Today I am at the Buchheit store in Perryville where I met Keith and Paula. The first thing Paula did was ask to see some ID and called the Corporate Office to make sure I was legit. I loved the fact that she took it upon herself to check my credentials.
Paula introduced me to Keith, with whom it was easy to talk . Keith had managed a gun shop for 10 years as well as specialized in taxidermy before coming to work at Buchheit, so he had an excellent command on the subject of firearms and hunting. Keith lives on a farm with wooded acreage where he hunts deer with his nephews as he teaches them good sportsmanship.
His advice about a firearms purchase was to try it out first. It is a recurring theme at several of the Buchheit stores so I definitely plan on finding a NRA approved range.
Keith also suggested going with a semi-automatic firearm. An automatic weapon fires continually until the trigger is released while a semi-automatic weapon fires one shot every time the trigger is pulled. You want to chose a firearm that has a slide that is easy for a women to clear.
Keith’s recommendation for a good firearm for the novice was the Taurus PT 740 Slim which is a subcompact, single stack pistol. It holds six rounds in the magazine, plus one in the chamber for a total of seven rounds. It features a trigger safety that prevents the firing pin from punching forward unless the trigger is actually pulled, so if it’s dropped there is no accidental discharge. The width of the pistol if 1.04” making it easier to conceal and comfortable to carry. I bet it’s why it’s call “Slim”.
While I was interviewing the Perryville staff a customer came in to take advantage of a sale that was running on a pistol. I had no idea the amount of paperwork it would take to be able to purchase a gun.
While a background check was being run, Paula called Donna, another department manager, over to review all the paperwork. This policy is strictly enforced, manager to manager, each has to double check all the paperwork before any firearm sale can proceed. When the background check comes back clean and the sale is approved, a member from the sporting goods department will walk the customer to the registers to check out. The only item on that particular receipt will be the purchase of that firearm. A staff member will wait until the customer has paid for any other items and then they will escort them out of the store. The Perryville staff is extremely conscientious about all the important aspects that accompany each firearm purchase.
I enjoyed my time with the staff at the Perryville store. Hope this was helpful. I am gaining insights into firearms with each store I visit! Be blessed! Anne May
