People trying to "look cool" with their setups?

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I would like to defend the original poster of this thread, just a bit. Maybe he was simply reminding us that the basic pleasures of shooting don't require bells and whistles and such. The days of the .22 and the tin can shouldn't be forgotten. Over the years I've collected many guns. I find myself going back to using single action revolvers, bolt action .22's and old military rifles. OLD military rifles. I'm 58 years old today. Simple is better.
 
They could easily have bought an AK or SKS, or even just used a good .22 or a hunting rifle. And ditch the useless optics!
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Some of us actually do have a purpose for the tacti-cool looking stuff. This is actually my coyote rig:

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Mini-14 cut down to 14.6" w/perm. flash hider. The cut served two purposes; It made it handier, and it drastically improved accuracy. The sidefolding stock also helps when manuevering the rifle inside a truck cab. And the nightvision most definitely has a purpose.

So laugh away, but I promise I'll be scoring more 'yote pelts than you will with that open-sighted .22 LR you recommend.
 
It seems like most people on here have a "it's their money. Don't scoff at them, and they shouldn't scoff at you" attitude. Good. How many would keep that same attitude if they saw someone at the range who spent their money on BDU pants, a drop leg holster, and a plate carrier?
 
whalerman said:
I would like to defend the original poster of this thread, just a bit. Maybe he was simply reminding us that the basic pleasures of shooting don't require bells and whistles and such. The days of the .22 and the tin can shouldn't be forgotten. Over the years I've collected many guns. I find myself going back to using single action revolvers, bolt action .22's and old military rifles. OLD military rifles. I'm 58 years old today. Simple is better.
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First, happy birthday.
Second, of course the bells and whistles aren't required, but they can be fun. I enjoy shooting my M-44 at dusk just to see the fireballs. I also enjoy shooting at small targets at distance, 'cuz its fun. I also like uselessly bump firing my tricked out SKS. Why? Fun.

There are many aspects of shooting, some of which serve no purpose other than to bring a smile to the shooters face, be it hitting the bulls eye at 700 yards with a 40x 30-06, bouncing a tin can at 25 yards with a .22 or anything else. Shooting doesn't have to have a purpose. The act of shooting itself IS the purpose. Some people need to lighten up with how other people choose to spend money. It's not coming out of my wallet, so why do I give a rip if someone dropped a grand plus on their gear and spray and pray $100 worth of ammo in ten minutes? Looks can be deceiving, and to me, blasting away with a tricked out AR looks like fun.
 
Ragnar Danneskjold said:
It seems like most people on here have a "it's their money. Don't scoff at them, and they shouldn't scoff at you" attitude. Good. How many would keep that same attitude if they saw someone at the range who spent their money on BDU pants, a drop leg holster, and a plate carrier?
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I've got BDU's, courtesy of the US taxpayer, and yes I wear them to the range. I have a plate carrier, and there are some ranges that I no longer visit where wearing one might be prudent. Don't have the drop leg holster though. Not fond of them, but if I were, guess what, I'd have one. I'd wear it to the range because they are pretty comfy.

None of these accoutrements of the shooting sport detract at all. I've seen local militia units in full uniform training on public ranges. Doesn't bother me in the least. The only thing that bothers me at the range is poor safety considerations. Everything else, I mind my own business.
 
Ragnar Danneskjold
It seems like most people on here have a "it's their money. Don't scoff at them, and they shouldn't scoff at you" attitude. Good. How many would keep that same attitude if they saw someone at the range who spent their money on BDU pants, a drop leg holster, and a plate carrier?
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LOL! You must have been next to me at the range the other day when this same guy was drawing & double tapping into the same ragged hole at 15 yards with his HK.
 
BDU, Leg holster and plate carrier, or Pokemon pajamas and eye liner, i really don't care as long as they're safe and having fun.
 
I think the thing that set off my eye-rolling was a comment a group of tacticool guys made to me at the range. They saw my stock Ruger 10/22 and laughed and made some comments. The gist was "haha so funny that someone would use one of OUR cool banana style magazines in that simple old wooden .22 rifle." (It was a $20 butler creek high capacity magazine I use to save my fingers from reloading). It was clear these guys were more interested in appearance than anything else.
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So, what this boils down to is "They picked on me, and now I'm wondering if I have a valid point to pick back with" right? Long story short, they had no reason to question your choice of mag, but their doing so certainly doesn't give you license to strike back based on assumptions that may or may not be the least bit accurate. People have different tastes, and different needs. Just because your wants or needs didn't mirror theirs doesn't give either party the right to disrespect the other. Grow up. I could care less what someone does at the range so long as they are safe in doing it. For someone who supposedly doesn't want to tell others how to spend their money, you seem to believe you have a better idea of what they should spend their money on than they do.
 
Always strive to shoot safely and more accurately than the other guy. Succeed at both, and what he's doing (as long as he's not being dangerous) will cease to matter.
 
It is their money, their time, their hobby, and their life.
Unless they pose a danger to me or someone else, they are welcome to enjoy their hobby as they see fit, in whatever clothes they like, and with whatever firearm they enjoy and can afford.
Gee, if I'm not overly judgmental, they may just let me shoot that high-dollar rifle (which I'm apparently coveting). ;)


.
 
I leave the sunshade on a nikon buckmasters scope mounted to a remington 700. Because i think it looks cool.
 
Here I am looking cool with a dead deer:

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And here I am looking cool with an Axis deer;

axis1.jpg

And I look pretty cool with a Blackbuck antelope:

blackbucksmall.jpg

But coolest of all with a Texas Dall:

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You notice how I have the old, gray haired, balding, fat boy look down pat? I had to work for many years to get the look just where I wanted it.
 
so what? Just jealous that you could'nt buy nicer stuff?

You came off as quite the judgemental person stating that "those guys could'nt possibly be police or military". How can you tell in the first place and who cares if they arnt, so now only military and police officers can have fun guns?

what's on your DD214 btw?
 
I'll admit I make a habit of judging books by covers at the range. And there's some merit to the practice. The fellow with the PGO shotgun loading it with Brennekes and holding it up to his eye needs to be stopped quickly. And sometimes I see firearms, both tacticool AR's and high-end hunting rigs, that were obviously someone's boat payment. And usually the owners fire them off the bench a few times and leave. But it's their life.
 
The problem is that we are just looking at that one snapshot in another persons day and life. They might have just mounted a new scope or worked up a new load on that fancy rig and want to check it off the bench, they might have fired thousands of rounds from field positions with that very gun when we weren't at the range or they may have chosen to do that work out on the NF or BLM.
Sure there are neubs that think the pistol grip shotgun is what they need, heck we all learn through that kind of Darwinism.
 
Dude, its kind of like this, we all got to start somewhere and for some they might as well start out with a gun that will see them through their growth. In other words, buy a good gun or good set up once vs. buying a cheap rifle for $300-$400 only to find out later they have outgrown it or just plain don't like it anymore or just plain want something better. In the end it makes more sense to me to spend $2000 on a good rifle that you can have for the next 20 years + than it does to keep upgrading in steps from a low end rifle to a high end rifle. Usually, when you do something like the upgrading thing you lose money along the way so I don't recommend it unless your budget does not allow for a nice gun up front. I am not saying that there are not nice guns in that price range either but there are probably other options. In the end, IMO a good gun is one that you are capable of operating well, whether it be a $400 gun or a $4000 gun with fancy optics on it and whatnot is irrelevant.

I own several Sako TRGs among other things and these guns can well outperform what I am capable of hitting at 500 yards+ but that doesn't mean that I should have bought a less expensive rifle just because I am not capable of hitting targets at 1000 yards yet. You see what I am saying? One day I may be able to shoot well over that and I know that I already have a rifle capable of helping me get to that point. Next time you see them why don't you go up and offer to teach them something rather than knocking them.
 
I know what you're saying but, to me, it's their money so let them do with it as they please. I have no military experience (long story short, I signed up for the Marines but health issues disqualified me) yet I easily have over $1500 in my AR and it is quite a simple setup like MistWolf's. In fact, the most "tactical" accessory I have on my AR is a light. To me, a shooter's demeanor is more important and telling than what he is shooting or what gear he has brought to the table. Hell, if I had the money, I'd be rocking a minigun with every accessory imaginable. Talk about the ultimate in tactiCOOL!
 
Even though I am of an older generation and my toys are M1 carbine, Garand and M14.
Even though AR lowers and Uppers are becoming accessories to the optics and bling.
Even though it’s been said that than an AR is just a Barbie Doll for men.
What I see at the Range is the Ar crowd having a heck of a lot of safe fun.
Also, as has been said here most of these accessories seem to have a logical and rational function.
 
^ I'm still waiting on the DD214 answer as well...
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Does it really matter?

The op has an opinion, you have an opinion, and I do too. That's probably the only thing we have in common besides guns and funny screen names.
 
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