Gamers - good or bad for gun owners?

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armoredman

New member
On the other hand, I loved watching the gang banger types playing Hogans Alley with the light pistol at K-Mart when I was doing a pickup for the armored service I was working for, more a few years ago. They would hold the pistol less than an inch from the screen, and shoot with wild movements, missing often, (at a range of 1 inch), with loud screams and yells. I would always smile and nod as I walked by, "Keep practicing, son!":D
 
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sonick808

New member
It's just another avenue to get into guns, I see no problem with the game to guns connection. As long as it's a respectful approach and the seriousness is applied to the REAL guns, go for it

I was into games when i got my first marlin .22 golden mountie..... but it was star castle, pac man and defender ;) I'm 38 now and play PS3, Wii and all that stuff. I suck at first person shooters, ironically.
 
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DamienMARTYN

New member
I think that there are only a few people that are that much crazy,that they want to convert what they see in the video game into application...
Are you that crazy?
 
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Nike

New member
A lot of those CoD gamers are now serving on our front lines in war.

I'd try not to disparage them to much. The Navy was actively looking for strategy gamers to help out with it's own strategical war games.

The Air force prefers candidates of drone pilots have experience with computer simulators and games.
 
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BlueTrain

New member
What about cowboy action shooting? What about the quick draw/fast draw hobby of the 1950s and 1960s? What about paintball players today? I don't know the answers at all and I'm not entirely sure of the question, but it's worth asking.

Now, all of these shooting games have an influence on combat shooting, believe it or not. In the 1950s there continued to be a few people who thought a single action revolver, which by then no longer just meant Colt, was a viable defensive weapon. No doubt a few still do. But if the idea is to hit the target, then the idea has some merit, except that was not always the case.

Regarding video games, I am told that operating the gunner's station on an M1 tank is a virtual video game, in a manner of speaking. The loader has a lot more work to do but he also gets his own hatch and his personal machine gun.
 
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Hydrostatic Shock

New member
Heh, it's no big deal. I was into guns well before I started cod or mw2.

Sure there will be those who think they know about firearms because of gaming but there are also those who think they are experts because they have watched a lot of war movies.

I think its a generational thing. Most of those annoyed about gamers discussing firearms are probably the older crowd that have never played games and did not grow up with them. They(gamers) simply need a little education and experience. All it would take is one time shooting a real gun to understand that there is no comparison and the video games make it WAY EASIER than real life.

We need as many good people into firearms as possible. So IMO don't hate on the gun noobs because of what they don't know.
 
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Blackshirts

New member
It isn't just gamers who think they know everything about guns. Post a question here about a particular gun and you will get people who have never owned or fired one giving you "expert" advice because they read about it on the internet and watched YouTube videos. Gun enthusiasts are gun enthusiasts. It doesn't matter what sparked the interest.
 
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Microgunner

New member
I've noticed gamers coming into the shop and telling each other the benefits and pitfalls of this firearm over that firearm and then when they ask to hold one they almost always seem to be shocked by the weight of the actual firearm. The Thompson .45ACP carbine is always a particular shock to them.
 
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austinjking

New member
I was always a gun nut before I played games, but I did learn the names and types of guns from games that bothered to get it right. Its kind of cool to see a gun in real life that you use in a game, but I think its the same as seeing a nice car on the street, "Neat-o" and move on.
 
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BlueTrain

New member
My son played video games very enthusiastically. Once several years ago the armed forces had a display on the Mall in Washington, D.C., mainly for recruiting purposes, I suspect. I believe my son was in high school at the time, so it may have been ten years ago.

Naturally the Army Special Forces had a couple of tables covered with guns, including a German MP-40, surprisingly. They were all chained up but you could pick them up and handle them. He also commented how heavy it was. It was, too, rather heavier than an M4 carbine. That was also the first time I had seen an M240 but I was more interested in the Land-Rover on display, having owned one myself many years ago.

He joined the army a few years later but continued to play video games.
 
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Uncle Buck

New member
I have two nephews that really like to shoot. Both play video games and think they are the cats meow when it comes to shooting.

One has a very healthy respect for guns. He is always reading about his next gun. (Always changing his mid about it also. :confused:) He is the epitome of gun/range safety. He will call for a cease fire if an aircraft flies over head. (Sometimes they are very low)

The other nephew is all about killing and rapid fire. How fast can I shoot, how many (Things) do you think you could kill with this. This could penetrate 1/4 inch armor. This would stop a bad guy if you just nick him with it. How come the bullet does not explode lie in XYZ game?

I had a picnic and some friends brought over a young kid who had all the gangsta talk and moves down. He talked so much nonsense that I finally told him he was acting foolish and did not have a clue, he needed to get a real life and lay off the video games.

I understand that youngsters have to find their way of being cool or fitting in with their peer groups. That is why we, as adults, have a responsibility to teach, encourage and motivate our youngsters.
 
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DRBoyle

New member
Not a 'gamer' in anyway but came across some article at a time indicating some study that prolonged gaming use can lead to hypothalamic over-stimulation. Some online research quickly revealed that both the assertion and topic in general was well above any ability to actually understand it.
Only thing that was clear was that it wasn't good or that was at least a topic of debate for the experts. Recently some large organization of experts
decided that mobile phones might be an issue.

It’s like reading something electronically compared to a physical book. At least with a book you have to search for a source of light. That's where the differences between electronics and paper start. Might not take too much convincing that those differences are vast and many. Those new electronic readers sound like an admission of something.

The point being you be can sitting in front of those consoles that everyone seems to like for hours on end or out somewhere taking shots at plates or targets. Breathing in some fresh air and getting some excercise. Can't begin to imagine gaming can really be that good for you. Whether it turns out bad might be another thing for greater minds to decide .

Should add the important note that this isn't necessarily about 'shooter' games, but electronic gaming for any class of game.

Better to be a firearms enthusiast than a gamer.

0.02
 
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308Gunner

New member
I think a lot of it has to do with how much of an outside influence a younger person is getting besides the video game itself. If they've got a dad, uncle, friend, etc. who's taking them out and properly showing them shooting sports in between rounds of Call of Duty, I think they've got a much healthier chance of getting the right idea than if their info is coming from video games, TV, and the playground.

I'm a rather avid player of CoD myself, but I'd had family members show me the ropes of firearms since I was 10; long before I was really into shooter video games. I'd like to think I wouldn't be one of these uninformed kids that thinks an M4 behaves like it does in CoD, but I'm also glad I don't need to find out :p

The gun is another part of our culture that has a lot of myth wrapped around it. It's no different than the way kids view a car, or anything they can't yet get their hands on. Pile in on top of it trying to pass off as 'cool' in front of their friends and it's small wonder they hold a gun sideways their first time if they're uninitiated.

On a personal note, I think what irks me the most is the question, 'How do you think this gun would do in a zombie invasion?' I don't mind hearing it in jest or discussing it for the sake of amusement. But when some teen asks with a straight face, and wants to know how well it could kill a zombie, it's another one of those questions that just sounds they've been playing too many video games.
 
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Blackshirts

New member
Yes, that's another misconception video games have created. Everyone knows you must separate a zombies head from their body to stop it. Shooting it a couple times will do nothing, unless you get a straight bead across the neck severing it.
 
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MEATSAW

New member
I like video games because its competition, its self-awareness, and its a learning medium. Humans like to tell stories. Its in our DNA -- how we tell stories has changed over the centuries. Video games (the good ones) tell good stories AND they make you feel like part of it. Interactive history.

The one thing I have noticed is that gun myths are annoyingly common in video games. Kids are learning about guns virtually from some game designer who likely only has a couple pictures. I tell everyone to please don't try and learn anything about guns from video games.

Call of Duty or Battlefield might be what it takes to pique the interest of a kid who becomes a responsible lifelong shooter...

For me I like shooting guns virtually: I don't have to clean them and ammo is free!
 
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ssbo

New member
My bro used to be a compleate game fanatic and refused to shoot with me unless I agreed to pay for the whole trip :mad: and then when he finally went and after some safety lessons i handed him my old colt 1911 and smugly waited for him to screw up. Lets just say cordite musta been in his blood:D. He burned through a hundred box in no time hitting better then I usually do. Suffice to say he sold His Xbox and account for a CZ (still haven't forgiven him) and his PS3 for ammo:rolleyes:
 
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