Range wear - why?

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I wear BDUs 5 days a week. I definitely don't need to wear them on my own time. But to each his own. I try not to judge (I swear I try!).

Cheers.
 
"utilikilt".... Robert the Bruce is rolling over in his wee little grave, lol

I wear to the range whatever happens to be clean that day, but generally it consists of a t-shirt, a ball cap, my ever-present summer cargo shorts and flippy-flops. Don't worry though, they are tactical flippy-flops.
 
Hmmm.

Now, why would Robert the Bruce give a **** about utilikilts? :scrutiny: ;)

I own two, wear them both, and find them amazingly comfortable and very utilitarian,
just like the name implies.

{Added by edit: The people that make them are very interesting, no nonsense, 'let's just put this on the table and talk about it up front without games' kind of people.

I like that approach; kinda like the mode of interaction I find on THR. It contributed to me buying a couple.

Pricey? Yupp. But the workmanship is worth it; they last ... a loooonnnggg time. I've had mine for years where them regularly, and they show not the first sign of wear.

I've got my eye on one of the workman models. Talk about a , serious functional by comfortable piece of cloth ...

Just think of all the things you could carry in those pockets ... :cool:
 
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A second thought on this:

I've noticed at IDPA matches that the guys wearing BDU pants have the distinct advantage of having tons of pockets, which translates into having more places (and more convenient places) to put mags and other things.

Yep, I think I need some BDU-style pants. I really liked the new Multi-Cam TRU-spec pants that FBMG is carrying now...

Wes
 
Sorry if I offent anyone but I'm always amused at those who "dress up" at the range. Camo's, Tactical vests and the like always make me laugh.

Today I was amused again. Never fails. Just as much enjoyment shooting as the people watching.

Today I wore a pair of Black shoes & shorts, white socks & Glock t-**** and a Black Glock Base Ball cap.
 
I'd classify dressing in Glock logo gear to be "dressing up" to go to the range. At my club's local range, there's guys who do that and guys who don't. Of the ones who've shot CAS there, I'm the only full-time cowboy (post-1948) and I shoot that way too.

Okay, so there's been those who'll think cowboys at the range is funny as well as those who think fatigues are funny. Well, if we dress a certain way any or all of the time, it's really not that we're "dressing up" so much as it is that we're being ourselves and not changing much if any for the occassion.
 
Some people don't get out to plink enough. It's a good way to "test" that wow, this stuff still fits. I don't wear anything but something waterproof if it looks like rain, and something comfy. It's not my camo gear, usually, even though mine is comfy.

It's like a date for some folks, they like to dress up. No one seems to complain about motorcyclists or bicyclists having dedicated clothing, even though I think bicyclist spandex has always looked stupid because all of a sudden, everyone thinks it okay to look like a billboard or bozo the clown. It's just another gun "accessory" like women have shoes, bracelets, makeup, and all that stuff. Silly, yes, it's their life, let them be.\

BDU's are comfy, my wife wore them religiously for quite a while before she got pregenant. Now, they don't fit. If any clothing manufacturers are listening, take some damn notes would ya and make the same in something other than camo.....................please.
 
Why do people wear camo to the shooting range? On my last range trip there were several people wearing full camo, GI boots, boonie hats etc. Upon closer inspection they were not military, so what in the world was the point behind that?
Click to expand...

Were any of them also wearing Level IIa Second Chance body armor, with a Trauma Plate for the front and a second Trauma Plate duct taped to their back?

:neener: :D
 
I ALWAYS wear a "boonie" hat at the range. I'm Old. They work. :rolleyes: Besides, there's something in my operational program that insists I have a cover on when out-of-doors. I've never been able to alter that program -- it's all the fault of CMsgt (Ret) Juan Manuel Coronado!

What some might address as a "mall ninja", I knew as "condominium commandos". They're usually OK folks. If young enough, I ask them when they are to report to the Recruit Depot. If they become confused at that point, I know that they deserve careful observation but are, generally, harmless. :)

I am more concerned with the number of folks who post images of their range activities that show that they shoot without eye protection! :banghead:
 
I work at a range, and "range gear" falls into several categories:

  1. Police and active-duty military, who dress like that for work,
  2. Folks (like me) who've realized that 5.11 pants are just real comfy in the crotch,
  3. Older Vets and grizzly hunter-types, who just look natural in old camos. Usually also wearing rumply hats,
  4. Mall Ninjas. Usually younger and shoot Hi-Points.

Seriously, I get at least one "Navy Seal" and several "Marine Snipers" a week. From some back-of-the-envelope calculations, there must be 33,565,422 Navy Seals in this country if these guys are to be believed. Sadly, none of them can hit the sidewalk with a can of paint, but they can shoot the target carriers down at 3 yards. *

Some of the best shooters come in dressed like folks you'd never expect to be packin' heat.

(* Not poking fun at those occupations, but the people who falsely claim to have earned such stripes. I did recently have a mentally unbalanced woman claim she was a "2 Delta Undercover Musician" in the Navy.)
 
If you use any kind of stapler, or a big roll of masking tape to tack your targets to your frame, then you really do need cargo pockets. Ditto if you carry a decent sized notebook to record your results, ballistics cards, etc, etc. But for me, deer/turkey/whatever hunting camo is banned from the range. There's all these scent killing products out for hunters for a reason, no call to stink up the field gear unecessarily, then have to treat it with whatever expensive product.
I don't go to the range in my LL Bean flannel pajamas, and I don't go in waterfowl/turkey/deerstand camo, I go in whatever's comfortable and presentable for target practice.
 
***I always wear full camo, a boony hat, combat boots, and my Ru Paul 08 pin everywhere I go. It's the only way to make sure that no one thinks I'm a member of the UN, the CIA, Homeland Security, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, or part of the worldwide Jewish conspiracy.****

Quote* (how do u quote on this board anyway) Sorry. I'm just not looking to hard enough.***




Your even funnier than me!! :)

P.S. SaMx ...that photo is funny as hell. What do your grandchildren think?

Or better yet your children?!?!
 
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Nematocyst, I am not sure Robert the Bruce would have approved of the woodland camo design. Tiger stripe, maybe. Mossy Oak? No way!
 
I'm leaving for the range in about a half hour.

My sartorial choices today include jeans, sneakers and my best Red Sox t-shirt. I will also be wearing my lucky fishing ballcap.

Understated yet refined ...
 
Wow, there are some enlightening, funny and strangely aggravated responses here.

I was simply curious as to why someone would go to a paper target shooting range looking like they are dressed for war. Other than the image they give the shooting community, think of the 1980's soldier of fortune, I could personally care less. edit: I also happen to wear bdu pants often (camo and plain, they are durable and comfy), around town, working around the house, to play paintball and yes also to the range. As an aside, because of the image the fully camo'd man presents, most of our local gun competitions do not allow that sort of wear and require "normal" casual wear.

I find it interesting that people tried to read too deeply into a very basic question. My last range trip out I did indeed talk with someone fully camo'd out and he was a cool guy that brought some friends to the range for their first shooting trip. One good reason for the specific shooting wear is that it is dress for the occasion, like work pants or paintball gear. No judgement being made, just curious.

Q: "Hey how come you wear full camo like that to the range?"
A: "Because it is durable, comfy and I don't worry about getting it dirty."

Sometimes there is no hidden meaning, just a simple question with a simple answer.
 
I wear whatever I happen to have on at the time. I don't own any camo, tactical vests, combat boots, etc. etc. and think its looks silly when anyone other than military personal are wearing them.

I mean, if your not in the military and you wear military gear around town and for general use....it would be like me wearing the medical scrubs around town because they are "comfy".
 
I wear just the pants, which is all I have. Not all that often around town really, but not out of the question. And not just because they're comfy, but because I might have been crawling around under my jeep doing work and was wearing them so I don't mangle jeans, then I decided to get lunch or go to the store.
 
If you REALLY wanted..

to know why they wear camo, you would go up to them and ask.

My guess is: because they are cheap, comfortable, durable, and hide various stains and dirt pretty well.

migoi
 
I find it interesting that people tried to read too deeply into a very basic question. My last range trip out I did indeed talk with someone fully camo'd out and he was a cool guy that brought some friends to the range for their first shooting trip. One good reason for the specific shooting wear is that it is dress for the occasion, like work pants or paintball gear. No judgement being made, just curious.

Q: "Hey how come you wear full camo like that to the range?"
A: "Because it is durable, comfy and I don't worry about getting it dirty."
Click to expand...

I see what you mean. Actually, like somebody else said, it's not what you wear so much as how you wear it. A while back, I was in a Captain D's and there was a guy there wearing a black Garth Brooks looking hat, boots, and jeans with a Springfield Armory Inc. shirt and a 1911 in a shoulder holster in plain sight. That's perfectly legal here as I understand it. And like I said, I dress my version of cowboy which isn't far off of George Strait's version. Thing is, thing is that guy with the shoulder-holstered 1911 was putting out some signals that said he dressed and carried his sidearm that way to be "in your face" "because he can".

As to the question of why do you wear (whatever) to the range, a lot of times when I go deer hunting, I'll wear black Wranglers and a dark color-schemed shirt other than camo just because those don't shine. Same with my old black Resistol hat. They don't shine and I don't have to worry about them getting dirty. I'll sometimes wear a Realtree camo shirt, and sometimes not. I go to the range more or less as I would when I'm hunting which is mostly cowboyed up like I dress everyday because it works for me. The only thing I really add to my wardrobe to hunt is my goose down vest which is reversable between orange and Realtree. Orange and camo really don't go together anyway, so I just really don't bother with a lot of camo. I don't bother with a lot of camo because all it does is make Bill Jordan that much richer and the deer don't even care.
 
I'm heading out to the range in a few minutes. Old jeans, sleeveless T shirt, boots that look like I got 'em off a Mennonite, (no I'm not being insensitve... I first used the line on a Mennonite fellow, and he thought it was funny...) and BUG SPRAY.
Marty
 
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