What makes a gun "tactical"?

[Phil3]

Having said all of that, if you can hit a distant target at an unknown distance , in field conditions, with gear that does not require a gun bearer to transport, my hat is off to you. Your have skills.

Well said. To my mind, those types are the real "tactical" crowd. As opposed to the huge throngs of "range ninjas" who give the word "tactical" a bad name. The guy who showed up to our public shoot in his Maserati with three Cheytac's (.408, .375 and something else) and proceeded to dump $200 worth of ammo (like 6 shots... on a 6" target at the 200 yard line comes to mind.

I know what you mean, but I do have say that sometimes people like to have interesting neat stuff, even if they can't fully use it. I surely can't stretch my sports car's legs in the San Francisco bay area any more than I can stretch the legs of a 338 Lapua Mag at my local 100 yard range. But, I still enjoy the car, because of how it feels and behaves at lesser speeds that I am forced to drive at. And pretty much the same when I fired two rounds out of a 338LM at the 100 yard range. The blast, noise, the look and feel of the gun, even the imposing cartridge was fun and satisfying.

If I was practical about it all, the only cartridge I would be firing is 22 rimfire, enough to reach out to 100 yards pretty well with good shooting skills. And I'd also be driving a Prius (not a chance).

Am I mall Ninja? As someone quickly closing in on retirement, balding, who wears jeans and tennis shoes, definitely not. Unlike the AR and Glock Rambo types that sometimes show up. As an aside, the 338LM belonged to a 60s something friend, who is about as innocuous as they come, arriving in a Ford truck.

Phil

 

[truman]

"beauty (tacticool) is in the eye of the beholder"

 

[Milo 2.0]

Wow, this looks like a fun thread. First off, I turn 55 in less than two weeks, and there is nothing tactical about my fat ass! But as I type, the five rifles I use, and are capable of hitting targets past 300 yards, are sitting in a rack off to my left. By their appearance they seem to have a more tactical look to them, they're definitely not BR guns. Upon closer inspection, two actions are single shot Lawton's, one 700 has a single shot follower, one regular 700 bottom metal, and a Stiller with a Wyatt's box mag, though in a tactical situation, I could see one loosing the top of his head trying to load the worthless thing. AS for scopes, non tactical also, mil reticles with moa turrets, two target dots, fail, one tactical NF.
I understand the tactical discipline, but to me tactical is more of a style or frame of mind. No one here can say some well made tactical gear can't be applied to BR, or hunting for that matter. On Snipers Hide, the talk of tactical gear, and what to buy will drive a guy bat shit crazy!
I don't compete in shooting, but if I did, I'd lean more toward a tac match than anything, the thought of hitting multiple targets at different ranges seems more appealing than ripping ten shots into an x in under a minute. I do have couple pairs of Levi cargo pants, non camo, folded neatly down in the gun room, just waiting for my debut, gosh I hope they don't shrink just sitting there as clothes have been known to do.

Did I just come across as defending tactical?

 

[jscandale]

The word "tactical" was added to a lot of gun related items in the 90s. It started out quite innocently to market items such as scopes to the proper end user who would be involved in tactical situations such as military and law enforcement.
Very shortly after the word was used, it was used as buzz word to sell stuff. Industry must continually reinvent itself to sell products. It also repeats itself every couple of decades on a fresh customer base.
Once the word "tactical" got attached to so many items, it actually drove the market into thinking that they too could be military operators of they just bought all this cool black stuff, rather than the market driving the industry.
Today, we have so many operator wannabes who have never served in anything other than an average civilian role (and respectably so), the market has gotten so saturated that it has just about run its course. I think the hype is a few years from being over. I hope.

JS

 

[chevytruck_83]

tactical is the new (match grade) that's been getting you old guys for years.

 

[Bert]

OK i will help a little. At least with the rifle. A tactical stock makes it easier to shoot the rifle from the postions comonly found in a tactical environment. Just like a BR stock is better on the bench than my tactical stock. So In a tactical match you may have to shoot off a barricade and then the next shots are prone or standing or over a blue plastic barrel. The scopes are setup with ret. to range targets and use hold over for drop and wind for quick multiple target engagement. In a BR rig you wouldn't want all the lines and dots of a tactical style scope. I have found my range finder in some conditions will not give a reading back off a 18"x24" steel target yet i can still range it with the ret.. And it is a lieca so not a cheap LRF. This style of shooting has helped my field skills when hunting in the fall. Say i have to prop the rifle on a fence post or a tree branch to make the shot. And while i would rather carry my hunting rifle because of weight it isn't as easy to make the sometimes interesting shots with as the tactical rifle.

Now for all the stupid @#$% that they are calling tactical wow people buy it. If people spent that money on ammo maybe they would be better shooters because that gear sure isn't helping.

 

[mikecr]

What makes a gun "tactical"?
Loading it with buckshot covers many tactics
Dialing in for a single cold bore shot to vital at 500yds+ covers some tactics
Subsonic, silenced(not supressed), and thermal scoped can cover a few tactics

I don't know, I suppose it depends on the 'tactic'

 

[jscandale]

The ultimate in tactical deployment!

JS

 

[jscandale]

Tactical decision...

JS

 

[Lapua40X]

Truly, as I see it, the term "tactical" (as it applies to the shooting sports) was originally simply a means of describing a style of firearm. A term that linked it to the style of firearm designed for specialized military use. Not unlike "Benchrest", "Safari", 'Hunting", "Target", "Mountain", etc. I believe it then grew to include some of the accessories which, although sometimes used with other types of firearms, were originally designed to support the tactical concept of ruggedness, ease of installation and adjustment, finishes that are serviceable without being pretty, etc. Now, as pointed out earlier, it has become a term used in marketing that generates attention to an item that really has no specific "tactical" purpose. I suspect that tactical T-shirts, those OD colored heavy weight varieties, are on the horizon.
When I was a kid, it seemed that everybody had to have a "squirrel" gun. You could, of course, hunt squirrels with anything from a .22 pistol to a shotgun (sling shots didn't qualify) and some of the guys who proudly boasted of having a squirrel gun had never seen a squirrel; they just shot holes in paper like the rest of us.

 

[chevytruck_83]

jscandale... wth? ;D that's good stuff.

 

[jscandale]

jscandale... wth? ;D that's good stuff.

This forum could use more comic relief. Lots of folks like to stick their chests out here for some reason. I like laughing. Speaking of laughing, here is something that is actually being produced by Mossberg...

JS

 

[PhulesAu]

The ultimate in tactical deployment!

JS

Best picture of mall ninjas to date!!

 

[Lapua40X]

The ultimate in tactical deployment!

JS

Best picture of mall ninjas to date!!

Every time I see this it reminds me of those shooting gallery moving target setups. This one might be called "Pick Off the Ninja" ;D

 

[Lapua40X]

jscandale... wth? ;D that's good stuff.

This forum could use more comic relief. Lots of folks like to stick their chests out here for some reason. I like laughing. Speaking of laughing, here is something that is actually being produced by Mossberg...

JS

Yeah, but it's a Zombie Apocalypse class rifle. A totally different class than tactical. Thanks for the laugh.
Now someone can start a thread "What makes a gun "Zombie Apocalypse"" .... :

 

[jscandale]

I think the zombie fad is waining fast. We all knew it would, but I think the time has finally begun to arrive...thank gooood.

JS

 

[rvn1968]

When the marketers can add "tactical" or "zombie" they can add 10-25% to the price.I also own a sailboat and it's the same as adding "marine". This is no shit,I've seen marine electrical tape,"standard 3M" with a 50% markup. I think it is called SUCKER marketing.

 

[mao0720]

What actually makes a Tactical rifle? The shooter. If a military sniper used a 6BR on a Bat action with a krieger barrel and a shehane tracker, then it would be a tactical rifle... For him. Any equipment put to a real world use, can be tactical. I think the one attribute that is common to all tactical equipment is ruggedness. The ability to survive in harsh conditions.

 

[jnyfeler]

lol, I'd call that "tactically challenged"!

jscandale... wth? ;D that's good stuff.

This forum could use more comic relief. Lots of folks like to stick their chests out here for some reason. I like laughing. Speaking of laughing, here is something that is actually being produced by Mossberg...

JS

 

[wwbrown]

I agree for the most part we, the gun buyer, have shown manufacture's that putting tactical in the name of a product allows for a significant increase in price or quantity sold usually both. Some of this is driven by some of the sites that people of all sorts frequent that have sniper in the domain name, many people read that this or that is required to go "outside the wire" and immediately buy it so someone does not look askance at them when or if they go to the range. This market measures in the 10's of thousands yearly.

The other side of the tactical market is for the people that use the equipment for protecting lives and assets be they private military contractors, LEO, members of armed forces and a few others. The equipment used by these folks must work and work every time, you get this equipment as close to "failure is not an option" as possible. No need to go into what methods we would use to achieve this high level or performance except to say anything that goes on the weapon platform must not increase the rate of failure, and have a real reason to be on the weapon. This market probably measures in the thousands yearly considering the shelf life of quality firearms.

For many of the people in this second category must meet all of the previous requirements with a minimum amount of additional weight. The weight issue was driven home to me when a Marine Sniper school instructor said "Ounces make pounds and pounds break backs." Many internet and gun shop experts will loudly proclaim that no US sniper should carry anything less than a 338 Lapua Magnum. The average range of engagement for many operations do not exceed 600 yards so do you want to carry 40 rounds of 338 or 40 rounds of 308 and a bottle or two of extra water when the temps are above 110° when you max range is going to be 600 yards. Saying nothing of the increased signature of a 338 vs. a 308.

Given the difference in market size if you were a manufacture wouldn't you focus on a market 10 times larger and not have to meet the high performance requirements required of the much smaller market.