Comments on: An Overabundance of Caution

By: Dock

Dock — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:23:01 +0000

“Until you’re at a level where it’s minutia separating you from top competitors, there’s no reason at all to invest in a lot of expensive equipment. Shoot with what you have, and invest the money in ammunition instead.”

Invest… what money? That’s the problem.

“If you’re already a good shooter, you can be better with better equipment, but no amount of money spent on equipment will make up for a lack of fundamentals. If the fundamentals are there, you’ll be able to outshoot most people with lower quality gear regardless.”

I agree, I’ve seen it in other competitions I’ve been involved with over the years. Totally true, not in dispute.

But to get the fundamentals down, you need… money to buy a good deal of ammo, and time to shoot a lot.

Maybe I’m poorer than the average Joe, I dunno. Or maybe I’m just a tightwad. :) But I watch the Shooting USA coverage and think “sweet jesus, those guys are good… wow, I wonder how much ammo they go through” and then my wallet starts a high-pitched keening noise and I promptly stop thinking about it.

By: hillbilly

hillbilly — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:42:52 +0000

Did Jim Scouten and the rest NOT SEE the episode of “Wreckreaction Nation” wherein explosive target shooting at two different locations was featured?

Folks were shown mixing their own tannerite, even.

Give me a freakin’ break.

By: DirtCrashr

DirtCrashr — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:25:51 +0000

Don’t scare the latte sippers.
If he covered the Shot-Show at all which I think he must have, then he scared a lot of latte-sippers who saw the huge numbers of people in attendance and all the guns as a threat to all that Liberals hold dear. But I’m pretty sure that they change the channel when guns come on – and going “around the dial” (to use an antediluvian expression) do not voluntarily choose to watch anything gun related.

By: Allow me to disagree « Gun Nuts Media

Allow me to disagree « Gun Nuts Media — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:15:08 +0000

[...] ShootingUSA wouldn’t cover Joe Huffman’s Boomershoot event. Uncle, Kevin Baker, and Sebastian (as well as others) are of the opinion that either A) ShootingUSA should cover Boomershoot, or/and [...]

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:05:13 +0000

I think I disagree with the fundamental premise that most people would be scared by something like Boomershoot. I’ve seen Joe get some pretty positive press coverage from the event.

For sure, some would be scared, but I’m not sure how much you’ll reach people who are that frightened by the idea to begin with. Maybe this is one area I’m wrong about, and the number of people put off by the idea is larger than I think, but I think most people would get why it’s fun.

By: Clayton E. Cramer

Clayton E. Cramer — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:58:45 +0000

“Watching other people shoot is like watching paint dry.” I have to agree. It’s not too exciting.

I want the average American to be bored by gun competition –not scared.

By: Clayton E. Cramer

Clayton E. Cramer — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:56:35 +0000

Keep in mind that anything gun-related will be taken out of context in the worst possible way. I am rather glad that .50 BMG competitions aren’t televised–imagine the way that would be spun. “Guns that can hit targets 1 1/2 miles away!”

By: BobG

BobG — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:54:07 +0000

“When we’d like the public to think of competitive shooting to be like other mainstream sports.”

In other words, “Don’t scare the white people!”

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:37:57 +0000

Until you’re at a level where it’s minutia separating you from top competitors, there’s no reason at all to invest in a lot of expensive equipment. Shoot with what you have, and invest the money in ammunition instead.

Some of the best shooters I know are cost conscious about the equipment they compete with, and could out shoot me even if you gave me the best pistol money could buy, and gave them something cheap off the shelf.

Equipment isn’t what makes you competitive, it’s knowing how to shoot that makes you competitive. If you’re already a good shooter, you can be better with better equipment, but no amount of money spent on equipment will make up for a lack of fundamentals. If the fundamentals are there, you’ll be able to outshoot most people with lower quality gear regardless.

By: Dock

Dock — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:29:17 +0000

I’m sure competing in competitive shooting such as IDPA or IPSC is really great fun.

It is boring as hell to watch.

Also, Jim’s talk of covering “accessible sports” is nice and all, but uh… flatly, I can’t afford to compete at any level of competitive shooting, in a sustained way. How much money does one sink into a “race gun” let alone the ammo for a cheaper production gun?

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:37:05 +0000

Fine examples of our inherent attraction to things that go boom, and do so rapidly and often, can be seen in any “Mythbusters” episode where decidedly non-gun folks shoot a minigun or in Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” when he visits Uncle Ted and blasts away with full-auto goodness. People love shooting full-auto guns and seeing them shot, whether they care about guns or not.

By: LibertyNews.org - Liberty and Freedom for All » Scoutten says no Boomershoot Coverage on Shooting USA

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:28:41 +0000

[...] Snowflakes in Hell also have something to say about [...]