Man, a lot has changed!
But seriously, I remember when going to the local range back in the late '90s and early '00s before the Clinton AWB expired was a different experience. Most shooters had 1911s, revolvers, Hi-Powers, or a smattering of DA/SA hammer fired guns. Showing up with something like a GLOCK was like showing up in a Lamborghini to the local working-class neighborhood McDonald's.
I remember when having a GLOCK made you an outlier of a shooter. A polymer framed striker fired handgun was the outlier. It was not the norm that we see now in 2022. Sure, you had others starting to dip their toes into the market.
You had S&W with the Sigma, FN's Forty-Nine along with Walther's P99 and Steyr with the M Series. But for the most part, other than the Sigma, they all were commercial flops that didn't get any shelf space at the local gun shop. Yeah, the Sigma was not that great of a gun. But it was from Big Blue and they were the first to really attempt to challenge GLOCK.
On the long gun side of things, yeah, AR's were out there. But they weren't what we see today. I recall that most shooters at Trail Glades Range in Miami for example had rifles more like an SKS or a Mini-14 if it was a semi-auto center-fire rifle. Yeah, the guys with big bucks had a slicked up Springfield M1A, but those were few and far between.
But most shooters were out there with a Marlin Model 60, a Ruger 10/22, or a Winchester 30/30 or Remington 700.
You were high strutting if you had a pre-ban AR and a few 30rd mags.
The only cost affordable option towards the end of the Clinton AWB was a Romanian SAR-1 with a pile of surplused DDR 30rd mags.
Now, ARs are dirt cheap and AKs go for a pretty penny and post '64 Winchester 30/30s are collector pieces.
But seriously, I remember when going to the local range back in the late '90s and early '00s before the Clinton AWB expired was a different experience. Most shooters had 1911s, revolvers, Hi-Powers, or a smattering of DA/SA hammer fired guns. Showing up with something like a GLOCK was like showing up in a Lamborghini to the local working-class neighborhood McDonald's.
I remember when having a GLOCK made you an outlier of a shooter. A polymer framed striker fired handgun was the outlier. It was not the norm that we see now in 2022. Sure, you had others starting to dip their toes into the market.
You had S&W with the Sigma, FN's Forty-Nine along with Walther's P99 and Steyr with the M Series. But for the most part, other than the Sigma, they all were commercial flops that didn't get any shelf space at the local gun shop. Yeah, the Sigma was not that great of a gun. But it was from Big Blue and they were the first to really attempt to challenge GLOCK.
On the long gun side of things, yeah, AR's were out there. But they weren't what we see today. I recall that most shooters at Trail Glades Range in Miami for example had rifles more like an SKS or a Mini-14 if it was a semi-auto center-fire rifle. Yeah, the guys with big bucks had a slicked up Springfield M1A, but those were few and far between.
But most shooters were out there with a Marlin Model 60, a Ruger 10/22, or a Winchester 30/30 or Remington 700.
You were high strutting if you had a pre-ban AR and a few 30rd mags.
The only cost affordable option towards the end of the Clinton AWB was a Romanian SAR-1 with a pile of surplused DDR 30rd mags.
Now, ARs are dirt cheap and AKs go for a pretty penny and post '64 Winchester 30/30s are collector pieces.