5 Allowable Reasons to Unholster a Firearm in a Gun Store
It is very common for customers to want to trade in their firearms for a new one or possibly sell it outright. A lot of customers upgrade this way by selling their current firearm for a newer model or getting something more high-end in a completely different brand. Whatever the situation, I’ve seen on multiple occasions customers take the pistol on their hip, and trade/sell it because they saw something they couldn’t live without.

Trading in a Firearm
Some people may have been ‘sold’ on a particular holster because of a really good advertisement or their friends peer pressured them into carrying in a certain style holster. Once they tried out the holster though, they disliked it or hated it. That’s when I see people come into my store carrying a firearm with the intent of changing or upgrading their holster. They walked in carrying, but are completely unsatisfied with their current means of carry.

Selecting a New Holster
Most firearms work flawlessly and shoot better than the individuals holding them, but once in a while, a firearm fails. Whether it’s a Failure-To-Feed, Failure-To-Eject/Extract, or a different issue, and we get asked constantly to “take a look” at people’s firearms. A microscopic burr can cause feeding issues and can simply be polished off a feed ramp edge, but a customer might not catch this. Most all of my employees are Glock or Smith & Wesson Certified Armorers with many years of firearm experience aside from those brands and can easily spot and remedy most issues for customers.

Experiencing “Technical Difficulties”
You’re About to Rivet Everyone with a REALLLLLY Good Story using your Holstered Firearm as a Prop
In a loose sense, I see our gun stores as a “watering hole” of sorts. We don’t serve alcoholic beverages, but I hear embellished hunting stories, people’s complaints about work, their troubles in life, and everything in between. I lend an ear to every customer that comes in, and occasionally I ask them, “What’ll it be?” (mostly referencing ammunition and firearms). Sometimes I’ll have customers with their hands swirling in the air gesturing actions and movements trying to bring their story to life and next they’ll drop their magazine, clear their firearm, and begin to bring more vitality to their audience with now a prop in hand. I should place out a tip jar! (Now accepting .45 ammo for my 1911)

Talking about that day you got a “Monster”
You’re Using your Holstered Firearm for its Intended Purpose: To Protect Your Life, or The Lives of Those Around You, Because Someone is Immediately Threatening to Inflict Bodily Harm
The first four reasons listed are meant to be taken light-hearted or as simply business; customers seeking products or services we offer. This final reason is the reason why we carry a firearm, whether it’s Open-Carry or Concealed-Carry. If anyone intends to do you harm, threaten your life, mean to hurt someone you love, or even a stranger, you have the right in MN to carry a firearm and the choice to use it to protect yourself and/or others. You should understand that if you discharge your firearm against another individual and the altercation you are involved in places 100% in the right, you’ll likely still go to jail for a period of time, appear in court, need to pay court fees, and possibly lose your firearm for a period of time. Most all people who carry would agree even after all those setbacks, that if you could save your wife/husband, your children, or multiple others from an evil individual, they would absolutely do it.