a push button 1911 style magazine release that is now current on Sig guns.
The police officer wanted to prove me wrong and wanted me to show him on his gun what I was talking about and started to draw his gun from his holster. My reaction was with command voice stop! He still insisted and then I asked if it was loaded and suggested if it was that it stay in the holster.
I would like to say it was my awesome command presence that made him stop but I think he finally realized what he was about to do and left shortly after that. I didn’t see him again for the rest of the show.
My boss, the gun store owner was hot that someone almost, especially a police officer, pulled a loaded weapon out in the show hall. He was trying to find the guy the rest of the weekend to get him banned from the hall for his mistake.
No matter how long you have been carrying or how experienced the other person is at gun handling, unless you have a safe direction to draw the weapon into, unload it, and verify it’s unloaded that gun needs to stay in the holster, period. No discussion, no what if, no nothing.
Even at my own home would I take my carry gun off and hand it over for inspection.
Engage your brain before you touch any firearm for any reason.
Stay Safe,
Ben
Show and tell is my nemesis, I’m an RSO and usually it’s not loaded out of the holster but guys ( including RSO’s) at the back counter showing off a new damn toy! I have even told my boss, ” move your ass up to the line” , because people seem to respect the muzzle direction better at the line than in an open room.
No one follows the rules! I’m sure you have a rule about no unholstered or unbagged guns at the rear table but everyone does it. With them doing it sooner or later there will be a hole in the table in the back. One range I went to recently got rid of the table behind the line just trying to mitigate that problem. When the owner and other RSO’s do it, people think it’s acceptable. RSO’s and owners have to be perfect examples, which is supper hard. Good luck and stay safe.Thanks for the comment.