Why are gun forums so vitriolic?

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Trey Veston

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This forum does a decent job of stepping in and cooling things down, but I'm on several forums for everything from ATVs to pickups and only on gun forums do I see so much sniping at each other and insults. I've had to walk away from all but a couple of gun forums and only this one and Cast Boolits are generally civil.

I have no idea why that is. On ATV forums, people disagree on the best tires, or best brand, or whatever. But rarely do people make personal attacks just because someone else thinks their ATV doesn't fit them. On another forum, people like to bag on Dodge pickups, but those who chime in and say they owned one and it was trouble-free don't get piled on and their manhood questioned.

Is it gun owners that are generally more grouchy and intolerant of others, or is it the subject matter of firearms that triggers strong emotional responses?

Perhaps it's the subject matter. A firearm is generally used to defend one's life and the lives of their loved ones, so the choice of a weapon may be much more intimate to some than what ATV they use in the woods.

I don't know. Thoughts?
 
Not a car forum guy are you? :D

Generally because anonymous people sometimes feel they can let all sense of decorum and polite upbringing fall by the wayside on the net. Some of it is cars and guns attract a fair amount of type A personality’s.

Some people are just jackholes.

Ehh whatareyagonnado.
 
There are certain products that I like, others that I despise, and others that are in between. Not everyone sees things the same way I do, and that's fine. I won't discuss pros or cons of anything I am not familiar with, and I try to avoid emotional investment in what others use. At the same time, I will discuss the BASIS for my opinions on certain products, if anyone wants to listen. As a civilian, I don't need to overly concern myself with what so-and-so does/uses/likes, etc. If someone is an adamant believer in using a rusty 25 caliber raven with ball ammo for SD, I wish him the best. At the end of the day, it's his skin on the game, not mine.
 
I have worked at 2 different dedicated gun shops and 1 pawnbroker all in different geographic areas.

Gun people (at least directly pertaining to guns) are some of the most opinionated folks on this planet. The will stick to their beliefs even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

It does not help that there is a lot of misinformation in the firearms world whether it be history, values, etc. Guns are one of those things that are worth more to the owner than any potential buyer and for some reason guns have this perceived intrinsic value whether it is monetary, sentimental, or some kind of mysterious preciousness.

Everyone thinks they either have what is best or they know what is best and WILL tell you what they think.

Then there are things like reloading and gunsmithing of which there is this feeling of danger all the time. Rightfully so too. From what I have observed I don't want anyone who is so uninformed about the very firearm they own making their own decisions about modifications or loads to use and then going about it themsleves. Even still though, there is this pedestal that reloading and gunsmithing are put on and only the worthy are so blessed with such arcane knowledge.

In general, I do not talk about guns (or cars) face to face with people I don't know. I just politely nod and even feed them a bit to be friendly. On here even, if someone disagrees with me, I generally stay silent. I may even Like their comment just because it sounded like a well thought out counter. I wont often try to defend myself. I believe what I believe. Period. If someone else believe something else or some other variation, I support that as long as they thought it out and know why they believe it. Rarely I will be swayed in a different direction.

I have, for the most part been disappointed with the so called professionals of this world so you can only imagine the open mind I have to keep when a bunch of non professionals are spouting their opinions on one of the few true passions that I have in this life.
 
I don’t know some of us just are not very high road there was a thread that was closed talking about how more people were killed with hammers then rifles but not one poster cared that 870 people died to make those numbers. Many of us are so concerned with keeping what we have we don’t even care about others.
 
I'm glad this forum is well moderated unlike some others that I rarely look at anymore. Often the most heated discussions stem from a suggestion of compromising the RTKBA.
I consider this a subject worth defending vigorously.
Other topics like brand X vs. brand Y, best caliber (meaning cartridge) and defense against bears, start out dumb and get dumber until locked.
In any case, bringing a discussion down to a personal level is never helpful.
 
Also keep in mind there have ALWAYS been folks who let their identity get wrapped up in some of their products they own. Sometimes it’s just because it’s the most expensive, sometimes it’s because it has or had the best reputation, sometimes it’s because a magazine told them so. This phenomenon is way older than the internet.

I do admit to enjoying people LOSE THEIR MIND over caliber debates. Makes me chuckle every time.
 
Not a car forum guy are you? :D

Generally because anonymous people sometimes feel they can let all sense of decorum and polite upbringing fall by the wayside on the net. Some of it is cars and guns attract a fair amount of type A personality’s.

Some people are just jackholes.

Ehh whatareyagonnado.

I thought I was asking an innocent question about shock absorbers on a 4x4 forum once. It was more intense than any 9mm v. .45 "discussion" I've ever seen.
 
I'm on several forums for everything from ATVs to pickups and ... I see so much sniping at each other and insults.
You should see Evinrude vs Mercury arguments on iboat forum, my other hobby after reloading (Beats Chevy vs Ford argument any day) :D - https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...sions/10637706-evinrude-vs-mercury-new-boater

Oh, and Chevy vs Ford arguments get UGLY (Lifelong Chevy family here and for retirement bought Ram Truck with EcoDiesel and traded Buick for Pacifica Touring S :eek: Don't worry Chevy fans, still have my Suburban and I am looking hard at the new Corvette C8 to replace our C5 Z06 < drool >).
 
Piss off. :D

J/K, but seriously, if you find this forum contentious, then there are a LOT of other forums that you would NOT want to participate in. Automotive, and especially performance automotive, is generally much, much worse IME. Also IME, one of the most civil gun forums on the internet is RFC. Especially the CZ/BRNO forum. I think the membership tends to be older there, and by that point in life, a lot of people have gotten to a more "seasoned" age, and they've figured out that it's not worth the trouble to be an a$$ to their fellow members.
 
Some that ask about things fail to realize that what works for one may not work for them.
Some that give info fail same if their info is said to not work for another.
Some of both take it too personal.
Egos upon egos.
If I tell someone what works for me I follow up with it may work for you it may not.
In all honesty it's no skin of my nose either way because the nature of these things are pretty much you have to figure it out on your own regardless of every bit of info out there.
Basics are just basics and success is how the individual works it out.
It's real simple. If I have knowledge I have no issue passing it along. Come back and say it didn't work and they tried this and that I'll help if I can. Come back and bitch then I don't care if you ever figure it out.
Advice and or info is only as good as it works for you. But there is enough out there that some combination will. It's all in what the individual puts into it.
 
Those are good questions. Perhaps because the "primary education" of the shooting community has been by marketing departments of Corporations. Therefore what has been taught is not consistent, does not have to be consistent, it can be magical thinking, but it has to sell products. And shooters eat it up. This creates heated philosophical debates because almost nothing is based on evidence that can be tested or replicated.

One only has to turn the pages of Cartridges of the World. There are page after page of essentially identical cartridges, only separated by infinitesimal differences. And yet, there are those who claim that each and every cartridge in those pages is unique, fulfills a dire need, and is significantly better than the essentially identical cartridges listed before, and after it.

Shooters also create their own origin stores and myths and get very upset when you challenge their delusions. So much of the technical data on primers, powders, steels, lifetimes, pressure limits, etc, are unknowns. It was only until cheap chronographs that individuals could test the cartridge velocities they read in print and determine the veracity of what they had read. I think that helped the collapse of the magnum era.. One of the highest authorities and greatest promoters of the magnum era was P.O. Ackley. For decades he was the technical editor of a popular magazine. And what he sold was snake oil. When his claims have been tested, decades later, the fundamental theories are proven false. But no one makes money educating the shooting community on what not to buy. So there is a lot of snake oil in the beliefs of the shooting society, not only from Ackley, but others, and it sticks. Agnotology rules the shooting community. I think we all went through the era which kinetic energy meant lethality. It still hangs on today, but the fact it stuck, and stayed stuck for a half century at least, just shows how much the knowledge of the shooting community is anecdotal and fundamentally based on advertising.
 
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