So I was sitting at the bar where I frequently play pool at and a former US Marine (so he claims) came in with his brother and a friend.
He started talking guns to the bartender, he said he was looking for an AR.
I couldn’t help but get into the conversation being a gun nut myself and I asked what all he was looking into for an AR.
His answer to me was “Doesn’t matter they are all the same”
I didn’t know how to respond to that without coming across as an a**hole, so I just said “Oh, I thought there were big differences in quality and reliability” (knowing good and well they are not all created equal) and I left it at that.
Is the guy full of it saying he was a Marine?
What questions/statements would you guys ask/say to see if a person was actually in service?
The reason I ask is I have a hard time believing a veteran would say “All AR’s are the same”
I’m not MIL now nor was I ever, but I have quite a few really good friends and family members including my father that are/were. I have much respect for those who have served.
“Fakers” I have zero respect for. What would you guys think if you were sitting where I was?
I’m basically asking this because if I shake a man’s hand and tell him thank you for your service I mean it…
if in fact he really did.
Dude, I’ve met more vets and LEO’s that had no clue about guns than I have that are really gun guys. I can’t tell you how many times a vet has said “DPMS is what the operators all use in theater” !?!?!?!?! Seriously. I’ve challenged the ones that were close enough friends that I knew I could and they woudn’t go full retard on me; and most of them saw the light after I gave them ample evidence and supporting facts to show how a DPMS is not the same as a quality rifle.
I have a good buddy who is even a gun guy and a former Army Ranger who thinks Serpa holsters are the best ever made and if your a “real operator” that’s what you use.
After I showed him how many reported ND’s have happened from a serpa and got his to not function with some small rocks/dirt he changed his tune.
Most vets are NOT gun guys in my experience, it is a small percentage. Hell, a lot of those guys never even fired a gun outside of basic and at home on the range.
Really Buddy, don’t let it bother you. Water off of a ducks back.
Like others here have said some .mil guys and Leo’s just don’t care about guns, others have an encyclopedic font of knowledge resting between their ears, some guys who have few if any other redeeming qualities are experts on the subject .
I’ve known a lot of guys that have an accomplished skill set in the military and beyond “It goes bang when I pull the trigger” they could give a damn about a gun. It means as much to them as the 12 inch adjustable wrench they carry in their tool bag.
I also have a keen ability to leave my beliefs and judgments outside of gauging my ability to seduce the fairer sex, outside in the truck when I enter a bar. I must admit even that skill has let me down close to closing time on a few evenings.
Yep, I have met KIDS who are more gun knowledgeable from playing video games than a lot of cops and military guys.
When you are in the military, you don’t need to learn the difference between BCM, Daniel Defense and DPMS because they are going to issue you the rifle you are issued regardless of what you do or don’t know. And some military guys think they are all the same because they are issued rifles made by Colt, FN, etc. and in their mind they are “all mil spec.” That is because nobody has ever given them a DPMS.
As for LEOs, a lot of them get guns for the first time as part of their job. And if their department gives them a DPMS or Olympic then it must be “duty ready” right? It’s really not their fault, they only know what they know and most of what they know is centered around not getting written up, sued or fired.
They are ahead of the curve if they know basic gun handling and can calmly deal with a guns drawn situation.
Why would you expect a run of the mill grunt to know about a technical data package on a service weapon? I used to be a run of the mill grunt, and 95% of my squad mates, and platoon mates could have cared less about what made an issue M16A2, M16A4, or M4 different from a cheap DPMS at the PX (well at least if you could get one, no dice at Pendleton due to Kali gun laws).
That said, they all knew about how to use the tools of their trade (infantry) and how to maintain them. It’s not as if they had any choice in the matter anyway. They got issued a weapon, and that was that no choice involved and no input from them sought.
To echo what others have said, you’d be surprised how little people in the military actually know. Even the ground pounders know little about weapons in general, and nowhere what you’d expect people to know about the weapons they’re carrying. I’ve heard multiple guys say “the AK shoots 7.62 just like the M240, right?”.
I had son of a well known local individual shoot my old m15 hbar at the range who was also a marine infantry that was back home from iraq in 2006. He managed to jam the weapon all to chit some how, twice, in one magazine, and then seal the deal by hammering the forward assist into oblivion… I think I had maybe a half dozen failures the entire time I owned that gun. 7-10k rounds…
Point is, just because the guy is military, and good bless them, that doesn’t automatically mean they know what they are doing or what they are talking about. That goes for civilians too how ever.
Sat in an LE dinner once with awards. In a room of 50 or so leo’s, only 4 did 90%… I’m not hating, just saying don’t assume guys in uniforms are like Chuck Norris.
Yeah, to reiterate, what has already been reiterated, just because they were military doesn’t mean they know shit about firearms other than how to use them, and even that can be questionable at times. Seriously, just because you were in the army doesn’t mean they are experts, or even all that competent, with a rifle. Same goes for police, just because they have a badge and a gun doesn’t mean they are great shots, I think the NYPD exemplified that for a time, no? Might still do. The unfortunate fact of the matter are guys like LAV are really the exception opposed to the rule of guys who have been there and done that when if comes to knowing anything about firearms, and sadly it is probably why some of the guns myths that are out there continue to continue to live on.
General public would be shocked if they knew how little trigger time even combat arms types get annually. In addition, as others have noted, majority of military folks are issued a weapon. They know how to use and maintain it, but as far as distinctions between brands and construction methods (forged vs MIM vs cast, staked vs not staked, differences in springs, etc) they probably won’t be well informed unless they have a personal interest in firearms. Just the way it is. Same goes for LE.
An easy way to tell a vet from a non vet is by their stories. If they immediately start to tell you stories about how much of a badass they are and talk about their “secret missions” then you can be about 95 percent sure he isn’t a vet.
If their stories consist more about how much the food sucked, prickly heat, camel spiders, funny shit done by drunk/bored, friends, etc… Than most likely they are the real deal.
I’d like to add that if their most exciting ‘war notches’ are for either how many mortar atacks they slept through or how many females they tagged in one of the million man bunk bays in Arifjan, they are pretty much legit as well.
Oh, and in case no one has mentioned it already, i just wanted to re-re-reiterate that service does not equal omniscience.
