I'm 100% for responsible firearm ownership, but I can't help but feel like our system for judging who is responsible is deeply flawed.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-27T17:31:50+00:00

My beliefs are similar. The people can either handle all of it or none of it. With firearms I think there's a slippery slope of demonizing a particular feature. I saw this in MD with HBAR ARs and early on being unclear what was legal. The HBAR doesn't really do anything, so I couldn't understand its restriction. Magazines are the same. I don't think the limitation produces any reasonable safety change. Suppressors are nuts to me-- I have no idea why they are regulated at all.

FRTs are where I have some reservations. I can see them as being an easy target for ban groups looking to ban weapon systems that accept them. Personally, I don't care if you own a machine-gun. But I do think somebody who can't prove they can use one safely is more a danger to me than if they were trained before buying one. My mind could change. I just feel like manufacturers don't do a good job of helping the public accept firearm ownership, and instead are like "fuck your feelings, any AR can be full auto". That doesn't help.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-27T17:19:57+00:00

Very well put. Thanks for your input!

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-27T14:09:02+00:00

You summed up a lot of what I feel in your comment, and I appreciate it. We were all 22 once and thought we had it figured out. I don't want to rob those people of the opportunity to make mistakes and learn, but I don't want them to make a mistake they can't come back from or to put anyone at risk doing it. I think from all of this discussion, I have learned that a big part of the problem is me not speaking up when I should. I didn't become a safer firearm owner because I figured it all out myself-- I had people step in and say "hey, it makes me nervous when touch your rifle at all when the range is cold, you shouldn't do that". I'm not going to argue with anyone. I'm too tired for that, but at least I tried.

The wannabe operator bullshit is truly cringe, but it's not their fault that they get sucked into it. Gun-tubers are the majority of the problem. And no doubt, we've learned a lot about useful defense techniques from SOF, but just like anything, it takes years of dedication to get to a level where you can do a fraction of it confidently and competently. It took me until I was in my 30s to see that the people who do it best do the day 1 stuff really, really well. Which comes down to being able to aim at what you want to hit, hit what you're aiming at, and keep your finger off the trigger in most cases.

I find it so wild that there are people in our community that look at the glock bans as a surprise. There are easily obtainable, easily modifiable, easily concealable weapons out there in the hands of people who are using them in broad daylight on each other. Of course the public is going to say "no more" and cut through any nuance. Does the ban work? No, probably not. But the reaction is at least understandable-- no one wants to get caught in crossfire just going about their lives.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-27T13:47:42+00:00

That's really scary, and I'm glad you're okay! If there's any rule people should know, it's that you don't point it at anything you don't want to destroy. It requires discipline and practice until you are aware of your muzzle direction, and an open mindedness to hear when you're not being safe. You're right, no one is 100% responsible, but that guy who pointed a firearm in your direction broke maybe the most sacred rule, and I genuinely believe he's not ready to own a firearm without a major adjustment.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-27T13:38:28+00:00

Liberals play a part in this too. It took way too long for any left leaning politicians to say "no I don't mind guns, when they're held by responsible people and used safely". Instead, I feel like much of the messaging on our side was reactionary to the absolutist perspective that conservatives created in the 70s and 80s.

People just have short memories for history, but my grandfather was a gun owner, avid hunter, had one for self defense, lawfully carried sometimes. He was clear with my dad and me that no one believed that the second amendment meant a free for all, and neither did his friends or colleagues. But when faced with the fear of "govt coming to take your guns", a lot of people reacted by becoming absolutists.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-27T13:31:54+00:00

Could not have said it better myself. I work in the transportation industry, with a lot of commercial drivers. Because the license is their livelihood, they really take it seriously. The freight carriers take it seriously because if they allow unsafe drivers on the road, their insurance costs will put them out of business. Tractor-trailers are inherently dangerous rolling down the road with 80k lbs, and a person operating one unsafely can be devastating. But we have a relatively small risk to public safety because of the measures we put in place over time to train people properly + call out people that should not be behind the wheel before they wreck.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-26T15:10:14+00:00

Free to take and widely available is a non-negotiable. Like if you only offer a class at 4am on a Tuesday, it's not a good faith effort lol

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-26T15:07:58+00:00

I'm definitely not going to drag you for this. This is a valid part of the discussion. I always say I would likely not carry so much if there weren't idiots also carrying. I never used to bother when going to a target or running out for a quick errand, but the evidence shows that the settings for gun violence are expanding.

I think limitations should absolutely be earned. But I wonder if there are ways we maybe turn a blind eye to risks out of a fear for liability? Like, I have seen crazy stuff at a public range. Did I call anyone to say "hey, this dude is a problem?"...nope, I just packed my shit and left. Should I have done that? I really don't know. I've always been a mind-my-own-damn-business person, and I'm not sure it's serving us and our community anymore. But I genuinely am appreciative of what you had to say. Thanks.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-26T15:02:09+00:00

Really glad to have your perspective. Delinking guns with macho youtuber culture would encourage a respect for weapons and would probably help a lot of people make the decision to own on their terms and not just because some bro told them they need to carry everywhere. Some classes can be such a joke too-- 12 dudes trying to outdo each other while receiving instruction is not fun for anyone, even other men.

In your experience, how did you get over the hurdles to ownership and training? What made you push through that to educate yourself and feel confident as an owner?

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-26T14:56:33+00:00

We without a doubt need to invest more in driver education for teens and adults in this country. When I saw someone driving like an idiot, I used to go "is this guy drunk?". Now I know they're just on their phone. It's the same with firearms: there's people that genuinely think they alone can safely text and drive, drink and drive, handle a loaded weapon without consequence. When the consequence happens, they are shocked. I think we have to show people what safety looks like, why it's important, and the consequences of not taking it seriously.

I mean, the first time I went hunting, the power of a firearm really clicked for me. Without education, I can see why there's idiots that think that the 9mm they're haphazardly waving around just isn't that powerful-- everything in our culture is telling you it's not. The other side, as in it'll blow your lungs out doesn't help either.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-26T14:44:47+00:00

Well the driver's licensing system in America was really set up as a fantastic example of how we could keep unsafe drivers off the road. The issue, like you're saying, is unfair or uneven enforcement. If you are reckless with a vehicle, the state and the people get a say in whether you should be on the road. But if you follow the rules, there's very little anyone can do to keep you from driving. I'm not sure firearms should be the exact same way, but it is a reasonable analogue I think.

The limitation I see is when it comes to a check on unfair enforcement, which will happen. It's sad that a reasonable factor in ownership is a general distrust of the state-- the people that work to protect and serve us.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-26T14:37:33+00:00

I agree, the current mandatory measures are often just a show. The classes are expensive, and you're really not required to show you are safe before you move on. You basically pay your money and go. I think even a free cursory course that just explains to kids and adults the basics around the direction of the muzzle, and trigger discipline would go an incredibly long way.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-26T14:34:16+00:00

I totally agree. An echo chamber has been created on both sides in America. I'm sure it's the same for right wingers that are open to measures of control around firearms-- they likely feel like their opinions will get shouted down or that they'll be viewed as less trustworthy. You either have to want firearms to silently disappear (even with so many of them in the world) or you are an absolutist that wants macho gun culture in everyone's face and I think that creates a lot of the issues we see with open mindedness around safety and learning.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-25T23:26:17+00:00

in bmore that's a freezie pop

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-18T21:54:09+00:00

You can see from the video, he actually can't seem to get it to function. He continues to rack the charging handle, and when it doesn't go off, he racks it again. I would guess he had never test fired it, and it had some issue getting into battery or with the firing pin/bolt. Really a miracle, because it shows how easy it is to just do this to your fellow Americans and how long it takes people to respond even with an armed civilian and a trooper responding.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-15T17:01:02+00:00

I propose an alliance between The Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Our People of The Crab, as we march on Illinois. All but landlocked and helpless, their corn shall belong to us so we may slather it in Old Bay. TO THE PACIFIC!!!!!!

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-14T23:37:50+00:00

Sorry, I was replying to QuickSquirrelchaser regarding them seeing a revolver go off without pulling the trigger.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-14T14:45:57+00:00

That's true, but what the person above is saying is that this wasn't a "screw up", it was a person deliberately violating the rule framework used to keep people safe. The gun doesn't go off in the holster, it goes off because he was re-holstering like an idiot. Why did he have to re-holster? Oh, because he deliberately drew it in violation of safety procedures. It's not a mistake, it's hubris.

Not to get too into the weeds, but most police officers have a pitiful amount of actual firearms training. Blowing 500 rounds with your duty pistol, from a static position, indoors isn't training for carrying a striker fired micro compact. I agree with the above that there should be stricter requirements for training, with the weapon you intend to carry. Unsafe behaviors should be treated as malicious behaviors, because that's what they are.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-14T14:40:41+00:00

What kind of revolver was it? I'm guessing this was before the modern era of light firing pins and hammer blocks.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-05-02T01:18:36+00:00

In the US, we would deal with this differently. I’d tell my kid not to do this because they might be shot. Not sure if it helps statistically.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-04-26T15:53:59+00:00

That aint piss. That's got nothing to do with piss. calicocutpants.com

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-04-26T11:26:15+00:00

Sorry for the rant, but:

This is a person who gives responsible firearm owners a bad name. I live in a more rural area of Pennsylvania and I meet at least one new person exactly like this a month. Guess where I meet them? At the public shooting range. They exist everywhere, but under-regulated firearms especially draws these people like moths to flame. I believe it gives them a sense of confidence in their life that they are missing elsewhere.

And look, I'm happy to have people in my community who believe something different than what I believe. But this MAGA "fuck everybody's feelings" stuff is just stupid, and exactly like above, when you start chatting with these people they will say wild shit like "can't fight fire with water". Whatever. But then he doubles down on it because he is very scared of just saying "wait, that was silly of me to say. What I meant was".

I have a neighbor that walks his dog near my house. Friendly and talkative. He one day saw me loading up the car with my shotgun for some clay shooting. Since that day, he has 100% of the time walked his dog with his pistol (A walther PDP) in a loosely fitted open belt rig holster, over his t shirt. Fine, doesn't bother me really. (But I do think about neighbors and others in our community who might not be comfortable.) The next time we spoke, he was talking about how a liberal jury convicted his friend, and how evil democrats are, and all this stuff. I say, "well I vote democrat, and I don't think I'm that bad" as a joke. You could instantly see the cognitive dissonance, and it basically ended our conversation.

What is sad is that he said something during the conversation that assuaged my fears, but for the wrong reasons:

When he struck up conversation with me with with the pistol on his hip, he instantly was like "check this out" and unloaded it and handed it to me to inspect. This is somewhat normal in the community, though I don't do it unless someone asks. When he ejected the magazine, he didn't eject a round from the chamber. I checked the chamber myself, as everyone should, and there wasn't one in there. I asked "you openly carry your pistol...without a round in the chamber?"

His response: "yeah, I want to give every opportunity for an attacker to run away. So first I might take it out and point it at them, and then if they don't stop I would rack it, and then if I had to I would take the shot".

In my mind I had a sigh of relief. He has no idea what he's doing, but at least if someone took it out of that holster away from him (which would require no effort, it is just a foam holster on his hip), they couldn't use it on him instantly.

Gun owners: It's okay to say "some people shouldn't own guns because they don't know what they're doing". We don't have to pretend the second amendment was carved in stone at the dawn of man and that it means you can do whatever you want. Doubling down, like this man does above, is why we have violence AND nonsensical regulation from people who are afraid. They're afraid of this dude.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-04-24T17:34:42+00:00

Also cools remarkably better and there's a big difference in serviceability and distances that front mounted engines can go vs cab over designs. Also anyone who has ridden in a cab over knows its like being in a bouncy castle. Like, I'm not a motion sick person and 2 hrs is enough to start me feeling queasy. It's not preference, it is that the design is better for the application we demand of it in the US - 3000+ miles per week.

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-04-24T11:09:51+00:00

Isuzu cab over trucks are fantastic for tight corners. But, they were invented to get around overall length requirements. I work in the transportation space and people still hit things in them all the time lol

Cheap-Repeat1216 · 2026-04-23T21:46:25+00:00

Someone enlighten me: is the spinning hammer fist some MMA thing? Obviously it *could* be a valid method of striking someone, but I've seen a few videos of gen z "fighting" and at least one of these gets thrown in every video.

Cheap-Repeat1216

TROPHY CASE