equipment vs. skill

[Bruiser_Joe]

You guys chose to go off on a tangent so let me explain, the point was people buy without knowing why they are buying. i have multiple times put people behind a gun of mine that is setup differently then their uber precision rifle and they shoot better because its a different stock, trigger, etc. Why did they buy the other one and continue to shoot it when it doesn't fit them? because they took one person's word on this site for gospel instead of trying multiple options.

If any of you have EVER shot a match, shooting ability is being able to get off your belly and shoot tight. I will say a good shooter with a looser shooting gun will shoot better in a lot of situations then a bad shooter with a good gun, especially on the clock and not prone. Its the same with pistols when you have to move and reload, and pay attention. The shooter with the amazing bulls eye gun will probably get beat by the guy with the shot out glock.

People on the internet in general want jusification for their purchases, they want the warm and fuzzy that their rifle, scope, etc will improve their shooting when really you will improve your shooting IF YOU SHOOT! its a long lost secret that only the elite know (sarcasm). I am not saying don't buy nice stuff, trust me i enjoy a quality product like the rest of you, i'm saying know why you spec'd your rifle that way, your pistol with X options, carbine with the grip this way, or sling mounted another. You all want to dress in multi-cam and look like a ninja but then you see actual pics of operators and their setup is fairly simple... why is that? CUZ IT WORKS BETTER!

 

[Unknown]

Like most guys, I like new gear, and trying out new products. However, I tend to get the most overall improvement from developing my skill, rather than from developing my collection of new goodies. That being said, once I reach the point where I'm close to getting the most out of the gear I already have (with my current skill level), then it is time to consider both a piece if kit that will help me improve something, AND a new practice regimen.

The new (and improved) practice regimen is more important than the new gear, but together, they can help me improve my overall skill set.

People who rely on buying new kit without also looking at improving their practice regimen are missing out on the potential for far greater improvement. As was said above, you can't buy muscle memory. If you could, then there would be plenty of UFC champions who only read the latest book, and bought the newest gloves and shorts.

 

[rjacobs]

All of my carbines are setup fairly simply: BUIS, light, some type of optic, sling. Pistols are setup with some kind of sights depending on what I will be using it for(FO for a range only gun, tritium for something that might be carried) and MAYBE a light.

My belt I run has 2 pistol pouches(Taco's) and 2 rifle pouches(Taco's), a dump pouch and I can swap out the pistol for whatever I want to run.

I got buddies that run all kinds of shit on their guns, yet really dont know why they run it or if its good kit or anything like that. I got a buddy who likes to ruminate on how to run an AR and what kind of new kit to put on it I helped him build 2+ years ago. He aint put but 200 rounds through it in 2 years. He balked when I told him "shoot the fucking gun, stop buying shit for it". OK then dont ask my advice for stuff because you wont like my answers, ever. He asked me about how to clear a malfunction and why everybody says to do it a certain way and I told him "you wont ever have that malfunction with your gun because you never shoot it". My buddies wonder why I have a Dillon 1050 setup to crank out 9mm, .223, and 300BLK and why I order bullet heads by the 25k, powder by the 8lb jug and primers by the 5k case.

I recently shot a competition with a bunch of new guys(it was just for fun mostly) and the guys were all saying "you are so fast, so smooth" and I say "well I shot 8-10k rounds through that gun in the past 18 months and I know my kit". And if you watch the video's of the competition I am actually NOT the fastest trigger puller, but I only dropped 3-4 points across around 120 on 4 stages, had smooth reloads, etc... These guys were trying to run reloads out of their pockets(30rd AR mags), had slings they had never used before, chest rigs that actually got in the way instead of helping, etc...

 

[taliv]

totally agree with bigjoe.

most of the problems shooters have is not the quality of their equipment but the way it's set up. (and of course, lack of practice)


edit: that said, if everyone shot the cup with the same equipment, the scores probably wouldn't change more than a spot or two