Beetle Bailey
Member
I answered "No." I actually feel bad for those people who own expensive guns they cannot shoot. Most of the time when it happens that I use an inexpensive gun and out-shoot someone with a more expensive gun, it is mainly because that person doesn't know what he or she is doing. Or, my gun is purpose-built for the task at hand so I have an edge.
For example, along with two friends who are also THR members, I was shooting trap a few weeks back. I used a 870 Wingmaster, as did one of my friends. The other had a Barreta 3901 (or something like that - an Italian autoloading sporting shotgun) and we were doing quite well. These other guys nearby had some nice autoloading tactical shotguns complete with pistol grips and ghostrings. They were having a tough time of it and one of them was staring jealously at me disintegrating clays with a pump-action that was older than I am (Wingmaster made in 1960). Actually, if we switched guns with them I think we would have still done better than they did because they didn't know what they were doing.
I also like playing with my WWII milsurp bolt-actions and as most of you know, they can be good bargains. One of them is a beat-up old Finnish M28 Mosin Nagant I managed to pick up for $140 OTD about a year and a half ago. So I'm shooting these steel plates at 100 yards with a raggedly looking old foreign rifle from the standing position and I'm getting hits every time (the plates are over a foot in diameter so it's not as hard as it may sound). Meanwhile, these guys with AR-15's and FAL's are blasting away from the bench at these same steel plates and only getting about 50% hits, if that. And when he thinks I'm not looking, one of the guys comes over to stare at my M28, as if he wanted to know what kind of secret ninja gun came out of a time machine to perform so well here in 2007. Now, don't get me wrong, I love black rifles and own a couple myself. My National Match AR is an absolute joy to shoot - it's just that on that day, I was shooting a milsurp. The thing is, there is no reason why those guys couldn't have hit that steel plate each and every time (it's a freakin' foot in diameter, for heaven's sake!) but they didn't know what they were doing.
I feel bad for these people because they don't have the knowledge to even try to get better. Someday, heaven forbid, they might actually have to use these guns to defend their own lives, or the lives of loved ones.
Oh, and one last thing. Expensive guns often do shoot better than the bargain guns. Or at least, I often do perform better with a higher quality gun, assuming it fits me and good ammo is used. And I think customizing is a good thing, as well. I usually try to buy the nicest gun I can afford, and it's just that the gun-fund usually isn't as big as I'd like.
For example, along with two friends who are also THR members, I was shooting trap a few weeks back. I used a 870 Wingmaster, as did one of my friends. The other had a Barreta 3901 (or something like that - an Italian autoloading sporting shotgun) and we were doing quite well. These other guys nearby had some nice autoloading tactical shotguns complete with pistol grips and ghostrings. They were having a tough time of it and one of them was staring jealously at me disintegrating clays with a pump-action that was older than I am (Wingmaster made in 1960). Actually, if we switched guns with them I think we would have still done better than they did because they didn't know what they were doing.
I also like playing with my WWII milsurp bolt-actions and as most of you know, they can be good bargains. One of them is a beat-up old Finnish M28 Mosin Nagant I managed to pick up for $140 OTD about a year and a half ago. So I'm shooting these steel plates at 100 yards with a raggedly looking old foreign rifle from the standing position and I'm getting hits every time (the plates are over a foot in diameter so it's not as hard as it may sound). Meanwhile, these guys with AR-15's and FAL's are blasting away from the bench at these same steel plates and only getting about 50% hits, if that. And when he thinks I'm not looking, one of the guys comes over to stare at my M28, as if he wanted to know what kind of secret ninja gun came out of a time machine to perform so well here in 2007. Now, don't get me wrong, I love black rifles and own a couple myself. My National Match AR is an absolute joy to shoot - it's just that on that day, I was shooting a milsurp. The thing is, there is no reason why those guys couldn't have hit that steel plate each and every time (it's a freakin' foot in diameter, for heaven's sake!) but they didn't know what they were doing.
I feel bad for these people because they don't have the knowledge to even try to get better. Someday, heaven forbid, they might actually have to use these guns to defend their own lives, or the lives of loved ones.
Oh, and one last thing. Expensive guns often do shoot better than the bargain guns. Or at least, I often do perform better with a higher quality gun, assuming it fits me and good ammo is used. And I think customizing is a good thing, as well. I usually try to buy the nicest gun I can afford, and it's just that the gun-fund usually isn't as big as I'd like.
