The shooter world is often their worst enemy

Alcohol and weapons of any sort do not mix. The booze should not be at the range.

Owning web gear, tactical gear, or camo stuff in itself isn't bad, but when folks feel the need to dress out like a Rainbow Six character before going to the range you don't know whether to feel alarmed or amused.

Another group that gets me are the super out of shape survivalist types. I am not saying being a survivalist is bad, just bear with me. They explain each gun and weapon they would use in a SHTF scenario. For some reason those types always seem to be obese, coffee drinking, chain smokers who would probably have a hard time moving 1/2 mile in the woods with a Ruger 10/22 and 50 rounds of ammo. I don't despise those guys, I just don't take them serious that often. For the record I am not putting down anyone with a weight problem, I carry a few extra pounds myself. LOL!:cool::D
 
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The shooter world is often their worst enemy!
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....and the biggest culprits are,

the people who think everyone should be just like they are, shoot like they do, dress like they do, think like they do....
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Folks that are publicly overly critical of their fellow gun owners are doing nuttin' but creating a divide in a group that really needs to be united. They are also mirroring what the antis are doing to us, which puts them on their side, not ours.

shows up at a range wearing tactical gear like he is living a commando fantasy. Unbalanced.
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While I myself am not into tacticool, I have no problem with others that are. Many of them are better shots and more knowledgeable in firearms than me, regardless of the attire they wear. Odds are many of them are above you also. Maybe why you despise them so, eh? I see the wearing of tactical wear at the range no different than the dressing up in Western gear at a SASS/Cowboy shoot. Or the wearing of camouflage/blaze orange to the range during preseason sight in. I see nuttin' "unbalanced" about any of it. The instructors I see giving SD classes at my local range many times are wearing some form of tactical wear while giving classes. Maybe it's unbalanced training, eh? Judging folks just by the clothing they wear is an example of shallow mindedness and bias. Get over it.

Foolish, dangerous and irresponsible actions while handling firearms is inexcusable regardless of what one is wearing and with that I agree. But dumping a mag of ammo is not necessarily unsafe or irresponsible. I kinda thought that's why folks had hi-cap mags. I wonder how many folks with Hi-Cap mags have actually never emptied the whole mag at once at a rapid rate. I'm bettin' the percentage is quite low. Just like folks with laser sights actively practicing a SD scenario. Kinda why one would put a laser sight on a firearm. Instead of admonishing folks with different interests in firearms and want to run them off the range, we need to embrace those differences and add them to our numbers. As long as they are safe and responsible, we need them.
 
We can't purge the ranks but we can be conscious of our own behavior and the behavior of those we are shooting with.

New shooters, nervous first-timers and fence-sitters are also at the range when groups of goofy young men decide to mag dump their AR's.

People who don't have an opinion on guns ride their bikes past acres of national forest that have been trashed by shooters.

Carrying an AR into restaurant - perfectly legal in many places but does nothing for our cause.

Use your heads and be ambassadors. Convince the undecided.
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Agree, after 50 years of shooting it has changed and sometimes not for the better, we live in a very visual world now so acting with respect and manners
does matter.

One of the big things I see as a turn off to Joe average non-shooter is AR15guys acting or talking like they are preparing for war, I won't go near an AR board any more due to attitude.
Yes, I do own an AR love to shoot it but it's meant for fun and the sport of target shooting.

Like it or not there are some coming into the sport who can do more harm then good, like any groups we need to police our own or at least not condone what they do.
 
I will mention that once I gave in to temptation at the range, where two younger kids were mag-dumping a WASR-109 at a steel flipper target at 20=25 yards and not hitting it once. I stood up and put five for five on my Thugly target at 100 yards with my CZ 527M/CSR. I looked over and they were both staring at me, so gave into temptation and said, "Hit something, don't just make noise!":eek::D
 
we live in a very visual world now so acting with respect and manners
does matter.
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It is a curious double standard. While respect and manners DO matter (and here on TFL they matter a lot) our popular entertainment culture emphasizes rudeness and disrespect as comedy, and we all know its good to be funny, right?

At the same time, we get people freaking out about some who they feel project the "wrong" image. Every group has its radical fringe, the point is to make it clear that they ARE the radical fringe, and not the majority of us.

I've even run into anti-gunners who, despite the patent hypocrisy, have said that gun owners ought to be shot! Most aren't quite that radical, but some are.

The anti's think we are all crazy anyway, to some degree, and people fitting their stereotypes of what gun owners are don't lose us anything with the people who already don't like us, or our views.

They may lose our cause some fence sitter, true. Not much to do about that, other than for us to be a good example of responsible gun ownership and use, and point out to the fence sitters that it isn't the gun that makes that mall ninja/Rambo wanna be the idiot that he is, and be proof of the other side of the coin.
 
No one wants the anti-gun crowd telling responsible gun owners what to do or not do, so why do we want to start 'policing' each other? Who decides what's acceptable or not?

As long as shooters/hunters/gun owners act safely and responsibly, I don't see an issue. Do people sometimes look foolish by the way they dress or act? Maybe, but a free society means they can do just that as long as it doesn't hurt anyone or violate another person's rights.
 
"Shooting two bullets in the heart --- in 1.5 seconds --- holes touching each other --- Shooting 5 or 6 bullets in 1.5 seconds in a combat effective zone --- Both are effective, but one is obviously a lot more efficient." Travis Haley
 
Take a look at a Sports Afield from the 50s or 60s, then look at a Field & Stream today...now most of the ads look like hunter-commandos with dark painted faces grimacing with some determined to survive with no boundaries expression. Makes me want to laugh or something.
 
I do hate posturing by movie stars...like Bruce Willis and some TV serial stars.
Meaning the posture and facial features that some folks take while posing for a picture promoting a movie of some sort; though I do like to go to the range "dressed to the nines" sometimes.

The only complaint that I sometimes get from the RSO's at our range, is that my camo outfits make it harder for the RSO's too see me; while I'm downrange during a ceasefire.
 
See how this works , we need to tell each other what to look like and what we can or cannot own and what type of firearm we can have and how to shoot it so others will not tell us what we can have or can not have .
So if we were going to police " our " ranks where do the prisnors end up ?
Gun owners can put out this squeakey clean image and bow to the media or what ever some sugest and it makes no diference to the gun grabbing crowd they have thier own fashon problems . Bottom line live as you see fit and always do the right thing and be grateful you live in the U.S.A ( for those that do , others can suplement the name of thier own Country ) . Put on that camo and battle rattle and a nice belaclava , give that torso target 2 in the chest and 1 in the head . LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT ..
 
or we could suggest and encourage avoiding looking and acting extreme so as to have a respectable position in the public's view. No police necessary.
 
Mabey hold a siminar to teach PC and how one should be more progressive in the way they think or atleast apear to be .
Mabey we could just use simulators and turn our firearms into the Government for a voucher to buy programs for said simulator .
No I will just be myself and cling to my GOD and guns .
 
Night I see what your saying and don't necessarily disagree. I just wish our society would focus on the behavior of the INDIVIDUAL PERSON and stop making generalizations by always trying to put people in a certain classification. I know I'm dreaming but that is what's wrong with our society.

Your attempting to prevent generalizations in our shooting community to be made but people will see it their way no matter what we do mostly thanks to our liberal agenda driven media.
 
I dont see where steriotyping and calling people you know nothing about vile names is using good judgment . That seems like poor judgement .
This whole thing makes conversation but the point of it is to solve a problem that does'nt exsist . I hear so many people talk about the Government trying to control them but turn around and start trying to do the same to others . The take away is there is always the good idea fairy that you have to ignore and sometimes tell them , No thats not a good idea .
 
Yes you did some name calling in your OP , Mabey I said vile as a descriptive word and they were not as bad as I said but it was name calling . I have never been at a shooting range where some one was drinking , as I do not drink I would leave . I do not campane aginst people who do drink and I do not think less of them for doing so , Its just something I dont do . So I do not bash folks for not doing as I do and I do not worry about other law bidding shooters actions threatening my rights as a U.S citezen . If you need something to campane for do everything you can to make sure the right people get in office from the local level up .
 
You'd probably be hard pressed to change some peoples ways but if they are safe then who am I to judge them?
The best thing we can all do is get some youngster's out and enjoying our sport, make sure safety is a priority and make sure they have fun!
My two boys are growing up fast and they love going out hunting with me but they know that they need to be safe and sensible about it too...
As far as I'm concerned though, anyone on "our" side is better than having them on the other:)
 
I made comments about things I don't like nor agree with...that doesn't make it a campaign...you should use proper language when you state an opinion...not exaggerated language nor misapplied words. That can be deceitful.
 
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