I love these threads - they are so funny!
Yeah, Dicks Sporting Goods is "Anti 2A" - it's very apparent. Don't let all those guns and piles of ammo fool you folks - it's a secret ploy...
I've written this a thousand times, so what's one more? Dicks Sporting Goods is not a gun shop - it's not your local neighborhood mom-n-pop. It's a big box sporting goods store with a gun department. You will not always find expert advice in a big box store - even if you're buying soccer cleats - let alone guns and ammunition. I work part time there and I have a reputation for being knowledgable and service-orientated. I try to make it feel like a gun shop when I'm there, but it isn't and never will be. I work in the Lodge - it's a big department that's responsible for nearly half of total store sales. I can walk you through the finer points of firearms, manufacturers, ballistics, ammunition, kayaks, camping gear, archery and beyond. Ask me about fishing tackle though and my eyes glaze over. I'm useless at giving competent advice to anyone but absolute beginners. You cannot hope to walk into a store like Dicks and set expectations that the associate you meet is expert on much. For me, it's a second job and I happen to know a thing or two. Many however do not - again, it's not a gun shop. It is however a place where if you're willing to go through the process, can indeed produce some pretty decent deals on new firearms and if you're lucky, have someone behind the counter who knows what they're talking about.
As to their corporate policies regarding trigger locks, escorting firearms to the register and extra requirements with regard to identification, I'm not privy to the ivory tower in Pittsburgh and have no idea why their policies are as they are - only that they are. I may not agree with them and think most if not all are stupid. However, I have nothing to risk now do I? Dicks Sporting Goods has 450+ stores and their stock is up. They're doing gangbuster business and believe it or not, sell tons of firearms and ammunition - tons. Every single day. If they take extra steps, follow the law exactly or their corporate standards are not up to your liking, here's a quick suggestion: Don't shop there...Bitching and moaning on the interwebs won't get you anywhere and in fact, costs you at least 3 internets and 4 or more rep points, so take that into consideration and take you business elsewhere...