Midway USA weapon effectiveness reviews

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Not unless you consider Larry Potterfield a SD handgun/shotgun/rifle expert.

I have seen one or two of them on TV, and the conclusions were not based on any facts I could determine, other then Larry needs to practice more.

rc
 
I like Larry Potterfield

He reminds you of your ol' Uncle Charlie.

But his weapons effectiveness criteria are completely arbitrary. There are simply too many variables. :scrutiny:

Also, I don't believe it's a good idea to smooth the action on your S&W revolver based on his <3 minute video. Just imagine a segment in Mr. Roger's Neighborhood on how to disassemble a Pratt and Whitney jet engine. :uhoh:
 
Comparisons such as the esteemed Mr. Potterfield is trying to make are nigh unto impossible. Every shooter with every gun is different. LP is able to score only X points with Y gun, but a guy who shoots Y gun all the time would be able to score better.

As for getting more practice, I would imagine LP does get practice, but nobody can be as good with any gun when he shoots a lot of different guns. To reach your accuracy/consitency poential with any single firearm, you need to parctice with that one and avoid distracting yourself with others.

Sure, some really accomplished shooters can master 3-gun, SASS, and the like, but I still say they aren't as good with any one of those guns as they could be if they didn't also have to practive with the others.

I don't know what LP regularly practices with or carries, but I'd bet he's lights out with whatever it is.

Added: We all must remember that his videos are marketing, not instruction.
 
I think that no matter what you shoot, within reason, if you can hit what you're aiming at, you stand a very good chance of winning an SD situation. As they say at the competitions at my range, "You can't miss fast enough to win."

Imagine yourself in an SD situation against a shooter. Are you going to pull a Weaver? Are you going to seek cover? Retreat and put some distance between you and him? Are you shooting all this time? Do you carry a reload?

In my extremely limited competition shooting endeavors, I realized early on that I have to shoot what seems really, really slowly to hit the stationary targets effectively or just machine gun the trigger (and mostly still miss). I can only imagine what it's like being in a situation with both shooters moving.

If you shoot in competitions, the advantage you may have is that the BG may not do more for practice than stand in a lane at an indoor range and punch holes. You, at least, will have experienced the moving part on your end of the gun fight.
 
abq87120 said:
I think that no matter what you shoot, within reason, if you can hit what you're aiming at, you stand a very good chance of winning an SD situation. As they say at the competitions at my range, "You can't miss fast enough to win."
Click to expand...

You stand a BETTER chance of surviving a SD situation if you're familiar, comfortable, and skilled with your weapon. - You still need to train and practice regularly.

abq87120 said:
In my extremely limited competition shooting endeavors, I realized early on that I have to shoot what seems really, really slowly to hit the stationary targets effectively or just machine gun the trigger (and mostly still miss). I can only imagine what it's like being in a situation with both shooters moving.
Click to expand...

Here you're experiencing just a VERY vague approximation of what it might be like to be in a SD situation - You need to build your fundamentals to the point that they're muscle memory - Train, practice, train, practice - in time, you'll realize that yes - you did start out shooting REALLY slowly, but with training and practice, you got better.

abq87120 said:
If you shoot in competitions, the advantage you may have is that the BG may not do more for practice than stand in a lane at an indoor range and punch holes. You, at least, will have experienced the moving part on your end of the gun fight.
Click to expand...
You're making a common mistake here: you're assuming the "bad guy" probably doesn't practice or train for his job (being a bad guy). You're wrong here. Many of them "practice" on the job - ie, by constantly robbing people, being involved in gang vs gang or gang vs police shootouts, conducting home invasions, etc. Sure many of them are untrained, scared, desperate individuals - but the ones out there that are good at what they do, DO get training. They may not get their training in the same places as you and I, but they get it. The difference is that their training is either "on the job" or in jail when they get caught.
 
not terribly impressed, I think its a good rating system but is highly subjective to the shooter, has a lot to do with HIS skill. don't rate them based on his results, rate them based on yours.
 
The first two of LP's 3 "important areas" are subjective and will change with every shooter. The third using an assigned value for "knock down power" is humorous to say the least. Pretty gimmicky IMO.
 
I guess I have to admire Mr. Potter for building and running a very successful firearms business. As such, as others state, this really is just an interesting marketing exercise. A few points:
1. He's demonstrating the products from companies with whom he partners to generate his (and their) revenue. He's unlikely to really demonstrate anything that is way off his personal comparison charts;
2. The experiments are flawed in many ways, not the least of which is that there is no repetition in things like TTFF (first fire) which will have huge variation, as well as 3-seconds on target. Given the seemingly arbitrary rating system, a small change throws the scores way off. Each one should be performed 5-10 times but that doesn't make for a good YT marketing vid.
3. To the extent that he is the only real constant, it is fine if he's not a great shooter. And he's probably above average. But it's not clear to me how any of the first two experiments carry over to another arbitrary shooter. Big hands? Small hands? Good eyesight? Guns, particularly handguns, are highly personalized designs.
4. The exercise may show the natural shooting and pointing ability for the combination of gun x cartridge x Larry. Interesting that many of us could repeat this experiment by renting before buying.
5. Oh and the knockdown thing? A reasonable factor with a very bad variable name.
B
 
I think his criteria is as good as anyone else’s and better than most.
Since most of us are not tactical operators his testing seems logical.
Is it subjective? Yes, but it seems to fit a lot of people including me.
I particularly like the fact he shoots his hand guns one handed.

I have shot a lot of the guns he has tested and I can mostly agree
with his conclusions. I am not an expert so you will just have to
draw your own conclusions.

How fast on target?
How many follow up shots?
How effective is the round?

Just saying
Steve
 
I lost any interest in watching further as soon as he started talking about knock down power. Just another blow hard, IMO.
Click to expand...
Yeah, after I heard that, I expected him to demonstrate it by showing how the recoil knocked him down. I guess Newton was wrong, though.:scrutiny:
 
Ill put it to you like this, Larry knows his firearms & ammo, he has the money & the stage, those are his opinions take em or leave em..............
 
Anyone here seen these videos before?
Click to expand...
Yes, 3-4 years ago when they were new on the actual TV shows.
They were an entertaining segment designed to transition in and out of commercials on the Outdoor Channel's Wednesday lineup sponsored by Midway (a 'segue segment' as it were).
I particularly enjoyed the one featuring a Beretta 950b.

Wow ....... Larry Potterfield is a 'blowhard'?

.
 
At least he doesn't spend 30 minutes talking about how it weighs 1/2 an ounce less than a comparable firearm. Overall (imo) its like having someone describe an automobile to you that they have never owned . Anyone can read a spec sheet and predict how it will handle.
 
i have looked at them a while back. not a bad thing, but not the worlds best either. but face it, Larry Potterfield is trying to do something to help the cause. and they do give a beginner something to look at, that is informative, and is pointing them in the correct direction. it is not a mega budget production, with actors or pro shooters. would i base buying a particular caliber or firearm off one of his video's? no, and i do not believe that was Mr. Potterfield's intentions. he , imo, is trying to give an idea of what certain firearms and calibers are capable of, and their general usefulness. the people who will find these most useful, are those who are just starting out in the sport. not tried and true 30 year veterans. i think he has done a decent job with them. and they will do much more good, than harm. there is a lot of stuff on the internet that makes the firearm industry look really bad. would you rather a beginner watch these, or a video of a 98 pound girl getting whacked in the head by shooting a 500 S&W magnum one handed, having no idea how much power it has!
 
I'm glad Larry is a sponsor and is active in supporting our 2A Right. I respect him for that. Other than that, I watch these shows with a grain of salt like everything else in the media. Common sense applies...
 
I think you (X_Wrench) make a very good point. Every experienced (or self-described) gun buyer won't watch these very much because he or she either knows the facts or thinks so. So to cite that Larry has figured out that he should make video's not so much to attract existing and experienced shooters but rather to 'grow the pie' seems like it's spot on. And a win-win for Larry and the community.
Good thought.
 
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