I’d seen some interesting names in my time behind the gun counter at the big-box retailer I was working at, but this one took the cake. An almost endless string of consonants, only interrupted by vowels seemingly as a joke. 

Reading the name out phonetically to the NICS operator garnered a chuckle from both of us. 

“Not done yet, sorry,” I vividly remember saying. 

The name wasn’t really a red flag, but I’d be lying if I said the birthplace of Bosnia and Herzegovina hadn’t given me pause. The real problem wasn’t even the guy trying to buy the gun. 

It was the friend he’d brought with him. 

Setting the Scene

In 2006 I was a recent college graduate in a heavily manufacturing-reliant part of the country already leaning into the Great Recession. Instead of finding that job in procurement I had expected to land with my Business Management degree, I was working part-time at a sporting good retailer, first in the sports section, and eventually moving to the outdoor area.

In my experience, this store got two types of customers. 

The first shopped here for outdoor items because they didn’t have a local shop that they knew or trusted. They were very often new to the outdoor scene and able to be influenced by the store workers. Fine if you got good help, very not fine if you didn’t. 

The second was the price shopper. They knew what they wanted because they trolled around the local shops with the knowledgeable clerks, decided what they wanted to buy, then made for the big-box store to see if they could save a few dollars. 

Customers that didn’t fit one of these two groups were always a surprise to me but were pretty unremarkable otherwise. 

Except that one time…

The First Visit

Three men made their way towards the gun counter. It was before lunch, and I was working the department by myself. I saw two of them leaning over the glass counter, inspecting shotguns, and made my way over to the counter to welcome them. 

The third of the group milled around a little further back, looking at the items in the dump bins and casually glancing at his friends. 

When I asked how I could help, the smaller of the two men at the counter spoke up and said he was looking at getting into small-game hunting, maybe squirrels, and needed a shotgun. It was that time of year, and the request itself didn’t seem out of place. 

His friend leaned on the counter but let us have our exchange as I asked if he had a preference for brand or gauge. 

He said he may want to get in to hunting larger game, like deer, eventually, so he was leaning towards the 12-gauge. I confirmed this was a good choice, since at this time our state was still shotgun-only for deer season. 

I unlocked the stock retention bar on the sporting shotguns and handed him a Mossberg 500, which he inspected and shouldered, then offered the Remington 870, with which he did the same. He worked the actions and fiddled with the guns as one would expect. He didn’t seem new to firearms in any way and handled them proficiently. 

Somewhat curious for someone professing to be buying his first shotgun, but not outrageous. 

It was at this point that his friend at the counter finally piped up. 

“What about that one,” he bellowed. 

He pointed to the tactical Mossberg with the 18.5-inch barrel and ghost ring sight. 

“That’s not going to be much good for squirrel hunting,” I replied. 

The third member of their party was keeping his distance from the counter. 

“I mean, it’s a shotgun, right? Why wouldn’t that work for squirrel hunting?” The friend didn’t seem to want to let it go. 

“You’re not going to be able to hold a pattern at range with that model; you really need to be looking at the field/slug combos for hunting purpose.” 

Things were starting to feel weird. 

By now I had returned the guns to the shelf and locked them back up. The two at the counter started talking between themselves while I organized some ammunition. 

“I think I’ll take the Remington.”

The shopper had made his decision. 

“You sure you don’t even want to look at the other one?”

His friend wasn’t done yet, but the shopper dismissed him. 

I laid the 4473 on the counter and explained the process for filling it out, and said that he must do it himself, without help. His friend at the counter had now joined the other man away from the counter. 

With the paperwork completed, I took it and his ID to make the call to NICS. After the conversation I started the article with, the check came back as a delay. The shopper wouldn’t be leaving to squirrel hunt today. 

When I explained to him what the delay meant, and that he couldn’t buy the gun today, his friend rapidly made his way back to the counter. 

“What do you mean? You mean he can’t buy it?” His friend was far more upset than the shopper was. 

At this point I noticed the third of their group had vanished. 

I explained that without an approved 4473, there was no way I could sell them the gun that day. We had the contact information we needed, and that this is almost always nothing serious and that they would probably be able to pick it up in a few days. 

The friend was not impressed. He stormed off, while the shopper thanked me for my time and made his way out of the store. 

I stood at the counter reflecting on what had just taken place, the odd exchanges with the friend, the foreign national attempted purchase (my first), and the delay. 

The whole thing felt off. 

No gun was sold, I had all the appropriate documentation, and I let my manager know. That was really all I could do at this point. 

Just in Time

The rest of the day was uneventful. As I was heading back to the office behind the gun counter to pack up my things and call it a day, I noticed the third quiet man from earlier milling around in the same area he had been in that morning. 

When I got closer to the gun counter, I noticed that the talkative friend from this morning was back again, too, in almost the exact same spot, with the same mannerisms — but he had a new shopper with him this time. 

It no longer just felt off — something was definitely wrong. 

I immediately radioed my store lead and asked for assistance in the storeroom. Just in case the three shoppers were within earshot of a radio, I didn’t want to alert them. I explained that the suspicious shoppers from this morning were back, that it was very clearly a straw purchase, and that we needed to get information from the second shopper as well. 

My manager intervened in the discussion, explained to the clerk now working the counter that he was needed somewhere else and that the manager would take over. 

He went through a experience virtually identical to what I had been through earlier in the day: The helpful friend asking about the tactical shotgun, and the shopper eventually landing on the Remington 870 when it was clear that that tactical option was off the table. 

Once again, a 4473 was completed. 

Once again, the buyer for a foreign national with what appeared to be a valid state ID.

This time, however, the manager decided not to make the NICS call at all. After excusing himself to make the call from the office, he returned to explain the phone system was currently busy, that if they wanted to wait, they were welcome to, but he had no idea how long it would be before the call could be made.  

The helpful friend was noticeably irritated, but without protest, quickly left. The third man had already departed. 

In the end, no gun was ever transferred to anyone from their party, and we collected information from two of the four shoppers, as well as getting some decent security camera footage of the other two. 

If they had waited just 10 minutes to make the second attempt of the day, I may well have never seen them to alert management of the issue. That second NICS check might have been completed, and a very clear straw purchase could have been made, without anyone noticing that it was the same group from that morning with a different buyer. 

The Aftermath

The store manager reported the incident to the regional loss prevention manager, providing copies of the 4473 as well as security camera footage. From there, it was the policy of the store for the loss prevention manager to alert law enforcement and share the information with other stores in the area. 

Our LP manager was a retired ATF agent, who, according to the store manager, was still pretty connected in our area. According to the store manager, the shoppers were all persons of interest to federal law enforcement. 

I can’t say for sure if that was true or not, but I have no reason not to believe it. 

When it was all said and done, we were lucky with how it unfolded. The shoppers returning the same day while I was still in the store allowed me to identify them and start a process to gather as much information as possible. 

There’s no way to know what might have unfolded if those guns had been allowed to be purchased, but I am pretty confident it wouldn’t have had anything to do with squirrel hunting. 

Identifying Straw Purchases

Shoppers and Talkers – It’s not uncommon for groups of friends to visit a retailer to look at guns or even make purchases, but when someone identifies themselves as a buyer, but all the talking and questioning is done by someone else, that’s a red flag you can’t ignore. 

Rule Breakers – Anyone that tries to break the rules of a purchase or completion of a 4473 should immediately get your attention, and this should potentially be enough to end the transaction altogether. 

Shopping or Buying – Even when I think I know what I want, I’m usually willing to look at what else might be in the case. I’ve been on the other side of the counter for more than a few sales as well, and almost never is the shopper dead-set on what they are after. A shopper unwilling to engage in conversation or one who is checking their phone or a note should arouse suspicion. They may be on a mission to buy for someone else, not shopping for themselves. 

Avoiding Up-sales and Add-ons – Accessories and ammunition (in most states) are not prohibited items. A gun purchase typically leads to the purchase of gear to support the new item. Quick or frustrated dismissal of the suggestion of accessories or ammunition to go along with the new firearm may be an indicator that the person buying isn’t as concerned about the functionality of the gun as a legit buyer would be. 

Resources – The NSSF Don’t Like for the Other Guy program provides training materials, signage, and displays for your workers and your store. Learn more at https://www.nssfrealsolutions.org/programs/dont-lie/.