I went to the gun show in Dripping Springs today and had a first for me. I've never had someone ask about the legality of my firearm before, much less attempt to seize it from me. After walking around the show for an hour an employee of Tejas Gun Shop asked about a Remington 700 Pistol build in a Pork Sword Chassis I had brought, and if I wanted to trade or sell it. I handed it to the employee, who handed it to the Owner (Butch Lyon per the Facebook page). The owner walked off with my gun, came back 5 minutes later, and told me he was not going to give me my lawfully owned pistol because of his insistence it was a felony. He (wrongly) stated there is no way a Remington 700 pistol can be legal, as Remington has only ever sold the 700 as a rifle. This was despite him selling (non Remington) braced pistols on his table today. He made baseless accusations that I was violating the law, threatened me with jail time, insulted me, and made unhinged comments about my parents not raising me correctly for being disrespectful to his self-appointed authority to seize my firearm.
I am 25 years old, and he made frequent reference to my age, which he stated meant I wasn't knowledgeable enough about the world to be demanding he return my gun to me. After 10 minutes of back and forth with Mr. Lyon wherein he maintained possession of my pistol, which he believed to be a felony to possess, I asked if he was trying to steal my pistol. I had insisted several times that he return my gun to me. He told me he had already called over two ATF agents who happened to be at the Gun Show. They had a table for public outreach, not far from the Tejas Gun Shop. The gun show management came by, and asked to hold the gun while the ATF verified it's legality. While not ideal IMO it was better than leaving the gun in Mr. Lyon's possession. I asked Mr. Lyon if he would be willing to apologize to me should it turn out my firearm was legal, and he told me I was a criminal who would get no apology from him. The management of the gun show were polite and professional, in a less than ideal situation. After this situation resolved they apologized to me for my interaction with this vendor. The ATF quickly verified the legality of my pistol, and were unsure of why Mr. Lyon would feel it was illegal in the first place. I left the gun show, pistol in hand shortly thereafter. Interestingly, this entire situation had nothing to do with the brace on my gun, nor current ATF views on braces. In fact, the only time anyone at Tejas Gun Shop was when I asked them if they wanted to swap me the Kel Tec RDB-S they had, plus $1000 cash my way, on my out the door after they had seen the ATF determine the gun to be legal. Mr Lyon doubled down, said he new my gun was illegal despite this determination, and that even if it wasn't in 118 days it will be.
I don't often go to gun shows, and this situation reminded me why. They are often filled with junior hall monitor types, willing to be confidently wrong, while threatening and harassing other members of the same hobby with legal force they have no authority to use. I have attended gun shows off and on for 15 years, I shoot regularly, and have bought a gun from most of the local gun stores. I hold a C&R FFL, a Texas License to Carry, and have several Tax Stamps(3 suppressors and a machine gun). Nothing special, but I am not unfamiliar with NFA law and generally have only positive things to say about local gun stores. To have my time wasted and attacks made on my character (crazier still, my parents who had not even attended the gun show were attacked) was out of the blue, and the behavior of a man who allowed his ego and desire for a power trip to get the best of him. As a customer I have no interest in doing business with such a person, and as a gun owner he reflects poorly on each of us. We can do better guys!
I am 25 years old, and he made frequent reference to my age, which he stated meant I wasn't knowledgeable enough about the world to be demanding he return my gun to me. After 10 minutes of back and forth with Mr. Lyon wherein he maintained possession of my pistol, which he believed to be a felony to possess, I asked if he was trying to steal my pistol. I had insisted several times that he return my gun to me. He told me he had already called over two ATF agents who happened to be at the Gun Show. They had a table for public outreach, not far from the Tejas Gun Shop. The gun show management came by, and asked to hold the gun while the ATF verified it's legality. While not ideal IMO it was better than leaving the gun in Mr. Lyon's possession. I asked Mr. Lyon if he would be willing to apologize to me should it turn out my firearm was legal, and he told me I was a criminal who would get no apology from him. The management of the gun show were polite and professional, in a less than ideal situation. After this situation resolved they apologized to me for my interaction with this vendor. The ATF quickly verified the legality of my pistol, and were unsure of why Mr. Lyon would feel it was illegal in the first place. I left the gun show, pistol in hand shortly thereafter. Interestingly, this entire situation had nothing to do with the brace on my gun, nor current ATF views on braces. In fact, the only time anyone at Tejas Gun Shop was when I asked them if they wanted to swap me the Kel Tec RDB-S they had, plus $1000 cash my way, on my out the door after they had seen the ATF determine the gun to be legal. Mr Lyon doubled down, said he new my gun was illegal despite this determination, and that even if it wasn't in 118 days it will be.
I don't often go to gun shows, and this situation reminded me why. They are often filled with junior hall monitor types, willing to be confidently wrong, while threatening and harassing other members of the same hobby with legal force they have no authority to use. I have attended gun shows off and on for 15 years, I shoot regularly, and have bought a gun from most of the local gun stores. I hold a C&R FFL, a Texas License to Carry, and have several Tax Stamps(3 suppressors and a machine gun). Nothing special, but I am not unfamiliar with NFA law and generally have only positive things to say about local gun stores. To have my time wasted and attacks made on my character (crazier still, my parents who had not even attended the gun show were attacked) was out of the blue, and the behavior of a man who allowed his ego and desire for a power trip to get the best of him. As a customer I have no interest in doing business with such a person, and as a gun owner he reflects poorly on each of us. We can do better guys!
