Unsolicited Advice

C

C7AR15

New member
I am at the range with A Sig 9mm. I have a dozen shots on target - low left, but in tight group. The Range Officer (age 70+) comes over and tells me that I'm jerking the trigger. I tell him that's not the problem," I need adjustable sights.
On my next target, I aim high and right and shoot mostly 9s and 10s.
He comes back to my station and says "Thats more like it". So I tell him that I shot high and right and thats why my results improved.
Now he tells me to pull my right leg back , when shooting! So I tell him that I don't agree with his advice. Now his nose is bent out of shape and he's wrecking my day.

I'm a 58 year old white guy, and have been shooting for 40 years. Why is it that old white guys 70+ think that everything that comes out of their mouth is liquid gold? ? And that's my rant for the day.
 
R

rickyrick

New member
Unsolicited advice is fairly common in the shooting culture.
It's full of "I'm better than you" types
On the other hand, he could genuinely want to help. More likely alpha type behavior tho.
 
B

Brian Pfleuger

Moderator Emeritus
Not just "old white guys" and not just the gun culture.

It's human nature, I'm afraid. You'll see it anywhere people congregate, on any sort of discussion forum from computers to guns to infertility to politics and in every age, socio-economic status and race/creed/ethnicity/gender/etc.
 
F

FITASC

New member
I'm a 58 year old white guy, and have been shooting for 40 years. Why is it that old white guys 70+ think that everything that comes out of their mouth is liquid gold? ? And that's my rant for the day.
Click to expand...

Remember that when some 20-something tells you the same........;):p:D
 
9

9x45

New member
Simple, let the geezer put a few rounds thru your gun, what's he gonna say when he gets the same results? You didn't say what distance you were at, or how far off center, but that seems like a deviation for a factory pistol. And just because he offered advice, doesn't mean he knows anything. I see this all the time in compeititon
 
P

Pahoo

New member
It's a part of our world keep it on the sunny-side !!

I'm a 58 year old white guy, and have been shooting for 40 years. Why is it that old white guys 70+ think that everything that comes out of their mouth is liquid gold? ? And that's my rant for the day.
Click to expand...
Yes and some of these white guys, work in gun stores. They seem to hang around private ranges more than public ones. You can even tell that it's coming just by the way they walk up to your bench. Unless it's safety related, I never initiate any advice. I like to enjoy the day even when guys like this, obliged like to share their wisdom with you. ... :mad:

I find that it's not so much what they say but how they say it. I have great responses for jerks like this. The guys with real experience have a better sense of timing and communications skills. ..... :rolleyes:

As Rambo would say; "Let it go !!!"

Be Safe !!!
 
C

C7AR15

New member
LOL

FITASC and JimPage

Thanks for those funny answers:):)

You're right about the 20 year olds, my nieces and nephews think I am some kind of dinosaur from the 70s.
 
N

Nathan

New member
Racist! :D

I have noticed the shooting world has a lot of unsolicited advice in it. It is a way of being friendly, until it is driven by ego.

I offered a guy with Cotten balls in his ears ear plugs....he got mad.

I offered a guy help clearing his "cleared" ar, he got mad.

I offered to tune a 1911 extractor. When I took the slide apart, the guy was nervous. When I bend his extractor, he thought I was breaking his gun. When I put it back together and I went from 1:5 stove pipes to 1:50 ftf, ...I got it too tight, he was a wreck and would let me loosen it up....:confused: Honestly, I now feel this as a mistake. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

So, I am the problem. I have learned and now try to limit my advice to keep people from killing me!
 
M

ms6852

New member
Unsolicited advice is well meant, but those with ultra high egos or thin skinned will never take it. I remember a time at the range when this younger person next to my bench was trying to replace his A2 front sight with a modular gas block. He had removed the roll pin but the cross pins were still in place. I tried to tell him but he very curtly cut me off and said he knew what he was doing. Needless to say the gas tube was damage when he started using a screw driver between the A2 front sight opening to twist it off the barrel.

There's a quote and I para phrase since I do not remember but it goes like this: The wise man will make his own decisions, and the ignorant will follow public opinion".

Oh btw, you are jerking the trigger:D:D:D:D
 
M

mag1911

New member
I know a thing or two but try to keep both of them to myself, unless I think they need help with one of them.:D
 
S

Salmoneye

New member
Here's my unsolicited advice...

By aiming high right, that did nothing to prove that you were not 'jerking the trigger'...

Not saying you were, but changing the POA did nothing to prove/disprove that...
 
Z

zincwarrior

New member
Unsolicited advice is well meant
Click to expand...

Sometimes it is.

Personally, I STRONGLY fight the urge to provide helpful advice to others, unless its a safety issue, or they directly ask me. I've been wrong before and I am not egotistical to say I'm a hack with lots of better shooters than I. If someone is reaching out I will gladly help, because they've decided I'm sufficiently skilled to be helpful.
 
B

Baba Louie

New member
An RSO is there for range safety control when on line.
Were you "un-safe" in any way shape or form? (I might have asked him with a smile)

I do understand someone or something breaking the 'zone of focus' zen thing at times when shooting. Mildly annoying to be pulled back to reality and lose that focus momentarily.

Maybe.

Also feels good to get right back into the 'zone' after such an interruption. Shows, oh, I dunno, maturity? Satisfaction of Control? A back to work attitude?

It's all good. Nice to be able to just stop, set the gun down and focus on the person intently for a few minutes, just as intently as your previous few minutes of shooting. Don't say a word. Just focus on the person talking. Your silence will be deafening. and smile while you're listening. Maybe nod yes occasionally, maybe a no shake now and then... You might learn something. I know, they will.

Well, I know I would.
as they turn to walk away, say Thank You or Gracias
and then commence to get back into the zone, safely.

But yeah, unsolicited advice...
those people who think they know everything, really annoy those of us who do... ya know? ;)
 
G

g.willikers

New member
A very good piece of advice from a very wise fellow, learned long ago:
The only person yer obliged to educate is yerself.
Unless a fellow shooter is doing, or about to do, something dangerous to others, I don't interfere.
 
G

Grizz12

New member
I had something similar happen once and I asked the guy to use his phone and video my shooting stance while I popped off a few rounds. He did and he was right, glad I listened to him
 
B

buck460XVR

New member
Originally posted by Salmoneye:


By aiming high right, that did nothing to prove that you were not 'jerking the trigger'...

Not saying you were, but changing the POA did nothing to prove/disprove that...
Click to expand...

First thing that entered my mind too when I first read the OP.

I also wondered if it was just the groups on the target or if the R.O. actually spent time watching the OP and his technique for a while before giving his advice. The advice about the leg is just a standard "Weaver" stance thing, a stance most civilian shooters find the best for them. The R.O. could very well be knowledgeable and was sincere in his advice giving and the O.P. may have very well benefited from the advice given. Or the R.O. could just have an attitude, thinks he knows it all, and spends his whole day telling others what they are doing wrong. Hard to tell from the little info we were given. This statement tho, tells me that someone has an attitude, so it could very well have been a "liquid gold" standoff.........

Originally posted by C7AR15:

So I tell him that I don't agree with his advice. Now his nose is bent out of shape and he's wrecking my day.

I'm a 58 year old white guy, and have been shooting for 40 years. Why is it that old white guys 70+ think that everything that comes out of their mouth is liquid gold?
Click to expand...

Sometimes, when someone is being a jerk to you, you need to be a jerk back to get rid of them. No reason to feel bad about upsetting a jerk that's upsetting you. BUT...... You do not need to be a jerk to refuse advice from someone sincere, who may or may not know what they are talking about. Over the years many times I have shrugged off unsolicited advice thinking I knew better, only to try the advice later and find out I was wrong(and I have been shooting for over half a century).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top