Old Dog
Member
Anyone else out there who’ll ‘fess up to be a current, or reformed, Gun Snob?
There was a time in my life when I not only wouldn’t handle or shoot any firearms that didn’t have Winchester, Colt’s Mfg or Smith & Wesson engraved on ‘em… If a manufacturer hadn’t been making its guns for at least 100 years, I wasn’t gonna touch ‘em…If it had a post-’64 action, I didn’t want it. If it had any sort of locking device built into it, I wouldn’t dream of it. If it wasn’t blued (or parkerized) with hand-carved and checkered walnut, rosewood or cocobolo stocks or grips, it wasn’t coming home with me from the gunshop.
Then, one day, a shooting buddy talked me into trying out his Springfield Armory 1911A1 … and it shot better (and was more reliable) than my Gold Cup… Around the same time, a hunting buddy’s Savage 110 displayed accuracy beyond my Browning A-Bolt… and then, shortly after that, in a moment of weakness, I tried out a Taurus PT-92, finding it compared favorably with my issue Beretta 92FS (but had a better safety system)… A guy I worked with demonstrated that his Rossi .357 was as accurate and reliable as my S&W Model 19… Having been in the 1911 game quite a while, I’ve been privileged to try out any number of high-end custom, semi-custom and premium-grade 1911s. I’ve even bought a few. But my park’ed 1993-vintage SA 1911A1 (before Springfield coined the “Mil-Spec” model name and started using MIM parts) is the best 1911 I’ve owned in terms of reliability and accuracy. My $250 Mossberg 12-gauge is my most-used shotgun now, while some pretty Berettas and Turkish shotguns gather dust in the safe. I’m even developing a fondness for $150 mil-surp rifles. I'm reforming ...
Recently, I’ve started to note even more categories of gun snobs:
- The “I hate MIM parts in handguns” snob (even though the evidence of MIM parts breakage is mostly anecdotal);
- The “If it’s got a lock, it sucks” snob (screw those lawyers, anyway);
- The “I don’t need no stinkin’ firing-pin safety” snob (No Series 80/Schwartz pistols pour moi, screw those lawyers, anyway);
- The “I don’t buy a gun from a maker whose politics I abhor” snob (see Ruger, Smith & Wesson);
- The "Ultra-premium Optics" snob (his scope costs twice as much as your BEST rifle);
- The “I can’t shoot a cheap $1,500 shotgun” snob (visions of European nobility);
- The “All my 1911s have prancing ponies on ‘em” snob (your Kimber sucks);
- The “None of my 1911s have external extractors on ‘em” snob (your Kimber AND your S&W 1911 suck)
- The “What? Me carry or shoot a plastic pistol?” snob (Anti-Glockers, ex-Glockers, Anti-XD/HK/anything polymer);
- The “Real men shoot only custom 1911s” snob (those who can wait 12 months or longer and pay $3500-$4000 for their pistols);
- The “This is a real pre-’64 Model 70” snob (those who are miffed Winchester came out with the new “Classic”);
- The “Premium Pocket Pistol Snob” snob (those who would rather wait forever and pay $900 for a Rohrbaugh than carry a Kel-Tec – formerly, the Seecamp crowd);
- The “Patriotic or Made-in-the USA” snob (I’m sorry, that Springfield has parts made in Brazil, I won’t buy one, never mind that my Chevy or Ford truck is full of parts made in Japan, Mexico or Canada)
- The “I object just on general principle” snob (The snob who has never handled, owned or fired a Rossi, Savage, Mossberg, Taurus, Hi-Point, but bashes ‘em all anyway).
Obviously, I could go on and on … anyone else notice any other kinds of gun snobs out there? Which category of gun snob bugs you the most?
There was a time in my life when I not only wouldn’t handle or shoot any firearms that didn’t have Winchester, Colt’s Mfg or Smith & Wesson engraved on ‘em… If a manufacturer hadn’t been making its guns for at least 100 years, I wasn’t gonna touch ‘em…If it had a post-’64 action, I didn’t want it. If it had any sort of locking device built into it, I wouldn’t dream of it. If it wasn’t blued (or parkerized) with hand-carved and checkered walnut, rosewood or cocobolo stocks or grips, it wasn’t coming home with me from the gunshop.
Then, one day, a shooting buddy talked me into trying out his Springfield Armory 1911A1 … and it shot better (and was more reliable) than my Gold Cup… Around the same time, a hunting buddy’s Savage 110 displayed accuracy beyond my Browning A-Bolt… and then, shortly after that, in a moment of weakness, I tried out a Taurus PT-92, finding it compared favorably with my issue Beretta 92FS (but had a better safety system)… A guy I worked with demonstrated that his Rossi .357 was as accurate and reliable as my S&W Model 19… Having been in the 1911 game quite a while, I’ve been privileged to try out any number of high-end custom, semi-custom and premium-grade 1911s. I’ve even bought a few. But my park’ed 1993-vintage SA 1911A1 (before Springfield coined the “Mil-Spec” model name and started using MIM parts) is the best 1911 I’ve owned in terms of reliability and accuracy. My $250 Mossberg 12-gauge is my most-used shotgun now, while some pretty Berettas and Turkish shotguns gather dust in the safe. I’m even developing a fondness for $150 mil-surp rifles. I'm reforming ...
Recently, I’ve started to note even more categories of gun snobs:
- The “I hate MIM parts in handguns” snob (even though the evidence of MIM parts breakage is mostly anecdotal);
- The “If it’s got a lock, it sucks” snob (screw those lawyers, anyway);
- The “I don’t need no stinkin’ firing-pin safety” snob (No Series 80/Schwartz pistols pour moi, screw those lawyers, anyway);
- The “I don’t buy a gun from a maker whose politics I abhor” snob (see Ruger, Smith & Wesson);
- The "Ultra-premium Optics" snob (his scope costs twice as much as your BEST rifle);
- The “I can’t shoot a cheap $1,500 shotgun” snob (visions of European nobility);
- The “All my 1911s have prancing ponies on ‘em” snob (your Kimber sucks);
- The “None of my 1911s have external extractors on ‘em” snob (your Kimber AND your S&W 1911 suck)
- The “What? Me carry or shoot a plastic pistol?” snob (Anti-Glockers, ex-Glockers, Anti-XD/HK/anything polymer);
- The “Real men shoot only custom 1911s” snob (those who can wait 12 months or longer and pay $3500-$4000 for their pistols);
- The “This is a real pre-’64 Model 70” snob (those who are miffed Winchester came out with the new “Classic”);
- The “Premium Pocket Pistol Snob” snob (those who would rather wait forever and pay $900 for a Rohrbaugh than carry a Kel-Tec – formerly, the Seecamp crowd);
- The “Patriotic or Made-in-the USA” snob (I’m sorry, that Springfield has parts made in Brazil, I won’t buy one, never mind that my Chevy or Ford truck is full of parts made in Japan, Mexico or Canada)
- The “I object just on general principle” snob (The snob who has never handled, owned or fired a Rossi, Savage, Mossberg, Taurus, Hi-Point, but bashes ‘em all anyway).
Obviously, I could go on and on … anyone else notice any other kinds of gun snobs out there? Which category of gun snob bugs you the most?