I have my own take and I'm pretty sure it's as unique as everyone else's.
I always preferred blue and walnut like the rifles I saw in our gunracks from the early 60s on. These days I think it reminds me of cherished folks who are long gone. In the early 2000s I bought a couple of synthetic stocked rifles and came to appreciate those more when I found I could use them to beat my way through thick brush with them without damaging their aesthetic appeal. I now have synthetics on about 80% of my rifles, but I still love the look of nicely proportioned walnut stocks.
Whatever is meant by "tactical," I don't think it matters much. A rifle is a rifle and whatever a guy chooses to tote is just fine with me. Some of them, I would not and no one is trying to coerce me into carrying one as far as I can tell.
Personally, I'm not interested in the long range game as it is played. I don't care about hitting an MOA-sized target at 1500 yards. How far can I hit a large cantaloupe? That DOES interest me because it has practical application.
Why all the surge in popularity in "tactical" or long range shooting...I think there are a lit of correct answers and some of it is very practical, I'm sure, and some of it is downright silly. Just depends on the person. I know there are serious and capable shooters who can take out a critter from 800 yards, and that's their gig. More power to em. I know there are also goofball wannabes who don't know anything other than what they've been told by their buddies and who should not be carrying a rifle in the woods. I think a lot of the trend is powered by a few things, like all the warfare we've been engaged in the last 17 years, or maybe even back to Desert Storm in '91. The last few decades have also seen the rise in "extreme sports" where guys are trying stuff that no one would have even attempted in the 1960s. Then there's just the natural progression of technology that has revolutionized consumerism anywhere you look.
I first fired an AR15 in the early 80s and it didn't really interest me. I finally owned one in the late 90s and didn't keep it long. Then I bought another around 2005, mostly because I knew the marxist left didn't want me to have it. Then ever so slowly as the accuracy potential of these became more widely known, that single AR cloned itself. Then I discovered how useful an AR can be for slaughtering pigs, and my ARs began to multiply just like those pigs. It's a very interesting platform and its modular nature makes it very adaptable.
Everyone's perspective on shooting and hunting is probably unique. If the two sports are going to survive, we'd best adopt a more tolerant outlook on those who want to do it in a way different from our own. By all means, let's encourage and promote safety and stop being so damned judgemental when it comes to tools and venues.
That's MY penny's worth.
Don't be the darkness.
America will perish while those who should be standing guard are satisfying their lusts.
