Features on guns, scopes, and other equipment that you don't understand

I'd make an exception for some rare CZ's. But yup, most DA/SA pistols are terrible.

Usually we can use a steel plate "racing tree" to illustrate that. Start with pistols holstered, and DA/SA's never win.

A lot of people that I see at the range don't under the "1 click = 1/4" at 100 yards" equation printed on their scope turrets. They will start out shooting at 25 yards and hit several inches away from their point of aim. Then only move the turret one or two clicks at a time until they run out of ammo and then proceed to blame the scope. They'll say they paid for it to be "mounted and bore sighted" and are utterly mystified that they don't hit the center of the target on the first couple shots.

I can't cont the number of times I've had to tell people that 16 clicks equals 1 inch at 25 yards with their particular scope, only to have them look at me like I couldn't possibly be right. They go right back to one or two clicks at a time while trying to move the point of impact several inches to their point of aim. The strange thing is age doesn't seem to matter either, I've seen the issue with people of all ages, 18 to 80.

Zerodefect said:

I'd make an exception for some rare CZ's. But yup, most DA/SA pistols are terrible.

Usually we can use a steel plate "racing tree" to illustrate that. Start with pistols holstered, and DA/SA's never win.

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Uh, the last 8 national championships in USPSA - a speed-based shooting game with plenty of steel involved - in production (the division where guns must be either striker-fired or DA/SA) have been won by people using DA/SA guns. This last year, 6 of the top 8 were using DA/SA guns.

ih772 said:

A lot of people that I see at the range don't under the "1 click = 1/4" at 100 yards" equation printed on their scope turrets. They will start out shooting at 25 yards and hit several inches away from their point of aim. Then only move the turret one or two clicks at a time until they run out of ammo and then proceed to blame the scope. They'll say they paid for it to be "mounted and bore sighted" and are utterly mystified that they don't hit the center of the target on the first couple shots

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Took me a while to figure that out, now MOA is pretty simple. However, my smart phone, that is a mystery!

I saw that the other day at an indoor range. I had my Ruger American 22mag sighted in after firing under 15 shots. These other two guys must have fired 100 at 10 yds with their 10-22 and were bitching about how the scope must be defective because it’s impact point hardly moved with a click.

They looked at me like I fell from the sky when I told them to turn it a full turn and a half before their next shot, so they kept plodding along. Finally one dude gets fed up and cranks it a bunch... and the shot moved on the paper halfway to the center in one shot.

Mission partially accomplished I guess, I left before they ever had it dialed in.

Stay safe!

My biggest pet peeve with scopes is the overly busy reticles.

Maybe I am the only person that just wants a simple reticle. So, it seems that if I want a simple reticle without all the bullet drop crap I need to special order.

Slamfire said:

I like the exposed turrets!

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Me too

Slamfire said:

I probably would have noticed if some clown had monkeyed around with my M1a sights, because I made sure I could look down and see if everything was within zero.

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I wouldn’t recommend that approach on a scope. I marked my first service rifle optic like that. After a bit, I wanted to change my zero markings. Went to clean them off with some acetone like I had done a bunch of times on real sights like yours. Wiped all the numbers off the scope. Sad. My Bad.

Grip safeties.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Grip safeties.

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Not a 1911 fan?

Texas10mm said:

Not a 1911 fan?

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I've not had great luck with them in the past, though I do have this one now:

If it weren't worth so much, I would probably pin the grip.
I do like my dad's Ballester Molina, which doesn't use one, but design wise I prefer the High Power.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

If it weren't worth so much, I would probably pin the grip

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I saw a guy last Saturday with quite a nice 1911; the grip safety was simply taped down. No pin holes, no nuthin. Or the trick of clipping a piece off a shock buff and wedging it between the grip safety and mainspring housing. No pin holes, no nuttin.

A reloading feature commonly heard "I blew a primer so I backed off the powder charge half a grain."
The old Speer standard was, that upon any one single "pressure sign" like hard bolt lift, cratered primer, or ejector slot embossed on the casehead, the powder charge should be reduced by 6%. Because when you start deforming stuff in the chamber, you are not just a smidgen overloaded.

Jim Watson said:

I saw a guy last Saturday with quite a nice 1911; the grip safety was simply taped down. No pin holes, no nuthin. Or the trick of clipping a piece off a shock buff and wedging it between the grip safety and mainspring housing. No pin holes, no nuttin.

A reloading feature commonly heard "I blew a primer so I backed off the powder charge half a grain."
The old Speer standard was, that upon any one single "pressure sign" like hard bolt lift, cratered primer, or ejector slot embossed on the casehead, the powder charge should be reduced by 6%. Because when you start deforming stuff in the chamber, you are not just a smidgen overloaded.

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Allow tape to touch my Colt!!?!! Good Lord, no!

Ehhhy, I can deal with grip safeties- just think they are a silly, unnecessary moving parts.

You have to look at the history.
1. The Army wanted a grip safety.
2. Mr Browning and Colt thought, OK, we have to provide a grip safety, let's make it the access plate to install the trigger and other lockwork.

Why are there flip-up lens covers but there aren't flip-up turret covers?

Jim Watson said:

You have to look at the history.
1. The Army wanted a grip safety.
2. Mr Browning and Colt thought, OK, we have to provide a grip safety, let's make it the access plate to install the trigger and other lockwork.

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The Army specified lots of ridiculous things on their weapons-
M1903 rod bayonet....
P39s without turbochargers......
Fixed, hull-mounted tank machine guns......

Allow me to rephrase, I understand why it is there, just not the flawed thought process that led to the requirement for it.

Grip safeties are what make a straight-pull trigger on a 1911 drop-safe in case of a muzzle-up drop. Old-school steel triggers are heavy enough to pull themselves in a muzzle-up drop impact. They (grip safeties) are not silly on that kind of gun.

OK...pet peeves........#1...ten pound trigger pulls; every new rifle I buy with one or two exceptions required trigger work or replacement. With our technological advances, there is no reason why we can't get the trigger we want or close to it without sacrificing safety or breaking the bank. #2...cheap crappy magazines that don't fit and require lots of effort to make them work..(solution; don't buy cheap crap). #3...New guns that must be disassembled and cleaned before they work. But, overall I'm happy with my guns and find few faults that cannot be corrected.

Why are bayonet lugs so deadly they get banned??

caribou said:

Why are bayonet lugs so deadly they get banned??

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They aren't, it's just that classifying firearms is tough for non-enthusiasts. So to separate weapons of war from sporting arms they "powers-that-be" decided a bayonet is likely only found on items intended for war. Simple logic. Just don't tell them any firearm can be used for either purpose.

illinoisburt said:

" Just don't tell them any firearm can be used for either purpose.

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Shuks, I blew that long ago hunting with milsurps. Never did use that damn lug........

My two pet peeves are crappy, cheap mag springs, and the OP's sloppy loose scope knobs.
When you spend 400 to 700$ on a pistol, and the manufacturer can't be bothered to get
decent mag springs. They're basically willing to risk their reputation as a firearms manufacturer,
because some sniveling, bean counting, jack-hole in the back room torpedoes the quality
of the mags, by "saving" 17 cents a unit on mag spring steel quality.

As to the "turret" adjusters on scopes, I gave one of these nightmarish wonders away, because
if you fart in a room 3 doors down the hall, that turret moves, and your zero is crap, AGAIN.
I guess everybody buys at least one of these really annoying POS, at one time or another.

Not so much pet peeve as just don't see practical use: throw lever QD scope mounts. I have yet to encounter one that actually returned exactly to zero. And frankly whats the point to taking sights on/off for the average shooter unless maybe it's night vision?

illinoisburt said:

Not so much pet peeve as just don't see practical use: throw lever QD scope mounts. I have yet to encounter one that actually returned exactly to zero. And frankly whats the point to taking sights on/off for the average shooter unless maybe it's night vision?

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Bro, the use is obvious. When you're rolling to the local frozen yogurt joint, strapped with your AR and chest plate, and that 155mm shell lands too close and cracks the objective lens on your ACOG, you gots to be able to ditch that thing with a quickness. How else are you going to access your backup iron sights and fight through the ambush? QD mounts are essential for daily use in America. Gotta have 'em. The scenarios I described happens basically daily.

[sarcasm off]

illinoisburt said:

Not so much pet peeve as just don't see practical use: throw lever QD scope mounts. I have yet to encounter one that actually returned exactly to zero. And frankly whats the point to taking sights on/off for the average shooter unless maybe it's night vision?

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Magnifier behind a red dot is one that comes to mind. I don’t have one but I have seen this in some videos and it makes sense. I’m still not sure I like red dots.