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What are your Cheap shit purchases only to upgrade to expensive shit purchases?

Reminds me of when I used to buy cheap ass fishing pliers. They would rust out pretty quickly and I would replace them often. Then I whored myself out for a week for a pair of Van Staal titanium pliers. Haven’t looked back.
 
I was once young, married had two kids and was scratching for every penny. I think I have bought every cheap as shit product known to man at that time. Quietly I suffered. Then life got better through hard work, the kids grew up and I swore I would never buy a low quality cheap piece of any shit again.

If I can't buy good stuff. I just don't effin buy anything. I am too old for disappointment. :)
 
I am considering the purchase of a Burris XTR II 3-15 for a drag through the woods optic. If I do will I likely be back to this thread posting its upgrade to an ATACR 4-16?

My regrets are primary arms chinese turrets. There I said it.
Great scope, I doubt you'd be disappointed about any quality aspects, I use one on my precision rifle. Only thing to be mindful of is it is a big, fat, heavy scope with a 34mm tube. If your "drag through the woods" involves much stalking or patrolling, I'd definitely suggest you look for something lighter. I don't know anything about the ATACR, if it's lighter it might be worth just going straight for that.
 
I'm glad you asked that because looking back I gotta say I haven't done that in over15 years. Buy once, cry once. I suppose there are a few little things, not really worth mentioning.

One day if I can budget it in there I'd like a nicer spotter and a smaller long range LRF than the one I currently have but I ain't bitching about it.

I'd rather do without and save for what I want than just make concessions and cheap out. That shit just does NOT payoff if you take this stuff seriously.
 
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Craftsman tools->anything other than Craftsman tools
Yep, that is me right there. I’ll say though for what I do Craftsman for the most part gets the job done, but as of late I’m a straight up brand whore nazi for Dewalt. I will not but Craftsman stuff anymore. Why you ask?

Driving through the ghetto one night, and my headlights hit something shiny in the road. Two Sherrif’s deputies were bullshitting about 75 yards away so it was safe to stop. I got out of my Jeep and found a Dewalt impact driver laying in the road all scared up like it fell off a fast moving vehicle.

Needless to say the fucker was miles ahead of my Craftsman impact driver and so the brand whoring began and Dewalt slowly began taking over my tool box.
 
Funny part is I’ve also bought some of the most expensive “stuff” in certain categories (not just firearms).
Wound up being on par or not as good.
A certain sports car pops into my memory, reading the replies.
 
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Cheap gas grills that replaced ever year or two then bought a Webber probably 6 or more years ago. This grill has saved me money and still grills better now than the cheap grills did new.

My Weber is getting replace this spring (Thank you Busenhalter-6) after 15 years of constant use. I've rebuilt a couple of times with Burners, griddles, etc... but it's still better than most WalMart grilles out there. I was buying a new one of those every 3 years. And they still sucked in Year 2.

Weber rocks!

Cheers,

Sirhr
 
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Women. But now i find myself going back to cheap. Leaves more $ for shooting.

Not really a purchase... more like a lease.
 
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Tripods?
WTF is the shooting world coming to?

I gotta go over to the million dollar idea thread.

Note to self: Investigate ways to develope titanium portable shooting bench, that can be stowed in backpack.

SMFH
The word is coming to longer more accurate shots in the field that exceed the minute of man, relatively close, shot from a Manfrotto in a hide...

Imagine dead space that forces you to stand... how far can you stone a creature or a steel target?

In a standing position, we are killing shit and hitting targets further than ever before..

Some might not like the Innovation of the better heads and strong light legs, but it works.
 
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Craftsman tools recently are junk. Got a new Grizzly table saw to replace my old Craftsmsn.

Too many cheap scopes. Leupold on my huntinh rigs. NF on my RPR...

Cheap lawn mowers. John Deere 1025R now.

Im sure theres more
 
Atlas knockoff bi pod. A real POS. I bit the bullet and bought a real one prior to taking a known distance long range class 400-1000yds. A real night and day difference. Lesson Learned! phipp
 
bought a larue qd mount without knowing mount height or just how high it made the scope till i attached to rifle , the bottom of my chin could just touch the cheek rest and still i was not able to see through the scope so i paid for that mistake . It was not the companies fault but my own lack of what was needed , but it was a waist of 300+ dollars or something like that + the cost of rings to replace the qd mount . I will just have to hope in the future i will figure out a way to use it on something else .
 
Or what about the cheap ass shit step purchases...harbor freight calopers--> hornady
Funny part is I’ve also bought some of the most expensive “stuff” in certain categories (not just firearms).
Wound up being on par or not as good.
A certain sports car pops into my memory, reading the replies.
Corvette?
 
actually a Mclaren 12C convertible 2014

really nice car, turned heads everywhere i went

fast as hell

rode smooth as glass when you turned off all the performance buttons

wife use to joke that it was a pain in the ass, she had to put on makeup because every time we stopped people would take pictures

mechanically no big issues, there was one but they took care of it.

never left me stranded or anything like that

but a million small things that killed the experience

having some European sports cars before and after, it just seems like they didnt test the small stuff well enough

biggest problem was their proprietary touch screen/ipad

no buttons in the car only the touch screen

had it replaced 3 times over the life of the car (lease 3 years), service tech told me the last time to stop trying they never got it figured out. all the techs used to like my car because i drove it and put miles on it, they always knew theyd find something. most guys buy cars like these and let them sit. i put 21k miles in 3 years on it.

it had a mind of its own

change station randomly

freeze on what ever station it wanted preset or not

AM/FM/SAT switched all over

but that meant the bluetooth would go on and off because its all controlled through the one screen

now the bluetooth sucked anyway because it was a loud car and i always had the top down...but sucked and not working is a different matter

navigation (when the screen worked) had me in san antonio for about a year (i live in NY)

i understand, they are like custom one off cars and shit goes wrong with cars that are this high strung. but when you are 15 minutes into a 2 hour drive with one of my kids or the wife and radio goes off or just goes bat shit crazy it pisses you off.

plus my state is a hands free cell state so i got a fucking ticket on the way home from work one day calling the wife ill be home regular time for dinner....because the fucking blue tooth didnt work

yeah i kon i can hear it now....poor baby he supercar radio didnt work....yeah i know...but my grand cherokee worked just fine

7044940
 
Hornady Concentricity Tool, cause you know, it is totally possible to correct the concentricity of a loaded round by measuring runout using an out of true spindle and turning a thumbscrew to push the bullet in to the correct position.

They sure camouflaged that hook really well. Glad I quit drinking.
 
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Chargemaster 1500 => Fx-120 Auto-throwing/trickler. Should've just skipped to the end.
 
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There's a number of things that I've 'bought cheap' over the years, and some of which were later replaced with 'high quality'. Some things, like my own cooking knives, I started off with Henckel 4-Star and stayed with them. Some I've had for almost 35 years. Some Craftsman tools even longer. There are some Snap-Off tools that I've got, due to 'specialty applications' and whatnot.

The main point of it all though, is what gets the job done. Are you only ever going to do that job the once, or will you do it multiple times and/or again in the future? As just came up yesterday here, a cheap tap will probably get you through one hole. My Lady gave me a 50-60 piece set of Titanium Nitride coated tap's n dies. Imperial n metric. They sure looked pretty to her, all shiny and in that fancy-schmancy display box. AND she knew that there were some different taps and dies that I needed, but she had no clue as to which ones they were. Merry Christmas. I was simply very happy that she thought of this, and did this. Touched my heart.

Yesterday I had occasion to tap 20 holes into mild-steel of a size I don't do much of. 6mm 1.0 p. Out comes that snazzy set, and I got the first hole tapped nicely. Some galling, and I'm wondering "what's going on"?

Points of all the cutting teeth (root of the tapped hole) were all gone. Titanium Nitride on balsa-wood is synonymous with lipstick on a pig. Went to the local Acklands Grainger and picked up a few proper taps, ($2.45 each) and got it all done with the one, and it still looks brand new.

When I was lucky enough to purchase my Crusader, I had also planned on a decent scope to go with it. Obviously. But then we got the shit kicked out of us again, and let's just say that I'm getting my rounds down range with a hope an' a smile and a Menace'ing laugh.

One day, I will be able to upgrade. As it is, I'm still able to pull a trigger once in a while. Gotta put something on the picatinny rail, otherwise you might-just-as-well be shooting from the hip.

Cover you ass's, cause you never know what's coming around the corner. We're doing what we can to stay fair-to-middlin'.
 
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@Sean the Nailer

If'n you're into the culinary arts stuff (IIRC, you are) I'd toss out that you need to look into the "Made in" brand of cookware (online sales only). I've been REALLY impressed by their stuff, as well as the cost.
 
@Sean the Nailer

If'n you're into the culinary arts stuff (IIRC, you are) I'd toss out that you need to look into the "Made in" brand of cookware (online sales only). I've been REALLY impressed by their stuff, as well as the cost.
Thanks for that. I'd never heard of it/them, and if I'm in the market to replace/upgrade my/our knives, I will definitely give them a try. I won't say that we've amassed a 'full' set over the years, but we do have somewhere around 15-20 of their 4Stars. Including some steak knives. Truth be told, I've a scope or two that I DEFINITELY need to upgrade, before I step up any of these blades. They still cut/chop/slice/dice and even julienne very well.

And if you call right now... :D
 
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LOL! I hear you. :) To be clear though, the "Made in" stuff is cooking ware (not cutlery). Think 5 ply Stainless steel stuff at about half the cost of Demeyre and others. I think the only thing less in quality of the "Made in" stuff, is that the Made in pots/pans have riveted handles (Demeyre's are all welded). "Made in" also has a really nice carbon steel fry pan (cooks like cast iron, but at half the weight). Good stuff.

There's a reason there's usually a waiting list for their products... (and why they are only selling kits right now). They used to sell ala cart, but they got cleaned out so quick, I think they're selling just the kits now to keep the ordering chaos to a minimum.

https://madeincookware.com/
 
Truth is, when it comes to cookware, I can't stand teflon. Teflon sucks, and is the 'cheater' of the culinary world. There isn't anything that can be done on teflon, that can't be done in/on Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, or enameled cast iron.

Learn to cook right, then you'll throw that cheap clutter away. I got to thinking about all these "names" that have pots n pan sets out. And that they allegedly cook with them. I've seen enough shows, and paid enough attention when their touring through their restaurant to KNOW that they don't use the stuff. They use professional cookware, from a culinary supply store.

Food tastes the same, now matter how shiny/buffed the outside of the pot is. And yeah, the 'welded pipe' handles are my favorite due to my big mitts (hands) can't work with those tiny skinny little handles made for sjw's and their macaroni.

All that 'bling' in the kitchen section of box stores is nothing but garbage and wasted money, compared to "professional cookware" and the difference in price is even more astounding. Seriously, check it out folks, for those serious about cooking. Clean-up's a breeze, too. But that has a LOT to do with how one cooks.

A properly seasoned cast-iron pan is like gold, in the kitchen. Teflon absolutely sucks. Throw that shit away. Better yet, 're-gift it'.
 
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A properly seasoned cast-iron pan is like gold, in the kitchen. Teflon absolutely sucks. Throw that shit away. Better yet, 're-gift it'.

There are some serious health concerns about the long term effects of cooking with Teflon as well as Aluminum.

Cast Iron for the win.
The only problem is that most folks buy some cheap $20 cast iron pan and wonder why it never ever works for them & always sticks like crazy.
The problem is the lack of finishing in the production.

Start with one of these and you'll be happy from the start:
 
How much time ya got buddy?

I been at it for 41 years....technically 8 of those 41 I was at the mercy of Daddy's gunrack, and what was bought for me if I wasn't on the naughty list....limited to be sure.
Bushnell made pretty good scopes back then. Or maybe it was the only scope I had and didn't know better.

Times have changed.
I don't own no junk. I don't typically list the contents of my stable.
My evolution has not been achieved, without great pain.
God is still good.
 
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