Everything I hate about plastic guns in one picture

[Dewald]

small question for you @Dewald and off topic, but you mention commercial culling of springbok and blesbok for the export market. I suppose this is for the meat? Or is it the skins that are the main goal? In case of the former, is this for export to neighbouring African countries, or rather outside of Africa?

@Vertigo, it is indeed for the venison. The skins have almost no value, although large tanneries will buy some for the curio market.

Some of the venison is used in SAs big cities. A lot goes to Europe. I’m not sure of all the end destinations involved. It’s a large operation with shooting vehicles, cooltrucks, skinning teams, meat inspecters and a state vet that certifies the meat as safe.

 

[MTA]

I had a good laugh at your post and agree with your sentiments 100%. Thanks for a good bit of tongue in cheek humour, with a lot of truth in it Rookhawk.

The two scenarios where I’m happy to shoot a plastic and stainless rifle is when culling at night. As in commercial culling of 2000 springbuck and blesbuck for the export market, where a barrel lasts a season. Id much rather do that to a Tikka Super Varmint .243, than a commercial FN Mauser in .250 Savage. The Tikka, HiLift Jack, and the wheel spanner fall in the same category. Pictures below.

View attachment 518856
View attachment 518857

The second scenario is following up wounded game in the rain and mud, this time of year in northern Natal, when 200mm in 48h is not unheard of. The thorn scrubs are now at there thickests as well, and here I enjoy my .375 Ruger and especially my .416 Ruger.

View attachment 518858

Lastly baiting bushpig at night in the sugarcane. More often than not the night has a fine drizzle and a gun gets soaked. Here I enjoy my Tikka CTR .308 with a thermal. The name of the game is super selective shooting, and you want to leave your mature sow to bring in new boars. The thermal is of great help for accurate target identification.

View attachment 518862

I have the same rifle in .375 Ruger. Once I got it home and shot it, my first thought was I need one of these in .416 Ruger. Ive got a gunbroker search set for ".416 Ruger African" and ".416 Ruger Alaskan" that run everyday. My only criticism is the factory LOP is much too short for me.

The .375 is such a fun round to shoot. Cant wait to see how it performs on DG in a few years.

 

[nztimb]

As an X-er the age gap between us is probably very small. The differences in societal values between the generations have never been broader in the history of generations.

If you want to be happy, wealthy, and successful, surround yourself with boomers and Gen-Xers and do everything they have done to accumulate wealth. Listen to stories of the "greatest generation" and raise your family exactly that way to be happy.

While my gun preferences above are meant to be humorous as they are hyperbolic, Pay attention to the implied vices I mention whether you own plastic guns or not.

The real world is going to swallow the Y and Z generation and spit out the bones due to their overwhelming moral and ethical shortcomings. That is, unless they vote for totalitarianism to "make things fair" which is to say "destroy all values since having them yourself is unreasonable, therefore lets eat the laudable".

Glad you're here. Surround yourself with good people everywhere you go, regardless of age differences that may occur.

I had to check on what the generation definitions are which is something I never bothered about to find out that I am a Boomer 1* which I had never heard about but may explain my absolutr dedication to wood and steel and the nicer the better.

 

[Newboomer]

I had a good laugh at your post and agree with your sentiments 100%. Thanks for a good bit of tongue in cheek humour, with a lot of truth in it Rookhawk.

The two scenarios where I’m happy to shoot a plastic and stainless rifle is when culling at night. As in commercial culling of 2000 springbuck and blesbuck for the export market, where a barrel lasts a season. Id much rather do that to a Tikka Super Varmint .243, than a commercial FN Mauser in .250 Savage. The Tikka, HiLift Jack, and the wheel spanner fall in the same category. Pictures below.

View attachment 518856
View attachment 518857

The second scenario is following up wounded game in the rain and mud, this time of year in northern Natal, when 200mm in 48h is not unheard of. The thorn scrubs are now at there thickests as well, and here I enjoy my .375 Ruger and especially my .416 Ruger.

View attachment 518858

Lastly baiting bushpig at night in the sugarcane. More often than not the night has a fine drizzle and a gun gets soaked. Here I enjoy my Tikka CTR .308 with a thermal. The name of the game is super selective shooting, and you want to leave your mature sow to bring in new boars. The thermal is of great help for accurate target identification.

View attachment 518862

I agree pretty much with Rookhawk. I guess I'm a boomer(born 1940) and grew up before plastic and stainless. I have to admit to owning some plastic in the form of a Glock and an AR. Glock lives in my vehicles and is strictly for high cap protection, the AR for home defense and plinking. I did use both for awhile in 3 gun but switched to 1911(my first and everlasting love).

I am not a fan of plastic at all, but I don't begrudge anyone their choice of firearm. All have their uses and some fill that use better than others. The main thing is how reliable and accurate they are. If a 20k + beauty fails in the face of a charge it's worthless, where if a basic lever guide gun goes bang it's priceless. Could be difference between the hunter or the hunted being the trophy.

I like plain and simple. The fewer doodads, the less to fail. Walnut and blue steel with a simple low power scope because the old eyes ain't what they used to be. I do like laminated wood stocks and stainless barrels. I think they make a nice combination for looks and ability to withstand different conditions. That's my concession to modernity.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I do LOVE simple deep blued steel and walnut stocks on rifles. My Browning A Bolt is blue/walnut and I've used it all kinds of BAD weather deer and elk hunting. My CZs and Whitworths are also blue/walnut. That said, I do have two synthetic stocked hunting rifles (one stainless), a couple of .22s and my beloved Glocks. I guess I've always bought firearms with a general purpose in mind and not ever thought about what somebody might think about them. Still don't.

 

[Tucketed]

I love beautiful wood, all of my double shotguns and all but two rifles wear wood. My go to rifle though is a Winchester Extreme Weather decked in plastic and my go to turkey and duck shotguns wear Bennelli plastic. Of course my AR is plastic. Love them all but like a beautiful woman they look best all dressed up and a beautiful wood stock is certainly all dressed up.

 

[Alistair]

Personally I think there's some benefits to plastic guns, in the same way that there's some benefit to plastic cutlery, bic biros, beater cars and beater watches.

Namely, get the absolute basics of the task at hand done without endangering things you give even the slightest toss about. I might not like cheap, plasticky firearms much and I might not care about 'em, but that's a feature, not a bug if I'm gonna use them as a tool and put minimal effort into maintaining them.

Purely disposable, soulless objects that just work. Having been upset with rust spots on nice bluing and dings to nice walnut a few times in the past, and having spent plenty of time meticulously cleaning shiny rifles and cars only to get them dirty again, I can't deny that there's a benefit to that.

That one is an especially egregious example of the breed though, I must admit.

 

[geoff rath]

I had to check on what the generation definitions are which is something I never bothered about to find out that I am a Boomer 1* which I had never heard about but may explain my absolutr dedication to wood and steel and the nicer the better. View attachment 518880

Now I know, a "boomer 1", thanks, Von Gruff. Only "plastic" item is a Steyr Scout, in 308

 

[mark-hunter]

Interestingly, black rifles, or ar15 guns, I never considered as "plastic".
They are made in a way they are meant to be, and they are not yesterday inventions.
To me, an ar15 today, is special kind of classic. (and I have one on order). ar15 was invented before I was born. Classic.

Another example is polymer frame striker fire pistol, (provided it looks good). There is noting new here.
They are invented long time ago.
Glock is already classic, since the 80-ies.. I have xdm.

And then, tactical.
I have black tikka t3 tac, with polymer stock, it still looks like rifle. (the only polymer stock in my safe so far). Handles fine, looks like rifle, accurate.

All the rest in my safe is classic. mostly wood and steel.

But modern style budget rifles, sharp futuristic edges, simple push feeds, plastic stocks, no mechanical sights, loose bolts, 500 usd or less values, plastic mags (of reduced capacity), cheap trigger safeties.... that turns my stomack up. Without question, they will work, and they will be accurate. Modern accuracy is cheap, thank to cnc technology and floating barrels, but thats about it. No pride in ownership, no joy in handling. No joy in collecting.

 

[503]

Now I want to cry for carrying a glock at work.....

Haha


503

 

[nztimb]

Now I know, a "boomer 1", thanks, Von Gruff. Only "plastic" item is a Steyr Scout, in 308

Never had a plastic one but then I have built the vast majority of all rifles I have ever had, with shotguns and pistols all being traditional wood and steel as well.

 

[Inline6]

It chaps my hide a bit as we start to abuse terms as a society. Gunsmith (armorer), Expert (enthusiast), Craftsman (apprentice), Girl (Boy), Quality (adequate), Fancy (basic), Rich (comfortable).

Words are tools and we are really struggling as a culture with doublespeak. Once we debase the definitions to make them anything we want them to be, we can't even weigh or measure something as better or worse.

I met an FFL manufacturer the other day that got in front of a room of 200 people stating he is a master gunsmith. He does cerokote. He builds ARs. He doesn't own a mill nor a lathe. He has never used rust bluing salts. He cannot checker. He cannot head a stock to an action. He's been in business 3 years at most.

It's sort of similar to the kids at the car dealerships calling themselves master mechanics because they can read an OBDII display and install the module based on an error code. Can they build or restore a vehicle? No.

Word and skill inflation now runs so high we have to change titles because new hires find all our old titles so condescending. "Intern" is now "seasonal associate". Junior Salesperson is now "Sales Executive". Manager is now "Vice President". It may sound like being sidetracked, but it is the same as the "armorer" versus "Master gunsmith".

View attachment 518845

Why can he not be a master in his rifle of choice?

I can only speak from personal experience. I am not a master smith, I have and do cut my own barrels. Barrels that have shot in the 0s. I have also put together several black rifles, none I have put together have shot .25MOA. I have had them built by people who are masters at their craft and shot many sub .25moa groups with them 4" at 1200 yards. I also know a good many smith's that do not mess with wood period, it is not conducive to accuracy. Maybe these gentleman are not "Master Gunsmiths" by your definition. Understand that, just realize your master may not have the skills required to make a modern platform run smooth, fast, accurate, and without malfunction.

I get where you are coming from, I personally think it is a slippery slope when we discount people knowledge based on our perceptions.

My Grandfather once told me a story that might be fitting. (God I sound like an old person) it was early 50s he and his partner were changing the brakes on a car. They were fighting it for over an hour trying to get them off. A little boy riding a bike stop and watched them. In a few minutes he spoke up and told them how to do it. Partner told him to get out of there he did not know what the hell he was talking about he was too young. My grandfather told him to cool it and listen to what the boy had to say. What the boy told them worked it was off in 5 mins. My grandfather asked how he knew. The boy said, he had just helped his father over the weekend change a set on the same kind of car.

Maybe that applies here? Maybe no one gets anything out of this. All I can say following that advice as worked for me more than once in life.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

It can be refreshing hunting with a gun in which you do not care about the appearance.

 

[503]

I had to check on what the generation definitions are which is something I never bothered about to find out that I am a Boomer 1* which I had never heard about but may explain my absolutr dedication to wood and steel and the nicer the better. View attachment 518880

Thanks for reminding me that technically I'm a millennial. Well I'm off to hang myself.

Cheers

503

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Thanks for reminding me that technically I'm a millennial. Well I'm off to hang myself.

Cheers

503

Can I use the rope when your through? I am Gen Z.

 

[rookhawk]

It can be refreshing hunting with a gun in which you do not care about the appearance.

I agree. Can I borrow your nice guns?

 

[503]

Can I use the rope when your through? I am Gen Z.

Form a line, there's plenty of rope for all the millennials and Z's here haha.

 

[Red Leg]

I have voiced my love for fine rifles stocked in lovely (correct grain flow) wood here very often. My SxS and OU shotguns are all simply wonderful things. My most recent African hunt was with my Rigby .275. But I also appreciate practicality and utility. My repel boarders weapon here on our place is my DDM4 (supplemented by a rifle carrying a thermal). The Daniel Defense is suppressed as well. My two go anywhere, shoot anything rifles are both synthetic stocked R8s. One is a professional in .375. The other is a success configured as a .257 Weatherby. On the other hand, I shot my last deer, an Axis, with my Bradshaw 7x65R.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I agree. Can I borrow your nice guns?

You could borrow anything I have. I do enjoy hunting with and using my nice guns. Holding them just makes me smile, and using them even more so.
It’s just that while chasing rabbits out of a hedge thicket I’d rather not expose them to it.
FYI my beater guns are mostly ruined Winchester that have lost their collectors value and retain all their usefulness.

 

[503]

Sometimes come down to economics too. Rather spend less on a rifle than works just as well and is just as accurate but maybe not as pretty but have more $$ for hunting.

Cheers

503