Why so much hostility towards "tactical"

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I'm not in the Armed Forces....

so I don't dress like it. I'm not a cowboy....so I don't dress like it. Or a fireman, or a POLICE OFFICER. What people wear is their own business, but I'm too old to play dress up any more. And dressing up is, in some cases, what 'Tactical' seems to be about.

The original poster said it best:

Tools are just tools
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If it works, use it. If it doesn't, don't
 
It's already here. How many guys do you see buying cases of MRE's???

I use them for backpacking or work, to be sure, but some folks...

Ash
 
The adjective "tactical" simply became so overused as to lose all meaning. It started to remind me of Cooper's disparaging comments about "digital".

Imagine my chagrin when I learned my flashlight was both Tactical and Digital.

A flashlight?! C'mon.
Shoes? Shirt? What's next?
Pencil sharpener, vacuum cleaner, pajamas?

What differentiates a tactical folding knife from a non-tactical version? Ten bucks?

My distaste for "tactical" is strictly the result of overused marketing. I've no issues with dinosaur juice handguns or black paint. It should, however, be noted that "light weight" is not always an advantage. As someone else pointed out, a polymer stocked light weight .416 Rigby is probably not on everybody's "must have" list.

Given two similar products, I gravitate to the one that doesn't have "tactical" in the description as I appreciate not being deemed an idiot by somebody's marketing drones.
 
"Tactical" knives with a chisel edge on the WRONG SIDE.

"But that's the side people look at when it's on the table."

"Tactical" knives that are a block of steel wrapped in cord, with no shape or ergonomics for $300.
 
Coyote tan is now tactical? Well, if I ain't the trend-setter! And I just got the wallet and sheath in it so as not to look like a mall ninja.
 
Probably the main reason why "serious gun-folk" are skeptical about the whole tactical craze is that it seems to represent an excessive focus on equipment rather than skill.

For example, I'm a high-performance driving instructor in my other life. Though we run events on race tracks, the idea is to teach people how to be better, safer, and more aware on the street. You always see these young guys who refuse to set foot on the track until their car is "modded" to all get-out. They show up with full coil-over racing suspensions, gumball racing slicks, big brake kits, race seats plus harnesses, and thousands of dollars worth of engine modifications...yet they don't know how to drive the car even when it was stock! They've spent all their time, energy, and money on building up their cars rather than learning how to use them properly. They end up looking a little foolish when a middle-aged guy in a stock 1968 BMW 2002tii with a lousy 100hp runs circles around them.

It's the same with a lot of the tactical guys. Some of them show up at the range with better equipment than SEAL Team Six, but they can't keep 10 shots on the paper at 10 yards. It's a bit silly.
 
HRN4100.jpg

:what:
:eek:
:banghead:
anim_rofl2.gif
 
Now I'm wondering if that H&R's a shotgun or a HandiRifle. Either way, I doubt it'll do anything a stock Topper, HandiRifle, or Buffalo Special won't do.
 
having just browsed a thread based on "shtf",and like I said too each their own and their are those members here who have or are seeing combat(I have not)....I've got to ask to what good effect would a bipod do on a M4 carbine?


Will all the members here who are or were deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or the Phillipines and was issued a rifle give a rundown about all the attached gear that we see on M16s and M4s.Has the gear,scopes,dots,lights,lasers and such been battleworthy,reliable and effective?What has worked good,what has failed?

funny that a generation saw the M16 as matel toy,while these days a generation are use to the M16 while seeing all the current dudads attached to the M16 as a overzealous attempt of a space gun.
 
That's a 12 gauge topper.
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Good gun from way back... killed a lot of game and a lot of kids learned to shoot with it.

$100 of single shot.
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Good deal. The SB2 HandiRifle version costs a mite more though. I don't believe I'd feel undergunned with any H&R of that type.

$325 of crap.
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Big mistake. Big waste of money that could've bought a lot of 12guage slugs, buckshot, and birdshot. I won't lose any sleep over not having one.
 
funny that a generation saw the M16 as matel toy,while these days a generation are use to the M16 while seeing all the current dudads attached to the M16 as a overzealous attempt of a space gun.
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I'm 32 years old. I've always been a civilian and private citizen. I don't like M-16/M4 and I sure ain't gonna hang all the doodads all over my rifle. M1 Garand, M1A/M-14, and stock Mini-14 is about as close to "tactical" as I get. That's just me.
 
A bipod on an M4 is of use for sniping or support as a designated marksman. That's very few people.

"Normal" accessories include a reflex sight to improve snap shooting and peripheral vision, a light for illuminating dark rooms or any room if it's bright sunlight outside. Also may include night vision or thermal imaging, a laser. Side mounted or single point slings are common and useful.

That's also for clearing houses in a war zone. My house M4 has an EoTech and a light. I'm not likely to use the Eotech inside the house. Illuminate, identify, bang.

And I don't expect I'll need more than 1 20 round magazine.
 
Speculation: Without the "tactical" craze, would there be such a thriving market for fake suppressors?

For the longest time, I couldn't even hazard a guess as to what point a fake can might serve, but I guess if one bought a plastic gun and actually missed the weight associated with steel, screwing on a fake can is as good a means of bolting on weight as any, I suppose.
 
I hear you mustanger.I ask in earnest,because for the most part I use stock rifles,so I can't personally attest to whether everything I see attached to rifles these days are a waste or not.I suppose it depends on certain tactical situations.

Reflex sights,scopes,trijicon sights,I know these things can give better accuracy and quick acquisition.But on some of the photos I see coming out some weapons have 2,3,4 things attached to it.Does it make it that much better than a stock M16 or M4?

What I said about not wanting to look like a wannabe warrior at a public range.I have from time to time away from everybody geared up with BDU and ammo pouches,practiced like that (still does'nt make me a expert).Fire behind obsticles,practice magazine changing in awkward positions,fire and manuver ,simulate primary weapon failure to pistol,different target positions.

But how would I really act when threatened with death?I dont know.
 
mike I understand about the use of a bipod...but why on a carbine which a carbine is for handiness and not so much for longer distance accuracy.Would'nt a marksman be better with a 20inch M16 or larger caliber weapon.

ps mike.Rush is my favorite band
 
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A bipod comes in handy for overwatch, observation, and as a forward grip. As to all the crap we have hanging off our rifles, can you hit a target at 250M in the dark? With the M68, PVS14's and the PEQ2, we can. And if it's up close, that's what the surefire is for. Is it a lot of stuff Joe schmo probably wouldn't ordinarily use? Probably, but even Joe schmo has some unordinary times now and then.
 
Lionking: if the unit's standard issue is carbine, you work with what you've got. And the M4 IS more compact, though not compact enough for certain fields (photographers, for example, would often rather have a pistol).

A 14.5" 5.56 platform is not ideal for precision shooting, but if you're covering your buddy as he investigates a driver at a check point, for example, while keeping hard cover yourself, it's a nice thing to have. And I recommend Harris bipods.
 
If I have an Uncle Mikes nylon holster hot glued to my porcelain throne, does that mean I have a tactical toilet? (Or does it have to be Kydex?)

Men in general love gizmos and gadgets. They love having things that make them better (or think they're better) than someone without them.

I know I do.

You know you do.

Every major marketing department out there damn sure knows it, too.

Reminds me of an article I read, by an author eating all the new foods marketed as being x-treme, like CORN NUTS GONE WRONG, XTREME YOGURT, etc.

THe only thing XTREME about his experience was the XTREME dump he took afterward.
 
Dave's Insanity Sauce
Stupid Hot
Hellfire and Damnation Hot Sauce
Pact with the Devil Hot Sauce...

stuff no sane person can tolerate in more than a drop (Which is their marketing), that sells.

Though I am partial to Scorned Woman Hot Sauce. Tasty.

Someone needs to package Tactical Hot Sauce (not the MRE bottles, though that's not a bad idea), but mount it with a rail clip.

Oh, anyone seen the rail mounts for BELTS so you can store your accessories, a la the Batbelt?:barf:
 
If I have an Uncle Mikes nylon holster hot glued to my porcelain throne, does that mean I have a tactical toilet? (Or does it have to be Kydex?)
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You need one of these from our friends at Hogue. In desert tan. With the electric heater.
 
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