Old And Out Of Touch

[Char-Gar]

With time, culture and thinking changes. When I retired ten years ago, I didn't understand what the younger folks were about and why went about doing things in the way they did. I have noted this phenomena in a number of areas of life.

I have noted that many shooters are concerned about dirty powder and lube smoke. Yes, my guns and hands get dirty and yes my lube smokes a bit, but neither were worth 2 second of my time to worry about. I just didn't care. I cleaned my guns, and washed my hands. I was concentrating at my target and never really noticed the lube smoke.

I am truly getting old and out of touch. I just give no thought, not concern to the issues that seems to get under the skin of the younger set. I suppose all of this should matter to me, but it just doesn't.

[tazman]

Char-Gar if it only effects you I see no reason to worry about it or others opinions. If it effects others, then a little consideration may be in order.

I don't normally shoot in an area where what I shoot will effect anyone else. Even when I shoot indoors at ranges, I pick a spot away from others and make sure the exhaust fans are running.
If the range is terribly crowded, I either shoot plated boolits, coated boolits, or wait for space to open up.
I know that my cast boolits, lubed the way they are, smoke more than many are used to so I don't make people breathe the smoke from it.
Smoke from tumble lubed boolits will quickly fill an indoor range if the exhaust isn't running.

As far as what other things young people are doing, I basically ignore them and do things the ways I have always done them.

[Wayne Smith]

We are raising a generation of overly sensitive people - who honestly believe that meat comes in cellophane covered packages in the grocery store and has no idea of it's real source. Thus getting one's hands dirty is a problem for them. Grow up on the farm, mud and chicken blood on your hands and gutting and skinning deer and we don't mind it. When your mother complains when you get mud on her floor, when getting sweaty and dirty is not nice - well, you see where this is going.

[Char-Gar]

Char-Gar if it only effects you I see no reason to worry about it or others opinions. If it effects others, then a little consideration may be in order.

I don't normally shoot in an area where what I shoot will effect anyone else. Even when I shoot indoors at ranges, I pick a spot away from others and make sure the exhaust fans are running.
If the range is terribly crowded, I either shoot plated boolits, coated boolits, or wait for space to open up.
I know that my cast boolits, lubed the way they are, smoke more than many are used to so I don't make people breathe the smoke from it.
Smoke from tumble lubed boolits will quickly fill an indoor range if the exhaust isn't running.

As far as what other things young people are doing, I basically ignore them and do things the ways I have always done them.

I try not to shoot with lots of folks around. There is bound to be a fool or two in the bunch and a fool with a loaded gun, makes me real nervous.

[Big Boomer]

This thread kinda' touched on something that happened to me a couple of months back. Arrived at the gun range and did my shooting with a couple of bolt rifles, an AR, and some handguns. Got through and picked up my brass carefully … don't like to lose brass though I have gobs of brass. Was ready to leave when an older fellow who was competing in a rimfire match that was going on at the same range I was on but they were shooting out of windows from an enclosed building. I had gotten into my car to leave and he came up to me and asked, "Can I help you?" I answered, "Do what?" He said, "Well, I saw you just walking around and wondered if you needed any help?" This guy, even though not young any more, had no idea what I was doing, picking up my brass for reloading. He had probably never reloaded a round of ammo and shot only rimfire stuff. And he was wondering if he could help me! I told him that no, I did not need his help. He genuinely looked puzzled. His lack of understanding, not mine. Big Boomer

[tazman]

I try not to shoot with lots of folks around. There is bound to be a fool or two in the bunch and a fool with a loaded gun, makes me real nervous.

I shoot at a range that is membership only(and any guests) but with a large membership(over 1400 last count). Due to that, you never know who is shooting next to you. At the indoor range and when the bench rest range is crowded, I tend to watch people for a while before I start.
The club has rules about safety and most are very careful. That said, you only have to look around the range to see where somebody wasn't doing it right. Holes in places there shouldn't be holes.

[Tom W.]

At times I'll shoot at an indoor range at the LGS, and police any brass that's near me that someone else doesn't want. What I can use I will, the rest goes into a bucket. Most of it is new brass, because there doesn't seem to be a lot of people around here who cast or handload. It seems that everyone's loads smoke pretty bad, handloads or not. The are in the process of replacing the ventilation system and putting in new lighting, so I suspect the range fees will go up a bit. I've never had anyone complain about my loads being too smokey or dirty except for myself. Its part of the hobby. I'm not going to get a can of powder that is less smokey if my load is good and I have a lot of that powder at the house.....Now, I'm not being mean, nor do I fire black powder or Pyrodex inside a building, and if I'm at the outdoor range, I'll check the wind and get a bench downwind of the others. as of late I've been going to the Sheriff's Office Training Range and shooting there. There is one active duty Lt. that is the "official" RO, and three other reserve officers that watch over us like hawks. That's a good thing, as they don't want anyone pointing a loaded firearm anywhere but downrange. Now that I've been going there on a regular basis, they know me, and know I'm not a loony in spite of what my wife says.....

[tazman]

Wives can be like that. Whenever I fill out 4473, I tell them that it is only my wife who thinks I'm crazy.
I have had people comment on how smoky my loads were but since the ventilation was working well they didn't try to stop me from shooting.
Bullseye and tumble lubed boolits put out quite a bit of smoke.

[jimb16]

The smoke is one of the reasons that I now powder coat most of my cast bullets. I've shot lubed bullets for so many years that it seems only natural to do it. My lubricator/sizer is feeling pretty lonely these days. I shot a batch of lubed bullets yesterday and realized just how much "smoke" they do make. Oh well! I was the only one on the range, so I didn't really care.

[tazman]

I had one of those days last week.
I shot some plated for a while and then switched to lubed and I could really tell the difference.
Nobody else there to comment about it.
I haven't purchased any factory cast boolits for several years. Does hard lube smoke as much as softer lube does?

[RU shooter]

I shoot my flint lock a lot and heck my 38 and 45 acp aren't smokey at all . Seriously though I've never worried if any of my handgun ammo was dirty and or smokey .long as the powder is doing its job and the lube doing the same I'm good , But I shoot by myself never anyone else around .

[Thumbcocker]

Wanted:

Student organization seeking cause to be indignant about. Respond to …...

[LenH]

I belong to a shooting club that is exclusively out doors except for an airgun range in the old club house. I also shoot bullseye matches and have never considered
the smoke aspect of a cast bullet.
I have shot .22 Bullseye matches indoors for years and at the end of the season we would have a match with what ever you wanted to shoot and most were revolvers
with cast bullets and that range was almost foggy at the end of a string, the ventilation in that indoor range was lacking but I can see the concern in that situation.

[owejia]

Like the smell of burning gun powder not of the lube. Black powder and smokeless. Also like the smell of heavy equipment diesel smoke and fresh moved dirt. Am I weird or what?

[Tom W.]

What's the other option?

[tazman]

Like the smell of burning gun powder not of the lube. Black powder and smokeless. Also like the smell of heavy equipment diesel smoke and fresh moved dirt. Am I weird or what?

I like that as well with the exception of the diesel.

[DerekP Houston]

I'm from that younger generation mentioned, but the dirt and smoke don't bother me. As much fun as the PC and Hitek colors are...tumble lubing a bunch of wadcutters is faster and easier =). I'm more worried with results on target than if my hands got a little dirty. I've only had one range complain about my reloads, and that was from a liability standpoint not a "smoky or dirty" loads issue.

[toallmy]

In 35-40 years of shooting I have never seen a inside shooting range unless you count shooting out of a shed , so I don't mind the smoke . But I have learned to not shoot cast boolits over a white pickup truck .

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Could it be modern marketing, dirt is BAD, clean is GOOD. Maybe? Some dirt is good, fouling shots, immune systems. Lot of stuff to sell that didn't exist 50 years ago, I do remember. Every cartridge case must sparkle, an errant grain of powder residue is cause for screams of anguish. I actually cast bullets using the Kitchen Cook Stove when I was 14. How did I survive. Much of the CLEAN whatever is based on MARKETING and indoctrination. BE AFRAID, YOU COULD DIE! WE KNOW WHAT IS BEST, GIVE ME YOUR DOLLARS and I will fix that. If your lube smoke intrudes on another it may be a problem, if it bothers you, fix it, if you like the results on target or game, leave it. Think about that 'GROSS' black powder, all that sulfur and lead, EEWWW. Did I get that right? I think I will go sleep on the Dirt and scout for elk.

[fredj338]

It is perspective. I hate cleaning my guns, just hate it. So yeah, shooting sludgy lubed bullets was always irritating. With coated I can clean a lot less often. Smoke, sure not an issue outdoors w/ a little breeze but indoors or heaven forbid at night with a weapon light, yeah get back to me on that one. Been a cast bullet shooter for 40y, I can still embrace progress.