Thanks Sam I am far from a Troll.
That should go without saying. "Trolling" is a term that is tossed around far too commonly. Pretty much any time someone asks a question that is challenging or argues a point that goes against "the norm" they're called a Troll. And that renders the definition of "trolling" meaningless.
You seemed to be limiting the question to people in here rather than the hundreds of thousands of folks who we know aren't really into guns as much as we are. My question was meant as a general concensus of the gun buying public, not limited gun enthusiasts like some of us.
I don't know if you meant that I, personally, am limiting this, but I certainly am not. In my very humble opinion, the folks buying multiple EBRs to stack 'em deep -- or for investment value -- are more likely to be folks like "us" who frequent internet forums and get far more worked up about coming political threats than the average gun owner.
Further, wow did you ever walk into my previous rueful comments about how impressed we are with ourselves! Who are "
the hundreds of thousands of folks who we know aren't really into guns as much as we are?" Why do we presume to know what they do or don't do, how much they shoot, why they want a rifle, or even that they form a qualifiable, cohesive, group of some sort?
Now, lots of people did go out and buy a military-style rifle, but when the average Joe dumps over $1,000 on a luxury item -- in a foundering economy no less -- he's going to go play with it. Maybe not a lot, maybe not often, and maybe not in the manner that we would consider effective training/practice, but he IS going to put some rounds down range.
It's like guys who buy sports cars just because they can, not because they really will drive it. But it looks good in the driveway, and they can show it to other people who stop over.
Perhaps, but you said that going out and shooting met your definition of "USING." I say that these guys who are showing off their cool black rifle to their buddies ARE actually shooting their guns. Or at least HAVE shot them. Unless you're raising the bar to say "shoot them frequently" or "more than a couple of times" or whatever, I think it is unrealistic to maintain that the majority of new rifle owners haven't "used" their guns at all. Maybe I'm being naive about it but that goes against everything I know about the average gadget junkie (heck...the average GUY).
I have been around guns my entire life just as I have been around cars. It always amused me when someone would buy a 500 HP Vette or Viper, and drive it under the speed limit. If you enjoy something and afford it, there's nothing wrong with buying it.
Is this analogous to the guys who've only shot their rifles a few times? Or to the guys you think have never shot them? If someone buys a Corvette and only dirves the speed limit...it's kind of hard to argue that they haven't USED it. Maybe not well, maybe not to the fullest capacity -- but then again, I never killed a moose with my .58 Flintlock, either. ...
I am just willing to bet that many non shooters are sitting around with guns they will never use.
Maybe. But I'm an above-averagely (at least I assume I am
) active shooter and I'm sitting around with multiple guns that I'll never use. Or very rarely at least. Can't imagine I'll get a whole lot of range time in with my .30 Carbine Blackhawk. Really don't expect to use my .444 Marlin lever rifle a whole lot, either. Is this somehow different that the guy who only has one rifle and doesn't shoot it (much)?
But it just seems that whenever a question is asked in here latelly, it goes off the rails instead of just saying yes or no, or answering the question with an answer rather than another question.
Gym, I guess this is where my recent series of questions came from. Unless you're really looking for some quantifiable measurement of something, it is pretty uncommon to have a conversation that consists entirely of "yes" and "no" (or numeric) answers. Human discussions tends to wander and explore every facet of a subject. That's what makes it engaging. If you had limited this to strictly numerical percentage guesses you'd probably have had about six responses and then folks would have lost interest entirely.
Unless you're a robot, calculator, or die-hard Keno fan, a verbal exchange of unrelated numbers does NOT constitute a conversation.
Instead you find that folks want to discuss their own experiences, relate anecdotes they think are illustrative, theorize about their fellow shooters (and the "average" other guy), and even dissect YOUR motive for asking the question. I see this in every thread I read. Sometimes we do step in to try to "herd the cats" back into roughly the same direction, but more often than not someone will expand a conversation into a new dimension and it becomes far more rich and colorful because of it.
I notice a general argumentitive tone lately. Maybe it's just me.
Well, I am with you on that. We really do try to keep things civil, but, again, it is the nature of the beast. The "dialectic process" if you will. You don't reach truth through everyone looking at a question in exactly the same way and arriving at exactly the same conclusion. You arrive at truth by making sure it has been viewed (argued) from all directions until only the best answer (or two) remains un-disproved. The gentlemanly thing is to accomplish this without losing your cool or insulting your fellow debaters.
sometimes it's just amusing how people who have been into this for a few years, feel a sense of entitlement to express their opinion as though they have more experience and knowledge than some of us who have made wearing a gun, just part of getting dressed in the mourning.
Oh certainly. The old hands always look at the next generation and laugh at how impressed they are with themselves. And the next generation looks back at the old hands and laments that they are stagnant and losing relevance. It is probably best to be in neither camp but to simply take the best you can from everyone you meet.
I didn't mean any disrespect to you
And I never did to you either, and I hope you take my thoughts as sincere efforts to further discourse and improve our community here.
Have a great night!
