[jonsidneyb]

I have always seen what handgun type you want to have as being a personal thing.

To me as long as it work mechanically, is mechanically reliable, and in a cartridge that is up to the job, It is all up to your prefences.

In all things there are compromizes even if price is taken off of the table. This means even in a given caliber A is in someways better than B and B is in some ways better than A.

I usually shoot in my own backyard so I don't see it that often but when I go to where other people are it seems I see it alot.

I went to a public range once and had a revolver out and someone commented that I should get an automatic and that they were better. I then pulled out an automatic and then went back to getting ready to shoot the revolver.

When I went to get my first CZ-75 another customer told me I should get a Glock. I told him I already have one of those.

I remember once I had a blued steel 6 inch model 19 out and I was told that I needed to get stainless.

I hope that I am not guilty of this as well but maybe I am. I have my favorites but it is based on what works for me and I feel comfortable with.

I have had at least one gun from almost all the manufucturers and I have started to settle into what I like, it sure took long enough, about 35 years. It does get old for people to tell me to get what I already have or have had.

Now there is nothing wrong with pointing out the various merits of one over the other but the blanket get an XYZ sometimes bugs me.

I think there are alot of fine guns out there that do what they were intended to do in a very good manner, it just happens that they are not for me but they could be perfect for you. I don't knock other peoples guns as long as they work as intended and if they are good guns I will acknowledge that.

Maybe I am reading more into the what I have seen around other shooters or were around the wrong ones. It just seems to me that shooters have more people critical of what others use that many other areas of interest.

I do have to say this forum does seem very civil, much better than I have seen at public shooting places. I think I will stay in my backyard to shoot from now on.

[up_onus]

I dont believe most of handgun "smugness" is really just that. More of relaying your personal preference.
And it is my OPINION thatbecause a majority of people are unfamiliar with handguns and their intricacies, familiar people feel that they should open their mouth and offer an opinion, wanted or not. Too me, you almost sound a touch smug by saying you dont want to hear others said opinions?:evil:
just kiddin....and may the bullet go just to where you want it;)

[rich636]

I saw this statement on one of the gun forums a while back and I saved it because it made me laugh....and kind of describes some of the self proclaimed "range yodas".

"It always makes me laugh when some git with a big fat guts argues with me about "the best combat rifle" at the range when he cant walk to the coke machine without panting and getting short of breath....."

[jonsidneyb]

I don't mind opinions so much as people telling me that "I need to get an XYZ because they are better than what I have" Sometimes I just want to say I have had one for 10 years and I don't like it as well.

Oh and I fell my revolvers get picked on badly as being obsolete. I then try to explain that I actually usually carry of of each and one of them is a revolver for a good reason.

Some people out there seems to also think if it has real blued steel it is not good as well.

Hmmm

Oh well. I will just keep saying, yep I already have or had one.

[gwine]

Well, it is kind of droll to go shopping for a handgun and have the sales person tell me what I don't want (you don't want a .22 because you'll get tired of it real quickly and you can't use it for defense and yada yada yada :rolleyes: .) I have become more open about what my first handgun will be because of the diversity of comments (both likes and dislikes) here on THR, and I want to thank all of you for giving me food for thought.

And, deo volenti, I will have more than one, and in different styles and calibers, before I'm done.

[oldskag]

I agree with you. I have had many a hobby over the years and you cannot get away from it..whether it be old cars or guns. I'm happy and feel lucky that the wife has gone along with me on some of my interests. I just take the biggest guns with me to the range and people leave me alone..

[jonsidneyb]

What is fun is that people seem to assume that you are buying a gun for protection.

"That gun is going to be a little hard to carry with a 6 inch barrel"

Ummm, If I wanted to carry this gun on the street I could find away but my neighbors are trees and cornfields, I can carry a 6 inch if I want to just fine.

I have my current CCW picket out but it could change. I sometimes wonder why they have field guns in the case if they don't want to sell them.

One gun I want I am sure will get comments. I want one of the 5 inch J-Frame .357s not as a protection gun. But a less bulky on the belt but still plenty of velocity gun when I am out in the woods.

[rich636]

Oldskag you're right, if it's not an "xyz" gun is better, it's xyz golf club, fishing reel, truck, etc. And Jonsydney I think blued guns have a lot more personality than stainless, it's a shame not many guns have a lustery blue finish anymore.

[jonsidneyb]

I like my old stuff from my childhood.

Forums make me feel that I am getting old sometimes.

Hmmm, I wonder if it is because I am getting old.

[RevolvingCylinder]

I've been told that K-frames were not concealable and couldn't be used for CCW. This was from the shop I bought it from. I just gave them the usual disinterested "yeah... whatever...". I suppose I would've been better off getting something that was too small for my large hands.:rolleyes:
Of course, revolvers are obsolete. The .38 Special is useless. I just guess people are tougher and more bullet resistant these days. Also, you can only take on several people armed with long guns with a hi-cap pistol. That's the only way you won't be "outgunned".:rolleyes:
Some people seem to think their pistols are as good as a rifle or shotgun.

[pax]

Jon ~

Ever meet someone who was just totally thrilled with his new Maglight, and couldn't figure out why anyone in the world would want a SureFire?

Same basic emotional impulse, I think. On both sides of that conversation.

pax

[jonsidneyb]

pax,

You are probably right. I always assume that when people buy a Maglite it is because they don't want to spend much money but there could be other reasons. I have had a couple people ask me why I carry a $200.00 or up custom built flashlight before though. I guess since I don't by lights in stores people do not very often try and influence my purchase. Most of the people I talk lights with are not light people but are actually cavers. The cavers seem to understand quality lights.

Usually when I go to make a purchase from a store, I have already made my choice on what I want long before I get in the car. :)

[Robereno]

Yep, whether I go to a ham radio store, hiking/camping store, canoe/boat store, computer store or especially a gun store, I always seem to run into one of those macho windbags who has all the answers. Sometimes it’s the store clerk but usually it’s some loudmouth customer who wants everybody to hear what he says. The worst case I ever saw was in a gun store where a really cute young lady was asking for advice on her first gun. She literally gathered a crowd.

[jonsidneyb]

It is places like this I think are appropriate for the kind of discussion on what features something has. I also think it is appropriate if the customer asks questions to then try to answer them.

I think it is kind of rude when I am shooting a Glock for someone to tell me to get a Sig, when I am shooting a Sig for someone to tell me to get a 1911, or when I am shooting a CZ-75 to get a Beretta. I do think I notice this the most when I am shooting a revolver. Revolvers seem to get beat up bad out there in the comment department.

[torpid]

I believe it's insecurity.


When they say:

"You need to ditch that ______ and get a real (insert car, fishing pole, gun, golf clubs, etc.) like my ______."

The subconciously mean:

"My _____ is still okay right? I mean it's still popular to have one?
I constantly need to validate my choice which was formed by peer pressure, and I'm deathly afraid that my peers will have moved on to something else, and I'll stand out as uncool if my _____ is now out of fashion.
So pardon me while I put down your _____, but you do understand that it makes me feel better to verify to you that mine is more 'correct' than yours."

"Oh, and please do not try to convince me otherwise, as my worldview is still in junior high school, and I couldn't function in an adult reality."


.

[gwine]

torpid, you just passed junior high for that answer and you may go to high school if you want.

[5Wire]

Torpid nailed it, a reaction presuming another's choice is considered a challenge to one's one, juvenile.

[Leanwolf]

If you guys thnk it gets screwy about guns, just get a bunch of guys together and pull out your _____________ (fill in the blank) knife and say, "This is the best knife in the world for all around use on everything!"

Then watch the fur fly! :eek:

L.W.

[Majic]

One good way to shut them up is to tell them to buy you the model they prefer and you will gladly shoot it. After years and years of shooting I'm still waiting for one of these experts to hand me a free gun.

[Bullet Bob]

I agree with the smugness thing, at least on the internet. I usually have enough variations of firearms at the range that I don't get many comments about my choices, but I'm often amazed at the firmness of opinions expressed on gun forums. I usually assume they haven't lived long enough to figure out that there are no sure things in life.

Besides, everybody knows that S&W revolvers are really the only way to go;)

[ozwyn]

yes there is some of that, but tell me, how do they respond when you mention you already have one as well? (like in the cz vs glock story)

I think the easiest way to disarm the smugness is to remidn the person that just one brand/model or type isn't good enough. Firearms tend be a lot like chips, just can't have one :D

Maybe that's not the right view, but I see it as a way to make a little humor out of gun owners habits of evolving into gun collectors. ( a quick transition with a very slippery slope )

[the pistolero]

I usually have enough variations of firearms at the range that I don't get many comments about my choices

I've been very lucky; no one's ever denigrated my choice of firearm whenever I've been at the range. In fact on my last trip everyone else there was oooh-ing and aaaah-ing over the Kimber, and on the trip before that with my Ruger GP-100, this older gentleman shooting with his grandson complimented me on that choice as well. He took it and showed it to his grandson, telling him, "You see how strong it's built?" I like all guns, really, even the combat Tupperware...









....but everyone really knows the 1911 is the only way to go, even if they don't want to admit it. :D
/tongue in cheek

[El Tejon]

Not smugness, just KIRK'S THIRD LAW OF THE INTERNET at work.

Kirk's Third Law: the subjective is objective.

Read all posts as one man's opinion as to what he likes in a pistol (ammo, carbine, optic, sling, inter alia). Does not mean they are right or wrong, just different.:)

[Geno]

It happens in all aspects of life. I have an older sister who, for the past 25 years has always had, and participated in, "the best". When she attended A College, A College was "the best". After she flunked-out of A College and transferred to B University, A College was crap and B University was "the best".

Yes, I am being perfectly serious!

I think that she has always been among the most extreme of this type person, but for fact they exist. I take them, as I take my sister, with a grain of salt.

To be certain, there are firearms that I prefer, and others that I do not prefer. The "best" firearm is a mixture of both qualitative attributes and quantitative attributes. To me, it is the mix of both, and the firearm that satisfies the majority of the that is the "best" for me at that time.

Now, with more years under my belt, I hold my words and simply do as I choose.

Doc2005

[Danus ex]

Maybe it's just Minnesotan culture, but nobody bugs me at the range no matter what I'm shooting.

That said, I do more shooting with my friends at a private range. Though we're young (22-26), none of us are arrogant enough to bash anyone's guns. In fact, three of the most frequently praised guns are my Colt Police Positive, my buddy Alex's beat up Winchester over/under, and Alex's Ruger M77 .22-250. And this is against things like HK, Kimber, and Walther pistols, Beretta and FN shotguns, and Garands, AR-15s, and FALs.

[osteodoc08]

My father always taught me that if I didn't have anything nice to say, just to say nothing and to smile.

I routinely shoot on a public range, however, I don't see much of the smugness that is mentioned here. You can usually weed out the people who love guns and love to shoot from the ones that are "just practicing."

I try to stay away from the range before deer season, after christmas and on weekends. If I do go during the weekends, it is when the range first opens, perhaps this is how I avoid the smugness that others encounter here.

If I do make a comment on someones side arm I will take one of two paths
1. "That is a nice XYZ, haven't seen one of those in a while." or
2. "That is an interesting sidearm, what model is it?"

That is usually enough to start a polite conversation and I have met many interesting individuals that way. I typically see these people many times a year on the range it is always a reassuring feeling when you see these same individuals because by then I know there gun handling ethic. This is what bothers me the most about public ranges. I can go into some of the stupid things I've seen people do, but that is for another thread.

Whenever I do encounter smugness, I just usually thank the person and go about my business. The latest one was
"Why do you shoot a 41 Mag when the 44 Mag is so much better, not to mention the newer super guns?"

My reply was "The 41Mag was developed by 2 of my handgunning idols, Elmer Keith and Bill Jordan, ever heard of them?" That usually stops them in thier tracks. I guess I could always use "Well, I never saw the difference in the .19 inches I'd be missing over the 44Mag" This should keep them scratching thier heads until they figure out that the 44Mag is only a nominal .429" and not a true .44"

Oh well, I've used up my lunch time. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

[NorCalAl]

Saw it all the time when I lived in the SF Bay Area. There, it seems that it's the make/model that matter more than ability - just like with most items in that area. All about show. Here in the north state, I still see it, the smugness. I went to buy a new SW M&P the other day and mentioned my Kimber. I listened to a 1/2 hour tirade by one of the 'experts' at the store about how bad Kimbers are. I ended up not buying anything from them.
I realize we all have our opinions, but that's where it should stop - as opinions. It's that so many people think their opinions are FACTS. This clown was a salesman at the store and ripped on my guns, my choices for guns and even put down stuff they sold. It was amazing.

[Maui19]

I really don't get hassled at the range, either. Everyone is generally very nice.

[jaysouth]

I used to shoot with someone who was much older and had as much experience with guns and any dozen magazine writers.

We were at a range one day. My older friend, "Pete" was shooting a pre-10 M&P with most of the finish gone. It was box stock with tiny grips and smaller sights.

A couple of shooters that we took to be downtown yuppies were shooting a pair of glocks at the next lane. They kept looking at Pete and his tired old gun. Finally one of them offered Pete a chance to shoot his glock.

My friend, a salty ex-marine from Central American days and WWII, turned and squinted at the pair. He declined and thanked them. another started, This is something brand new and the new wave of guns to come, you ought to try it.

Pete looked at both of them for about 5 beats and said, "boy, When I was night Marshall, I shot three men in two seconds with three shots using this old Smith. Killed all three of them deader than a poleaxed steer." How many men you killed with that yuppie spacegun you got?

They left after a few more rounds.