5 ms·

I think hn and tech culture in general is sleeping on the rise of popular gun culture. Even with some significant headwinds on social media, gun culture influe

by nataz 5y ago

I think hn and tech culture in general is sleeping on the rise of popular gun culture. Even with some significant headwinds on social media, gun culture influencers have huge audiences, slick media production, and run the gambit from highly technical to meme fueled gif parties. It's a long way from the old stereotype of an old white Vietnam vet waxing poetic about 1911 .45s. Something else that has been interesting to watch has been how much video game culture acts as an on ramp to gun culture. The influence that games like modern warfare have on the real life gun community is fascinating. It makes sense since there are way more call of duty players than actual high speed operators, but still... If you think about it, it makes sense. Unlike a lot of other gear orientated technical fields, it's almost impossible for people to regularly employ their toys outside of a range setting. Everyone and their brother wants short barreled ARs, but how many people are actually clearing rooms. Same goes for recce rifles. How many folks out there on patrol? It's the equivalent of the guy who buys a land cruiser with a roof top tent and hood mounted jack, but just drives it to the mall on the weekends (and yet look how much the overland community has exploded over the past few years). This is very much an underserved hobby driven by culture and entertainment. It's almost entirely disconnected from actual military needs/requirements/drivers. I think there is a lot of growth in the industry, surprised it doesn't come up more often.

collegeburner 5y ago
Yeah fudds haven't made up the bulk of the gun scene since the 90s really. I hope that since people in video games can use use a wide variety of weapons we get some push back against banning specific gun types. Opening the MG registry would be really good and maybe this is a way to encourage it, same for removing suppressor and SBR regulations. Btw there is some intersection between the two, a lot of the guys behind the 3d-printed gun movement are moving to decentralized technologies for chat, video hosting, etc. because the gun-grabbers running mainstream platforms don't like them.
- JKCalhoun 5y ago
  Fudds. When I hear that I hear "n*-lover" or some other term meant to exclude anyone that isn't extremist/fanatical.
  - collegeburner 5y ago
    Uhh that's not what it means the way I've ever heard it used, sorry if you got that tho. How I've heard it and use it, it's for 2 groups: 1. People who don't care about stopping gun-grabbers as long as they can keep their .30-30 henry or remington 870 or whatever, because "nobody needs one of them plastic guns, they're for killing people!" 2. People who are generally ignorant/out-of-date/willfully uneducated. The "muh 2 world wars, stopping power, I use a .45 cause they don't make a 46" boomer-tier stuff. The "22 is the deadliest caliber because it tumbles around inside!" people. Edit: yeah, as 'nataz pointed out it's from Elmer Fudd. I'll tell you that most of the racist people I've met in the gun scene are fudds. The ones you'd call "fanatical" don't give a shit who you are as long as you're pro-gun and/or anti-govt.
    - JKCalhoun 5y ago
      Your #1 is exactly what I am referring to.
      - collegeburner 5y ago
        Ok then I'll disagree with your implication that anybody who cares about more than old hunting arms is "extremist/fanatical". I have no problem with having a term to refer to people who only care about their rights to own their arms. Also what did you mean by "n*-lover" and how do you think it relates to ppl who want more than hunting guns to remain legal? Tbh that makes it sound like you're flaim-bating.
        JKCalhoun 5y ago
        There is a dismissiveness from the extremists toward those who own guns but believe in regulating guns. As though if you claim to be one of us you can't also be nuanced and believe the "other side" have merit as well. Bump stocks. I think they should remain illegal. I'm a fudd. Fully automatic, military weapons should probably remain heavily regulated. I'm a fudd. This is what I'm describing. Dick Metcalf as editor of Guns and Ammo magazine suggested in an editorial that maybe some gun regulation is a good thing. He was out after that.
- dole 5y ago
  The 3D printed gun movement is fascinating in itself as far as the potential influence on the gun industry, society and legislation. I feel like there’s no way entities like the ATF (and Justice Dept) will be able to keep up in about 10 years as guns like the FGC-9 evolve and become more ubiquitous.
bjt2n3904 5y ago
> I think hn and tech culture in general is sleeping on the rise of popular gun culture. 2020 saw a significant rise in first time gun owners. The NSSF estimates 5+ million.
cronix 5y ago
> Even with some significant headwinds on social media, gun culture influencers have huge audiences, slick media production, and run the gambit from highly technical to meme fueled gif parties. As I read that, I heard the words and voice "If you've ever been ..." bounce around in my head. It's the start of a phrase uttered by a very popular YT gun channel on youtube before each video.
- nataz 5y ago
  For those curious, Garand Thumb. https://youtu.be/FlHsVQDbyx4 https://youtu.be/FlHsVQDbyx4
  - collegeburner 5y ago
    Lmao didn't expect to see flannel daddy here of all places. Other good channels y'all might enjoy: Gun Jesus' Forgotten Weapons is very historical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrfKGpvbEQXcbe68dzXgJuA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrfKGpvbEQXcbe68dzXgJuA Brandon Herrera mostly posts gun memes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTrSsPMmZavLbc3Ex7VhjDg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTrSsPMmZavLbc3Ex7VhjDg Hickock45 is mostly just shooting: https://www.youtube.com/user/hickok45 https://www.youtube.com/user/hickok45 Military Arms channel is more on the educational side: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ-qxagOkAmCEP-Tu6YliUQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ-qxagOkAmCEP-Tu6YliUQ Larry Vickers is great. The AFT recently raided him and took most of his cool stuff, and he's got cancer so probably not many new videos, but nice backlog: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0zNoCMMiPEAst0JrwUht0w https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0zNoCMMiPEAst0JrwUht0w Paul Harrell is very informative: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6QH13V2o68zynSa0hZy9uQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6QH13V2o68zynSa0hZy9uQ
    - cronix 5y ago
      Demolition Ranch: https://www.youtube.com/user/DemolitionRanch https://www.youtube.com/user/DemolitionRanch You just never know when the question "how many toilet seats would it take to stop a 50 cal round" might pop up at a fancy dinner party.
packetlost 5y ago
I own a gun, I considered buying more too for a time (before ammo got really expensive) and I have friends and acquaintances that really like guns, and have several. I really don't see how software/tech could improve the experience outside of marketing and maybe some wiki-style education, if that's where you're going with your comments. Part of the appeal is the purely mechanical aspects of firearms and another is the actual experience of shooting.
- collegeburner 5y ago
  Ballistics simulations could be a big one. More technical literature on how to design things like machine guns and complex operating systems would be helpful also, I think the most comprehensive I've read on the subject is Chinn's The Machine Gun but it's pretty old these days and doesn't cover some new stuff. 3D-printed and homemade gun scene is big and getting bigger and that's def got overlap with tech. Especially since it tends to get booted from mainstream platform and has mostly moved to stuff like LBRY and Rocket chat, helping to keep it up in the face of gun-grabber censorship would be good. Or using tech to expand the reach of gun-rights activism and make it easier to design, modify and print 3d-printed guns. Tons of ways if you want to get involved.
  - packetlost 5y ago
    The market for 3d-printed/self-made guns is a... rocky one legally. I personally wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole, but someone is probably willing to do it.

by nataz 5y ago

collegeburner 5y ago

Yeah fudds haven't made up the bulk of the gun scene since the 90s really. I hope that since people in video games can use use a wide variety of weapons we get some push back against banning specific gun types. Opening the MG registry would be really good and maybe this is a way to encourage it, same for removing suppressor and SBR regulations. Btw there is some intersection between the two, a lot of the guys behind the 3d-printed gun movement are moving to decentralized technologies for chat, video hosting, etc. because the gun-grabbers running mainstream platforms don't like them.

JKCalhoun 5y ago
Fudds. When I hear that I hear "n*-lover" or some other term meant to exclude anyone that isn't extremist/fanatical.
- collegeburner 5y ago
  Uhh that's not what it means the way I've ever heard it used, sorry if you got that tho. How I've heard it and use it, it's for 2 groups: 1. People who don't care about stopping gun-grabbers as long as they can keep their .30-30 henry or remington 870 or whatever, because "nobody needs one of them plastic guns, they're for killing people!" 2. People who are generally ignorant/out-of-date/willfully uneducated. The "muh 2 world wars, stopping power, I use a .45 cause they don't make a 46" boomer-tier stuff. The "22 is the deadliest caliber because it tumbles around inside!" people. Edit: yeah, as 'nataz pointed out it's from Elmer Fudd. I'll tell you that most of the racist people I've met in the gun scene are fudds. The ones you'd call "fanatical" don't give a shit who you are as long as you're pro-gun and/or anti-govt.
  - JKCalhoun 5y ago
    Your #1 is exactly what I am referring to.
    - collegeburner 5y ago
      Ok then I'll disagree with your implication that anybody who cares about more than old hunting arms is "extremist/fanatical". I have no problem with having a term to refer to people who only care about their rights to own their arms. Also what did you mean by "n*-lover" and how do you think it relates to ppl who want more than hunting guns to remain legal? Tbh that makes it sound like you're flaim-bating.
      - JKCalhoun 5y ago
        There is a dismissiveness from the extremists toward those who own guns but believe in regulating guns. As though if you claim to be one of us you can't also be nuanced and believe the "other side" have merit as well. Bump stocks. I think they should remain illegal. I'm a fudd. Fully automatic, military weapons should probably remain heavily regulated. I'm a fudd. This is what I'm describing. Dick Metcalf as editor of Guns and Ammo magazine suggested in an editorial that maybe some gun regulation is a good thing. He was out after that.
dole 5y ago
The 3D printed gun movement is fascinating in itself as far as the potential influence on the gun industry, society and legislation. I feel like there’s no way entities like the ATF (and Justice Dept) will be able to keep up in about 10 years as guns like the FGC-9 evolve and become more ubiquitous.

bjt2n3904 5y ago

> I think hn and tech culture in general is sleeping on the rise of popular gun culture. 2020 saw a significant rise in first time gun owners. The NSSF estimates 5+ million.

cronix 5y ago

> Even with some significant headwinds on social media, gun culture influencers have huge audiences, slick media production, and run the gambit from highly technical to meme fueled gif parties. As I read that, I heard the words and voice "If you've ever been ..." bounce around in my head. It's the start of a phrase uttered by a very popular YT gun channel on youtube before each video.

nataz 5y ago
For those curious, Garand Thumb. https://youtu.be/FlHsVQDbyx4 https://youtu.be/FlHsVQDbyx4
- collegeburner 5y ago
  Lmao didn't expect to see flannel daddy here of all places. Other good channels y'all might enjoy: Gun Jesus' Forgotten Weapons is very historical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrfKGpvbEQXcbe68dzXgJuA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrfKGpvbEQXcbe68dzXgJuA Brandon Herrera mostly posts gun memes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTrSsPMmZavLbc3Ex7VhjDg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTrSsPMmZavLbc3Ex7VhjDg Hickock45 is mostly just shooting: https://www.youtube.com/user/hickok45 https://www.youtube.com/user/hickok45 Military Arms channel is more on the educational side: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ-qxagOkAmCEP-Tu6YliUQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ-qxagOkAmCEP-Tu6YliUQ Larry Vickers is great. The AFT recently raided him and took most of his cool stuff, and he's got cancer so probably not many new videos, but nice backlog: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0zNoCMMiPEAst0JrwUht0w https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0zNoCMMiPEAst0JrwUht0w Paul Harrell is very informative: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6QH13V2o68zynSa0hZy9uQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6QH13V2o68zynSa0hZy9uQ
  - cronix 5y ago
    Demolition Ranch: https://www.youtube.com/user/DemolitionRanch https://www.youtube.com/user/DemolitionRanch You just never know when the question "how many toilet seats would it take to stop a 50 cal round" might pop up at a fancy dinner party.

packetlost 5y ago

I own a gun, I considered buying more too for a time (before ammo got really expensive) and I have friends and acquaintances that really like guns, and have several. I really don't see how software/tech could improve the experience outside of marketing and maybe some wiki-style education, if that's where you're going with your comments. Part of the appeal is the purely mechanical aspects of firearms and another is the actual experience of shooting.

collegeburner 5y ago
Ballistics simulations could be a big one. More technical literature on how to design things like machine guns and complex operating systems would be helpful also, I think the most comprehensive I've read on the subject is Chinn's The Machine Gun but it's pretty old these days and doesn't cover some new stuff. 3D-printed and homemade gun scene is big and getting bigger and that's def got overlap with tech. Especially since it tends to get booted from mainstream platform and has mostly moved to stuff like LBRY and Rocket chat, helping to keep it up in the face of gun-grabber censorship would be good. Or using tech to expand the reach of gun-rights activism and make it easier to design, modify and print 3d-printed guns. Tons of ways if you want to get involved.
- packetlost 5y ago
  The market for 3d-printed/self-made guns is a... rocky one legally. I personally wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole, but someone is probably willing to do it.