Monday, April 16, 2007


There are far too many gunfights going on far too regularly. I could be in the minority here, but I tend to doubt it. Everyday, another one seems to start here and there. Never a winner, never a loser - yet the participants seem to think there can and will be a victor at some point and the battle will end.

I'm not talking about people who fight with guns, by the way. I'm talking about people who fight about guns.

Humankind has a lot of passion, and one thing we all seem to be passionate about are the choices we make... even to the point of fault. For example, it's often not enough to be satisfied with a choice; some feel that their choice has to be constantly reinforced as the "correct" one by telling someone else that their choice is wrong.

Visit a random forum that deals with firearms, and you'll doubtlessly find one of these endless battles.


The posters that believe the revolver is a simple, yet superior handgun will argue with the fans of the semi-automatic.

The semi-automatic fans argue amongst themselves about which is better, the 1911 or a more modern polymer handgun.

The polymer crowd argues the merits of Glock vs XD.

The Glock owners argue which caliber Glock is the best, 9mm vs .40.

The 9mm guys argue over which is the better choice, a G17 or a G19.

The ones that own a G19 argue about whether it's better to go with a fast & light 115gr or a slower & heavier 147gr.

And I'm sure at some point there's been a heated discussion over which brand of 147gr hollowpoint is the most effective.


It's one thing to be passionate about your choice of handgun, but it's also important to remember that your choice is exactly that: YOUR choice. One person's reasons for choosing to carry an HK do not necessarily have anything to with why another chooses to carry a Kimber.

When people choose to enter an internet gun battle, it should be for the right reason. It's good to offer knowledge and experience about a particular firearm, in order to help someone learn more about it. It's rather pointless to carry on a flame war, acting as if someone's dislike of your gun is akin to them spitting on your mother.

Or to paraphrase a succinct post I came across in one of those 12-page flame wars:

"What if people spent as much time writing to politicians, demanding fewer gun control laws, as they do yelling at each other about which gun is the best?"

It's worth considering.

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