"American Guns" TV show.....

[pockets]

I finally watched last week's episode. An hour-long groan.
Having built a lot of muzzle loading guns over the decades, I could not understand their approach to building a 'hand cannon'. They could have simply drilled & reamed that brass blank with a 3/4" bore, installed a breech plug, drilled a touch hole and mounted it on the stock. What was the need to epoxy a rifled .50 caliber steel barrel inside the brass? Then they used slotted cap screws to hold some makeshift piece of brass on the back...just in case the steel barrel broke loose. Did they really think a 50-grain powder charge behind a round ball was going to break that loose? Then they stick the bands together with phillips head wood screws? SERIOUSLY?
Did they even do five minutes of research on hand cannon and how they were normally and variously constructed? Building a hand cannon is not dangerous....but building one without any clue what they are doing certainly can be. I hope those basement gunsmiths are making a lot of coin to be portrayed as utterly incompetent boobs.
And as for their repeated insistence that 'no one has built a hand cannon in over 100 years'? Really? That is like saying no one has built a matchlock, wheel-lock, snaphaunce, dog-lock, flintlock, percussion lock gun.....duh. There are groups of people all over the world dedicated to this sort of thing. Even I have built a basic matchlock 'hand cannon'. We can order matchlocks, wheel-locks, etc online.....not to mention actual cannon and mortars. As someone said...all they really needed was a DIXIE catalog.
And what was that HUGE deal they made over casting a lead round ball? We cast lead balls and/or bullets all the time. I could have cast a dozen over a campfire in the time they took to fumble out one badly cast and frosted ball.

Mercifully, there was no Paige nor yap-a-doodle last week.

Someone mentioned the old Showtime series; that was Lock 'N Load http://www.sho.com/site/locknload/home.do .....
(not to be confused with R. Lee Ermey's Lock N' Load http://shop.history.com/lock-n-load...x.php?v=history_show_r-lee-ermeys-lock-n-load).
That show was a blast. It made no pretense at being reality...it was just fun. It was based at 'The Shootist' gun store in Englewood, Colorado and featured actor-director Josh T. Ryan playing the part of a salesman there. It was entertaining, but only lasted for 6 episodes. But even my wife enjoyed watching that show.

.

 

[mac66]

AG is hard to watch. Rick Wyatt comes off as an insufferable <deleted> but then again, this is so called reality TV. It is more pretend reality TV in that it is unlikely that a gun dealer is going to fly to the mountain top house of some rich guy, who apparently doesn't have a clue of what he is buying. I would venture to say that is mostly staged drama. All the wheeling and dealing is a joke. In fact that show is so contrived that it I almost feel embarrassed for the people in the show.

In regards to the gun smithing, I would say the for the sake of clarity and brevity, corners that appear to be cut are either edited to look that way or are staged.

In regard to his legal problems concerning his divorce 5 or 6 year ago. I don't take into account anything that comes out of divorce proceedings. The only thing more contrived than reality TV shows are divorce papers.

<deleted>

 

[DammitBoy]

Rick Wyatt comes off as an insufferable <deleted>...

I think that's the reality part of the show.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I'll give them kudos for the wounded warrior M77 scout rifle, thought the safety/AD issue was ALWAYS (imho) going to be an issue with a trigger that light. It was a good looking finished product. Why it needed to be fired OUT of the stock? Ask a producer.

Of course it was the same old meddling with the shop gnomes in the basement to install an oversized bolt handle, flying a helicopter to the mushroom house off I-70 (the Sleeper house for film buffs) to oversell some '60's vintage guns'. Since when is a Johnson semi-auto a 60's gun? Since when is the model 29 discontinued? More cash deals with stacks of bills and no paperwork.

Don't get me started about the bizarredness of the James Bond gun car combo... because I still don't understand how a solenoid can safely fire a DA/SA trigger... let's face it after the first shot you drive over a bump and ventilate what ever is in front of the gun with a .380 hole, right? I could sort of (not really) understand a DA only gun for the 'purpose' but a semi-auto belt fed 1919 would make a LOT more sense--after all the dashboard switch did say "machine gun".

 

[RatherNotSay]

The thing that doesn't sit well with me when it comes to sons of guns or American guns is that all they REALLY seem to care about is money. I mean don't get me wrong I understand it's a business but that Will guy and the wife on American guns is just obsessed with it. The first episodes were cool cause they were ACTUALLY about guns but after that it turned into a guy flying around in a helicopter with a duffel bag full of cash. I also get so tired of all these sob stories where people bring in their so and so's guns and there is this whole drama episode about it. These show's are just like those jersey shore idiots or kardashian people with semi auto weapons.

 

[pockets]

I brought up this week's episode on my DVR, watched most of it, then deleted the rest. The show has achieved B-O-R-I-N-G.
Sadly, the 'Sleeper' house was this episode's highlight. However, perhaps the owner should stick to real estate and forget gun speculation?
I'm still trying to understand how a 17 year-old can sell firearms? And I am quite weary of the gratuitous jail-bait butt shots.
They could have done far more to make that scout rifle work well for the guy though. It looked nice, but was cobbled-up crap as far as function goes.
The 'Basement Gnomes' are funny.....sad but funny. I wonder if they have ever tried to escape?

I honestly don't think I can watch another episode...it IS that bad.
When does the next season of 'Sons Of Guns' start?

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll turn on some higher quality reality TV (is that an oxymoron or just moronic?) and watch Snooki.

.

 

[timhernandez]

I was saddened, but not suprised that these guys charged that kid for the Scout Rifle. As I remember, when the Sons of Guns people did that build for the Wounded Warrior, they gave him the entire rig for free...

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I stuck through the first three episodes....not enthused

Rich Wyatt does not know the difference between a AutoOrdnance TM1 semi-auto carbine (16.5" barrel) and a Depression Era gangster Tommy Gun? He looks at a WWII Browning Automatic Rifle 1918A2 BAR and asks What's that?

I can appreciate negotiating for 2/3 of the resale value on used guns, but he buys too low and sells too high for my comfort. The whole Alpha male with a wallet bigger than his brain act rubs me the wrong way.

Plus the fact that these shows skip all the GCA Form 4473 and NFA Form 4 transfer paperwork complications (at least Sons of Guns mentions paperwork in passing) will give non-gunnie people the wrong impression about gun dealers.

I would like to see an episode where they complete a 4473 and BG check, or a mini-series where they complete a Form 4 transfer.

 

[gathert]

With the scout rifle they built, they could have easily just ordered the one Ruger just came out with and put on a grip up front. I caught the second half of the episode but that looked to me like what they built, all with the useless troubles and shoddy gunsmithing about something to do with not checking to see if the safety worked.

PS,

How the heck was the gun on the car thing legal unless it never touched the road?

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

I was saddened, but not suprised that these guys charged that kid for the Scout Rifle. As I remember, when the Sons of Guns people did that build for the Wounded Warrior, they gave him the entire rig for free...

I agree. The quote from Wyatt was something to the effect of "while we didn't make a lot of money on this build..."
With as much as they overcharge everyone by thousands of dollars they shouldn't have an issue doing that scout rifle for free for a wounded warrior.
The James Bond car thing was painful to watch. He charged him something to the effect of $10k-$12k for THAT??? Any competent builder could have done the same thing with a pair of registered M11s and have actual MGs. I don't think any of the bond films ever had a car equipped with a pair of walthers...

 

[gathert]

I've got a Walther PPk/S and it likes to jam every once in a while. Not attach it to an immovable clamp, upside down, and under a car? Good luck with that. Plus, I didn't see how it could be reloaded.

 

[BobInNJ]

Yea, I think I'm done with this one. I didn't bother watching the last 15 min. last night before I hit the Delete button. I have to imagine that other reputable gun shops in the area must DISPISE this shop, let alone the show. I had some hopes for this one, but that's over. And, I agree, the "Lock 'n Load" that Showtime had last year was a far more accurate representation. Maybe not the most flattering, but certainly more accurate.

 

[raveneap]

But one thing you have to admit - it's consistent. Consistently worse week after week. Think I've wasted enough time on this one.

 

[DammitBoy]

I agree. The quote from Wyatt was something to the effect of "while we didn't make a lot of money on this build..."

That was my thought, what a bunch of creeps.

 

[shooter204]

rich wyatt is the biggest phony in the state of colorado.anyone that believes anything in this so called program is braindead .if he is a gunsmith i am a rocket scientist.

 

[sansone]

I'm sorry but looks like typical brain-dead garbage to me

 

[PT92]

rich wyatt is the biggest phony in the state of colorado.anyone that believes anything in this so called program is braindead .if he is a gunsmith i am a rocket scientist.

I can take it or leave it for "ENTERTAINMENT." I think many of you guys are taking this show way too seriously. The REAL gun shows are on the Outdoor Channel (American Rifleman, TAC TV, Guns & Ammo, Gun Stories, Shooting Gallery etc...). I watch both Sons and Gunsmoke for sh**ts and grins and not one moment for 'learning' anything. It's a reality show much like the Chopper show and the Discovery Channel is looking for a 'general' audience and not just 'gun nuts' like us. Just to reiterate, check out the gun shows on The Outdoor Channel for serious firearms material.

-Cheers

 

[rondog]

The reason so many of us are taking this too seriously is because Rich Wyatt and that shop are being portrayed to the general non-gun public as US! The non-gunners that watch that show immediately think that the rest of US are like THOSE FOOLS! And most of us normal firearms enthusiasts are quite rightly taking offense at that portrayal.

The truth be known, the vast majority of us regular gun owners and shooters are just boring, everyday people, and would make for poor television. TV producers seek out the oddballs to make the shows more interesting. Lots of people make custom choppers, but how many of them are dysfuctional freakazoids like the Orange County Choppers idiots? Those fools build stupid, unridable bikes, but make for good TV. Same with Red Jacket and American Hoggers. And the Alaska Gold Rush show.....lots of people mine for gold in Alaska and do very well at it, but a bunch of greenhorns struggling and suffering is far more entertaining!

 

[Carl N. Brown]

...other reputable gun shops in the area must DISPISE this shop, let alone the show.

It is not hard to find criticism of Rich Wyatt and Gunsmoke on the 'net not only from other gun shops but also from customers.

My gripe is that shows like this present the gun culture to the 'general public' and they are mostly BS.

 

[22lr]

Just a FYI for the show writers if they come around here, the Oliver North signed M1a is not a WWII rifle and is still being manufactured. And for the record the error was so obvious my 13year old brother caught it.

Also my brother says that if they keep making helicopter trips for a 25k sale they will be bankrupt here pretty soon. Just goes to show that my 13 year old brother could write a better TV show. I can write off the drama of a TV show like "Sons on Guns" because at least they actually build a decent rifle every now and then. But there are absolutely no redeeming qualities of "American guns" in my mind, it sucks all the way around.

 

[PT92]

The reason so many of us are taking this too seriously is because Rich Wyatt and that shop are being portrayed to the general non-gun public as US! The non-gunners that watch that show immediately think that the rest of US are like THOSE FOOLS! And most of us normal firearms enthusiasts are quite rightly taking offense at that portrayal.

The truth be known, the vast majority of us regular gun owners and shooters are just boring, everyday people, and would make for poor television. TV producers seek out the oddballs to make the shows more interesting. Lots of people make custom choppers, but how many of them are dysfuctional freakazoids like the Orange County Choppers idiots? Those fools build stupid, unridable bikes, but make for good TV. Same with Red Jacket and American Hoggers. And the Alaska Gold Rush show.....lots of people mine for gold in Alaska and do very well at it, but a bunch of greenhorns struggling and suffering is far more entertaining!

You make some good points.

-Cheers

 

[Strykervet]

You make some good points.

-Cheers

Totally agree. Sons of Guns, now this.

The antis have wisened up on their propaganda. They are much more passive in their approach now.

I wish the Military Channel would do something, but they haven't really.

Another thing to keep in mind is that something like 90% of all media are owned by five or six corporations. I was told this in college to keep in mind when writing research papers. You think you have five hundred channels, but you only have five in reality.

Just look at how information is restricted --Wikileaks founder being extradited and the global protests should be top news. Instead, I get live coverage of Michael Jackson's doctor's trial, news about Kardashian divorces, and lots and lots of info about what the latest wannabe president said --on every single channel.

To think these shows are designed to do anything else than paint a picture about a segment of the population is deceiving yourself. Think about it. What do you think about today's youth generations? They aren't all shallow, lazy, and like Jersey Shore kids. Conversely, if I lived in another country and only saw America through American media, I'd think they all lived in mansions and were millionaires. And so it would be reasonable to believe that antis and folks not knowledgeable about firearms would see the Discovery representation and think "documentary" and not "reality show" as well as think the people on there represent us.

There are some real shooting shows. They come on Wednesdays on the Outdoor Channel. No reality, just people shooting and stuff about firearms.

 

[PT92]

There are some real shooting shows. They come on Wednesdays on the Outdoor Channel. No reality, just people shooting and stuff about firearms.

This is what I referred to in my previous posts--The quality of those particular shows are outstanding.

-Cheers

 

[seed]

Totally agree. Sons of Guns, now this.

The antis have wisened up on their propaganda. They are much more passive in their approach now.

I wish the Military Channel would do something, but they haven't really.

Another thing to keep in mind is that something like 90% of all media are owned by five or six corporations. I was told this in college to keep in mind when writing research papers. You think you have five hundred channels, but you only have five in reality.

Just look at how information is restricted --Wikileaks founder being extradited and the global protests should be top news. Instead, I get live coverage of Michael Jackson's doctor's trial, news about Kardashian divorces, and lots and lots of info about what the latest wannabe president said --on every single channel.

To think these shows are designed to do anything else than paint a picture about a segment of the population is deceiving yourself. Think about it. What do you think about today's youth generations? They aren't all shallow, lazy, and like Jersey Shore kids. Conversely, if I lived in another country and only saw America through American media, I'd think they all lived in mansions and were millionaires. And so it would be reasonable to believe that antis and folks not knowledgeable about firearms would see the Discovery representation and think "documentary" and not "reality show" as well as think the people on there represent us.

There are some real shooting shows. They come on Wednesdays on the Outdoor Channel. No reality, just people shooting and stuff about firearms.

Exactly right. Well said.

 

[PT92]

I just watched tonight's episode of "Gun Stories" hosted by Joe Montegna. It featured the complete history of the Remington 870 as well as shotguns in combat since the Civil War onwards. That show may be my favorite gun show in some time--It's outstanding! Also, they had a repeat (Military Channel is the worst for repitition especially Nazi Docs) of the Top Ten Combat Rifles in history and it's still one of my favorite documentaries.

At least we have some serious weapons related legitimate shows very much worth watching. I must say, however, I am biased towards "Sons of Guns" primarily because that shop has done really good work for me--besides, I find it much more entertaining than "American Guns" by far.

I would like to see a well done documentary on the International small-arms trade which would be very interesting I am sure--that's a world entirely by its own.

-Cheers