What is the dumbest thing?

I'm a guy lucky enough to shoot a few BMGs, the beuwolf when it was a pup, 577 trex and 20mm valcan to name but a few. Heck we where shooting past 2000 yards 25 years ago.
Wish I could remember 1/10 of the stupid "rule 4 violation" I've heard or tryed.
I try to be instructive and not an "rule 4 violation" these days but have to admit the other day I hurt a guys feeling that really should have known better but asked me what a 7mm 08 was after telling me the week before the creed was the best round ever.
Long way around the barn but I'll call bull on some things and explain my reason for it. Those willing to learn= learn.......most think I is an "rule 4 violation"
No butter on both sides of the toast on this one eh Len
 
I had a lady at bass pro walk up to me, while I was buying ammo. She asked if I knew anything about guns. I said yes. She said she has a pistol that she needs ammo for and proceeds to show me with her fingers the size of the barrel!! Then asks what caliber that is. Lol
Big difference between being uninformed, or complete lack of knowledge on a subject than someone who SHOULD know better dropping a bomb.
I would have bent over backwards to steer her in the right direction.
 
I'm super glad I live in Wyoming and almost never see people at my gun range.

However one time I was at the range, I was getting my buddies Browning A-Bolt 300 wm set up for long range, he got a decent scope and wanted to go shooting with me, so I was doing load developement, starting out with a 212 ELD-X and H1000. I was at the range testing loads, had a couple promising groups.

An older gentleman, probably 60's, on a bench next to me that was shooting a nice looking semi custom remington asked what I was shooting, told him I was setting up my buddies rifle so he could do some long range shooting with me, and that it was a 300 win mag. He asked what weight bullet I was shooting, told him I was trying out the 212 eld-x. He scauffed, told me that anything heavier than a 165 in a 300 win mag is a waste unless it's being used for close range, if I wanted to shoot out to 1000 yards I really should go with a 150 grain as it will shoot way flatter. At this point I should have realized that trying to discuss the subject would be fruitless, but I am stubborn and couldn't help myself. I told him that by 1000 yards, the inefficient 150 likely has more than twice the wind drift of the 212, probably has more drop than the 212, and likely wouldn't carry enough energy or velocity to be effective on big game at 1000. The guy looked at me with a dumbfounded look like I was an idiot.....I should have just left it and carried on but couldn't, I am a firearms instructor for my agency and enjoy teaching. I said let me run the ballistics and show you what I mean. Well I ran them, a 150 sst @3300 and the 212 @2950, and sure enough, the 212 surpassed the 150 around 500 in drop, had nearly 70" less drift at 1000, and the 150 was nearly subsonic and barely carrying over 400 ft lbs at 1000. I showed my applied ballistics calculations to the guy. Even still, the guy said he didn't believe it, and told me how he dropped a bull at 900 yards with a 150 soft point out of his 300 win mag last year.

I replied with "hmm". Picked up my stuff and left. Can take a dog to water, can't make em drink.
 
I was working on a load for a 6.5 creedmore had a really nice group at 100 so I'm taking it out to distance a guy I know said it will be hard to beat his group, his group 3/4 of an inch at 500 (not moa)
So now I got my work cut out for me
To be honest, I have seen some 3/4" (not MOA) groups at 500 yards from a PRS guy I know shooting a 6 Dasher. But even for him, it is not an every day occurrence. But it can and does happen. I have a 1.1" (not MOA) group at 500. But just one.
 
Disclaimer: I was new and ignorant to reloading too, but I was willing to research and shadow before dropping my own loads.
A couple weeks ago I was at the range next to a couple of guys who were new to the hobby. I asked what they were shooting, they said they were trying a new load work up for their 300wsm's.
I asked what bullet weight, one says 180gr, the other says he doesn't remember.
I asked what their COAL was, they both responded with "whatever the die set them at".

I then returned to my bench 5 bays down to finish shooting and let the RSO know what was going on.
 
Over the decades, I've lost count of the stupid stuff I've heard, and seen, on the ranges and in shops, but one that has always stuck with me was an argument from a guy telling me I needed to move my chrono to 100 yards, because at 12 feet, my bullets didn't have enough time to "get up to full speed".

"Buy a 45acp, for it will knock a man down."

"Too fast bullets shoot right through the animal." Deep Southern drawl

"A rifle ain't goin' to shoot quarter mile."
 
Big difference between being uninformed, or complete lack of knowledge on a subject than someone who SHOULD know better dropping a bomb.
I would have bent over backwards to steer her in the right direction.

I think she was a few bullets shy of a case. I told her that she needs to find the cartridge labeled on the side of the pistol, write it down, and come back in and ask a store associate for help.
 
I think she was a few bullets shy of a case. I told her that she needs to find the cartridge labeled on the side of the pistol, write it down, and come back in and ask a store associate for help.
Good, I am glad, I was about to name you "Spanky", President of the He Man Woman Haters Club, lmao
Before your time I am sure.
 
There's some good laughs here!
Oki mentioned .243 varmint bullets..
I have a friend who is adamant that his handloads send a NBT 55 gr over 4200 fps from a factory tikka .243 (believable yes) he says zero at 200 hold on fur out past 600 drops our big Canadian whitetails dead in their tracks everytime, only drops 4-6 inches basically no wind drift because of the speed... (he don't even have a rangefinder, chrono or nothing, a guy he met at WS gave him load info and he loaded it). I have tried to talk him out of it to no avail...

heard the other day at work that the .264 win mag is a decent cartridge but if you really want a flatshooting gun get a 6.5 creedmore... only drops an inch at 500 yards he said.......

one guy boasted to me of shooting a monster buck offhand at 500 with his 30-06, said he shot it in the neck as if that was where he had aimed... I thought that means he's about 2-3 feet off target didn't say anything though... my brother and laughed afterward, we've not shot much for distance but we know better that to believe such stories.
 
I worked at a big box outdoor store in California.
We had a subset of customers that would buy all the same stuff as if it had mystical properties. It went like this
Uncle bought browing a bolt it 300 short mag
Shoots deer with federal ammo with nickel cases
Entire family comes in and buys shortmags
Then gets mad at us because we dont have the nickel cased stuff anymore. The same load 180gr is now in a brass case, entire family furious.
2 years later the same group repeated the process with the 26 nosler and 140 accubonds, wouldnt shoot the ablr because the grey tips were unlucky
Then 2 more years and 28 nosler and nightforce atacrs. These guys would poo poo a 5.5-22 nxs like it was dog doodoo
Talking hundreds of identical setups
 
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