Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Why the U.S doesn't use the Metric System

As an easy to use system for measuring distance, weight or volume the metric system is far superior.

But it's still hard to visualize how "much" something is since we're used to doing that in English and need to convert to more comfortable units. 15 Km - is that a long way? 100 kph - that's really fast, isn't it? Temp is 12 C - hmm, is that hot or cold? If something is 30 cm, that must be pretty long, right? (No, it's just about one foot) About the only equivalent I'm comfortable with is a liter since it's just about one quart.

It's mostly a matter of unfamiliarity and is a lot like speaking a foreign language. If you have to think of what you want to say in English and then translate it, that's difficult. Once you learn to think of what you want to say in the other language right off it becomes a lot easier.

Communist system is metric.

It has been discussed on machine forums where it is much more pertinent.. In machining, a thou is easier to use, but out side of that, you just have to learn to think in metric terms. Cars and machinery is metric. Construction it's still 16" OC.

Long range shooting adjustments in mils is easier than MOA. The hard part is thinking in mils and then trying to adjust a MOA scope...

Years ago, driving up Ontario 502, I'm taking the kilometers to Dryden signs. Multiply by six, round off for miles. !00 kilometers= sixty miles. 80 kilos to Dryden, I'm driving 80 kilometers an hour, duh, a hour.

Highway Engineer here also.

The Federal Highway Administration mandeted that we use the metric system back in the 80's. We produced one set (in 1988) of Standard Specifications in SI (metric) units.

We'd put out projects and Contractors would hire someone to convert them back to US customary units (english) so they could understand the plans and actually build them.

Had pay units for dirt work in megagrams! (fuggin unreal) [one megagram = 1 metric ton = about 2,200 #]

In what world is 39.37 thou easier to use than 1 millimetre ?

Solely North American input in those forums ?

In Montana, the metric projects I was involved with were designed in the 2000 - 2005 time frame. I still get involved with metric plans on current projects when having to work with as-built plans from older projects..

I've been the cut man, when you holler at me "77 & 5/8 minus" I know what to do, but 'gimme a "1.97167 minus" or is that the same as a 1.97009?????? And who ever heard of 6.096 Ladder!?!?!?!

Yup.

It only took one curve driving through Canaduh to convert 60km.

DO NOT take that curve @ 60 mph. 😳

Thanks to you guys I learned that 1 Megapascale = 145.0377 psi.
In the concrete business supplying freeway projects there for a while you had to learn the all the spec conversions. Major PITA.

Ya, that'll do it !

9mm Lugers, 7mm rifles, '62 NATO's don't bother anyone.

LOL! Nailed it, I ain’t reading any further.

We should hang on to every norm and tradition that is American, IMHO. Keep the English system at all cost.

Add to that, the countries that have actually put OPERATING Robotics on Mars................. it's a short list.

God gives most 10 fingers not 12.

I should have made a liter of popcorn.