Everything wrong with Gun Culture

#Edit 2: Before reading anything, go read the comment guidelines for this sub and the rules page. This post was posted out of a direct result of bad member behavior. If you don't like it, it's perfectly fine to downvote it and move on. From here on out, if someone breaks a rule, they will be temporarily or permanently banned depending on the severity of it. We will continue to crack down on the incessant shitposting and circlejerking. If you have a problem with that, you can apply to be a moderator and try to change it from the inside, or go to a different chamber and shitpost there. We will also be cracking down on people asking people to be friends with them or to trade personal information in the comments. This sub is for a discussion on firearms, NOT to make friends.<br><br>#Edit: First off, I'd like to apologize if you feel that this post came off as condescending or arrogant. That was not my intention. I've been browsing this sub for years, posting occasionally, and I've been seeing a lot of the same bad behavior from gun owners on this sub that I see in real life. I realize that I can't change the majority of the gun owning community, but I do feel that we should talk about it. This post was made for the sole purpose of starting a discussion, not to say "I'm a better gun owner than you." Thank you to all the positive responses and suggestions. I wasn't expecting many, but I'm happy that there were some.<br><br>#<br>There's a lot of misinformation and general lack of knowledge about firearms on this sub, and I think it's getting out of hand. Before I get in to it, let me tell you guys a little bit about myself. I'm 25 years old, and I've been around firearms my entire life. I started shooting handguns and rifles at the age of 8, when my father took me to a shooting range for the first time. Ever since then, I was fascinated with firearms. Not just the mechanics and how they worked, but everything about them, historical uses, designs, ect. When I turned 18, I purchased my first rifle and pistol. It's been 7 years, and I've owned well over 100 firearms. I take firearms safety extremely seriously, and I don't just follow the big 4, not 10 commandments, but I have my own personal rules that I follow. I love firearms, and I think that they're amazing. With that in mind, I'm going to tell you all what I think is wrong with gun culture today.<br><br>I think the worst thing about this sub, and gun owners in general today, is the emphasis on "tactical" items. No, you don't need a $2000 AR-15 with 300 yards sights on it and 8 red dot sights. No, you don't need a multi thousand dollar pistol that's covered in BUIS, flashlights and lasers. Yes, I think that they're cool too. I think they have a purpose. But let me tell you, I've been to a lot of ranges in my time, and I've seen a lot of people out there that can't shoot for shit, but they have the most expensive gear out there and swear up and down that they're trained to use it properly. Bullshit. I've seen people out there that couldn't hit the paper at 10ft, with all sorts of nonsense strapped to their pistol or rifle. I've even seen people say in posts here that they can't hit the paper at 15ft, but they have photo's of themselves with their tactical gear covered gun strapped to their hip, with a smug expression on their face. Bullshit. You are not trained enough, you don't even know the basics of how to shoot a gun, and you have a gun that is strapped to your side, aimed at people, loaded with a bullet in the chamber.<br><br>Speaking of in-combat shooting, when you post about your "training" and how you can "take down" someone, what you really mean is that you've been to the range a few times and you've watched a couple of videos on how to properly shoot a gun. You've never been in a real life or death combat situation. You have no idea how you would react. You've never even practiced shooting with ear protection off. You can't even shoot properly without a huge tactical light, with night sights, in broad daylight at paper that isn't moving, at 10ft. What the hell do you think you're going to do in a dark alley at 1am, when someone is running at you with a knife? You're not going to "protect" yourself. You're not going to "take down" some criminal. You're going to murder another human being, and you're going to have to live with it for the rest of your life. This isn't some video game where you can just respawn and go about your day as usual. This is real life. This is a real human being that you're ending the life of. This is the most serious thing you will ever have to do in your life, and you're not even qualified to carry a firearm, let alone shoot one.<br><br>Tuners and accessories. I get that there are some products out there that are great, and they really do improve performance. But for the most part, you don't really need them. 90% of the shit you put on your firearm that's designed to "improve performance" is just wasting your time and money. I've had framed AR-15's that could out-shoot my friends UN:maxxed out tactical AR-15's all day. I have a Mossberg pump shotgun that can shoot better than most people who have multi thousand dollar tactical shotguns. Every single one of my guns, including my AR-15, cost well under $500. None of them have ANY sort of "accessories" besides a cheap scope. Yes, I know there are a few products out there that are great, but most people who are on this sub and buying expensive tactical gear have no idea how to properly use their firearm, let alone some new tactical item that they saw on YouTube. You should worry about becoming a proficient marksman BEFORE you spend thousands of dollars on tactical gear. If you can't hit 50% of your targets, you need to not be shooting a gun. Let alone, strapping on a tactical AR-15 with a bullet proof vest and thinking that you're some sort of operator who can just take on a whole room full of heavily armed intruders.<br><br>Not Learning. A lot of people on this sub seem to not take an interest in learning anything about firearms. I've posted photo's of my guns in the past, with the make and model in the caption, and had people message me and ask what gun it is, and why I have it. I've had people message me, saying that they've never shot a gun before, but want to purchase one for personal protection. They've never shot a gun before, but they're going to walk into a gun store tomorrow and purchase one. They've never shot a gun before, but they're going to strap one to their hip at all times, and rely on it to protect them. If you don't know anything about firearms, you shouldn't own one. Period. I would feel much safer going outside knowing that every gun owner has read a book about firearms basic designs and safety. Read a fucking Wikipedia article before you go out and buy a gun. It's just common sense.<br><br>I'm tired of seeing people who have never even held a gun in their life before, get on this sub and talk about how great guns are while they have 0 knowledge about them. I'm tired of seeing people post about their guns all the time, who have never even read the manual for their guns. To me, there's nothing sadder in life than someone who owns a gun, but doesn't even know the basics of it. I realize a lot of people in this sub are in their teens or early 20's, and haven't had the chance to purchase a gun yet, but Jesus Christ, read a fucking book. It's not that hard.<br><br>The last thing that really pisses me off is how many gun owners, (especially on this sub) deliberately try to make other gun owners feel inferior to them. I don't get it. Why do you feel like your gun is better than my gun? Why do you feel like you're a better gun owner than me? I realize that we're all on different levels of knowledge, but we're all in this together. Gun owners are a minority, and we all need to stick together. If you disagree with someone in the comments, that's fine, but attacking people for what gun they own, or what they use it for is fucking stupid. It's immature, and it makes the entire gun community look bad. Everyone has different preferences, and that's just life. If you disagree with someone, attack the post, not the person.<br><br>That's my rant for today. I hope that I can inspire someone to read a book or something. Thanks for reading.<br><br>Edit: Holy shit this blew up. I appreciate all the support, I really do. Thank you guys.