Friendly advice to a buddy-bite my tongue?
I have a friend- great, great guy. I met him way down on my luck 10 years ago and just out of pure kindness this guy picked me up, literally in Camden, Arkansas.
Years went by we stayed friends, raced motorcycles together, he moved to Dallas for work, and we kept riding together- then 2 years ago he moved to Orlando. Fast forward and I landed in Orlando myself. He is literally one of a handful of people I know here.
He had a bad get off last year and has left the motorcycle racing scene, as have I.
So I introduce him to shooting- USPSA & Steel.
He is hooked! He is a good 12 years younger than me and dammit if he isnt just interested in buying the cheapest guns possible. Instead of even a glock he bought an FMK 9mm which he has sent back twice. Same thing with an AR, the cheapest AR out there yep- he bought it and we are rebuilding it piece by piece. Then a used Taurus 357 and you can guess how that?s working out..
He has also bought crap optics and crap accessories for every gun. This dude does not have a money problem dual income/no kids and was literally 40K into his racing motorcycle setup.
Now he wants a shotgun and has his eyes on a Stoeger O/U. Do I bite my tongue or speak up and have a talk about Quality with my friend. He is constantly frustrated and constantly spending money to male bad guns run better.
I am in the ?less is more/buy once cry once? camp.
He at least went down in front of the camera- violent high side ballpark 110mph...full gear- believe it or not, no broken bones.
Years went by we stayed friends, raced motorcycles together, he moved to Dallas for work, and we kept riding together- then 2 years ago he moved to Orlando. Fast forward and I landed in Orlando myself. He is literally one of a handful of people I know here.
He had a bad get off last year and has left the motorcycle racing scene, as have I.
So I introduce him to shooting- USPSA & Steel.
He is hooked! He is a good 12 years younger than me and dammit if he isnt just interested in buying the cheapest guns possible. Instead of even a glock he bought an FMK 9mm which he has sent back twice. Same thing with an AR, the cheapest AR out there yep- he bought it and we are rebuilding it piece by piece. Then a used Taurus 357 and you can guess how that?s working out..
He has also bought crap optics and crap accessories for every gun. This dude does not have a money problem dual income/no kids and was literally 40K into his racing motorcycle setup.
Now he wants a shotgun and has his eyes on a Stoeger O/U. Do I bite my tongue or speak up and have a talk about Quality with my friend. He is constantly frustrated and constantly spending money to male bad guns run better.
I am in the ?less is more/buy once cry once? camp.
He at least went down in front of the camera- violent high side ballpark 110mph...full gear- believe it or not, no broken bones.
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If he hasn't figured it out by now then he probably won't. Some people just insist on buying junk. Just remind him occasionally that you don't have the problems with your equipment that he has with his.
And if I were you I wouldn't stand close to him while he's shooting his junk. If he's got a death wish don't let him take you with him.0 -
I thought Stoeger was supposed to be good stuff? eh
yep buy once cry once, like you said. you can just inform him of that and let him figure it out himself, or why is he doing this? he likes used Tauruses? bad taste in guns? overly optimistic? likes fixer-upper projects? or maybe he overestimates quality too much. I don't think anybody likes being told what to do so I would say after you figure out exactly what going on with this guy gently try to steer him in the right direction and beyond that, let go and let him figure it out himself. might take a few years.0 -
That all depends, does he trust your opinion about firearms? If he does and values your about firearms then yes by all means talk to him. If he doesn't and thinks he knows it all, keep your mouth shut. It's a simple as that, you know him... we don't 0 -
Let him get the Stoeger and go shoot it. Then let him shoot your Rem 3200. If that doesn't straighten him out, he's beyond help. 0 -
Sign both of you up with GSSF then take him to a shoot. (They only allow Glocks).
Loan him a Glock. He will figure it out.0 -
TRAP55 wrote:Let him get the Stoeger and go shoot it. Then let him shoot your Rem 3200. If that doesn't straighten him out, he's beyond help.
Maybe let him shoot your 3200 before he buys the Stoeger? The old expression Pence wise and Pound foolish comes to mind with this guy.0 -
Just make fun of all his guns.
Actually, what I think you should do is ask him why he's always buying POS guns.0 -
This is all good advise above. I once had a very good older friend who did his best to steer me in the right directions when it came to teaching me about the quality of firearms. I was raising a family on a just get by budget and income. I didn't have too many choices except for cheap and\or used.
My friend ended up gifting me one of his best rifles for Christmas one year. He passed a very short time later.
Through all of this I have learned that it is better to just wait and save for the better quality stuff. Even if it takes a very long time. Having just one piece that does all that your dreams are made of, will get you by until you can afford to get another.0 -
So, did he race junker bikes? Did he repair them with cheap crappy parts? Was his aim to win?
Tell him just like that. You really do get what you are willing to pay for. As his friend, you should straighten him out.0 -
Dale, a long time ago there was a young Navy F-18 mechanic that came up here to shoot Trap with me. He was real frustrated that he couldn't consistently score 25/25. Had a nice Rem 3200 that fit him, so that wasn't the problem. Gave him a few pointers because that's all he needed. But, he was using cheap Walmart bulk ammo. I handed him a couple of boxes of Armusa competition ammo made for live pigeon matches. You miss a shot in one of those matches, and it can cost you $80K, so the ammo you use is critical.He Dog wrote:TRAP55 wrote:Let him get the Stoeger and go shoot it. Then let him shoot your Rem 3200. If that doesn't straighten him out, he's beyond help.
Maybe let him shoot your 3200 before he buys the Stoeger? The old expression Pence wise and Pound foolish comes to mind with this guy.
His next two rounds were 25/25, and you couldn't wipe the smile off his face. I gave him a short education on the difference quality ammo and equipment makes. When he got home, he ordered a Dillon shot shell loader to roll his own. The next time I shot with him, he made me work to keep up with him. I see now it's a lesson he learned well, and carried through in his pistol shooting. 8-)0 -
If he's as good a friend as you say, then he won't mind your advice. Although, I would put it in terms he can relate to. Ask him why he chose the bike he had for racing and not the cheapest? Why the gas/oil/coolant he used weren't the cheapest? Then you can sit back, nod and smile at him as the light bulb goes off. 0 -
I can see getting budget stuff for the first few; one pistol, one shotgun, one rifle. After that, I'd try to get him to raise the quality. My brother-in-law (who is my best friend) has a family, trying to start taking over the family farm, etc. He doesn't buy bottom barrel, but didn't see much use in spending more. For various hunts, I have loaned him a couple of mine. After one trip, all he talked about was he wouldn't (or couldn't) have taken one shot. He said my big scope actually pulled in more light than he could see with naked eye. Since then, we have went and compared quite a few different ones at different magnifications and he literally 'saw the light'. He also never saw the point of carrying a heavy gun. I am not talking about climbing mountains, I am talking walking less than a half mile on flat Kansas land. Let's just say that after we went prairie dog hunting where we shot a lot and real quickly, his shots were all over the place and mine were consistent, there was a similar scenario with handguns as well where he found that one doesn't have to go high end, sometimes just a step or two up is a big improvement.. Now, he has more than enough to do all the different shooting/hunting that he NEEDS to do, he can save up and now he buys good guns and glass.
His wife a year or so was diagnosed with breast cancer just as he had saved enough to buy a nice varmint rifle and like many others here, all spare money went to that fight. I often show him some of the various guns I buy, and he often shoots them if I bought them to keep and have ammo. Anyway, I took him out shooting with my 45-70 JM Marlin, a new 10mm match gun, a 22-250 Rem. Remington 700 VSSF (2002 vintage with a new Leupold VX-3 6.5x20) and a Benelli.
He shot them all and liked the 45-70 and said he wanted to get one sometime but didn't know why. He said he had been dreaming of a varmint rifle like the one he just shot. I said so you liked it? He said yeah, that's what I hoped to get. I said I am glad, because it is yours. He's the kind of guy that won't hardly let someone buy him dinner. He argued for a minute, but finally took it and the ~125 hand loads I had worked up for it.0 -
Tell him what you said here. Don 0 -
Does your Yugo, drive like a Porsche? 0 -
bambihunter wrote:I can see getting budget stuff for the first few; one pistol, one shotgun, one rifle. After that, I'd try to get him to raise the quality. My brother-in-law (who is my best friend) has a family, trying to start taking over the family farm, etc. He doesn't buy bottom barrel, but didn't see much use in spending more. For various hunts, I have loaned him a couple of mine. After one trip, all he talked about was he wouldn't (or couldn't) have taken one shot. He said my big scope actually pulled in more light than he could see with naked eye. Since then, we have went and compared quite a few different ones at different magnifications and he literally 'saw the light'. He also never saw the point of carrying a heavy gun. I am not talking about climbing mountains, I am talking walking less than a half mile on flat Kansas land. Let's just say that after we went prairie dog hunting where we shot a lot and real quickly, his shots were all over the place and mine were consistent, there was a similar scenario with handguns as well where he found that one doesn't have to go high end, sometimes just a step or two up is a big improvement.. Now, he has more than enough to do all the different shooting/hunting that he NEEDS to do, he can save up and now he buys good guns and glass.
His wife a year or so was diagnosed with breast cancer just as he had saved enough to buy a nice varmint rifle and like many others here, all spare money went to that fight. I often show him some of the various guns I buy, and he often shoots them if I bought them to keep and have ammo. Anyway, I took him out shooting with my 45-70 JM Marlin, a new 10mm match gun, a 22-250 Rem. Remington 700 VSSF (2002 vintage with a new Leupold VX-3 6.5x20) and a Benelli.
He shot them all and liked the 45-70 and said he wanted to get one sometime but didn't know why. He said he had been dreaming of a varmint rifle like the one he just shot. I said so you liked it? He said yeah, that's what I hoped to get. I said I am glad, because it is yours. He's the kind of guy that won't hardly let someone buy him dinner. He argued for a minute, but finally took it and the ~125 hand loads I had worked up for it.
Good for you Brother.
Well done.0 -
Guilty & Thanks my friend! TRAP55 wrote:
Dale, a long time ago there was a young Navy F-18 mechanic that came up here to shoot Trap with me. He was real frustrated that he couldn't consistently score 25/25. Had a nice Rem 3200 that fit him, so that wasn't the problem. Gave him a few pointers because that's all he needed. But, he was using cheap Walmart bulk ammo. I handed him a couple of boxes of Armusa competition ammo made for live pigeon matches. You miss a shot in one of those matches, and it can cost you $80K, so the ammo you use is critical.He Dog wrote:TRAP55 wrote:Let him get the Stoeger and go shoot it. Then let him shoot your Rem 3200. If that doesn't straighten him out, he's beyond help.
Maybe let him shoot your 3200 before he buys the Stoeger? The old expression Pence wise and Pound foolish comes to mind with this guy.
His next two rounds were 25/25, and you couldn't wipe the smile off his face. I gave him a short education on the difference quality ammo and equipment makes. When he got home, he ordered a Dillon shot shell loader to roll his own. The next time I shot with him, he made me work to keep up with him. I see now it's a lesson he learned well, and carried through in his pistol shooting. 8-)0 -
Have you asked dude why?
A new guy to shooting and you hadn't pointed dude in the "you might not wanna buy that gun". Maybe he might be in the market for a Hi Point "Yeet Cannon? Hilarity ensued.
Is money tight or does he think it's the person behind the gun? Since dude (as you say) seems hooked dude might wanna think long term so he might wanna invest accordingly. You might wanna clue him in on just because the guns come with "lifetime" warranty doesn't mean one should use it or reason why they have such a thing. Unless he likes the idea like some Porsche owners constantly having their car in the shop.0 -
Do the opposite of what I would do... 0
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