Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Why so much tactical stuff?

That's my view on it.

Some comments were made about the difficulty of finding locations to hunt. Lately I have been watching some old episodes of Northwoods Law on tv. It is no wonder access is being lost on private property when you see how often people like ATV users ignore No Access signs especially when signed permission is often available. Not only is trespass a problem but also the amount of property damage done by the way the machines are operated.

I realize not all ATV owners are like this but obviously there are enough that it is causing a lot of private access to be lost.

Just another perspective.

Jim

John,

A trapdoor is "tacticool"? I didn't know they had meth-crazed zombie bikers in 1866 nor even 511 pants!

I really hate to say it, but a lot of the AR15 dislike I believe is caused by some (certainly not all) of the folks shooting them. The only instruction some of them get is what they see on Xbox. I was at the range last week when a couple of mental masturbators were blazing away at 25 yds. and they couldn't hardly keep their shots on a full size silhouette. They were not the safest gun handlers, either. I don't know, but I would think that if you're going to buy a battle rifle you would want to learn how to properly use it.

I know this isn't a new phenomena. Us older guys can remember how Model 29 S&Ws were scarce after "Dirty Harry" and I suspect the westerns in the '50s and '60's kept single action revolvers and lever actions from dying off. I guess at least the wannabe "operators" aren't shooting themselves in the leg practicing fast draw.

We have an AR15 and a bunch of magazines at the house that we bought just because Obama didn't want us to have it. It really doesn't get much range time although everyone in the house including mom is familiar with it and can shoot it. I thought my 13 year old son would shoot it more but he likes the Garand and '03 Springfield more, possibly because he has been reading up on WWII the last few months. FWIW, we're shooting a cast bullet load in the '03 that shoots to POA @ 100yds. with the battle sights and groups surprisingly well.

The advertising hype that goes with the tactical toys and accessories is enough to turn me off. I have dropped all the gun magazines but "Rifle" and "Handloader". If I see one more advertising-laced article by some bearded, 511 clad "operator" extolling the latest version of an AR or 1911 I think I will puke.

I like both the "hunting" stuff and the "tactical" stuff. In my opinion both terms are abused, confused and misused. We are slowly turning into a nation of shooters more then hunters. Shooters that are more interested in hitting some thing in the next zip code then sneaking up close. Hunters that consider getting with in 600 yards a stalk, hunters that rely on electronics more then tracking and sign reading. Gear junkies, always seeking the latest and greatest. I often fall into that category.

For the last 54 years in Alaska I have hunted with a 30-06 and .338 with a "set and forget" scope and that met my needs, as did old and new Mod. 70 Winchesters. I now own a couple of Tikka 6.5 Creedmoor's, one is a 10 pound beast with a big first focal plane mil/mil scope and the other is a lightweight hunting rifle with a 3-9 SWFA. By golly, I too am going to learn to twist turrets. It is going to be fun!

My AR rifles are fun and good for protecting my "castle", as are my "fighting" handguns. My "castle" is my home, our RV, our tent, or any vehicle we are in.

I think the big change in gun magazines and interest in "battle" weapons came as a result of the "sand box" wars we have been in for the las 20 plus years. That has spawned a new way to look at rifle styles, optics and tactics.
We now have thousands of young men on our streets with combat experience. Not all of them are messed up and suffering from some combat related disorder. Many are working functional family providers and patriotic. I hope they all have a couple of AR's and a bunch of ammo and mags. We may need them again, we have unprotected borders.

Hunting in the United States is slowly headed towards the way it is done in Europe. Hunters used to live out of their back pack and hike all over in search of game. Many now hike to a tree stand or food plot after they reviewed the footage from their game cams. Many have no choice, it is the only style of hunting they know and have access to, I don't blame them for hunting that way.

The times are a changing.

^^^^^This is it, almost 20 years at war and Hollywood and TV making film after film, tv series after tv series has made the tacticool angle well.... cool. Add to that the fact that active shooters using these weapons have made them high profile in the media and then we had a president that tried to go after them. I remember being at a shooting range in San Antonio months after the Newtown CT shooting and the number of people there with a brand spanking new AR and no clue in the planet how to operate it was astonishing.

Count me in as one of the guys who do not like the blast or empty cases flying at me when at the range.

I always try to get the farthest left bench, so I do not have to deal with that. Plus I always double hearing protection when they show up too.

I shoot my AR with a suppressor and brass catcher. Makes it a whole lot tamer, and less rude IMO.

I always get a good chuckle when the tacticools show up.

M-16 `s are over 50 years old, i own a few AR`s ,many many old rifles too but when i call coyotes out west,where sometimes more than one coyote comes in. my AR-10 243 Winchester with yes a big Nightforce scope on it,handloads and this rifle is a hell of a kill`n machine ! bolts and levers then are just to slow , plus to much moment,when you wanna kill more than coyote. ya black guns have a use sometimes and are still a hell of a home defense weapon, accuracy with these black rifles is good too . So if it comes to a gun fight i sure hope i have either a black gun AR -rifle,black pistol or a home defense black shotgun.

I'm not interested in tactikool 'stuff' to be P C.
I don't read it, don't look at it, it's not for me.

In all my firearms......

I have 1 pistol with 1 XTENDED mag , multiple - multiple capacity.

I have 1 rifle with 2 or 3 XTENDED mag , multiple - multiple capacity.


I have them for ONE purpose and ONE purpose only. My prayer is I never need them..... BUT !


Jerry

i am amazed how accurate these AR`S are and take 2 pins out pull barrel off clean barrel ,put barrel back on and still accurate. try that with any other type rifle and i have some super bench rifles . take a these bench rifles apart and you do have to re-sight them in a little including my Bat single shot.buy a good brand AR rifle they are kinda fun to shoot and play with on the range.

I do agree with this. It is annoying when casings are flying because the owner won't use a brass catcher or partition. One time on an indoor range I looked at the wall to my right and saw a laser dot just in front of me. I looked to my left to see a tacticool guy with an AR on the bench with the muzzle pointed across the gun line.

But I have seen stupid and annoying stuff with guys shooting more traditional firearms. It isn't just the purview of the tacticool.

No, I won't give you a break sweetheart. Work on your sense of humor a bit and get back in touch.

Oh yeah, how much trigger time do you have with a M16 or M4?

the only time I had a problem with a tactical cool fellow I was with a friend at the range were he shot their was some fat loud mouth dressed like a swat dude with a hand gun in holster on both legs that was strapped to his thigh he had some kind of 50 cal. auto rifle with a brake on. it he was shooting it as fast as he could just to look how much it was bothering every body he though that it was funny . most people just pact up and left . I heard later that they kicked him out but people like that make all gun owners look bad IMOP

Dateline 1840: Two old timers sitting in front of the fireplace wiping down their flintlock muskets they carried when marching with Andy Jackson to New Orleans, bitching about the new-fangled percussion guns.

Let the little darlin's have their tacticool stuff. It means all the more blue steel and walnut for me.

Just as long as they don't put beans in them.

Very different in Nebraska.

Nebraska has very little public land and unless you own land that is suited to hunting or have family/friend access to land that is suited to hunting you are pretty much out of luck. I doubt that I see more than a dozen or so deer or turkey hunters each year when I'm afield. I think that I've encountered one other squirrel hunter during the 30 years that I hunted fox squirrels here, even on public WMAs. If there was more hunting land that was easier to access, I think that there would be more hunters here.

I shot one couple yrs back.. at 25yds my bud said I did pretty good..

Nothing wrong with the tactical-flavored stuff. Also nothing wrong with blued/walnut sporters or high-gloss painted BR rifles with metallic flames. Like others have said here, I just like guns. At a gun counter, I'm as likely to check out a S&W Model 19 as a polymer double-stack auto.

My dad generally rides around his place with a Glock on his hip and a Marlin 336 on the seat, and most of his Marlins wear Burris M-TAC illuminated tactical scopes. It's an odd combo, but he likes it.

I have hunted all my life, I spent many years employed as a tacticool guy and spent some time in combat.

Lessons learned: 1. Most 'gun guys' don't handle their guns safely

2. Most hunters aren't very good at it, those that are work very hard to get that way.

3. Most shooters aren't very good at it, "

4. Plenty of grown men like to play dress up and will spend a lot of $ to do so.

5. There are a lot of old fuds on here.



mike r

I've got a couple young "tacticool" types I work with. They have every tacticool accesory on their AR's and shoot up thousands of rounds of ammo at the range every year. I have gone shooting with them a couple times. They make alot of noise and big piles of empty brass at the range but they can't shoot for shyt.

Well written mart and Calvin. I agree completely and act accordingly.