Calling all poors, what is the most poorish shooting sports thing you've ever done?

#201
As family, professional, and life requirements start to place a burden, I'm beginning to realize that TIME may be the largest factor in contributing to my continued poor status.

I used to sort CCI SV and lower tier $5-$7 Eley and SK ammo with the hopes that it would shoot as well as the $12-$14 dollar Lapua or Eley offerings. Instead of trying to save $5 per box 22 LR ammo by weighting and rim thickness sorting, buying a good barrel and a case of lot tested ammo would have saved me inordinate amount of time, effort, and ultimately money.

Such is the way of the poor... because you have more time than money, you waste time, but in reality, wasting time results in wasted time, which you can never get back, and money, because if you are spending that much time on something, you'll eventually upgrade.

Simple in concept, but difficult in execution.
 
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#202
Take a look at this poor-coholic mess… a tac-tableau, because it makes it sound French and fancy.

Why buy a $100 gizmo that sits on top of an Amazon special tripod when you can buy a $8 plastic cutting board from Walmart, cut it in half, drill 2 holes for a spare picatinny rail section, then duct tape it like you are repairing a leak on the Titan Submersible and make it into a craptastic flex and wobble inducing mess? I’ve had jello that supported a more stable position. But alas, I’ll end up dropping more shots and burning more $ and time.

Sucks being poor because what I cook for dinner (ketchup + butter + noodles = sketti) is how I build shooting gear. Wait until I get a 3D printer to the unleash the full power of my poornado.

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#207
The "poorest" thing I did was early on in the component shortage years, I bought a bunch of really ... shall we say ... "questionable" reloading powders, before I figured out I was pretty good at finding the Retumbo and H1000 that I love for my long range recipes. Now I have "gallons and gallons" of Shooters World, Accurate Magpro, and several other brands that are just sitting on my shelf and getting "old". I should have trusted my abilities to get what I actually preferred, and not settled for hoarding-up on what I could find. At the time, I thought it was the end of availability. It wasn't.
 
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#208
rustyinbend said:
The "poorest" thing I did was early on in the component shortage years, I bought a bunch of really ... shall we say ... "questionable" reloading powders, before I figured out I was pretty good at finding the Retumbo and H1000 that I love for my long range recipes. Now I have "gallons and gallons" of Shooters World, Accurate Magpro, and several other brands that are just sitting on my shelf and getting "old". I should have trusted my abilities to get what I actually preferred, and not settled for hoarding-up on what I could find. At the time, I thought it was the end of availability. It wasn't.
Click to expand...
A lot of guys say sw powder shoots. Maybe try it in something.
 
#213
Gunpowder makes for good, though expensive, fertilizer. If you don’t want it, and it’s just taking up space, spread it on the lawn or in the garden.
 
#220
Saw this and work - revivign a zombie thread.
One of my life's mantras is "Almost as good for waaaaaaay cheaper"
another is "old trucks and new guns"
  • Melt 25 cent birdshot shells into 7/8 oz light load slugs
  • Paper patch 308s to 311s to shoot in the Mosin with hand reloading kit (the kind where you gently tap/seat/hammer primers into the pockets)
  • Brushed my teeth in a DollarGeneral parking lot on the way to 1st PRS match while strangers watched and I started dancing.
  • Tried to make a poor man's Czekmate - It still runs pretty good.
  • Pulled foam earplugs out of the public trash, lickem and stickem
  • Used found cigarette butts as earplugs at the range while looking for/ waiting for a ride because my car broke down on the way there but close enough to walk(but not carry guns and ammo).
  • pistol rounds on single stage
  • mined range dirt for lead and made a bullet trap
  • bought (but not used) the 22 reloading primer compound and started sorting spent primers
  • worst scope purchase to try to save a buck - SWFA 20x
  • rebuilt an 03A3 using an old training rifle and spare parts
  • decosmo and refinished a mosin stock as NutnPhancy did back in the day
  • started a free brass trading website complete with categories and advanced search options because Fashistbook banned the brass groups.
  • built a Open Racegun holster using the DAA insert and my own aluminum angle holster design - securely holds CZ97 and SP-01
  • used Dychem as a go-fast coating on alu parts
 

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#222
newageroman said:
Saw this and work - revivign a zombie thread.
One of my life's mantras is "Almost as good for waaaaaaay cheaper"
another is "old trucks and new guns"
  • Melt 25 cent birdshot shells into 7/8 oz light load slugs
  • Paper patch 308s to 311s to shoot in the Mosin with hand reloading kit (the kind where you gently tap/seat/hammer primers into the pockets)
  • Brushed my teeth in a DollarGeneral parking lot on the way to 1st PRS match while strangers watched and I started dancing.
  • Tried to make a poor man's Czekmate - It still runs pretty good.
  • Pulled foam earplugs out of the public trash, lickem and stickem
  • Used found cigarette butts as earplugs at the range while looking for/ waiting for a ride because my car broke down on the way there but close enough to walk(but not carry guns and ammo).
  • pistol rounds on single stage
  • mined range dirt for lead and made a bullet trap
  • bought (but not used) the 22 reloading primer compound and started sorting spent primers
  • worst scope purchase to try to save a buck - SWFA 20x
  • rebuilt an 03A3 using an old training rifle and spare parts
  • decosmo and refinished a mosin stock as NutnPhancy did back in the day
  • started a free brass trading website complete with categories and advanced search options because Fashistbook banned the brass groups.
  • built a Open Racegun holster using the DAA insert and my own aluminum angle holster design - securely holds CZ97 and SP-01
  • used Dychem as a go-fast coating on alu parts
Click to expand...
FFS I said poor behavior not unsanitary ones. Reusing discarded/ used ear plugs or cigarette butts are at another level.
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#231
FWoo45 said:
Username not checking out. You'll go bald, lose your palate for grade A starfish, and start thinking girls look good in crocs if you buy one.
Click to expand...

Pssshhh, please.

I'll also buy a police trade-in glock for $349, buy new barrel and internals so I'm $550 into the gun instead of spending $500 on a new one.

IMG_20250208_091356_548.jpg
 
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#234
clcustom1911 said:
How's that fucker shoot?

A poor's gotta know.
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I don’t want to say “just as good,” but it is not the gun holding me back.

It’s fast and flat, and I find there is much less work involved in getting it to track back on target for follow up shots than other pistols I’ve shot. This is my only 2011 pistol, so no comparisons there. But, the trigger is way better than a Glock. And, it is overall way less snappy than any striker fired pistol I have shot. This could go either way, however, as when I first started shooting it, I kinda felt like I was waiting on the action to cycle between shots. (If you’ve ever gone directly from shooting an over/under shotgun to shooting a semi-auto, it’s a very similar feeling of suddenly becoming aware that the action is cycling.) I’ve seen Ben Stoeger say (in his Staccato reviews) that he prefers a snappier gun for faster shooting. I’m not Stoeger, so it’s not affecting my splits, yet.

The only thing that annoyed me on purchase was that I could not zero the red dot- I ran out of elevation adjustment. Looking around on line, this is common enough in optic ready 1911/2011 guns that I was able to find an angled shim to correct the issue. (This is not marketed to Tisas specifically, but optic ready 1911 guns in general.) It took about 5 min of hand fitting to get the shim installed.

I did run into a rash of failure to extract malfunctions last weekend. It could be that it was really dirty. Maybe the extractor gave up. I was shooting steel cased ammo so maybe that- I haven’t gotten to root cause yet.

I’ve got about 2000 rounds through it, so by no means an exhaustive review, and I’m no serious pistolero, but I’m quite happy with my purchase.

I’ve got a buddy that is a USPSA GM that I was talking to about it and the FTEs. I said “Tisas, for when you’re 2011 curious but not Staccato curious.” His immediate reply was “Staccatos don’t run.” And, before that, I was watching a TRex Arms video and Brandon said he had to send his brand new Atlas back because of, I think, an extractor/ejector/something. I’d probably be pissed if I spent Staccato/Atlas money and was having failures, but being in for less than $1k, including optic, I can get frustrated and throw it over a berm and still be money ahead. In the words of Phil Robertson, “happy happy happy.”
 
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#235
The other day at work, a coworker was attempting to talk guns with me. Something I try to avoid in general, but especially at work. Another coworker chimed in that I was embarrassed about all the guns I have. I corrected him, I said I'm not embarrassed by all the guns I have. I'm embarrassed that it's the only thing I have.

So the most shooting poors thing I've done is things like driving $25k worth of guns to the range in a $400 car.
 
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#237
When I first ventured into handloading I pulled bullets from late 40s surplus .30/06. Put a drop of oil in each case to kill the mercury fulminate. Cleaned the cases by hand as I could not yet afford a tumbler. Loaded using the same powder and projectiles. Shot fine in the surplus Springfield I had at the time.
 
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#238
EddieNFL said:
When I first ventured into handloading I pulled bullets from late 40s surplus .30/06. Put a drop of oil in each case to kill the mercury fulminate. Cleaned the cases by hand as I could not yet afford a tumbler. Loaded using the same powder and projectiles. Shot fine in the surplus Springfield I had at the time.
Click to expand...
No shame in cooking up a batch of Mexican Match loads. Good on you!

Speaking of reloading, walnut media cost too much, so went to lizard terrarium bedding for walnut media, then found the cheap effectiveness of long grain rice. One of the few poor techniques that works better than what it replaced.
 
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#241
hlee said:
I don’t want to say “just as good,” but it is not the gun holding me back.

It’s fast and flat, and I find there is much less work involved in getting it to track back on target for follow up shots than other pistols I’ve shot. This is my only 2011 pistol, so no comparisons there. But, the trigger is way better than a Glock. And, it is overall way less snappy than any striker fired pistol I have shot. This could go either way, however, as when I first started shooting it, I kinda felt like I was waiting on the action to cycle between shots. (If you’ve ever gone directly from shooting an over/under shotgun to shooting a semi-auto, it’s a very similar feeling of suddenly becoming aware that the action is cycling.) I’ve seen Ben Stoeger say (in his Staccato reviews) that he prefers a snappier gun for faster shooting. I’m not Stoeger, so it’s not affecting my splits, yet.

The only thing that annoyed me on purchase was that I could not zero the red dot- I ran out of elevation adjustment. Looking around on line, this is common enough in optic ready 1911/2011 guns that I was able to find an angled shim to correct the issue. (This is not marketed to Tisas specifically, but optic ready 1911 guns in general.) It took about 5 min of hand fitting to get the shim installed.

I did run into a rash of failure to extract malfunctions last weekend. It could be that it was really dirty. Maybe the extractor gave up. I was shooting steel cased ammo so maybe that- I haven’t gotten to root cause yet.

I’ve got about 2000 rounds through it, so by no means an exhaustive review, and I’m no serious pistolero, but I’m quite happy with my purchase.

I’ve got a buddy that is a USPSA GM that I was talking to about it and the FTEs. I said “Tisas, for when you’re 2011 curious but not Staccato curious.” His immediate reply was “Staccatos don’t run.” And, before that, I was watching a TRex Arms video and Brandon said he had to send his brand new Atlas back because of, I think, an extractor/ejector/something. I’d probably be pissed if I spent Staccato/Atlas money and was having failures, but being in for less than $1k, including optic, I can get frustrated and throw it over a berm and still be money ahead. In the words of Phil Robertson, “happy happy happy.”
Click to expand...
@clcustom1911
Addendum… I detail stripped the slide and cleaned the extractor and extractor channel, then went to the range with some brass case and steel case ammo. I ran a mag of brass w/o issue, then went to the steel and gave up about 1/2 way through the mag. Back to brass and had 1 stovepipe. Then a 3rd mag of brass w/o issue. I think I’ve isolated the issue to the gun not liking Monarch steel case ammo. That said, I didn’t have a problem with this ammo at the previous match (I prefer to shoot steel case ammo at “lost brass” events). So, I think it is a combination of premature extractor wear (exacerbated by running steel case?) and the gun “not liking” steel ammo that is causing my extraction issues. I have a new “upgraded” extractor on order.
 
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#242
I don’t know if it is “poorish” or not, but I 3D printed a LOP spacer (in his school color) for my son when he was shooting sporting clays for the school team. It has a bit of delamination now, but still kicking…

IMG_6946.jpeg
 
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#243
hlee said:
@clcustom1911
Addendum… I detail stripped the slide and cleaned the extractor and extractor channel, then went to the range with some brass case and steel case ammo. I ran a mag of brass w/o issue, then went to the steel and gave up about 1/2 way through the mag. Back to brass and had 1 stovepipe. Then a 3rd mag of brass w/o issue. I think I’ve isolated the issue to the gun not liking Monarch steel case ammo. That said, I didn’t have a problem with this ammo at the previous match (I prefer to shoot steel case ammo at “lost brass” events). So, I think it is a combination of premature extractor wear (exacerbated by running steel case?) and the gun “not liking” steel ammo that is causing my extraction issues. I have a new “upgraded” extractor on order.
Click to expand...
Yeah when a 1911 begins stovepiping that's 99% an extractor issue. If the little claw tip is too short, or if there's not enough tension, it'll come off the rim as it's moving back.

Geometry:

1. You want the tip of the claw to contact the inner portion of the rim. 2 you want the lower portion of the rim to contact the cut-out portions of the extractor. This will give you maximum sirface contact. (See picture)

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Tension:

Take the slide off. You'll want to be able to push a live round between the extractor it it will have enough spring force to basically hold the round without you helping. Better to error on a hair "too much" force than too little in my experience.


Hope this helps.
 
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#249
I'm digging the cheapness of this thread. Here is a video I made a while back about being a member of the 2A poorzlife. It features a cool pistol build and shitty camerawork. AYGG offer still stands (still have the tshirts).


cas6969 said:
The other day at work, a coworker was attempting to talk guns with me. Something I try to avoid in general, but especially at work. Another coworker chimed in that I was embarrassed about all the guns I have. I corrected him, I said I'm not embarrassed by all the guns I have. I'm embarrassed that it's the only thing I have.

So the most shooting poors thing I've done is things like driving $25k worth of guns to the range in a $400 car.
Click to expand...
My daily is a 90s honda with faded paint. It's easily the worst car in the parking lot 95% of the time, and hauls around many $ks of guns ammo and optics to the range when I do go. One of my favorite things to do is back the POS honda and get the shortest pistol and shoot it, then act frustrated and get a slightly longer/bigger pistol until I've gone through a stack of them to the 16" Ruger Black grand mamba. Hope all have a great weekend. It will be cold and rainy here. I think Ill make a pile of 30-06(the fuddery...)
 
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