It's a "reality show" only in the fact that the people appearing in the show aren't professional actors. As with any TV show, any resemblance between what you're watching and reality is purely coincidental. That's the way it is with any TV show. Professional wrestling isn't real either...for all of you who didn't know that.
How about if you do a real "cop show"? Okay, the main character is a deputy sheriff. He goes out on his shift and...drives around and drives around...and 20 minutes later stops for lunch...then he directs traffic at an accident for the remainder of the show. There's a forumula for an exciting show - real, real-life. You should see the episode where he spends the last 20 minutes filling out his daily report...talk about excitement and drama!
What you see on TV gun shows is like professional wrestling - it's scripted "drama" for entertainment purposes - or, no one would watch it. Do you really want to see a gunsmith spending 25 minutes putting a 1911 slide into a fixture, indicating it for placement, putting the cutter in the mill, doing a test pass to check for setup problems...etc., etc.? Probably not - that's about as exciting as most of the video blogs on YouTube.
Rich and his family get PAID to do the series. They have script writers, directors, and editors who also get PAID to make it as entertaining as possible. They probably shoot at least 40 or more hours of video for every episode that gets edited down to 1 hour. That's condensing what really happens, with scripted embellishments into a 1 hour entertainment program.
Does it look like Rich and his family are having fun? Yes - good for them.
Do they get to shoot weapons in scripted setups done by a special effects crew so things blow up? Yes - looks like fun to me.
Does Rich, apparently, "over charge" for whatever - sure, it's all part of the drama - will the person make the deal or not for the ridiculous price? And...will the super costly "thingy" be worth the price when it's done? You'll have to watch the rest of the program to find out...we'll be right back to the program after this advertisement....
Do people rag on them, bag on them and bad mouth them on the Internet? Sure, Rich is successful at having a business and TV show - people get jealous and want to tear them down to feed their own ego.
Should you deal with Rich? Wouldn't be my choice for a custom gun - but, for purely personal entertainment purposes, I'd certainly stop by his shop and take a look around.
