I'm not sure about the op's point at all. I throughly enjoy ripping through a 1 or 20 round mag rapid fire, but I also spend a least half my working on tight groups at 50-75' shooting off hand. Based on the people I see at the range people with 7 round 1911's are no more likely to be good shots then those shooting Glocks with 17 round mags. I don't know why you assume people were better shots in the old days just because they carried low cap guns.
What happened to the good ole days?
- Thread starter SpookBoy
- Start date
Neither am I. I enjoy shooting my Glock with "mall-ninja" 17 round magazines and I do it very accurately. I don't think serious handgunners were better shots in the "old days". But guns are less expensive nowadays. So now there are probably more idiots who get guns because they think it's cool or something. That's the only "problem".
I'm glad it's a little more difficult to get guns here. Everyone can do it, but the fact that you need a licence scares the idiots off.
I think Spookboy might be looking back upon the "good ol' days" with rose colored glasses....but there's no crime in that, we all do it occasionally.
The cops of yore didn't always get the bad guys and plenty of them got killed trying.
And you might be surprised to know how many military personnel have never even fired a handgun.
Heck, my wife's grandfather once told me that during the Great Depression nobody could afford ammo to even practice with....not even the police departments.
And even after the Great Depression most folks were too poor to spend money on practice ammo.
And when I say poor I don't mean poor as in "we can only eat out once a month and we don't have cable TV".....I mean POOR as in we can only afford beans and cornbread, and the kids have to share their shoes with their brothers and sisters.
Most seem to miss the black as often as the average auto shooter.
And to be totally honest, most of the snubbie shooters that I have seen miss ALOT!
The .22 has killed alot of folks, but they usually die in the hospital hours after the shooting.
IMO, marksmanship simply means having the skill to hit what you're aiming at, regardless of your preferred weapon.
And I think most folks still strive for that goal.
The truth of the matter is this....
The "good ol' days" were really not that good for most folks.
True, but you also have plenty of guys and gals with 17 or 33 round mags who can put every round in the black EVERY TIME.
Some cops could but many could not.
The cops of yore didn't always get the bad guys and plenty of them got killed trying.
And you might be surprised to know how many military personnel have never even fired a handgun.
This has nothing to do with the "good ol' days"....there have always been guys who strive for accuracy and also guys who don't care.
Heck, my wife's grandfather once told me that during the Great Depression nobody could afford ammo to even practice with....not even the police departments.
And even after the Great Depression most folks were too poor to spend money on practice ammo.
And when I say poor I don't mean poor as in "we can only eat out once a month and we don't have cable TV".....I mean POOR as in we can only afford beans and cornbread, and the kids have to share their shoes with their brothers and sisters.
I go to the range about once a week, and while I don't see too many revolver shooters, the ones I do see are not especially accurate.
Most seem to miss the black as often as the average auto shooter.
And to be totally honest, most of the snubbie shooters that I have seen miss ALOT!
The same is true of a revolver shooter....only, if shooting at the same rate of fire, he will run out of ammo quicker.
I don't know which one would "kill you more", but I'll bet that the .500 would probably kill you faster!
The .22 has killed alot of folks, but they usually die in the hospital hours after the shooting.
Actually, I don't agree that marksmanship ever meant "using what you have to get the job done".
IMO, marksmanship simply means having the skill to hit what you're aiming at, regardless of your preferred weapon.
And I think most folks still strive for that goal.
The truth of the matter is this....
The "good ol' days" were really not that good for most folks.
armoredman
New member
Patently untrue, sorry, sir. Maybe in Europe where you're used to the oppressors' boot on your neck, but not in free-for-over-200-years America. BTW, my step father says, "Your welcome." 3rd Army.
As for the battlewagons, those 16" 50 caliber rifles, (yes, they are rifled barrels), can do better than that target. Add in RAP rounds, and their range goes up even farther. Dadgum rounds are so big they come 2 to a pallet - I worked an ammo ship, and rearmed the New Jersey at sea in '88. Pictures do no justice - when you physically see a battleship at sea, you can feel it's lethality. Long, low, deadly and mean.
And as for the OP about revolver use, well, lemme put up a favorite pic on that one.
The good old days to me were when parents could give their son or daughter their first .22 without all of the parents friends panicking and saying 'you trying to raise a killer?' When you could talk about plinking without getting "odd" looks from someone that overheard. When you could have an open conversation about guns in a public place without having to worry about someone overhearing and calling the police about a fanatic with a gun or a terrorist. I think you get my drift....
No no, not at all
I just read so many (on this and other forums) range reports where some of us (let's call them "good shooter") complain about idiots at the range who are unfriendly bastards or the "gang-banger" types and who show unsafe and dangerous behaviour and can't shoot worth a damn. You don't see them around here.
I'm not talking about criminals, I'm not your typical naive European. I'm just a snob
I'm glad I'm a member of a private range (75 € a year) and that I've never seen any idiots there (but there are A LOT of people). It is, like I said earlier, slightly more difficult to get a gun here. It seems to me like that does scare the idiots off. Of course I'm not for more gun control, read more carefully what I said, I didn't even mention criminals or "gun violence" or something.
OK, if that's not the reason why there are no goofs at any ranges I've ever visited, I can assume that we are generally cleverer than your typical American shooter? I mean no offence but how would YOU know? Have you been in Luxembourg before?
Yeah right...I'm sorry our constitution doesn't have something like your 2nd amendment. That's not my fault...And I bet the situation would be quite a bit different if you didn't have that. Even now, with that, some of your politicians are trying to disarm you, aren't they?
oldbillthundercheif
Moderator
I've been to Luxembourg. You fellows sure like your fancy cars.
I bet your lack of yahoos has more to do with being one of the richest, most well-educated nations in a beautiful little corner of the world than any license-fees. There is one thing I am sure of and that is your average citizen of Luxembourg would not have a hard time paying any fee that the government could cook up. You guys bring in Germans and Frenchmen to do your menial labor ferchristsake!
Any nation that can make modern Deutschland look like a bunch of lazy morons is naturally lacking in wild, broke, uneducated citizens, I bet.
I bet your lack of yahoos has more to do with being one of the richest, most well-educated nations in a beautiful little corner of the world than any license-fees. There is one thing I am sure of and that is your average citizen of Luxembourg would not have a hard time paying any fee that the government could cook up. You guys bring in Germans and Frenchmen to do your menial labor ferchristsake!
Any nation that can make modern Deutschland look like a bunch of lazy morons is naturally lacking in wild, broke, uneducated citizens, I bet.
Whirlwind06
New member
I don't think the good old days were that good...
Didn't they call the .38 special with lead round nose bullets the widow maker? Meaning a lot of beat cops didn't come home at the end of their shift.
I'm willing to bet if I could go back in time and hand my Ruger P89 to a LEO, he would be one happy camper.
Didn't they call the .38 special with lead round nose bullets the widow maker? Meaning a lot of beat cops didn't come home at the end of their shift.
I'm willing to bet if I could go back in time and hand my Ruger P89 to a LEO, he would be one happy camper.
Last edited:
The Tourist
Moderator
I think most of the guys here would choose 'quality' when selecting a firearm.
Even a guy who usually buys a automatic would be drawn to the smooth trigger of an SW or a Korth revolver.
I would classify myself as "an auto guy." I own more automatics than I do revolvers. In fact, I only own one revolver now
Having said that, I admit that the best defense load is probably a Federal 125 grain hollowpoint in .357 Mag. And that's usually fired from a revolver. (Yes, I owned a Coonan, briefly.)
But there are horses for courses. I think my next purchase will be a 5-shot J-frame Smith.
So, I believe a person's selection of quality trumps his preferences for general purpose.
Even a guy who usually buys a automatic would be drawn to the smooth trigger of an SW or a Korth revolver.
I would classify myself as "an auto guy." I own more automatics than I do revolvers. In fact, I only own one revolver now
Having said that, I admit that the best defense load is probably a Federal 125 grain hollowpoint in .357 Mag. And that's usually fired from a revolver. (Yes, I owned a Coonan, briefly.)
But there are horses for courses. I think my next purchase will be a 5-shot J-frame Smith.
So, I believe a person's selection of quality trumps his preferences for general purpose.
Don't think anyone would disagree with the orig. poster that shot placement, marksmanship, practice and overall skill are more important than the caliber of your gun or how many rounds you can shoot before having to reload.
However, as someone who probably spends too much time shooting slow fire at long distances in an effort to shoot small groups, I will be the first to admit that if I was ever faced with a life and death situation, I'd prefer a nice 10mm with several hi-cap mags to a snub nosed revolver. It's one thing to be shooting slow fire at a stationary, well lit target that's not shooting back, quite another to be trying to defend yourself in a life threatening situation. If I ever find myself in that situation, I have no intention of playing fair and want every advantage possible. That means I want to be better trained, better prepared and have a bigger, better gun, with more bullets.
However, as someone who probably spends too much time shooting slow fire at long distances in an effort to shoot small groups, I will be the first to admit that if I was ever faced with a life and death situation, I'd prefer a nice 10mm with several hi-cap mags to a snub nosed revolver. It's one thing to be shooting slow fire at a stationary, well lit target that's not shooting back, quite another to be trying to defend yourself in a life threatening situation. If I ever find myself in that situation, I have no intention of playing fair and want every advantage possible. That means I want to be better trained, better prepared and have a bigger, better gun, with more bullets.
davlandrum
New member
Come on - the good old days just weren't that good. They used the best that they had, but it is not as good as current technology. If you could go back and tranport even 1911 technology to the wild west, I would be willing to bet it would be used in place of what they had.
And human nature being what it is, the guys that practiced back in the good old days would practice no matter what era they lived in and the guys that do not practice now would not practice then.
I don't get the romantic notion of "good old days" at all.
And human nature being what it is, the guys that practiced back in the good old days would practice no matter what era they lived in and the guys that do not practice now would not practice then.
I don't get the romantic notion of "good old days" at all.
The good old dollars, I mean days.
In August 1976 you could buy a brand new Colt Government Mark IV series 70 in blue finish for $200.
Also in October 1976 you could buy a Colt Python with a 6" barrel in blued finish for $300.
The Colt Lawman in blue finish with a 2" barrel was $150.
In December 1976 a .22 Long Rifle High Standard Double Derriger in nickel finish was $75. (I still have that one)
In 1977 a Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special was $150.
The Thompson Center Contender was $150 with one barrel and extra barrels were $50 apiece.
And somethiong most of you either don't remember or never heard of, the double action .25 ACP Budichowski TP-70 was $125. (it was my first stainless steel firearm)
Boy those sure were the days. I know that for certain because that's the prices I paid for mine back then.
Oh yeah one more thing I remember about 1976. That was the year minimum wage finally exceeded $2 per hour.
But lucky me didn't make minimum wage. I was making a whopping $125-$150 per week! Sometimes up to $175 if I worked six days.
Yes they were my good old days.
Everyone has that period in their life that they look back on and call The Good Old Days.
But that's only because we were younger and our lives were still ahead of us.
And herein lays the real truth about the Good Old Days.
They were good, but they weren't necessarily better.
In August 1976 you could buy a brand new Colt Government Mark IV series 70 in blue finish for $200.
Also in October 1976 you could buy a Colt Python with a 6" barrel in blued finish for $300.
The Colt Lawman in blue finish with a 2" barrel was $150.
In December 1976 a .22 Long Rifle High Standard Double Derriger in nickel finish was $75. (I still have that one)
In 1977 a Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special was $150.
The Thompson Center Contender was $150 with one barrel and extra barrels were $50 apiece.
And somethiong most of you either don't remember or never heard of, the double action .25 ACP Budichowski TP-70 was $125. (it was my first stainless steel firearm)
Boy those sure were the days. I know that for certain because that's the prices I paid for mine back then.
Oh yeah one more thing I remember about 1976. That was the year minimum wage finally exceeded $2 per hour.
But lucky me didn't make minimum wage. I was making a whopping $125-$150 per week! Sometimes up to $175 if I worked six days.
Yes they were my good old days.
Everyone has that period in their life that they look back on and call The Good Old Days.
But that's only because we were younger and our lives were still ahead of us.
And herein lays the real truth about the Good Old Days.
They were good, but they weren't necessarily better.
They call them the good old days because we weren't old and we weren't good. Yup I remember 25 cents gas and I didn't have the 25 cents for it. I also remember .25 auto being the caliber of choice because people wanted to stop the BG long enough to run rather than kill him, or at least that is how it was around where I grew up. If you ask me the good old days weren't that good.