What is too tacticool?

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Zen21Tao

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Another thread got be wondering, what is too tacticool? I know people have different opinions as to what is considered overly tactical. Is simply wearing all camo at the range tacticool? Avid hunters might not think so. Is being dressed in a pro-gun t-shirt, black BDUs and army boots too tactical? What do you guys think, where is the line between tactical and mall ninja?
 
The simplest way I think of it is using way more gear than your mission (or your trip to the store) requires.
Tossing flashbangs and having your wife laying down suppressive fire while you roll out to the curb to drop off your recycling would qualify methinks :D
 
The simplest way I think of it is using way more gear than your mission (or your trip to the store) requires.
That's a pretty good definition I think. I would add that there is a mental attitude that goes along with all the gear that makes them the focus of my scorn.
 
In my opinion, it's when someone tries to be "tactical" in order to seem tactical (which is always pathetic). I nearly vomit every time I see a young fellow at the range that tries so darn hard to look like the Hollywood stereotypical tactical hero with the clothing, sunglasses (at an indoor range, nonetheless) gloves and "tactical" firearm that can hardly hit his target past 10 yards. :rolleyes:

If someone's trying to look tactical to others, they've gone too far, IMHO.
 
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I've been known, from time to time, to be a little excessive with the 'tactical' gear. I don't really see the problem if someone wants to have a little fun, especially the young guys. I mean, kids will be kids (me included). What would be really bad is if a 40 or 50 something year old was at the range in full on tactical gear. At least you would think that they know better.

-Dev
 
When I go shooting it seems like the fattest man in the building is always the one wearing camo. it makes me laugh a little.
 
For me, it's a little different. I mainly shoot at Bragg's Personally Owned Weapon (POW) range. When I see a guy my age or younger show up with IBA, FLSC/Rack system, thigh rig, etc, it tells me that he/she might be doing some extracurricular training. (The cardinal rule of training is..."Train as you fight.") I usually reserve my scorn for the older shooters who come to the range looking so tactical they should be banned in California. There aren't very many that do that here, but the ones that do are VERY noticable.

Mike
 
Not sure about too tacticool, but saw a joke several years ago that said us military types knew we were too tactical (hooah, actually was the word) if our wives had the children kneel and face out left and right alternatingly when they were in a commissary checkout line more than 2 customers long for security purposes. Wish I could remember the rest. There were about a dozen and they were funny.
 
At Coal Creek Armory, we get all types, of all ages. It's a real menagerie of tacticool and urban stylz. We get an awful lot of these guys who come in from the boondocks dressed out like Dog the Bountyhunter or some kind of GSG-9 castoff, perhaps wearing two Ruger P95's in a nylon double shoulder rig, or a .50 Desert Eagle in a thigh holster. It's hard not to laugh right in their faces sometimes. However, it's the urban stylz posse that really takes the cake. These are the hip-hop boyz, of whatever race, who come in, reeking of green apple flavored blunts, wearing their flannel pajama pants, flip-flops, baseball hat cocked jauntilly to one side, and Mercedes hood ornaments dangling from gold plated tow chains, to ask me about the availability of "clips" for their Hi-Point fohty-fahv. For real, yo - I'd rather share oxygen with the mallninjas and bountyhunter wannabes than with these assclowns. But let's not leave out the ladies... I've never seen a female mallninja, but we do get a few ladies in the store who are equally impressive. My favorite type is the bleach bottle blonde, with the Tina Turner hairstyle, stooping from the burden of 50lbs of aftermarket bewbs spilling over the top her tube top, which reads, "It's better topless." She often completes the look with a set of 4" spike heels, and a pair of painted-on sparkly jeans, with the obligatory pink thong peeking out in back, saying, "Hi, I'm hard to get." As I said, we get all types, but, in the broad spectrum of this menagerie, I'd honestly have to say the tacticool brigade are some of the least egregious.

>edited for spelling
 
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nd a pair of painted-on sparkly jeans, with the obligatory pink thong peeking out in back, saying, "Hi, I'm hard to get."

lol.gif
 
Hey, since when is camouflage "tacticool" and not "redneck?" Where I am, middle-aged guys in camo are definitely the latter!

I think DoubleTapDrew and Snowdog jointly hit it ... "more gear than required for the mission, for the purpose of projecting an image."

I've worn Royal Robbins 5.11s since way before they were "cool." I find them way more comfortable than jeans. But then, I used to wear stuff from the old hand-drawn Banana Republic catalog before they got bought out by the Gap. Since then, I've turned to Cabela's to find safari shirts. Why? Because they're comfortable, and fit my lifestyle (when I'm not in a suit).

"Lookin' cool" has nothing to do with my personal decision. My camo is reserved for hunting and camping.
 
I went that route for all of one shooting trip one time, that junk gets in the way.

to stay upwind from the squirls we belly crawled over a ridge and the nylon strapping got wedged in uncomfortable places, the tactical gear got covered in dirt, and all the little velcro things picked up stickers. all the silly little accessories just wound up being an inconvenience or breaking.

to sum it up, the .32 auto in the shoulder rig incase the squirls charged us at close range is tacticool.

I can't believe I ever was that rediculous.
 
If you're not military or law enforcement, most of the tac gear is
ridiculous.

Generally my opinion is that everyday guys who spend money on
Thigh-strap tactical drop holsters, tac vests, bdu's, helmets, etc,
are probably wanna-be's, wish-I-hads, or mall ninjas awaiting the
racial uprising/WWIII.
 
The tactical baclava.

I agree with Cooper on this one...anyone who would hide his face deserves to be considered one of the bad guys. Good guys are willing to show their face.

Note, this only applies to those of us in the civilian world; you military folks get a free pass.:D
K
 
Being a paintball junkie..

I think I have a good line on this one.

Tacticool was my friend dressing up for a woodsball game in a ghillie suit. Not a turkey hunting suit with breakup camo, I mean the whole burlap-rag tie-on suit.

Or it was me zip-tying a red-dot sight onto my paintball gun, which I've done on a number of occasions.

I think it would also include me bringing along a spring-operated airsoft pistol to one paintball game as a sidearm. I actually did tag someone out with it, but nonetheless.

Or another buddy's reference to a Camelbak as a "tactical straw."

Or the paintball shot shells that I made out of wax paper and 6mm airsoft paintballs. Those were less than effective.

Or another buddy of mine buying a paintball gun suppressor made out of PVC. Don't worry, it didn't work, so no need to call the ATF.

And the buddy with the ghillie suit hand-porting his paintball barrel with a drill press after cutting it short with a hacksaw.

There are lots more, and I admit that I'm personally guilty of most of them.
 
"style over substance; image is everything."

few people even know what the reason for a drop holster is anymore. hint: it is not to put the gun close to your hand, gunslinger style. it is intended to keep the sidearm off your body armor, load bearing vest/suspenders, rifle sling and other gear. as such, even a thigh holster should ride as high as possible without interfering with your equipment.

i've got a few toys that are uneccesary in civilian life and would probably never be needed even if evil robot alien zombies invaded but they're still fun. let's face it - one ar15 could be used for home defense or even neighborhood defense in the event of a large disaster but anyone who has more than one probably only has them as toys and not for some practical purpose. i'm not saying there's anything wrong with that - i have five - but they really are just toys - really expensive toys. as long as a person actually KNOWS that he own tools as toys, it's fine. when people start to think that they really ARE some kind of "operator" then there may be a problem.

a more significant problem, in my opinion, arises when members of the shooting community ridicule and alienate people who don't fit into the mold of what these shooters expect instead of gently educating and encouraging them. i admit that sometimes these people make me snicker but if you make them feel uncomfortable, you might as well vote for hillary in the next election because you sure as heck aren't personally doing anything to protect our RKBA.
 
I recall someone (either here or on another board) seeing some tactical freak go to the range in a full-on ghillie suit. I'd pay good money to see that.
 
Anyone who has one more piece of gear than YOU think is necessary is "too tacticool". I probably am considered too tacticool by many at my range, but then all they do is shoot off the bench and think that all shooting revolves around hunting.

Most don't have an AR-15 either, so if I remember to bring along mag pouches or the vest instead of sticking mags in my pockets, then I probably get a lot of looks.

And then there is the hot summer days where I combine that tacticool gear with an extremely old and abused pair of loafers, old garden pants and a raggedy t-shirt. Spent all my money on the AR, can't afford clothes :p
 
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