This happened here a few weeks ago. Someone came in with an uncased rifle in hand. Like many small gun shops, I was armed, like I am 99% of the time in my shop or doing my normal daily business. I said, “Please Stop Right There.” My tone was polite, but I wasn’t asking, I was informing. Thankfully he obeyed the instruction he was given.

I told my client I would get a case for him. I keep carrying cases on hand for clients who don’t have one. The man with the rifle was smart enough to mind his trigger discipline and didn’t do anything else to raise concerns, which is probably why the situation remained as calm as it did.

Proper procedure would have been for the man to leave his weapon in his car, come into the shop, and explain he had a rifle but no case. I would have then given him a case to use. If he didn’t have a car and was walking to the store, he should have called before leaving home to explain and asked how the gun shop would like him to proceed.

I didn’t get angry and didn’t acted out of turn. The man with the rifle put his weapon in the provided case, and I gave him gentle instruction about what to do next time. After that, I treated him like any other client, and it’s a safe bet I will not bring it up again with him unless he repeats the same mistake.

EDIT: All I knew is a man carrying a rifle at a ready position had walked in. The presumption from myself was that the rifle was loaded. I dare say that would be the case in every gun shop; if you walk in carrying a gun, it doesn’t matter if it’s loaded or not, because ever firearm is consider it loaded.