What obscure thing you enjoy do you never get to talk about?
Loosely inspired by how much people seemed to enjoy a similar question I asked on Games about unappreciated titles. But answers don't have to be media related (they still can be though).
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I should probably add something of my own. I like failed firearms designs that had some features that makes them objectively better if you overlook all the downsides. Or generally anything where one person made it because they thought it was cool and no one with better judgement stopped them.
Like the Gyrojet pistols, unlike traditional pistols they used rocket projectiles. This meant two major things one the guns didn't need to have any pressure bearing parts and could be made incredibly light compared to normal pistols (.88lb/.4kg vs ~2.2lbs/~1kg), and the down side they reached maximum speed much slower than normal cartridges.
This meant that in practical terms a target close enough might not give the rocket sufficient time to accelerate to effective speed and wind would have a greater effect on the projectile. Hence they don't make them anymore.
The PN 90 is used a lot by the movie industry because it ejects casings downwards so they do not hit the other actor's or the filming crew's faces. It was originally made as a relatively small firearm that can penetrate body armour to be used by the truck drivers and guards in case the Soviets invaded and dropped well armoured paratroopers behind the front lines.
I'm a big lover of the engineering and design of firearms, but think we're ridiculously over-armed in the US. Puts me in an odd position; I'm prior service - I look at weapons as weapons. Some people see them as fetishes and it gives me the creeps.
If you're interested in both engineering and design you should check out Forgotten Weapons if you haven't yet. He does disassemblies and summarizes the history of firearms.
oh yeah, love Ian and the work he's done for over a decade.
I've probably been watching him for at least 7 years now. Met him once too, really cool dude if you ever get the chance.
I would LOVE to meet him, if just to ask: does it ever bother you, the disconnect between responsible gun ownership, historical preservation, and outright firearms idolization?
He accepts questions for his q&a on patreon about every month. My take is that for many they're rarely used items that are prolifically displayed (often inaccurately) in media, leading to harmful myths like not needing to aim shotguns. Plus in English we tend to exaggerate things so when people hear stories they can walk away with misconceptions about the true extent of their abilities.
In 2021, there were a total of 48,830 firearm deaths.
That's not a media myth, it's a fact. Our country has become an free fire warzone and I didn't sign up for this shit.
As of september there were over 50 school shootings just this year.
Myths? Misconceptions? Please, don't. Just don't. That's an incredibly poor way to respond mate. Dead kids, dead innocents, deserve better than 'it's just a myth'.
This is my problem with firearms. They're so nifty that people lose their fucking minds when it comes to being responsible owners. Which then makes it ridiculously easy for people who can't access them legally access them anyway. And I'm fucking tired of adults acting like children when it comes to weapons.
I think you've misinterpreted my message. I was talking about people viewing them as magic talismans rather physical objects.
My mentioning of myths was in reference to things like the notion that shotguns have sufficient spread as to not require aiming (which could lead to disastrous consequences) not a denial of any events.
My reference to being rarely used is on an individual scale. A lot of people own firearms that they rarely if ever use.
so with 400m firearms, 330m potential users, their interactions with firearms resulted in 40,000 dead people - this isn't an accounting of all the gun violence, just the deaths.
sir. 40,000 dead people. Double the death count of the battle of Antietam on both sides. It's tenfold the deaths on d-day.
And we're doing it every fucking year. Gun violence has eclipsed car accidents as the number one killer of children.
I'm trying to interpret what you're asserting but the I feel strongly the premise is ignored in these discussions and it's more of the same - we respect firearms for different reasons. I respect them as dangerous weapons our society is overly fascinated with and it's bothering me that more people don't share that respect.
Incredibly, no one discusses the real threat to firearms ownership, and that's the inevitable backlash that will result in 'more firearms is the answer to firearms violence' - this childish idea that no one would ever take your toys, no matter how bad the carnage gets.
Kinda feels like we were both on Point A and now we're at Point C but neither of us knows what happened to Point B. I wasn't trying to argue with you if that was an impression I gave off. I'd be more interested in your stance on DI vs Piston or your favorite operating systems.
I think roller delayed blowback is among the most graceful solutions.
was a 90s soldier so only messed with DI rifles and crew served stuff. I wouldn't mind owning a piston driven rifle like a g3, I like those 70s and 80s hk setups.
irix
os2/warp
solaris 5.5