Explain this to me-

General General Discussion
1

Why is it that any time someone shows a picture of a rifle with obvious wear, someone always says “Nice gun- mine’s like that too. Guns are tools and it shows that I use it like it’s a tool!”

They seem to come off as if not everyone with a rifle really knows what they are doing and that because they have more character marks then they obviously do know more than you.

I’m thinking of people who’s livelihoods depend on real tools- like a mechanic or artisan, someone who uses their hands and specialized tools to earn an honest living. Do those people let their tools get abused so they look like they’ve been thoroughly used or do they treat them with the utmost respect and try to ensure they don’t get beaten up and stay in perfect working order?

Can you picture a mechanic, even one at the dirtiest shop in town, who wouldn’t keep his tools in immaculate condition as long as he could?

When you change your oil or brakes do you throw your Craftsman tools around the garage and leave them all greasy and cruddy or do you try and keep them from getting banged up and damaged?

I’ve just seen such a trend over the last year and a half to comment “hey, it’s nice to see someone else really USES their gun and doesn’t just PLAY with their gun.”

I’ll use KevinB’s rifles as an example- sure, they look a little abused but most of that is just layers of krylon peeling off (or being sandblasted off on a daily basis.) I bet he tries his hardest to keep his weapons as nice as possible (no, I don’t mean wrapping them in saran wrap or sleeping with them to keep dust off of them or stupid shit like that.)

Look at Jeff’s rifles- all 17 clones and that one cool SBR- They are all heavily used AFAIK and not one of them appears to have a scratch on it. He really knows what he’s doing and does it. Do his appear to have nice character marks on them? No and he wouldn’t brag about it if he did.

Sorry if any of you HAVE said anything like this and you think I’m attacking you. I am NOT. It’s just something I’d like explained to me. I tend to need things spelled out to understand them sometimes…

2

I use 2 of my rifles pretty heavily but i also try to take care of them has best i can, But there are always those few spots there not much you can do to preserve them and keep them new. For instance my barrels change colors and i cant keep them the nice deep black forever its a fact of life. Gas tubes as another example.

Rob.

PS Glad to see your time out is over.

3

But, are you PROUD of nicks and scratches and insist they are a sign that you know what you are doing as opposed to “playing” couch commando?

I get the feeling from some people that they say these types of things to feel better about themselves.

I again mean no offense to the last person this topic came up with. This is something I’ve thought about a lot over the last year.

4

Thanks Rob.

Cold Turkey is hard but it’s definitely doable.

5

Yes and no im proud of them because it shows that I use my rifles, but I also cry everytime i scratch a gun.

It goes both ways.

Rob

6

I should preface my response with a couple of things…

  1. I am absolutely a couch commando now :smiley: and happy for it…kudos to you that arent…but I had a chance at that life, got busted up, and am now in a different place, and quite happily

  2. When I was in the Army I remember an Armory Sgt that would tell us that mistreating your weapons would kill you as fast or faster than the enemy…probably not really, but I got his point and it stuck with me…

  3. I try and absolutely keep my weapons as immaculately as possible…people who know me have heard me say “If I ever have to breach a tactical entry again, something has gone seriously wrong with the world…” and no truer words were ever spoken…but that doesnt mean I dont want to be ready in case it happens…

  4. I ABSOLUTELY use that saying to justify to myself when i do something BONEHEADED and ding up one of the fellas…in truth it drives me bonkers…I hate it…I DO realize that it is a tool, and its meant to be used…but the other flip side of it is I want to keep it as nice as possible for as long as possible…

Sorry for my lengthy and minor contribution

7

There’s wear (just shows that it’s used hard)

and

There’s abuse (just shows the user is not wise).

8

Personally I just tie all my weapons to the bumper of my car and take them for a good drag for a couple of blocks…

9

This type of thread is exactly why I avoid OTHER websites at times.

10

Gotta agree with Lumpy here. I don’t see the point in this thread at all.:confused:

11

In football, we could tell who was playing the game and who was riding the pine by the scars the helmet showed.

In the e-world, such things might be indicative of who is pressing mice buttons and who is pressing triggers.

Then again, there were always posers in football who hit their helmets on walls and on the ground to show that which they did not earn.

Each mark on my guns tells a tale, some more interesting than others. Use, but not abuse. I hope to wear it out, inside and out.

12

Outside wear on AR matters not. Inside wear does matter and I suspect that people that are hard on the outside of the weapon, take immaculate care of it on the inside.

C4

13

Being in the military, and have been deployed to Iraq, my waepon is some thing I treat the best I can. I could care what the outside looked like, but the BCG and other parts were kept with the utmost care that I could. Yes, there are scapes, scratches, amd other dings all over my issue weapon. Do I think it looks cool, I don’t know, but it has served me well, and I trust my life to that rifle.

14

i take care of my firearms the same as other stuff i own of value to me - car, motorcycles, photography equipment etc. i use them, but don’t abuse them on purpose unnecessarily. i don’t mind if my rifles get scratched or wear through use, but i’m not going to throw them on a pile of rocks if a table is available.

15

MM has probably the best answer.

16

I would cry if I scratched my gun. I would cry if I scratched one of my camera lenses. I would cry or be thoroughly pissed if I or someone else scratched my car (that has happened). I take care of my stuff. You should see the interior of my car. Not a drop of dust out of place. Heck even my manual has a special spot in the glove box.

As far as mechanics and their tools they can be crazy. My step father has a lot of tools. He will get them all dirty and leave them laying around and have no problem with it. But if someone else were to do that with his tools he get’s mad. Oh well he’s crazy anyways.

17

Lumpy196

This type of thread is exactly why I avoid OTHER websites at times.

Funny… I was thinking the same thing…:cool:

18

Well I wouldn’t be asking HERE if I didn’t see people HERE act like a scratch on their gun means they know what they are doing. There are some people I’ve seen type the sort of comment I’m talking about probably only because they accidentally dropped their rifle and figured they could pass it off as real use.

Most of the scratches on my guns are fine scratches from going in and out of the case and being bumped against other guns at the range. But they aren’t big enough to notice in most pictures and therefore I can’t proclaim that my rifle is “battle proven” as most and that is annoying.

19

I give kudos to any nice weapon, beaten and batter or pristine. If the weapon works for you, thats good enough for me.:slight_smile:

20

It’s just poser-on-poser violence.