Buying cool.

[Tamara]

Back in the early '90s, when I first started getting into this shooting thing really seriously, you knew somebody was The Real Deal because they carried a customized 1911 in Condition 1 in a Sparks or Rosen IWB holster, strong side. After years of off-and-on carrying Glocks and SIGs and P7s, I'd be lying if I said this didn't have some influence on my choice when I really got serious about toting back in '01 and started packing a Springer Pro.

And, you know, I know I can't have been alone in that thought. I mean, how many people were carrying cocked & locked Government Models, not because it was the setup they had trained with and worked with the best, but because that's what all The Cool Kids were doing?

Similarly, I look around a gun show today and wonder how many kids are running a Glock or M&P in AIWB kydex because that's how they were schooled, and how many are doing it because, like tying an onion on your belt, it was the style at the time?

[Kyle Reese]

Back in the early '90s, when I first started getting into this shooting thing really seriously, you knew somebody was The Real Deal because they carried a customized 1911 in Condition 1 in a Sparks or Rosen IWB holster, strong side. After years of off-and-on carrying Glocks and SIGs and P7s, I'd be lying if I said this didn't have some influence on my choice when I really got serious about toting back in '01 and started packing a Springer Pro.

And, you know, I know I can't have been alone in that thought. I mean, how many people were carrying cocked & locked Government Models, not because it was the setup they had trained with and worked with the best, but because that's what all The Cool Kids were doing?

Similarly, I look around a gun show today and wonder how many kids are running a Glock or M&P in AIWB kydex because that's how they were schooled, and how many are doing it because, like tying an onion on your belt, it was the style at the time?

It's an interesting point, to be sure. I carry AIWB not because The Cool Kids do it, but because it is, from a concealability/accessibility standpoint, a far superior method of carrying a service sized handgun.

Just my 2 kopecks.

[YVK]

I am a Cool Kid with a retro flair then - I carry condition 1 in AIWB. Or retro kid with cool flair...

I don't think there is anything wrong with "following the crowd" as long as the follower (not the magazine part) has enough critical thinking of his/her own.

[jslaker]

The Cargo Cult in unavoidable. You're always going to have people that follow and emulate without understanding.

Though I think the numbers of AIWB+polymer striker toting types are a rather extreme minority in the first place. The cocked and locked 1911 still carries a certain cachet in most gun shops, and Springfield XDs are still flying off shelves.

If I spot somebody at the range wearing an M&P on their appendix, it might catch my attention, but primarily because it's out of the norm. I don't think it really has any bearing on my perception on whether they're an ultra leet warrior (mall or otherwise) or not. I can evaluate that better in a 5 minute conversation than I can by the gear they carry, as a rule.

[Drew]

I say, be cool.

When I first got into shooting, I had to have a 1911. Because that is what really cool guys, like Pike in "The Wild Bunch" carried. Whats more, it had been scientifically documented that REAL MEN shoot .45s. To this day, I remember the guy at the gun store strongly advising me to purchase a used Sig P226 (it had the pre-ban 15 round mags - a hot commodity at the time). "Nope - I NEED that Colt. In fact, put it on this MasterCard, right now." How much better off would I have been if I had taken that advice? But it got me into responsible gun ownership... a cool first step.

I credit pistol-training.com and this forum for changing my perspective. I drink a slightly different Kool-Aid - it is 9mm flavored. But my priorities are a little different, what I think is cool is a little different, and consequently I shoot better than I used to.

On the other hand, I consume in moderation. AIWB is not for me - I have heeded the warnings.

My take: the Cool Kids are a hell of a lot better at the things I am interested in - that's why I think they are cool in the first place. "Its gotta be the shoes..." Rugged individualism - be damned. I want to be like Mike!

Admittedly, I saw a bit of "The Way of the Gun" the other day and winced ... a little.

Ka-ching.

Drew

[agent-smith]

Admittedly, I saw a bit of "The Way of the Gun" the other day and winced ... a little.

Great movie.

I just buy what I think looks cool, not what others are using.

[Blayglock]

I think it is why a lot if people closer to my age (I'm 25) shoot a .40. just bc it is what the (insert alphabet soup or clandestine operator) carries.

[agent-smith]

I think it is why a lot if people closer to my age (I'm 25) shoot a .40. just bc it is what the (insert alphabet soup or clandestine operator) carries.

Nah...I think the reason a lot of people around 25yrs old shoot a .40 S&W is because they are buying their first pistol, and don't know any better. I started out with a .40 S&W, and carried one for a decade...and then I got smart.

[Blayglock]

That as well. To clarify I went to a university that has one of the top rated criminal justice programs in the nation. There were a ton of people there that bought a .40 bc their agency of choice had one or their buddy told them to get one.

[Joe in PNG]

What do I care about cool? I'm a 37 year old bass playing anime geek, fer crying out loud. I'm 180 degrees away from cool. So, a S&W model 64 for me.