And we have the opposite of Customer's Suck

[Panacea]

And it's not here on this story that I've encountered that. Many stores when they can't/won't refund or exchange an item...leave the customer hanging.

So? How is that the store's problem? I really don't think it's Wal Mart's responsibility to fix our problems for us.

[HYHYBT]

When I used to work retail we had copies of the law we could photo copy if someone was trying to return something where it was against the law to do so. I'm guessing that with firearms the clerks could have access to the same pieces of paper.

And that would be the law about stores not being able to accept returns. Knowing that isn't going to mean knowing also that there are not other laws restricting or prohibiting private resale.

[wolfie]

It's federal law that a store cannot accept ammo back in return except in some very rare circumstances and at a complete loss to the store as they cannot sell them again after that. So most stores just say "all ammo sales final" and be done with it.

What sort of circumstances would they be able to accept returns? I'm assuming that defective product is one of them.

One thing I'm surprised about is that the first clerk didn't give the customer explicit instructions that if you don't know what ammunition you need, DON'T BUY IT, since there are some pairings of calibers where it is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS to get the wrong one.

One I read about a while back is .308 Winchester/.270 Something. Both are derived from the .30-06 cartridge, with the .308 having a shortened case, and the .270 having a full-length case. The .270 rifle WILL chamber a .308 round, since due to the shortened case the full-diameter portion of the bullet won't reach as far as the rifling when the round is chambered. Of course, when the round is fired, the bullet is too big to fit into the barrel, and will become lodged. This will result in chamber pressures FAR in excess of what the rifle is designed to handle, with predictable results. The shooter in question lived, but (IIRC) lost an eye and several fingers.

[crashhelmet]

This is one of the biggest reasons as to why I bought my Sig Sauer P250

it's completely modular, so I can customize it at any time to fit my needs. I can change the size from Full all the way down to sub compact, if I need to conceal carry, and I can choose the ammunition calibre from 9mm, .357SIG, .40S&W, or .45ACP. It's nearly impossible for me to buy the wrong sized ammunition.

[Skelly]

If you own a firearm, it's your damned job to know which type of ammo it uses - and to check the box you're handed at the store, because the person at the counter is not necessarily a gunnie him/herself, or they aren't very familiar with, for example, the difference between .357 Magnum and .357 SIG.

[Skelly]

Also, I don't believe it's the law, but rather store policy - a smart one at that. It'd be easy to open up the box gently and spike the ammo, either by using a gun powder that is of the wrong type for the ammo, or even some kind of stable but powerful primary explosive.

[Ginger Tea]

I agree with the whole "would the clerk know." if the OP isn't in a gun store but a gun department in a larger store, you have no way of knowing if they know one bullet from another, it might just be the department they were rostered to at some point.

The gun owner should know what type s/he needs.

And as I asked prior if it was a state or federal law, I've been informed it is Federal, but if it was state the OP might have known that the next state down did allow such exchanges and once they got to the nearest store they find out that nope misinformed the law changed 3 months ago to be more like the state the OP is in which would cue ranting and raving about loss of time and petrol on top of bullets they cant use.

There might be signs pertaining to the non refundable aspects but we all know what good they will do.

[crashhelmet]

If you own a firearm, it's your damned job to know which type of ammo it uses - and to check the box you're handed at the store, because the person at the counter is not necessarily a gunnie him/herself, or they aren't very familiar with, for example, the difference between .357 Magnum and .357 SIG.

It can come down to how much ammo you buy at a time and where you buy it. When I go out shooting, I'll buy at least 1000 rounds depending on how long I'll be out at the range or what i'm trying to accomplish.

I have had boxes mixed up by a clerk not paying enough attention when pulling the boxes out of the locked cabinet. Sometimes it's a mix of FMJ and HP type rounds. I once ended up with a box of .380ACP mixed in with my 9mm. I was lucky enough to have a friend with a Walther PPK/S that took that calibre, so I got him to buy them off of me.

[Andara Bledin]

If it's an item that cannot be returned, then it would behoove the customer to inspect what they're receiving prior to purchase.

[crashhelmet]

I agree. But we're all guilty of making assumptions in some way, shape, or form. For someone in the position I was in, I assumed every box of ammunition was the same.

But Skelly is right. People need to know what ammunition their firearm uses. Reading through the article in the OP, it sounds as if he didn't even know what he needed or is just ignorant as far as firearms and ammunition is concerned.

[Skelly]

It can come down to how much ammo you buy at a time and where you buy it. When I go out shooting, I'll buy at least 1000 rounds depending on how long I'll be out at the range or what i'm trying to accomplish.

I have had boxes mixed up by a clerk not paying enough attention when pulling the boxes out of the locked cabinet. Sometimes it's a mix of FMJ and HP type rounds. I once ended up with a box of .380ACP mixed in with my 9mm. I was lucky enough to have a friend with a Walther PPK/S that took that calibre, so I got him to buy them off of me.

You need to buy ammo in bulk pack then, only one label to check to make sure you've gotten the right stuff .
Jokes aside, I can understand missing one box out of 20 or 50 (ammo boxes often come in either 20 or 50 packs, correct?). But when all you're buying is one single box of ammo, it takes a second to look to make sure you've gotten .357 Magnum rather than .357 SIG.

[HYHYBT]

If someone doesn't know what type of ammunition they need, or even what kind of gun they have (perhaps they inherited it, for example) what's the best way to find out?

[crashhelmet]

If someone doesn't know what type of ammunition they need, or even what kind of gun they have (perhaps they inherited it, for example) what's the best way to find out?

A lot of manufacturers print the calibre on the side of the firearm itself. Sometimes, you'll find it printed on the magazine/clip as well.

If it's not there, you'll have to take it to a gunsmith and have them perform a Chamber Cast on it to identify the proper calibre.

**EDIT**
It can also be found by looking up the model and serial numbers, but I don't know how readily available that info is on the internet. You'd probably have to goto a gunsmith for that as well.

[Kheldarson]

What sort of circumstances would they be able to accept returns? I'm assuming that defective product is one of them.

If you can prove defective, my store would take it back or if you had literally just walked out the door and back in, a manager might consider it.

My current store just declares no returns.