Share your pithy firearms aphorisms!

[Fang]

Like the title says, if you have any firearms-related catchphrases that particularly define your attitude toward guns, here's the place to share them.


"High pressure, heavy bullet, semi-auto: Pick two."

Browning-pattern semi-auto handguns do great with high pressure and light bullets (9mm) or heavy bullets with very little pressure (.45 ACP), but they start wearing out fast when you combine high pressures and heavy bullets (e.g. 10mm or the retarded "convert your 1911 to a .44 Mag" .460 Rowland kits).


"Shot placement is king; penetration is queen; everything else is angels dancing on the head of a pin."

In some forums, you can see people unironically arguing over 0.10" difference in the way certain hollowpoints expand in gelatin. While that difference could tip them from a 1D6 damage for their pistol to a 1D8 (which gets a +2 due to the tactical vest they're wearing!), the distinction is really silly. Defensive cartridge choice should be based on reliability and recoil feel, not some expansion that may or may not occur.


"Small, inexpensive, reliable, semi-auto: Pick three."

Pretty self-explanatory, really. Tiny semi-autos are silly choices while there are snub-nosed revolvers available. "My <insert gun here> works fine!!!!" is not a valid counter-argument and indicates that someone is feeling defensive--probably for a good reason.

[highmeh]

I like the phrase, "A click when you expected to hear a bang, is the loudest sound on earth....a bang when you expected a click is the second loudest."

[Clinotus]

Stay safe, shoot straight:

Doesn't seem like much at first but its definitely a mindset for myself and my shooting group. It breaks down to stay safe as a shooter and ccw holder, and shoot straight: Know your target. Safely know your target, etc... I'm sure I'm not getting it across the way its meant to be expressed but its our little thing.

Count em' before you down em'

Know how many rounds you have around and about you. If you carry and unload remember that that 10+1 gun means you still have round in the chamber. Cleaning or shooting? Know how many rounds are present on your person. Did you fire 5 shots or six? Dont rely on the empty click to tell you went you are empty.

That $7.00 ticket can cost you $70,000.

I paraphrased that last one, but when I took my orignal CCW class the instructor made the point that that $7.00 movie ticket with the good guy that nailed everyone with one shot, will cost you over $70,000 in legal fees because you went Rambo trying to do something you should not have.

[Clinotus]

For dual caliber or +P applicable guns.

Plink with the Lightning and carry the Thunder.

[mad.radhu]

The poor can't afford to buy cheap.

[Sim]

I like the phrase, "A click when you expected to hear a bang, is the loudest sound on earth....a bang when you expected a click is the second loudest."

I like that one a lot.

There was one from when a guy ND'd into his leg that went something like this: Once you shoot yourself in the leg, you realize that your life hadn't sucked quite as much as it does now.

[GSV Exit Strategy]

"I'd rather have 33 and need 6, than have 6 and need 33."

Capacity is nice. It shouldn't be your mainstay, but it's good to have.

[Flanker]

The poor can't afford to buy cheap.

I like 'Cheap is expensive in the long run'. As someone who tried cutting a lot of corners when first starting out, this makes so much sense now.

[mbquimby]

pardon me while I dig up this thread....


I have two.


"I'd rather tell the Warden why I fired than tell St. Peter why I didn't." AKA "I'd rather tell the Warden why I'm his gate than tell St. Peter why I'm at his.

This is what I told my Marines when the ROE cards got ridiculous in Iraq (after the real war was over and we became glorified police officers). They were looking at me like they were afraid they'd get court martialed if they fired back. When it comes to defending your own or your family/friends the benifit of the doubt goes to you.


"Be polite, be professional, have a plan to kill everyone you meet."

This is my signature and it should apply to anyone who feels the need to arm themselves on a daily basis. It keeps you in the correct (IMO) frame of mind.

[Snarlbuckle]

"Slow is steady, steady is fast."

This is from a sniper book I read a while ago. If you take your time, calm down, and take a shot the right way, you will hit and down your target quickly. If you empty your magazine in the target's general direction... anyone who has ever attempted marksmanship can tell you how that goes. The same applies in life though. Getting it right the first time is so much more efficient than trying and failing repeatedly.

Why do you carry a .45? "Because they don't make a .46"
Someone else (Ayoob?) said something like: "Carry the biggest gun you can handle."
And of course, there's "Speak softly, and carry a big stick."

[Clinotus]

"Slow is steady, steady is fast."

This is from a sniper book I read a while ago. If you take your time, calm down, and take a shot the right way, you will hit and down your target quickly. If you empty your magazine in the target's general direction... anyone who has ever attempted marksmanship can tell you how that goes. The same applies in life though. Getting it right the first time is so much more efficient than trying and failing repeatedly.

Why do you carry a .45? "Because they don't make a .46"
Someone else (Ayoob?) said something like: "Carry the biggest gun you can handle."
And of course, there's "Speak softly, and carry a big stick."

:clap: All across the board. Taking your time in a shot really means that you make the shot. Its not often that you would have to lay down suppressive fire (with a pistol), so its better to breathe, calm, and make the shot that you need to. I know of more than a few old timers who CCW with nothing more than a .22. Lunacy by most standards, but at the same time these are the guys hitting bottle caps from 50 yards on a fast draw.

And yet I applaud the near contradiction and agree that you should Always carry the biggest gun you can carry. Most of us aren't those old timers. :wink:

[Fang]

"Slow is steady, steady is fast."


I also like the related saying, "you can't miss fast enough to hit."

[Dave Bob]

Aim small miss small.

[mbquimby]

"If at first you don't succeed, click to burst."

"Happiness is a belt fed weapon."

"In combat you always have a lifetime supply of ammo. How much ammo you have determines whose lifetime."

"The only time you have too much ammo is when you're on fire or drowning."

[Danube]

"Two is one, one is none."

That’s for tactical reloading. Learn to love it like you love life. Because it can save your life. Ever have a jam at the range with some finicky ammo? Know how to clear it and/or discard the magazine for a fresh one, all while moving? Its not easy and the movies lie.

"Pigeons focus on everything not in front of them."

This one doesn’t make much sense at first but its about situational awareness. As it was explained to me, Pigeons walk funny and look at things funny because of they way they are built. They can’t see you straight on but look at you from whichever side they have an eye on. To see something in front of them they turn their head in whichever direction, but while doing so observe everything else around them as their field of vision has changed. In other words they are still looking around even though they seem focused on something.
The other part of that is that Pigeons are amazing in flight despite their dufus appearance. Predators have to work to earn the meal. Be like the Pigeon.