oneounceload said:
Hmmmmm, never saw that attitude at ANY clay club I have been to in over 2 dozen states - maybe it's you? Most folks are more than polite and willing to let you try their gun, providing you don't act like a jerk or act unsafe..........
Well, I've never had trouble getting along with anyone at any other type of range I've ever been to, and 25 years of shooting, competition, and law enforcement experience would suggest that I know how to safely handle a firearm.
I'm not trying to suggest that eveyrone is a snob at every trap/skeet range, but I've certainly picked up that vibe at some places in the past. I've still managed to have decent conversations with everyone there, even as they talked as if they were better than me simply by virtue of the fact that they had a fancy gun (point of fact: many were better than me due to the fact that they were more practiced and skilled in that discipline of shooting. I bet they'd have beat me with my own gun, given a round or two to get used to it). But, the gun still doesn't make the shooter.
Also, in fairness to trap shooters, I've also had a number of folks who've stood by and provided helpful coaching for these shotgun events, and some have provided great advice on picking a first trap gun.
I suppose my point in mentioning any of this is simply to emphasize how the attitudes of the minority of snobish shooters might tend to turn new shooters off to the sport. Does a new shooter
really need to feel like he/she will have to throw down $8,000 before he/she can enjoy trap shooting? I doubt it, since I've had a heck of a lot of fun with my field gun (which was at one point my do-all pheasant, deer, trap, home defense shotgun). Once again though, I'm not a tournament shooter in shotgun sports!
oneounceload said:
The 80K gun? I sincerely haven't got a clue, but I'll ask him the next time I see him. For all I know the guy could have been blowing smoke, but I didn't really ask any questions about it because I'm not really interested in an $80,000 gun. As I said, I'm a low-bling kind of guy, and eighty grand on a scattergun suggests some serious bling-bling.
Larry Ashcraft said:
We are having a serious disconnect of logic in this thread:
1. So and so great shooter can beat lesser shooters with a piece of crap shotgun, and;
2. I own a piece of crap shotgun, therefore;
3. My piece of crap shotgun is better than a Perazzi or whatever, and by inference, I am a better shooter than anybody who would spend more than I deem appropriate for a shotgun, and therefore I am superior to most shooters (no matter how skilled).
Really, some of you need to back up and take a look at the best shooters out there. Sure, they can beat lesser shooters using junk guns, but when tournament time comes, you can bet they will be using the best they can afford, and in top tier shotgun events, that means Perazzi, not Mossberg.
The best equipment gives them that little advantage they need against competitors who are on their level, period.
Larry, I agree with you that the top-tier competitors will often benefit from any little advantage they can get. This is no different than the swimsuit "science" that exists for Olympic swimmers, or the $20,000 road bikes that are ridden by the likes of Lance Armstrong.
But, I think that people are trying to suggest that many of us will never realize a substantial difference in our scores/performance by buying a top-tier $20K firearm.
Personally, I KNOW I'm not that great at trap/skeet/sporting clays, though I've been thinking of throwing down $1,000-1,500 sometime for a gun to field in these events. I'd be willing to bet that most of us won't ever exceed the capabilities of a gun in that price range, though some folks will always choose to buy the best, just to own the best. And, some will legitimately become skilled enough to need the better equipment.
In the past I've endured the ribbing/snickering that goes along with bringing a cheapy Mossberg 500 to a nice trap range. I don't mind the joking, as I have a fairly thick skin, and don't really care what anyone thinks of my guns. But, in the "snobbery" department, I once heard a guy remarking to his lady friend that people "shouldn't even be allowed to show up on this range with crappy guns like those". Now, my Mossberg 500 certainly isn't the "elite" of shotguns, but it is perfectly clean, safe, and functional.
I also don't expect that I'll beat a great trap shooter with any gun, though I'll bet they could beat me with my gun, even if I was using their high-end gun. Similarly, they might be handicapped against me if we worked our way over to a rifle range. Yet again, the shooter makes all the difference.
Still, I'll concede that if two shooters of nearly identical ability were to shoot a competition against each other, the equipment might be more of a factor. With that said, I hope everyone will leave any judgmental attitudes at home, and enjoy their time at whichever range they choose to shoot at, with whatever guns they choose to shoot