One of the big things that makes “American Pickers” hit the way it does is the people the pickers meet. The show doesn’t just highlight the goods being found in the proverbial mountains of forgotten hoards, but instead introduces you to the plethora of people Mike Wolfe and (formerly) Frank Fritz encountered during their adventures. Most of the time, the folks they deal with are nice and happy to haggle over a few items. Others are endlessly amusing personas brought to internet fame after appearing on the show. Think Mole Man and Prince Mongo. And, at least one other very memorable person viewers didn’t see but whom likely Mike has never forgotten. 

When the show was still a fledgling production during the olden times of 2011, Wolfe did an interview with Southeastern Antiquing and Collecting Magazine. During the interview, he talked about the time he’d had a gun shoved in his face. According to Wolfe, he knocked and the homeowner answered the door — albeit with a pistol pointed right at Wolfe. Fortunately, Mike’s got a pretty cool head and a quick wit though, explaining that “all I could think of to say was, ‘Hey is that [pistol] for sale?'”

Back then, the picker said he’d only been run off of property a couple of times and that situations like the pistol incident were exceedingly rare.