Thursday, March 19, 2009

Life going on...

Saturday morning dawned bright and early, and Shootin' Buddy & I drove to the local outdoor range, only to find that the Five-Oh had commandeered it for the weekend. So we rescheduled the weekend's shooting for Sunday morning at the local indoor range.

A good time was had by all, or at least as good as can be had on a crowded indoor range on a beautiful, sunny weekend morning. I got in some desperately-needed revolver time, shooting both my Model 64 and a borrowed Model 17, as well as putting a few cylinders through my 296Ti.

Loitering about in the showroom after finishing up, Shootin' Buddy gestured at a pyramid of ammunition on the counter. "What? I don't carry Gold Dots in my .45's..."

"Not the ammunition; the sign behind it."

"Part-time help wanted? Hmmm..."

I asked the dude behind the counter, and he indicated that I should drop off a resume for consideration.

I went home and made sure mine was up to date... Yup, fifteen years of retail FFL experience. Doubt they're going to get one stronger (although in this business, being a guurrrl is something of an initial handicap; you have to convince them that you're qualified without, you know, coming across as a bitch by pointing out that in all likelihood, you know as much or more about this stuff than they do.)

I'd accidentally printed out two copies of my resume, so I drove the other one out to Premier Arms. (Which is an awesomely cool shop that I'd just discovered. If I stocked a gun store, it would look a lot like Premier.)

We'll see. I'm starting to get the itch to put my toe back in the water; sling a few guns across the glass.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's in your blood :-)

Anonymous said...

Good luck with the job hunt!

Your 296 is a terrific weapon. That would make a great 3d gun. Does anyone make an ankle rig for it, Tam?

I just wish it had an exposed hammer, or at least protected like the 638 for roll checking. You can roll check on the trigger, but I like having hold of that hammer (yes, yes, I'm an automaton from my tactical golf vacation conditioning).

Maybe I'll find a 296 at Indy Saturday? Maybe I'll find a unicorn too. :-)

Shootin' Buddy

Anonymous said...

Oh, geez, look at the website for Premier Arms. Dogs on the website--must be a gun store in Indiana. :-)

*sigh, my state, double sigh*

Shootin' Buddy

Anonymous said...

"being a guurrrl is something of an initial handicap; you have to convince them that you're qualified"

Uh, yeah. Real problem in that department, right? Heh. Poor them.

Leatherneck

Earl said...

You should be drafted for those positions by enlightened management, the World would be a happier place.

Jay G said...

Best of luck Tam!

J.R.Shirley said...

Luck, hermana. What I'm hearing you say, is "the good beer fund is running low."

Joseph said...

"you know, coming across as a bitch by pointing out that in all likelihood, you know as much or more about this stuff than they do."

So dumb it down a bit, bat your eyes and let them eat Southern draw (assuming you have one) and the slightest hint of cleavage never hurt (unless they're women or gay men).

Turk Turon said...

Good luck, Tam!

Anonymous said...

Popguns would be improved by you - good customer service is hard to find.

the pawnbroker said...

sure took you a long time to scratch that itch...

i wonder if it would be considered a bit over the top to print out the sunday smith series as a resume addendum? don't want to intimidate the boyz, but as you know from my encouraging you for the last year to get back behind the counter, my position is: if you've got it, flaunt it...and you've got it, guurrrl...

jtc

Anonymous said...

Don't the guys at these stores read gun blogs? Your resume could consist of CCA's phone number and links to your blog and the Sunday Smiths.

Anonymous said...

Overqualified.

You can't come across as smarter than the Boss, unless the Boss is wise. Most are not.

Anonymous said...

Oh man, if you were working at Popguns, I might actually set foot in there to do something other than shoot and get swept by customers with bad muzzle control.

Frank W. James said...

Hope you get the job.

All The Best,
Frank W. James

Adrian K said...

I hate it when the local cops take over the commercial ranges.

I mean really. Seattle PD has their own nominally LEO-only range that non-LEOs have to qualify to use and then join a club. No big deal to drive a few miles up there.

No, instead they go to the commercial clubs and insist on shutting the whole place down while they use only 3-4 of the 16 lanes.

Kevin said...

You should make the two prospective employers bid for your services!

Anonymous said...

I know the feeling, I sold guns for a year and now I help build them. I am thinking of going back into retail, not for the money but for the variety of people you cas meet.

theirritablearchitect said...

Kevin Baker beat me to it.

WV: sarks...gee, almost describes the lady to a tee!

red said...

German Shepherds and guns!

staghounds said...

Who had April '09 in the pool?

Eric said...

Best of luck with getting back in the gunstore bidness!

Anonymous said...

I know you don't owe me an explanation, but I never understood why you left your last gun selling gig.

Anonymous said...

Caleb sez:

Oh man, if you were working at Popguns, I might actually set foot in there to do something other than shoot and get swept by customers with bad muzzle control.

Well, there's always the ever-popular 'get ignored while trying to spend money' option that Popguns offers free of charge.

NotClauswitz said...

Good luck with that, it beats the hell out of selling vacuum cleaners - even if it's a bunch of high-dollar Miele's like my buddy - but what would I know? :-( I've never worked retail - and now it's all computerized and I'm too old and stuff!

closed said...

Just don't play Civ during working hours, and you'll do fine.

Overload in Colorado said...

Tam,
you look much too young to have had 15 years of retail FFL experience.

Anonymous said...

Just can't leave this "Merchant of Death" thing alone, can you?

May you have trouble picking which of the two you want to work for.

(Best I could do after Overload's Kiss-up of the Day.)

Anonymous said...

The ability to give Good Retail is a gift. Sharing the actual, factual verifiable knowledge that you HAVE is a bonus that can't be bought -- literally.

'Cause I have been around these stores since the early sixties as a customer and did some management FFL'ing for a while. I would have prayed to have hired someone of y'r caliber, if I ever had believed that a miracle would have brought one in the door.

The retail burn can be a real avoidance producer, if it ever gets to the seared mental meat stage. In my case, I took a decades long rest from some corporate stupidity -- when a good company turned sour.

However, if a person has mastered the subject matter of the product and the skills of retail craft, and can apply it in an environment worthy of such, then Happy Powder Fumes!!! I really liked working my gun counter, educating people, and helping them to find the right niche and product.

Hope it works out, and that it's Happy Landings.

J t R

Anonymous said...

Will keep a good thought in for you - go get'm. As to the 296Ti. You posted a photo of several .44 Specials a few years ago that included my 696 and the hard-to-find 296. I wrote and you replied that Cold Creek had a 296; I called and bought it. So last week I had to fly from Ohio to Colorado to turn around the next day and drive a 16' truck back to Ohio. Since I flew out through Chicago, I had no carry gun. Ah ha, the man said. The 296 was in Colorado. It's now in Ohio. I'd forgotten what a great carry gun it is. The 9 and .40 are now both house guns.
Again, best to you. Take the one that catches your interest most, not necessarily the one that has the best pay and benefits. Next time I'm through Indiana - next month - I'll stop by to see how you're doing. Olde Force

Anonymous said...

"I asked the dude behind the counter, and he indicated that I should drop off a resume for consideration."

BWAaaaaaHaHaHaHaaaaa...

Mikee got it; you don' neeeed no steenkeen' resume.