Your Gun Counter Holy Sh*t Moment for the Day

So, I stopped by the local Academy Sports yesterday to pick up some fishing tackle and of course I have to stop by the gun counter to just check out what they've got on hand. When I rounded the corner I was taken aback by an eight year old kid that was holding a pistol in his hand.

Yes, he was at the gun counter with his mother, but the situation just didnt sit right with me for several reasons. First, I thought for sure that Academy (like most big box retailers) would have a store policy of not letting people under 21/18/whatever handle pistols and/or rifles. Secondly, the kid was holding a Beretta Bobcat. Thats not really a typical handgun choice for kids to learn to shoot to with. Third... and I know this is a pre-judgement... and I can assure you that its not based on anything racial. But... this mom and the son were the textbook definition of ghetto. I dont like to judge people by their appearance, but they just absolutely looked shady, and with taking everything together into consideration... something just wasnt right about the situation.

So, I'm standing there looking at things in the gun case and the mom is talking to the guy behind the counter. She starts talking about how they need to find him a gun that fits his hands because "he has really large hands for an 8 year old". The guy behind the counter immediately suggests that "if you are looking for a gun for him to learn to shoot with, you might want to really consider getting a .22 caliber rifle". Thats good advice, but the mom didnt want anything to do with it. She then said.... are you ready for this... "We want to get him something that he can carry". At which time my head snapped around and both my jaw and the jaw of the guy behind the counter both hit the floor. The guy behind the counter immediately pointed out that he cant legally carry a handgun. To which the mom replied; "I mean for, you know, when he is at the shooting range.... so he can carry it around and stuff... and for, you know, on our property and stuff".

Wow! I was just completely dumbfounded... The guy behind the counter again said that the kid cant do that, but you could tell that the mom didnt really care about legalities.

I decided I was going to stay and lurk for as long as the mom did, but she obviously was a little uneasy once she realized that I had heard the conversation and once she saw the look I had on my face. She lurked a little while longer and then decided to leave. After she walked off, the guy behind the counter said to me "Dont worry, I wasnt going to sell her anything". To which I replied, "Thats good because I wasnt going to let you."