Anyone else tired of the "tactical" garbage?

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I like to quote a ditty from the bicycle craze of the 1890s.
Hey diddle diddle
It's part of the riddle
The strangest part of the deal
If you add up accounts
You will find by accounts
That the sundries cost more than the wheel.
I laugh at all the "tacticool' types at the range. As noted, most cannot shoot for sour apples-and are usually at least 30 pounds overweight.
 
Some people like to shoot what their grandfather shot. Other people like to move into the 21st century and take advantage of advances in technology.

Hey, did you know television comes in color now, too?


Seriously, yes, a lot of people go overboard with the "tacticool", but other people think that there are legitimate uses for some accessories to their firearms.

You need a good sight that you are comfortable with, whether it's bare iron sights or a scope or a red-dot sight or whatever, as long as you shoot okay with it, that's fine.

A tactical light is a useful addition to a self-defense firearm, especially when you consider that you are most likely going to be using it at night, when it's dark. In order to be sure of your target, light would certainly be a good idea.
 
I'm just an old shooter with a wide range of interest and experience. I've always loved guns from the western migration period, but I didn't get into that CAS stuff. And I've got horses and hats ;) I also like military guns, to include some black guns, and I've made my living with those for awhile now. I appreciate them for what they are but for the life of me, I can't get evangelistic about them.

I look at it like this- if it's safe, legal and gets people out shooting, I'm all for it.
 
I am a Old Timer. I have only Bolt action rifles. I have a sled bed in every one. I do have scopes on them all, but I am in to long range shooting. Last summer a Guy came out to the range,,( Now each to their own ) but this guy had 2 pistols on his waist. Going all around his waist in between the pistols was mag's. All decked in Military clothes. On each of his legs right above the knee he had 4 more mags on each leg. Now as I find out in most cases they can''t shoot for squat,but man he looked baddddddd. I just let the barrel cool and did all I could to not laugh out loud. I swear some of the funniest people I have ever seen In my life have been at the range. It's like a gun owners own showing of People Of Walmart.

Today I was out at range ( 5 above and 10 MPH wind) Guy comes out to shoot. Wearing coveralls and boots. Sets up his bag, pulls his AR out and then reaches in his duffle bag and pulls out his winter Camo clothes and puts them on. Umm ok- Maybe made him shoot better.
 
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When my son carried a Beretta 92FS in Iraq it was tactical. On our public range in Louisiana the identical pistol metamorphosed to non-tactical. The 1911 I carried in the army was tactical when I was in uniform. My Kimber 1911 can't be tactical because it is a civilian no matter how many rails can be superglued to it. Any scope with raised turrets is tactical no matter where it is. Any canvas-looking range bag with a few external pockets is tactical. Midway was selling a pink tactical range bag . Maybe it is needed while shopping at Macy's.

But wait! There's more! "Sniper" is replacing and becoming the new "tactical." Read the sales fliers from Midway and Cabela's if you don't believe me.
 
I will note that I have yet to see somebody with a kitted out AR-15 complaining about somebody else with a nice Garand or 1903 Springfield as being fuddy duddies when they're just minding their own business at the range. I also note that I have similarly not seen the "tactical" obsessed shooter opine about how these guns they don't choose to shoot ought to be banned. Would that it wasn't the case the other way around... I'm not sure why the lack of being catered to in the current firearm market bothers people who prefer the old guns enough to inspire such rants. If you like the older designs, well, why worry about what others shoot? It's not a huge jump from this looking down on other shooters to a willingness to toss them under the bus come the next political furball. It DOES happen

Sorry, it just smacks of "STOP LIKING WHAT I DON'T LIKE" when it bothers you enough to dwell on it until you get home and post about it.

I have tactical kitted out ARs. I have some nice older designs too. I like everything. If something isn't up my alley, well, whatever. Does it matter to anyone else what I shoot? Not as long as I do so safely. If it bugs you that much, then I can only quote Sgt. Hulka- "Lighten up, Francis."

IMO, we'd be better off encouraging new shooters, even if they don't look like us or shoot what we shoot. The more we allow ourselves to be fragmented the easier we will be to gobble up. Then none of us will be shooting anything. Fact is, it's the new modern rifle shooters breathing life into the RKBA movement. Best learn to love it.
 
The amount of rails and/or accessories a person has hanging off of their weapon of choice is usually directly proportional to how poorly they shoot.
 
No.
I like old school, new school and everything in between. So long as it goes bang, is accurate and well made.
Intolerance only limits your enjoyment of the hobby.
 
"Sniper" is replacing and becoming the new "tactical."
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I was dismayed enough when I realized "sniper" was replacing "marksman." Timmy Tactical should be seeking a decent rifle and training rather than dressing it up with ninja gear and aspiring to some Call of Duty aesthetic.

Frankly, if folks spent as much time actually learning to shoot and maintain their guns as they did learning this week's YouTube Specops foolishness, we'd have a generation of real marksmen rather than a bunch of guys who spout incomprehensible acronyms.
 
Different Strokes for Different Folks.

People develop resentments that eat at them because not everyone lives up to their expectations.

I think Black rifles full of trinkets and do-dads are silly but I don't judge the owner. Even if the owner can't hit the broad side of a barn.

Not worth thinking about.
I shoot next to Mall Ninjas with my stock open sighted Mini 14 and all is good.
 
The amount of rails and/or accessories a person has hanging off of their weapon of choice is usually directly proportional to how poorly they shoot.
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I'm not sure I entirely agree with that. While this definitely applies to some people, compensating for a lack of a certain something happens in all groups of shooters. I've seen guys with super nice 1911's and revolvers that look like they sprayed the target with shot pellets. I've also seen plenty of guys with rifles and handguns in MASSIVE calibers that couldn't hit the broadside of a barn.

As far as the "tacticool" getup goes, I don't see that as being any more or less eccentric than the jokers that wear cowboy crap to the range. I just don't see the point of having any of these things if you can't shoot them worth a crap.
 
Microgunner said:
No.
I like old school, new school and everything in between. So long as it goes bang, is accurate and well made.
Intolerance only limits your enjoyment of the hobby.
Click to expand...
I say amen & right-on to that!

I was at the range one day & a guy with an AR was shooting. I'm not even sure exactly what set-up he had because I was AR-clueless at the time. I was astonished by how he slowly & methodically put bullet after bullet through a hole I'd be proud of with any of my bolt guns at 100yds. He just sat there shot after shot without lifting his head carefully pulling the trigger & I heard the clink of another case on the ground. I guess I had an epiphany because this accuracy was the real deal & this guy obviously knew what he was doing! Yes, I was fascinated. To each his own & don't judge too quickly; an old dog can be surprised & learn a new trick!

..bug :eek:
 
I've shot some very accurate ARs. The platform doesn't appeal to me because I don't get along well with a pistol grip on my rifles. That doesn't make them bad. It can be a very consistent and accurate platform.

It's the mall ninjas dressing up like a character in a Tom Clancy book encouraging others to do the same that bother me. I have yet to see some of the tacticlowns with multiple gadgets hanging off their guns outshoot me at the range. They'll clog up the 25 yard lines turning in much worse groups than I do with a handgun. I consider myself an average shooter but it seems like most of the fools are poor shots at best.

If they'd strip half that crap off their guns and learn how to shoot they would probably have a better time at the range.


I guess I'm considered to be a hater because I have zero interest in the AK and SKS platforms. They rate as garbage in my book. Reliable? Yes. Consistent? Hardly. Accurate? Where are the sub MOA guns?
 
I agree to a point. To take a light weight, easy to carry AR platform and laden it down with a ton of "tactical" seem foolish. That, and the fact that 99.9% of these guns won't see a situation that requires all the extra doodads. But it is a free country(so the belief goes), so to each their own. As much as I think I'm always right, I still want everyone else to find their own way. I don't have to like it, just tolerate it. :)
 
You can either shoot, or you can't. It's that simple. How you do or don't dress up your gun, which handgun you favor, what type of shoes you wear, or any other number of trivial choices you make, have little to do with your ability to apply fundamentals.

I wonder how often guys see what they think must be a mall ninja, while that young faced kid is actually a combat vet who is simply having fun screwing around. On a range trip a bit back, some friends and I were yelling up and down the line that one of our buddies was being out shot by another guy because he needed a foregrip behind his foregrip. He started playing it up, and we were yelling things like, "you need that foregrip behind the other foregrip so you can bring your hand back and give it more elbow!" Half of those guys were JSOC vets. Another guy was pretty much the President of Mall Ninjas of America. All are friends. You'd have a hard time telling us apart.
 
I'll have to say, the OP was the one of the funniest things I've read on here in awhile.

Some of the tacticool based threads are mind numbingly stupid, but some are valid discussions. I like the AR platform but I'm ever careful when I build one that I put reasonable things on it; things that do more than look cool.
 
I'm finding it very interesting how 99% of us on this forum are in agreement with the fact that we believe its the mental capacity of the person, not the type of gun used, that is the problem in all these mall/school shootings. Yet at the same time most of you on this thread are now saying its the gun and all the trimmings that make the guy a poor shot, not the guy himself. Ironic isn't it? Hmmm.

Has it ever crossed your mind the guy is just a bad shot, or he is new and learning. So he may have made a mistake with adding too many or the wrong accessories, he's learning and got caught up in the hype or maybe, just maybe, he's just out having some fun and doesn't really care. As long as he's being safe then I say so be it.

Remember, were all one big "happy" family guys.
 
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