Umm ... your handle is STI.
Umm ... your handle is STI.
" La rose est sans pourquoi, elle fleurit parce qu’elle fleurit ; Elle n’a souci d’elle-même, ne demande pas si on la voit. » Angelus Silesius
"There are problems in this universe for which there are no answers." Paul Muad'dib
Boring vs sexy hardware, a rant
I get a gratifying kick when I see a “plain Jane” trap shooter on the squad using his battle scared, decades old shotgun, purchased eons ago out of the Sears catalog, break a clean “25”. Not sexy, but gets the job done !
Maybe we should argue about how watches are/are not “just” timepieces. Might be less controversial.
Or not.
The point of being a gun ninja is to defend ones life. Well, there’s way bigger threats to our lives then a gunfight. Like keeling over from a heart attack. Or getting mangled/killed in a car wreck.Originally Posted by STI
The dude & dudette logging 10 miles a day on the treadmill has a better understanding of “self defense” then the guy holstering a Glock 19 around a beer belly. In terms of Things Likely To Kill You guns are fairly far down on the list.
Which means carrying a gold barreled slide cut Gucci Gun makes just as much sense as a used PD Glock 19 with stock sights and WalMart ammo.
The Minority Marksman.
"When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet."
-a Ch'an Buddhist axiom.
At least this is in the correct section of the forum... Might have been appropriate for the romper room haha.
Who cares what people do with their money?
And yes, Glock saying that their announcement today would be legendary is a bag of dicks...
I am ok with this provided he loads up his boat with a metric tonne of Timmies Ground Coffee. Damn but I must be the only American on the planet that loves it; heck I think I smuggled 5 lbs of it back across the border last visit we made to family near Taranna.
I wouldn't be a better shot if I sent 16,000 more rounds down range with a Glock than a 1911.
As a kid I first learned to shoot pistols with one of these:
Look familiar? I've fired well over 90k BBs and pellets through three of those things.
When I started shooting pistols - I first learned on my father's 1911 and a Smith and Wesson Model 41 (which also has a 1911 grip angle and thumb safety). I shot Bullseye, competitively with a Smith 41, a Smith 22A, and a 1911. I have absolutely no idea how many rounds I've fired through 1911-pattern handguns or guns with 1911-pattern grips and thumb safeties. The answer is so many that holding a 1911 in my hand is as natural as a hammer, a knife, or my own dick. Even tiny little GI-style sights come up virtually instinctively to my eye (though I can't see them as well as I used to could). For years I had 1911s, at one point a dozen of them. I sold them all, to help pay for my wife's master's degree.
So, I tried to be "practical tactical" after that, 1911s are 'spensive and other things aren't - HKs, Berettas, 3rd Gen Smiths, M&Ps, etc. None of them, despite my efforts, produced the degree of virtually effortless shooting that 1911s do for me. Reliability is always a concern and the 1911 requires substantially more effort on my part to maintain, inspect, etc. I do not care, because the flipside is a gun that for me is as natural to shoot as breathing.
Yes, they cost a lot more money. And I do not care, because the flipside is something that is as natural to shoot and use as breathing. We pay for convenience and the 1911 is so convenient for me, that I can neglect livefire for 14-months and as long as I dryfire once every 2-3 months during that time, my skills barely diminish. It took me a long time to realize and it wasn't until I sat down when I reacquired a 1911 ~24-months ago, that I put it all together (the air guns, the .22s, etc). I got my first 1010 Marksman at 4 or 5 years old, I turned 34 a few weeks ago. If you discount the period of time where I was 1911-less, I have 23 years of 1911-pattern grips, safeties, etc. in my hand.
It's not "boring vs. sexy" for me, it's simply what works and what doesn't at this point. The fact that 1911s are sexy as hell and Glocks aren't, is not really my fault, though I certainly don't mind teasing Glock owners for their Toyota Camry-like appliance pistols.
I enjoy guns and gun related things. Really don't care what folks spend their money on. As long as the family has food and shelter rock on. Recently shot a local pin league, beat out several open guns and some pretty squared away shooters. After the match I had an opportunity to shoot a fellow competitors open gun. He had a matched set, some type of comped CZ with optic. We did a head to head match. I took 5 rounds to verify point of impact, and loaded and made ready. I was beaten, by .18, a single split while using a gun I had fired 5 times prior to the buzzer. At some point you just step back and realize that hardware does play a role, but skill makes up for a lot of money. The comment was made that thousands were spent on the guns, but I invested hundreds of hours on the range. No one is doing it wrong, just differently. I take comfort in knowing that I can beat open shooters with legit carry gear. To me, that is priceless. Gun games are freaking cool, but the fundamental of hit fast and accurate is the core. What gets me are the guys who dump literally thousands of dollars into gear and still can't hit the damn target. At least you look cool, missing alot, really fast.
Last edited by CCT125US; 12-10-2019 at 08:22 PM.
Taking a break from social media.
I'm not entirely clear on your thesis, STI:
-Are you frustrated that people develop expertise with less-ideal, or excessively 'Gucci' guns?
I'm not. Skill is skill and I'd much rather someone practice regularly with a fucking Tokarev than walk around with a top-shelf handgun choice that's had the same 10 rounds of Glasers in the same magazine since 1988.
-Are you frustrated with people that buy or own less-ideal or excessively 'Gucci' guns?
*raises hand* That's me.. I've had all kinds of those dumb ideas. Hell I still inexplicably want a Yugo Tokarev and I *KNOW* it's a piece of shit. Will I carry it? Absolutely not! Would I recommend anyone else carry one? Absolutely not!
Would I rather His Majesty Joe Tokarev Goatee, wearer of fedoras, distinguished among true gentlemen, and undisputed king of the "friend-zone", carry something else? Absolutely! But would I rather him have no gun instead of a Tokarev? Well, that depends on his shooting/carry software alone; not his choice in pistols, hygiene, or other poor life decisions.
On the other end of the spectrum, I don't give a shit how impractical it is for carry, I want an MR73 revolver. Also, I'm probably going to buy more fancy Berettas. Hell I really want to buy one of the Tennessee commemorative Beretta 92 Brigadiers just to build a Resident Evil Samurai's Edge clone because somewhere in this functioning adult and NCO, a colossal video game dork is still hiding. IDGAF what anyone else thinks, that is HAPPENING.
Related: I've bagged a bunch of pigs with a SCAR-17S and my Troy AR10, and most of them could have been taken with a Mosin Nagant if I wanted to. Don't care, I'll still enjoy using modern semiautos to do rifle things as needed.
-Are you frustrated with people that try to replace software improvements by throwing money at hardware?
Yeah that bugs me too, but eventually they run out of money for hardware and try software, or sell that hardware at a discount. Either way a win for me. So long as their software isn't so fucked that it's unsafe, I don't care.
-All of the above?
I contend that bad hardware can make for good software lessons and a lot of 'a-ha' moments when progressing from novice to 'OK' levels of skill, especially if you're actually trying to improve. I sincerely hope that I feel like a total n00b at shooting for my entire life, because that means I'm learning when I push myself.
Now, if you want to talk about something worth a rant;
I don't give a pink painted, purple feathered fluffy FUCK *WHAT* is in someone's holster or rifle case; STOP FUCKING WAVING IT AROUND AND MUZZLING ME WITH IT, JACKASS.
Last edited by JRB; 12-11-2019 at 02:00 AM.
The Tikka has a single stack magazine. You know what other rifles have single stack magazines? Carcanos. Mosin Nagants. Early, clunky 91 Mausers. There's a reason the legendary Mauser 98 pattern rifle has a double stack, double feed magazine.
All too often, Americans "buy upside down". We will buy a $1500 or $2500 rifle and slap a $500 scope on it, when we'd be better off buying a $500 rifle and a $1500 scope.Season with your optic...of choice...
I don't recall anyone on this site saying "Don't waste your money and time on training or practice. Buy a new, shiny BBQ gun instead." But many times I've heard folks advise others to get training and practice regardless of the level of gear.Hating on the most budget guns and ammo to properly train the trigger puller, because it’s not sexy, is fucking stupid. If we were purely pragmatic we’d hate on the expensive gear and those who tout its advantages while training less than they could.
Tell me if I’m full of shit.
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