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Old January 4, 2013, 09:55 PM   #1
jedi391
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My new take on Internet gun opinions

Over the years I have seen many opinions from "experts" on forums slamming one gun or another and other sheople running with parroted opinions slamming just about every gun out there. These discussions usually devolve to personal attacks with some people claiming to be super high speed low drag and making fun of anyone who doesn't put 50k rounds of ammo through their gun in a year as being so far beneath them they can't see them.

Take production 1911's as they are the holy grail of pistol opinion wars. Some people say Colt only and everything else is a dog. Others say Springers only only to be heckled for their Brazillian 1911. Then there is Kimber the king of MIM and birth place of Ron Cohen who destroys all things holy to firearms. Of course you have Sig and S&W who use external extractors and we all know that most people who use them will spontaneously combust as a result of their use and the incorrect geometry they produce has been linked to various Ebola outbreaks.

Then there are the thread debates in which person A says (insert brand here) works great for him and person B says its not possibly running well because he doesn't like something about them. Person B also quotes nationally known gunsmith X who says the guns aren't ready for hard use. Person A retorts with a quote from Gunsmith Y who says the gun is fine. Meanwhile most critics have never even shot the gun they're criticizing.


Over the years I have owned many of these brands (as well as un-mentioned semi-customs). The only one I had a real issue with was a Kimber pro-carry that wouldn't feed correctly at the same time I have to point out I have co-workers literally by the dozens who carried and shot their Kimbers at the SWAT level and probably shoot 6-8k a year through Kimbers with no problems. I also know of several similar guys with Smith, Sig, Springer, and Colt. I should also point out that at the 5 year mark it seems like most guys get the itch for change and either swap in a new gun or send it off for a rebuild/upgrade. At this point the guns probably have between 30-40k rounds through them so they haven't yet shot the requisite 58,973 rounds a weekend in order to be a true high speed low drag gun expert gun.

Then there are people like me who put 1k rounds through a gun and if it goes the distance without issue I put it in service and purchase a duplicate to train with. Then again I only shoot somewhere around 3-4k through my primary platform a year as there is only so much training ammo the department will give me and time I have to get to the range. I have yet to wear out a gun or have a lemmon. Of course I also clean and replace springs frequently.

I guess my point is, if you like a gun and it has passed whatever reliability standard you deem sufficient, enjoy it and ignore the Internet blowhards. Odds are your gun is going to be plenty capable for you if you take care of it. As a side note, any time there's an LE involved shooting that we here about, my departments trainers try and get as much information as they can about them so we can try and learn from them. I have yet to see a incident debrief where an officers gun failing played a roll in the incident. Not saying it hasn't happened...the law of averages dictate that it has but for all the ones I've reviewed I haven't seen it.

Just as a side note, I was talking with a department armorer about failures a number of our guys were having with Glocks. Turns out when he looked them over he found that individuals had done their own "reliability" work to them. Makes me wonder how many gun problems are individually induced.

Okay, rant off, sorry......this way I won't wine about this to my wife who nods and says she agrees because she's a sweetie (pretty hot too just for the record) but really could care less about the topic.....
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Old January 4, 2013, 10:30 PM   #2
tahunua001
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you bet it's off topic... now about this sweet, hot wife...does she have a sister?


all jokes aside. I know exactly where you are coming from. every gun has it's cult followers and die hard haters. your Glock knockers, Sig stickers, Koch Fiends, kimber kissers, hipoint hunters and a billion other funny names that make no sense which I just made up.

I am just as guilty as any other member here. I argue with the name brand lorders and try my best to defend a budget line to no avail. I see spending the extra money on a Colt 1911 when a Springfield, Remington or Ruger will do just fine idiotic though I have started to realize that there is a big difference between a Kimber and a Rock Island Armory. I also see little sense in spending more money on a wilson 1911 than I spent keeping my first truck running over a 3 year period. a gun is a tool to me but it is also a toy, if I spend more money to buy the toy than I would spend on a wedding ring then odds are I'm not going to want to take it out of the safe very often for fear of scratching,breaking, or...God forbid, GET IT DIRTY!

I have no problem with someone that does go out and buy that $3,200 ed brown that's sat in my LGS' case for 3 years but I do take issue when they start to look down on the Ruger, Springfield and even Colt owners because their custom made gun that took months to build, refine, and decorate has never once failed and manages to hold together better accuracy than some rifles. likewise I get irritated when discussion of 'Gun A' gets sidetracked and closed because some moron had to bring up 'gun B' that was never even mentioned in the post and starts a brand/ materials war.

I take the same position as you, if someone likes it, that is their perogative. I see no harm in adding your viewpoints but when those viewpoints have absolutely nothing to do with a topic being discussed then there is no reason to voice it in the first place.

I kindof like this thread... STICKY anyone?
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Old January 4, 2013, 10:40 PM   #3
Marquezj16
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I'm guilty of defending the brands I have experience with to people that has zero experience with the gun. I really don't like gun snobs.
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Old January 4, 2013, 10:55 PM   #4
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I use to get worked up over the commandos, but not anymore.

Life is too short.
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Old January 4, 2013, 10:57 PM   #5
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I didn't pay attention to the "commandos" BEFORE the internet.
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Old January 4, 2013, 10:58 PM   #6
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If you like a brand or model of gun, awesome! We should all like what guns we own. Someone disliking that gun shouldn't diminish how you feel about it.
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Old January 4, 2013, 11:03 PM   #7
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How true,How true. I own one of those (so called trash pistols). I love it. Over 5000 rounds and never a issue yet. To each their own i guess.
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Old January 4, 2013, 11:11 PM   #8
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I won't disagree with you. I too have owned several 1911 pistols over the years. I gave up on the 1911 platform for reasons I won't get into, but I certainly don't discourage anyone from owning or carrying whatever they feel the need to.
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Old January 4, 2013, 11:28 PM   #9
larryh1108
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Some people are just as happy with their $300 gun as others are with their $3300 gun. If you are happy with what you own and shoot, who gives a crap what some guy on the internet says about your choice. In the end, we only have to please ourselves. Everyones opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it.
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Old January 5, 2013, 12:14 AM   #10
Misssissippi Dave
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The brand of pistol doesn't matter as much as how well it works for the owner. One person might not be able to empty a magazine with any pistol and have all the rounds go through a single hole even at 3 yards much less 25 yards or more. The pistol they have just may be a good match for them. It might not be a good match for me. I have had others shoot my pistols and it reinforces how much I need to practice. Still others might not be able to stay on a paper target at 7 yards with the same pistol and ammo. After shooting a pistol everyone has an opinion. If you have a pistol that meets your needs, you are good to go.

Some time ago I picked up a pistol reported to not work for anyone. All I read about was how bad it was. I wanted to see what could be done to get it to work properly. I still shoot that pistol and have a couple more of them as well. It was a very positive thing collecting information from many owners and putting it together for others to read and possibly find a solution to something that might not be working right. It is a real shame this isn't done more often. It becomes very difficult to get a thread like that going without being slammed over and over again by people that might have fired one round though a given pistol or maybe they saw one once up close. Yes, I got slammed on a regular basis.

Personally I would prefer to read more positive posts than negitive posts. If someone gets a lemon I would rather read about what can be done to improve it or at least what is causing the problem. When someone has a pistol I think is a piece of junk for one reason or anther, I think I should either keep quiet or maybe ask if the normal things have been done like proper cleaning and lubrication. I really like reading about what has been done to solve problems or where to get something that is hard to find or just saving money.

Things I like to read about are just not popular I guess.
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Old January 5, 2013, 12:49 AM   #11
uradaisyifudo
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This is a good thread, I like Jedi's take on opinions. Some opinions/preferences may be based on brand loyalty and little else while others are simple snobery or sophistry, and I have less patience for those folks. What does make sense to me is not liking what doesn't work, poor customer service or guns not fitting people, I suspect large handed people like bigger grips, some people don't like the glock grip angle, others love it and from what I know it the grip angle was considered one of the innovations of the original glocks. If a gun works for you, reliably then that is probably a good gun...for you. The great thing is there are so many options we can all find something we like, or several or more somethings. That is what I like about this forum, I get to read reviews of guns I am interested in and learn about guns I did not know existed but now want...can't wait to do some shooting tomorrow.
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Old January 5, 2013, 08:26 AM   #12
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Isn't that what the internet is for?
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Old January 5, 2013, 09:14 AM   #13
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So this thread is necessary for everyone to know that you shouldn't believe a lot of stuff on the internet, about guns or anything else? That seems to be the what I gather from it, and that's certainly not any profound revelation IMO.
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Old January 5, 2013, 09:26 AM   #14
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Sounds like one of those nostalgia posts before they banned internet Gun Forums back in 2014.
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Old January 5, 2013, 12:15 PM   #15
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Sometimes its fun seeing the responses a snide remark will get.
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Old January 5, 2013, 12:31 PM   #16
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What is, "shooting at the SWAT level"? Does this language connect to a standardized qualification benchmark?
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Old January 5, 2013, 12:35 PM   #17
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84 posts in over 8 years, the O/P walks the walk at least.
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Old January 5, 2013, 12:42 PM   #18
Leejack
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I've had guns from several manufacturers, just like most everybody here.

I've never got a lemon, and I've never put anyone else down for their choices.

Maybe we can turn a new leaf and not bash anyone anymore.

This is 2013 now.

Yes, the sigpro is a rockstar! LOL!

j/k
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Old January 5, 2013, 12:45 PM   #19
larryh1108
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It's funny that a guy posts his opinions on a topic in a forum where you post opinions on a topic and he's subject to ridicule from the same people he's complaining about. Talk about irony!

Some people just feel compelled to post a comment, however irrelevent it is, because they feel they're so much smarter than the other. If the topic does not interest you, why bother posting a useless comment? Move on to the next thread on caliber wars, SD ammo, best gun for CC or what gun you should buy your GF. I'm sure your superior intelligence will shine there.
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Last edited by larryh1108; January 5, 2013 at 12:51 PM.
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Old January 5, 2013, 12:48 PM   #20
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For what it's worth, I'm not ridiculing with my question. I'm asking if there is a standardized metric for SWAT.
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Old January 5, 2013, 12:58 PM   #21
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I have started taking reports of reliability, in particular, with a grain of salt, after watching tons of bad shooters at the range induce failures through poor maintenance and limp wrist shooting, then complain that their guns aren't reliable.

I knew a guy who always complained about his pistol (not going to say brand because it doesn't matter, but not a junk brand, a legit service pistol) jamming and choking. I borrowed it from him to find it filthy. He had never cleaned the gun or lubed it. After I informed him that guns are actually machines that need to be maintained, and showed him how to do it, he never had another problem.

I wonder how many guys like my friend are posting about reliability concerns on forums. Probably more than a few.
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Old January 5, 2013, 01:34 PM   #22
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Quote"Of course you have Sig and S&W who use external extractors and we all know that most people who use them will spontaneously combust as a result of their use and the incorrect geometry they produce has been linked to various Ebola outbreaks."
This is true.Good jeremiad man.
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Old January 5, 2013, 01:59 PM   #23
dwhite
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Believing online forum gun reviews is like
believing the government knows what's
best for you.

I just bought a TAURUS. There, I said it. Woe and shame
upon me. But, it's been a great gun.

All the Best,
D. White
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Old January 5, 2013, 02:09 PM   #24
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Quote:
So this thread is necessary for everyone to know that you shouldn't believe a lot of stuff on the internet, about guns or anything else? That seems to be the what I gather from it, and that's certainly not any profound revelation IMO.
Agreed. Internet forums are basically venues for opinions. You don't like and/or disagree with an opinion? Move on and ignore it. Or offer an opposing sentiment. But no need for angst just because someone dares to offer a different opinion or a different perspective on a matter that might warrant debate (or not).
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Old January 5, 2013, 08:58 PM   #25
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