Ignorance abounds

[Owen Sparks]

I just got back from Wally World. I was browsing the shotshell isle and making small talk with the guy next to me. He commented that the hammer was back on one of the .30-30 lever action rifles in the showcase. He said "I sure wouldn't want that one." When I asked why he said that it would weaken the hammer spring. This guy appeared to be about 80 years old and had evidently heard this myth enough times to think that leaving the hammer cocked for a day or two was enough to ruin the spring on a modern Marlin. I tried to explain that that might have been true a long time ago but he was not buying my argument that there have been guns found cocked since WWII that still work fine.

 

[Dookie]

Did you ask him if leaving a car battery on concrete will make it go bad? Just something else that WAS true but has not been for about 80 years.

 

[nekwah]

something like that.

 

[General Geoff]

Springs weaken via stress cycles, i.e. compressing and decompressing them thousands and thousands of times. Leaving them uncompressed, or leaving them compressed, will not weaken them.

 

[PRM]

Why Bother

From the original OP, the guy was probably so set in his ways and it would not have mattered what you said. You can pick up pretty quick on who you can and cannot have an intelligent conversation with. Age has nothing to do with it. There are plenty of self educated mall ninja wanna-bees, so inflated with their own ego, that anything contrary to what they expound is treated as old school at best and outright stupid the rest of the time.

I will never forget the kid (I am only assuming he was 21 because he was packing) who was working his dad's table at a gun show and was trying to sell me a gun that was shot loose and pretty trashed as a great deal. His comment was, "in my day, I have shot a lot of guns that are loose and don't lock up. It doesn't matter." Why bother or even attempt to address something like that.

Pick your battles and don't get wrapped too tight when you encounter the inevitable.

 

[OcelotZ3]

Heck, I attended a CHL class a few weeks ago and the *NRA-certified instructor* talked about not leaving mags filled "for an extended period of time or the spring wears out"... The other guys in the class nodded in agreement, so I decided it wasn't worth the effort to correct.

 

[pith43]

Did you ask him if leaving a car battery on concrete will make it go bad?

You mean it doesn't? Dang, in my family thats been passed down from father to son for the last 4 generations (well...since they've had car batteries)

 

[MedWheeler]

I recently dug out my old Daisy Model 59 SoftAir pistol. I bought it when I was eighteen, and last used it around a year or two later. I am 42 now. I found the gun with the slide closed, which holds the spring compressed. It's been that way for over twenty years. Pulled the trigger, and still good snap from the slide.
For those not familiar, the Daisy Softair line was sold in the late eighties, and this model, a replica of the S&W of the same model, used 6mm plastic BBs contained in plastic "brass" cases, which were magazine-fed. The cases were ejected as the slide snapped back. Pushing the slide forward again re-cocked the pistol. (Anyone else ever have one of these?)

 

[John828]

medwheeler, the 59 is one of the reasons I love the 1911 today. Funny thing is that I never had any ammunition. I found the gun while dumpster diving when I was eight or ten years old. Many a GI Joe battles were ended with that little beauty, thanks for the memories.

It's been about twenty-five years or so, but now the memries flood. Found adult reading material, a shortwave radio, all kinds of good stuff that people throw out.

 

[jcwit]

Let the 80 year old guy believe what he wants, he's probably led a good life and more than likely you wan't change his mind. Even if you do will he feel better because of it? At 80 years let him bask in his ignorance and be happy, he more than likely won't hurt anyone and he'll be happy. Mostly what he has anyway is memories at this time of his life. I think the old mans happiness is paramont at this time.

 

[Geneseo1911]

Did you ask him if leaving a car battery on concrete will make it go bad?

Okay, so it's completely off topic, and non-gun related, but a lead-acid battery will discharge on concrete. It will charge up just fine afterwords, but 12-24 hours and it will be dead as a hammer.

You should've used it to your advantage, and had him talk to the manager and get you a discount on that ruined rifle.

 

[fearme]

Strange. I must have had magical lead-acid auto batteries stored all over my concrete garage floor for the past 30 years.

 

[chris in va]

Okay, so it's completely off topic, and non-gun related, but a lead-acid battery will discharge on concrete.

Ah, no. I have a marine battery sitting on concrete right now with a full charge. After about two months.

Oh, and guns n stuff.

 

[JohnKSa]

High quality springs of proper design that are not over-compressed don't weaken from being left compressed. Change any of those three factors and the spring can weaken from being left compressed.

Do magazine springs weaken from being left fully loaded? Depends on the quality & design of the spring and the design of the magazine. Most don't, but some can.

I used to point this out anytime this issue came up but finally decided it wasn't worth the effort. Apparently this is one of those issues where people refuse to allow their opinions to be altered by fact. Now I usually let it pass. People who really want to know the truth can find out the same way I did, it didn't take much research at all.Reminder URL so I don't have to look it up again.

 

[mr.243]

yep, shouldv'e just knocked him down and took his wallet for being stuck in his ways, GEEEZ owen, the guys like 80 and stuck in his ways. cut him a brake, i bet you dont call your grandma ignorant because her hot tottys loaded with whiskey will cure a cold.. next time just slap her in the face and yell its just the alcohol making you think your better, and think your warm. geez old lady..

 

[DWH]

>"Oh, and guns n stuff.">

Funny! Thanx for staying on topic!

 

[mr.243]

im just saying im still a young guy, and deal with old hagglers stuck in their ways all the time, they just know what they know and wake up everyday realizing they are 80 years old and sure as hell aint gunna let no young pup tell em about their riffles. lol this old guy i talked to said he could tell me what model remington 700 i had just by looking at it. i said it didnt have black on the stock so he says yep its an adl, i says hey son you know how many models they got? an adl doesnt have the floor plate, so etc. he says its an adl or bdl, if no black its and adl. i said what about cdl, he says whats a cdl? the guns a classic btw. lol

 

[qajaq59]

Let the 80 year old guy believe what he wants, he's probably led a good life and more than likely you wan't change his mind. Even if you do will he feel better because of it? At 80 years let him bask in his ignorance and be happy, he more than likely won't hurt anyone and he'll be happy. Mostly what he has anyway is memories at this time of his life. I think the old mans happiness is paramont at this time.

Just say, "Well now I know, thank you." And let the old timer go on his way. Some day you'll also be 80 hopefully and you'll want people to be nice to you too.

 

[Jeff F]

Okay, so it's completely off topic, and non-gun related, but a lead-acid battery will discharge on concrete. It will charge up just fine afterwords, but 12-24 hours and it will be dead as a hammer.

I call BS on that. I left a lead acid truck battery on the concrete floor of a storage space for over six months and it started my truck when I finally needed it.

I also inherited a Spanish Ruby .32 auto that had been left magazine fully loaded, cocked on an empty chamber for over 40 years and it fired flawlessly with the 50 year old ammo that was in it and the other box of ammo that was with it.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

im just saying im still a young guy, and deal with old hagglers stuck in their ways all the time, they just know what they know and wake up everyday realizing they are 80 years old and sure as hell aint gunna let no young pup tell em about their riffles.



shoot they probably just miss being young and knowing everything. like you

 

[red dirt ranger]

Ignorance does abound. One of my favorite quotes and my sig line on another board:

“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” ...JFK

 

[MADDOG]

I'm old and I go to Wally World just to have fun. You young people aren't the only ones having fun. Wal Mart, banks, drive thru's, and even doctors offices are great places to spend some premium time. I really like the drive thru's with my Harley at noon on weekdays. Maybe you'll make it to retirement and start having fun.

 

[flatdog]

When I was young I was sure I knew everything...now that I'm old I can't remember if I know everything or not.

GUN STUFF: Who's right Jack O'Connor or Elmer Kieth?

 

[SteelyNirvana]

Okay, so it's completely off topic, and non-gun related, but a lead-acid battery will discharge on concrete. It will charge up just fine afterwords, but 12-24 hours and it will be dead as a hammer.

Guys, I cannot believe no one has mentioned this before. The myth about putting a battery on concrete and the concrete somehow draining the battery dates back to the early 1900's. It used to happen, battery back then also used glass cells in them to contain the acid. Sometimes when someone wasn't careful about setting one down, one of the glass cells would crack, a wallah!, dead battery. Read this in Car Craft magazine a few years back. Makes perfect sense if you think about it.

 

[ShadyScott999]

Elmer! "To Hell with efficiency! What we want is results!"