Your honest opinion on 'tactical' marketing

[Alan]

It's mostly nonsense designed to separate people from their money. A 'tactical' flashlight is just a durable flashlight with aggressive branding. Tactical pens are overpriced pens. Some gear deserves the label, but 90% of it is marketing hype for regular products painted black and marked up 200%.

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

It's mostly nonsense designed to separate people from their money. A 'tactical' flashlight is just a durable flashlight with aggressive branding. Tactical pens are overpriced pens. Some gear deserves the label, but 90% of it is marketing hype for regular products painted black and marked up 200%.

Well, there are flashlights that you can use to start a fire, and the prices have really come down. Most of that tactical stuff is a joke though, especially if it requires being charged. Optics and the like. Great for range toys, but not practical in a survival situation.

I will take a paper map and a compass any day over a GPS, for example.

Knives? My bayonet or a good ole KBAR. Nothing that is “Tacticool”.

The biggest thing that I laugh at are Tacticool AR type shotguns. If I have to depend on a shotgun, it’s not gonna be fed by a detachable magazine. Give me a pump. The simpler the better.

Handguns? Nothing with an optic. Not for defense. Not for survival. Tritium irons? Yes. If one is going to have to use their stuff for actual fighting and survival, the simpler the better.

 

[WAYNO]

To me, tactical is just a marketing hype.
Makes the mall ninja types take notice.

I have an older 10/22, with a short and heavy bull barrel. Extremely accurate. Ruger called it the Target Tactical model at the time. There's nothing tactical about it, but the mall ninjas could buy it and not get kicked out of the club.



.

 

[Gary]

 Yeah, I actually agree with that more than I'd like to admit sometimes. Sure, there's some really good stuff out there but so much of it is just the same old basic things, just dressed up fancy with a much bigger price.

 

[MisterEd]

The word 'tactical' has been a 'scourge' on the gun 'community' as a whole.

It has created misconceptions, trends, ideas and opinions and largely in part has created a segment of the 'gun world' that never existed before; and in some ways has done more damage than ANY good for the gun community - except maybe for manufacturers and retailers who have used it to their advantage.

 

[SuperTrooper]

Stupid buzzword

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

I think @MisterEd is right! The word and marketing is a scourge. My 80 year old friend commented on one of my AR’s and said it looks “scared”. And then I showed her my WWII 1903A3.

I asked her which one would be more devastating with a single shot, and she said “the scared one”. I told her that my AR didn’t even have any of the “tactical” features. It was Plain Jane. Then I showed her the rounds for each. She was like “My God that’s a huge bullet,” when looking at the 30-06.

I had tried to get her into shooting with a pistol. A 22 cal FEG PPK clone. She couldn’t manipulate the safety or clear a misdeed because of arthritis.

Then we went looking for 10/22’s. The cheaper one was a a wood stocked standard plain ole 10/22. Then there was one with a synthetic stock and a takedown model with a threaded barrel. I showed her the magazines that were available and she asked “Is that even legal?”

She asked, “Why would I even need a magazine like that?” I told her because the 25 round mag was easier to load, and she won’t have to reload as frequently. And mag loading tools are a dime a dozen tor the “Banana Clips” as she called them.

She was judging every firearm by how it looked without regard to caliber or function. She is getting educated, albeit slowly.

“Tacticool” marketing just makes the uneducated and uninformed hate those of us “in the know” that actually use firearms even more. A Mini 14 vs an AR15 in .556 is no more or less lethal, but for some reason, mental retardation probably, the AR platform gets more hate.

 

[MisterEd]

In a similar sense I once showed a person who was asking me about 'mag bans' and was confused about the issue as she didn't really understand what the 'sense' of a mag ban was.

I brought over my CZ 75 with it's two 10 rounders (it is a pre 94 model) and one of my aftermarket 16 rounders and displayed how quickly I could swap the ten rounders and while not a gun owner she agreed that a 'ban' didn't make sense and that another 4-6 rounds in a mag made NO difference.

She however was looking at it in 'practical' and 'pragmatic' sense and NOT in the manner of a paranoid anti gun liberal.

 

[SuperTrooper]

I think @MisterEd is right! The word and marketing is a scourge. My 80 year old friend commented on one of my AR’s and said it looks “scared”. And then I showed her my WWII 1903A3.

I asked her which one would be more devastating with a single shot, and she said “the scared one”. I told her that my AR didn’t even have any of the “tactical” features. It was Plain Jane. Then I showed her the rounds for each. She was like “My God that’s a huge bullet,” when looking at the 30-06.

I had tried to get her into shooting with a pistol. A 22 cal FEG PPK clone. She couldn’t manipulate the safety or clear a misdeed because of arthritis.

Then we went looking for 10/22’s. The cheaper one was a a wood stocked standard plain ole 10/22. Then there was one with a synthetic stock and a takedown model with a threaded barrel. I showed her the magazines that were available and she asked “Is that even legal?”

She asked, “Why would I even need a magazine like that?” I told her because the 25 round mag was easier to load, and she won’t have to reload as frequently. And mag loading tools are a dime a dozen tor the “Banana Clips” as she called them.

She was judging every firearm by how it looked without regard to caliber or function. She is getting educated, albeit slowly.

“Tacticool” marketing just makes the uneducated and uninformed hate those of us “in the know”. That actually use firearms even more. A Mini 14 vs An AR15 in .556 is no more or less lethal, but for some reason, mental retardation probably, the AR platform gets more hate.

My dad's BAR comes to mind, looks like the hunting rifle it is - BUT, I absolutely feel badly for whatever/whomever is on the receiving end because as you well know, the 30-06 is a great way to reach out and touch someone.

 

[SuperTrooper]

In a similar sense I once showed a person who was asking me about 'mag bans' and was confused about the issue as she didn't really understand what the 'sense' of a mag ban was.

I brought over my CZ 75 with it's two 10 rounders (it is a pre 94 model) and one of my aftermarket 16 rounders and displayed how quickly I could swap the ten rounders and while not a gun owner she agreed that a 'ban' didn't make sense and that another 4-6 rounds in a mag made NO difference.

She however was looking at it in 'practical' and 'pragmatic' sense and NOT in the manner of a paranoid anti gun liberal.

My first semiautomatic pistol was a CZ75 that I bought in 1979. I sure miss that old girl. I also had a Tanfoglio TZ75 that was a fine pistol for a clone.

 

[MisterEd]

My CZ 75 came 'down the road' after owning a few semi auto pistols. I bought mine in about 2012 after trading off a compact IMI Baby Eagle to a friend who was begging me for it!

Well, I never really cared for the 'Compact size' and began to look for another 9mm but NOT wanting a plastic fantastic (I previously had a gen 1 Glock 17) I began to look at some of the popular models. I had always liked the Sig P226 and had shot one before and a local PS had one in great shape and also a CZ 75. I had heard about them but didn't really know much about them.

Well, I decided to think about it and decided on the SIG and went in to get it and it was gone ! SO I took another look at the at the CZ and got it - and glad I did! It's turned out to be one of the BEST semi auto pistols I have ever had (aside from 1911s!). It's been a GREAT shooter and very accurate. I put a set of high profile LPA sights and some Houge wraparounds on it and they turned it into a tackdriver!

Now, look closely at the slide and see if you can see something that doesn't 'look right' Hint - it turned out to be a mistake and verified by the factory!

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

My first semiautomatic pistol was a CZ75 that I bought in 1979. I sure miss that old girl. I also had a Tanfoglio TZ75 that was a fine pistol for a clone.

I have seen some fancy Tangfoglio’s.

My CZ 75 came 'down the road' after owning a few semi auto pistols. I bought mine in about 2012 after trading off a compact IMI Baby Eagle to a friend who was begging me for it!

Well, I never really cared for the 'Compact size' and began to look for another 9mm but NOT wanting a plastic fantastic (I previously had a gen 1 Glock 17) I began to look at some of the popular models. I had always liked the Sig P226 and had shot one before and a local PS had one in great shape and also a CZ 75. I had heard about them but didn't really know much about them.

Well, I decided to think about it and decided on the SIG and went in to get it and it was gone ! SO I took another look at the at the CZ and got it - and glad I did! It's turned out to be one of the BEST semi auto pistols I have ever had (aside from 1911s!). It's been a GREAT shooter and very accurate. I put a set of high profile LPA sights and some Houge wraparounds on it and they turned it into a tackdriver!

Now, look closely at the slide and see if you can see something that doesn't 'look right' Hint - it turned out to be a mistake and verified by the factory!

It says CZ 83!

 

[MisterEd]

It says CZ 83!

Actually CZ 85 B but you are essentially correct!

I was unaware of the correct model number when I bought it and later someone on a forum saw this and brought it up so I called CZ USA and they confirmed it was in fact a 75 BD that had been mismarked.

All serial numbers match so nothing was swapped out.

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

Actually CZ 85 B but you are essentially correct!

I was unaware of the correct model number when I bought it and later someone on a forum saw this and brought it up so I called CZ USA and they confirmed it was in fact a 75 BD that had been mismarked.

All serial numbers match so nothing was swapped out.

Cool, kinda rare like double struck coins.

 

[MisterEd]

Cool, kinda rare like double struck coins.

WEll, not too rare actually.

I asked CZ if they would consider swapping it out for a NEW CZ 75 BD and they said IF I were the original owner they would have considered it but not for me!