I don't own any guns yet (I plan to start buying them when I get decent enough income) but I have some rental on the range experience. My plan is to have just 4 to 5 guns: -9mm Canik handgun for concealed carry, $359 -A semi automatic rifle or shotgun, not sure yet possibly $1,000 -7.62 NATO bolt action rifle - Howa, $1,000 + $2,500 NF scope -.416 Barrett bolt action rifle - PGM Hecate II (they can't export it in .50 BMG) $14,000 + $2,500 NF scope It's gonna cost over $21,000 but I think I can afford it. I don't need much more. Maybe a single shot Serbu .50 BMG for $3,000 as well. I don't get why people buy dozen or more guns when they could get less for better price & quality. I don't judge them though.
You’ve got a good & well thought out plan, just don’t restrict yourself too much, your taste of what firearms you love will constantly change through the years! Don’t forget about the cost associated with carrying a firearm every day. Belts, holsters, weaponlight for edc pistol, extra mags for training. Shooting to keep skills honed weekly or couple times a week if you can. Attend as many training classes as you can afford, from beginner to most advanced. I sure wish I would have learned quality over quantity 15- 20 years ago lol I’ve thinned out the herd in order to upgrade and haven’t had a single regret since making the decision a couple years ago.
If I were to do it all again, I would definitely only have maybe four things rather than all the stuff I ended up selling. That said, I love my Heritage Rough Rider that I got from my granddad, and use it nearly every week
I will always give your advice a follow and a watch, if only because you tend to be the most forthcoming and generally right dude on the tubes. All of this is good advice to have!
My thought process has always been, You really only NEED 2 guns, one rifle and one handgun. Everything after that is a luxury. So for me I like to buy the best stuff I can afford without going into debt. Then after that we can start fucking around with stuff for fun
Ehhh 5. A pistol, a duty rifle (preferable 556), a 12 gauge, a .22 rifle like venerable Ruger 10/22 & a high power bolt gun 30-06 or 308. That covers everything you need.
If you need to, buy the cheap gun, then save for a nice one. I totally agree with you. My first gun was a ruger ec9s I bought 3 years ago, and I will never get rid of it. Now I have a few really nice guns.
This honestly sounds like poverty shaming to me. It felt like when a bully in high-school made fun of the sneakers my mother bought me from Payless because his mother could afford Jordan's. I agree that spending money on a high end gun pays you back in longevity and performance. But there are also very expensive pieces of shit out there. How do you guarantee a lower or middle class Joe or Jane that they will love the gun they spend a year saving for? And it's not like they can post an ad on Facebook and sell it to get their money back. Most gun shops don't even offer rentals, or limit rentals to members; so what if the person can't test drive the gun they really want. Should they take the leap of faith on a $1000+ purchase on the word of a RU-vidr? I'm proud of the "cheap" guns I bought before I could afford to buy better ones. By the time I had the money to buy the Sigs, Colts, and Winchesters I really wanted I was a competent shooter having practiced on my multiple Taurus Hanguns and a 40 year old $100 shotgun bought at the Gun show. Then I was able to train others or gift those "cheap" guns to family so they'd have something to train and protect themselves with. Many of my friends and family have taken their first shots on my Heritage Rough Rider to get the jitters out. My girlfriend's Taurus Spectrum has over 1000 rounds through it which is valuable to her and she feels confident with that gun because she knows it well. This message was well intentioned, but flawed.
@13:35, I appreciate your round count updates because that will do more for a review as far as longevity goes compared to a Hickok video or a sooch video does. I bought a taurus pt111 when I was 21 because of a Hickok review. That pile of junk lasted 400 rounds before it had failures every other round. Had I found a review of one with a few thousand round count, I would have just kept saving to get something nicer.
These are the guys on forums who will swear up and down that their trash pile BCA/Anderson hybrid is "jUst aS gOOd" as a Daniel Defense, BCM, SOLGW, Aero Precision, etc. "You're just paying for a roll mark!!!" "I have over 1000k rounds through it, no problems!!!" There's a reason why your BCA upper cost $350 whereas a BCM costs $750.
You make some good points. The only cheap gun I’ve bought was a Taurus G2C in 9mm for $190. The gun ran, but it always left that feeling that it wasn’t the best option. Sold it sometime in the past year for $350. Another good point is if you are a shooter or a collector. As much as I’d love to have each model of popular handgun, it makes much more sense to have a few models of the same gun type. For example, at the moment I have two S&W M&P 9mm’s, two AR’s (Colt and BCM) and two S&W airweight j frames for pocket carry (442 and 642). With these three models, I have all of my bases covered. For muscle memory reasons, everything is set up the same way.
My philosophy as sort of a collector is as long as you have you good rifle and good handgun then buy all the cheap bull you want. I have a good ar a good ak a good a handgun and a good shotgun. All the other guns I have are really kinda fun guns. I have my good loadout so that's why I buy guns just for fun. Also yeah training and range time is definitely a lot better than keep buying and buying when you already have stuff. Sometimes even I forget that 😅
Does psa only make crappy ar15???? It seems to me that there been several torture tests on their ak platforms that have outperformed most and if not all of the high end imports. I haven’t sent any imperial data or testing on the ar15s made by psa I wish someone would do a scientific test on their higher end ars with the FN barrels…. Thanks for your good videos
This is a great perspective bit here. During this shortage I've sacrificed buying things that I wanted to get in on that last decent deal on ammo to stay proficient and keep my guns fed. I've got a VERY similarly kitted Aero and it's one of the guns I'll probably never get rid of. Quality over quantity 100% of the time, and time on the gun over time looking at the gun.
I have a handful of AR’s and one of them is laughingly cheap. There’s a place for that cheap AR. I have a Colt with a KAC RAS and a Comp M4 that really gives me that GWOT vibe and goes nicely with my colt CQBR. Well I wanted an early style M4 with plastic handguards and carry handle. I don’t need that rifle to be super reliable. It will always be a range toy and it’s priced accordingly, but man is it fun. Plus it’s a PSA M4A1 lower so it sure looks the part. If it breaks it breaks and I’ll keep piecing it back together having a good time along the way
I’ve always liked the saying, “Beware of the man with one gun, he knows how to use it”. Quality over quantity is a lesson some shooters never learn though I’m glad I did. I love a quality firearm and quality gear to go with it, and I also love to shoot them...#nosafequeens Great topic. Take care.
I think its also a person's priorities in life. I personally know people who would without hesitation drop thousands of dollars on their PCs and motorcycles and cars but cringe when they spend more than $250 on a gun. Meanwhile I'm a gun collector so that's where my money goes so having nice guns is more my thing.
Certainly! And it's not for me to tell someone how to spend their money. I'm speaking to the folks who compulsively purchase crap, not one or two here and there.
A couple other considerations… My wife is not a gun person. When I bought my AR, I figured that I might as well just ask for forgiveness once, so I sold a couple of pistols that I wasn’t shooting anymore and bought an SR15. Also, if someone has, say, 10 guns, they don’t need any more. So why not wait? I am perfectly comfortable shopping at price points that I never would have considered when I was starting out simply because I already have a bunch of firearms and waiting another several months to save up just isn’t a big deal.
I very much appriciate this video. Getting in to guns, I very intentionally picked the first 2 I would purchase to avoid my brain going "You don't have a gun that does THAT" and frequently impulse buy things. As it stands, I own 3 pistols and 1 rifle. And there is pretty much no niche one of them doesn't fill well. It is sometimes difficult tuning out all the "ooh new shiny thing" that seems to be a driving force in the gun economy. But deep down I know the new shiny thing can't be more than 5% better at what it's trying to do than my older nice thing or every military/LEO/tactical Timmy would copy it and it would be ubiquitous.
Military contracts are cheapest bidder that can meet quality standards (previously 5 MOA and 10,000 rounds per infantry rifle.) It's no indication of quality, at one point colt was cranking out issued M4s that wouldn't go 1K rounds.
Here is a way to think about it: Professional (guns or guitars) use the best equipment. They could use cheap stuff and probably do OK, after all they are pros. But they don’t. They use the good stuff. If you can, use what the pros use.
I love firearms but there are times I think I should sell off all this stuff I don't really use. For most people, I rather they have a few nice ones kitted out properly than become a collector. Edit! My guns are nice but they just don't see the range use as ammo is rarer, etc.
@@InstinctiveFirearmReviews And if someone has the money to have a small collection, that's great. Lately, it's been easier to find ammo for the weirder guns anyway. I've shot a lot of .32 and 9x18.
My dude, you certainly have a way with words 🤣. Love it. Only reason to buy shitty shit guns is to give out to your friends if it hit the fan. I currently have 1 1/2 AR’s (still in progress with the second one in a different caliber, 6.5 grendel in case you were wondering) and two handguns. Sometimes I wish I had more but I like to buy once, cry once. I know I can depend on my gear. Also wife would kill me if I spent more money on guns, I still have to live with her too 😫
I agree with you, you should buy quality products especially when it comes to a tool that is supposed to contain an explosion. On the other hand I say buy what you want it's your money. Who am I to impose my opinions and values on another person. I always remember the words of John Lovell, stay out of my pockets please.
Though I don't much like Lovell at all, I agree. That's why I made it a point to twice note that this video is simply an expression of my opinion -- not a universal truth.
I have a couple of nice things, have had em for years, then I went and bought some surplus eastern block pistols. Who the fuck are you trying to judge? Also, why do you list Glock among the greats? I own a few, they're not bad, but I wouldn't list Glock among the best ever.
I’m pretty much only buying the nicer stuff from here on out. My lgs was giving $100 above msrp for used guns last summer because of the Covid panic buying. I was able to offload a ton of stuff that I would have struggled to get half of what I paid for them. Looking into lever guns and revolvers now with the cash I was able to get together from selling my glocks and old psa junk.
Crap is crap, granted. But cheap is not always crap. Shoot it, if it works shoot it again. Crap is not always cheap. Shoot it, if it doesn't work get rid of it. If you're a pro, use what the pro's use. If you're not a pro, buy what you'll use. I guess I'm your example guy, so be it, I still sleep at night. I leave my Colt 1903 at home and shoot my Taurus G3C.
Learned this lesson recently with knives. After a few cheap options (less than $30), I stopped feeling joy on new knife day. It's a bummer to get a knife that looks cool, but has awful action and feels horrible in the hand. Since I started saving for better knives, I feel excited every single time and now I have a collection I love using. It's not directly related to price either. I have $40 knives I love just as much as my $200 knives. My Ontario rat 1/rat 2 and QSP Penguin will probably be in my collection forever. I've also bought $150 knives that I didnt like at all. However, with the $150 knife I don't like, I can at least sell it and get $130-140 for it. If I buy a $20 random brand, I'm probably stuck with it.
First video of yours I have ever seen and I laughed my ass off. Hit the thumbs up and subscribed too. I agree with the buy once, cry once concept. I have been guilty of the buy cheap crap syndrome, and have been through a number of less than stellar firearms. I now have a good pistol (G30s) and am working towards a good AR in 10 and 15 variants. I think PSA is cheap but good, yet you joke about them like they are the taurus of the AR market. Can you point me in the right direction as far as a good ar15 and ar10? Thanks.
Thank you so much! I'm honored! I poke fun at PSA, but really, there are two tiers of PSA rifles. The lower tier, the Freedom rifles, are a bit lousy. But yes, they are the best of the cheapies. The PSAs with CHF barrels are substantially better, in my experience. A good barrel can help to circumvent a multitude of problems. But, most folks are buying the cheaper PSAs. I personally feel that Aero Precision is the best blend of price and quality. Mine have all been outstanding guns, and I tend to buy those even when I can afford a more expensive AR, simply because there wouldn't be much, if any, difference in performance. Their mil-spec guns are excellent, and not much more than the better PSAs. The M4E1 rifles like the one you see on my table are crazy nice, and only a bit more expensive than that. The M5 is the AR10 equivalent, and mine is excellent. In the video, I talk about this in financial terms because this is a 15-minute video and I have to speak in generalities. But I'm really after the quality option more than the expensive option. Aero fills that role very well.
theres a company making a better acog mount. wisemen co was talking about it in a vid. im not into acogs but i remember it made sense as an upgrade, check it out
I've seen that mount, and it's cool! I like that newer mount, and it is undoubtedly superior, but it exists largely to solve the problem with eye relief. Because I don't use BUIS, ever, my ACOG is already in the correct position. I'd be buying it just to buy it. But for someone using BUIS, it makes far more sense.
3 garbage ar builds with wish-tier fake cogs , red Chinese knockoff Mlok rails, with a really crappy rechargeable light vs 1 bcm/PWS/LMT with an Aimpoint T2 / holosun and a streamlight/Surefire light…anytime I hear people argue “I can’t afford that!” They always own 3 shitty guns that cost as much as one good gun
My entry into the modern weapons world was a 16" freedom PSA kit. Once I finished my first case of ammo on my second range trip, I knew I was hooked. I stepped up to a premium FN CHF barrel with geissele rail and gas block upper. I then realized everything isn't the same. "Just as good" doesn't exist in the firearms world, ever. Since, I have been shooting BCM, DD, triarc, ADM, MI, and others. Those entry level firearms can be necessary to get people like me into the culture. But I agree, after entry, let's stop buying junk and start stepping up in quality and work on training our mindset and skills. Cheers friend! Great content as always!
Thanks for the kind words! And for the record, I'm not talking about folks buying a first gun. I'm more concerned about the folks who have these bizarre long-term spending habits.
You basically described the "poor" mindset. Being a poor isn't about how much money you have. It's how you spend it and how you rationalize and justify those decisions. Spending $3k on 4 or 5 shitty guns and not shooting them enough to know that they are shitty is obviously a poor choice. That same amount of money could have bought you 1 or 2 mid-tier guns, with accessories (optic, flashlight, sling, holster, etc) and maybe you'll have enough left over for ammo to practice and get good with those guns. Poor is a mindset.
My first AR I bought a mid-range weapon and just kept changing parts until I knew what i wanted. Now I have a Diamondback with LMT bolt and JHP captive spring, CMMG fire control group and DD furniture lol.
