gun mods that aren't really cool
gun mods that aren't really cool
memegenerator.net

We ran this on our Facebook page just for fun. But it got quite a response and some surprising answers so we thought we’d open it up here.

We get it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The heart wants what the heart wants and all that. One man’s bad-ass AR lower with the molded skull mag well is another man’s gaudy monstrosity. We’re all human and no matter what we say, chef really does judge.

So be honest. What gun mod(s) — on any kind of gun — do you see at the range and roll your eyes at?

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144 COMMENTS

  2. 3×9 power scopes on AR-15’s and bipods on carbine version AR-15’s. Unless they really intend to go varmint them, it really doesn’t fit. These are not ar-10’s but 15’s. It’s just sad.

    • The 1- 8 power variable scope is what SOCOM has chosen for SDMRs in 5.56. Seeing as how the ACOG is a fixed 4, 3 to 9 seems reasonable.

      • Most of those ARs won’t ever target anything beyond 100 yrds. Making the 3-9 a less than perfect option.

        1-8 power is exceptionally flexible. Fixed 4 power wasn’t. It was a good tool to have, but I’d have great preferred even a 1-4 power during my time over seas.

        • Funny enough I had the opposite side of the optics gripe with the aimpoint being too close in and gotta agree with the 1-4 suggestion. Rest of my gripe was more weapons assignments but I guess red dot m4 for gunners and acog on saws for drivers made sense to someone for rural Afghanistan

        • I loved my ACOG. Our average initial engagement distance in Afghanistan was 400 meters. The red dot on an M4 was not ideal. The fixed 4 was perfect.

        • As an owner of both Aimpoints and ACOGs and MROs and 3-9s and long range scopes like Zeiss and Leupold and Swarovski etc, I just wanna say that it really depends on the use of the gun. I don’t like the look of 3-9s on ARs or black semiautos in general but that’s because I use my bolt guns to hunt and for longer range. But that doesn’t mean they’re not perfectly viable.

        • Why not 4-12x on AR-15? If you can shoot a vermin size target at 50 yards, all the power.
          There’s a reason it’s variable scope.
          Even more so with sub MOA 224 Valkyrie out now.

    • I put a bipod on all my AR’s, not so much for varminting, but more as a way to set my gun down without having to lean it against a tree, fence post, vehicle, etc…
      …and they work very well when sighting in and shooting off a bench.
      Flip the bipod down and put a bag under the grip and you can shoot off a bench with a 20/30 round mag easily.

      • The vast majority of these rifles will never see a shot fired in anger. A few might see varmint hunting use. Most just seem to be there to put holes in paper from the bench. My membership only range goes out to 400 yards but I’ve never seen anyone shoot from anything but the bench. Since I consider my carbine a defense rifle, I continue to practice with it prone, standing, kneeling, etc. I find it boring to sit and shoot from the bench all the time. Our range allows you to shoot from the grass, to shoot standing or kneeling or sitting. I never see it done. I don’t have a bipod, I only have a red dot and a fore grip. Even in a civil unrest situation, normal citizens are very unlikely to need to shoot past AT most 200 yards. Legally taking shots past 50 yards gets real dubious. And putting a 3×9 or other large scope on it renders it hard to use inside buildings. I really do not see the appeal.

        • The AR15 is the most popular pig hunting rifle in the US. Scopes, bi-pods, and sand bags work great for those uses as well.

        • Sometimes you just want a mobile but steady platform to see how many bottle caps you can take out at a certain range.

          Being able to see them helps.

          Then there’s competition usage. One of my competition AR’s has a 2-6x on it specifically because it was built for competitions where shots are at targets of unknown size at unknown distances out to 500m.

        • Too old, tired, ugly, shaky and crippled to shoot much of anywhere except off a bench anymore.
          No more treestands for me. (hip implant)
          Pop ups aren’t comfortable.
          I built a box blind on a trailer with a custom(?) shooting bench. I can hunt in all kinds of weather and with the shooting bench, place my shots carefully!
          …and “YES!”, I hunt with my AR’s! Twenty round mags and all! Never know when a sounder of hogs may show up.

    • Well, a scope isn’t a “mod.” It’s a magnified sighting system. Mine is on a Burris PEPR quick-detach mount, so it can be removed in short order and sights flipped up for other purposes. A 3-9 on an AR15 gets the job done for groundhogs, coyotes, or anything in-between.

      Besides, what’s wrong with punching holes in paper at 100 yards or ringing steel at 400 yards? I wouldn’t own many guns if they weren’t fun to shoot.

    • Generally I do agree. I suppose if you can only take your Walmart special out to shoot from a bench, then what’s the difference? I’ve got an 18″ LaRue PredatAR that will shoot straight further than I can see with the Sig 4-24x scope on it, but I’ve also got an SBR with an Aimpoint.

    • I took the bipod off my FrankenMauser 96 and put it on my Ruger Scout rifle for a 200m telescopic sight match. I did this after using the Scout at 400m only using a sling and getting 4 hits out of 20 on the target. On the 200m match I scored 2nd in class with 99/100 with 11 centers (20 of 20 hits). The 2.5x Scout scope was not a disadvantage on that match since the rifle was steady I could pick my point of aim more easily.

  3. Hmm… let’s see.
    Grip-Pod.
    Skeletonized AR grip.
    Snarky dust cover commentary.
    Snarky safety switch commentary.
    (Come to think… I guess anything Spikes from Florida….)
    Monopod grip.
    Hell… anything that is bolted to an AR that says, “I can’t get out to shoot enough, so I sit at home and stare at my rifle, thinking of ways I can play with it withot having to go take it shooting…,” more or less.

    Ha all you guys know who you are… lol

    • Nothing wrong with “God Bless America” or “Infidel” on your dust cover. I don’t do it to look cool. In fact, all my ARs are minimalistic and black, not showy and red or blue or stupid. I just do it because it was 5 bucks and I needed something to get free shipping from Brownells. Plus, I love America. 🙂

    • Don’t diss my grip pod man… When you carry an M4 everyday and everywhere it makes a nice stand when your sitting down. They also are worth there weight in gold when you Qualify.

    • Gov profile or m4/m203 cut? There are plenty of gov profile without the cut. But I agree, they’re dumb. Why do you want more material out front? I’d love if someone can tell me the advantage besides cutting costs on machining time.

      • There is literally zero benefit. The added material in front of the gas block was added in error by the military. It was a solution to a problem that never existed.

        There was a percieved bend in rifles at the gas block due to using/training with a bayonet. In fact there were burs where the gas port was drilled.

      • I heard the thick profile of the A2 barrels was to stop bending barrels when troops would use them as improvised crowbars. The light profile under the guards was to save weight and keep most of the balance of the A1 series.

        I think better training and making examples of the idiots who would use weapons as improvised crowbars.

    • Agreed. I hate carbine gas systems on any barrel length. Rifle or mid please. And I put a Faxon gunner profile on the first AR I built. It’s a great, light profile and I prefer it over any other. The rifle is just above 5 lbs and no strength is compromised. All they do is increase recoil, carbon build up, heat, and make the gun wear out faster. Why?

  5. +1 on the skull lower receivers. Lately I’ve found myself attracted to those pistol red dot sights. I use to think they were silly, but Glock, S&W, and other companies are offering slides that will accept them. These new year deals put some name brand pistol red dot sights under $200. I fear I will have one on my carry pistol within this next year. The biggest deterrent is finding a friendly ccw platform.

      • @Iron

        Haha! I figure if I keep trying, I’ll eventually agree with everyone one time. It’s that whole monkey on a keyboard thing, right?

    • That’s sometimes a function of the powder being used. ie, if the powder is too “long burning,” you’ll get these incredible muzzle blooms.

      An example of this was the semi-auto pistol designed to shoot .30 Carbine ammo. The .30 M1 Carbine, was of course, a light/small rifle with a shorter-than-rifle length barrel. But still, the M1 Carbine’s barrel was much longer than the typical handgun’s. The muzzle bloom off these handguns shooting .30 Carbine ammo is tremendous…

      In general, rifle/carbine ammo is loaded with slower-burning powder. Handgun and shotgun ammo is loaded with faster-burning powders. If you’re using slower-burning powder in a firearm with a short barrel, you’ll probably find that a significant amount of the powder isn’t burned by the time the bullet exits the muzzle.

      • Ah, so THAT’S what it is.

        Was a guy the other day who was shooting something big out of like a 10” barrel. Everyone ducked every shot. I mean, my rifle is loud, no doubt, but it’s like normal loud. I think we were all thinking his build was going to blow up in his hands.

        • Sometimes it just hard to help the muzzle blast. 20 years back my wife was having brain surgery in MNPLS area during winter and I had to hang around for 5 days so I took several guns in hopes of finding an indoor range. One I took for fun was my FA .454 Casull. The Robbinsdale range said any handgun was permitted so I went downstairs where a couple others were plinking away with .38s/9 mms or something mousy. First shot was really cool- loud, of course, but it also looked like a flashbulb went off, and then a little tornado-like whirlwind went slowly down range as a bunch of the sawdust and junk on the floor were picked up in the blast. I touched off 2 more and was ready to shoot the 4th when I heard something behind me- the other 2 guys were peeking around the walls of the booth wondering what I was using. I offered them some rounds but they declined. I’d have taken them…

        • @Craig

          Heh. My range has one of those insane S&W huge revolvers available for rent – the one where people end up shouting themselves in the head with an unintended double tap, what is it, the .500 or something?

          Anyway, the thing costs a small fortune to rent, and apparently the range makes quite a bit of money off the fact that you have to also buy a box of the ammo with it which is also super expensive, and people end up shooting three rounds with it and then giving all of it back to them.

        • S&W .460XVR with that stock muzzle break is prob the loudest thing you will ever hear at a range. It has to propel a 200gr pill at around 2300fps from only an 8=3/8in barrel, so it has some massive powder charge that seemingly is never fully burned out. Incredible loud, with massive fireball. Yes I own one. No I have no real purpose for it yet, though whenever some kids with AR10’s and muzzle breaks like to scare everyone with 10 shot rapid fire strings it is oddly rewarding to bust that out and show them what loud really is. Sounds like freedom.

        • “Heh. My range has one of those insane S&W huge revolvers available for rent – the one where people end up shouting themselves in the head with an unintended double tap, what is it, the .500 or something?”

          Shouting themselves? (Maybe peeing themselves if they can’t handle recoil) Little issue with the spell check/no more edit button I imagine.

          My .454 is about the size and weight (a bit heavier, but not much) of a 7 1/2″ Colt SAA and it can actually be carried in a similar manner on the hip without one listing to starboard (RHers). I’ve never been interested in an X Frame, I think it’d be just as easy to pack my little Marlin guide gun on a sling over my shoulder if I thought I’d need portable big bore and wasn’t actually stalking “dangerous” game somewhere..

      • I once bought some cheap 9mm ammo with alum. casings; Fed. Champion I think. The fun thing for me was that it was the first time I had seen serious smoke. Smoke in the blast, but also smoke curling out of the barrel a second or two after. Kinda felt like Marshall Dillon. I did resist the urge to blow the smoke away from the barrel.

        • @Tommy

          Just the other day, I was cursing in my stall about the fact that someone had given me a box of ammo and it turned out to be Blazer which my gun hates (yes, this was not one of my proudest moments but I really wanted to practice without constant misfeeds) and the guy next to me took pity and traded me for a handful of steel cased Winchester 9mm rounds. That stuff threw sparks like nothing I’ve ever seen. It was like fireworks every shot. I mean, it went down range, but wow.

      • DG, “The muzzle bloom off these handguns shooting .30 Carbine ammo is tremendous…”

        I think you just sold me on getting a Ruger Blackhawk in .30 carbine.

    • Unless you happen to be shooting at night outdoors. Then the biggest fireballs become points of pride!

  8. I remember when drum mags were kind of a big thing. That was funny as hell. Not knocking it, I got one for my AK too. Not totally impractical but close to it, they make SO much noise it’s just hilarious. At least the AK drum mags worked, I never got one of the beta c ones for my AR, because everyone I knew that got one had nothing but problems with it.

  9. Oh, let’s see, on the “what’s not” list:

    Slide-lightening mill cuts on a semi-auto pistol. What are you trying to accomplish, and are you ready to fork up money for a new slide when you can’t get the action to act correctly when it gets too light?

    Also on semi-auto pistols: ports in the slide and holes in the barrel to create a “comp” in the barrel itself, with the gas blowing up through the slide. These aren’t going to reduce recoil as much as you’d think – you need more surface normal to the bore axis for the gas to hit to be effective.

    Porting holes on shotgun barrels, especially on trap guns. They’re not only barely marginally effective at reducing recoil, they make you quite unpopular on the trap line. Get a better fitted shotgun, or a recoil-absorbing stock. AA trap loads shouldn’t be beating you up that much in the first place…

    Muzzle brakes on .223’s – or .22LR’s. Muzzle brakes on most rifles under .338 WinMag or .275 H&H. Why punish your hearing, and everyone else’s hearing on the line?

    Release triggers on trap shotguns. If you have a flinch, then work on getting rid of your flinch. Release triggers are an accident waiting to happen. The only work I’ll do on release triggers on shotguns is removing them. i’ve removed a half-dozen of these things for customers – but I’ll have nothing to do with installing, modifying or adjusting them.

    Ultra-light triggers (esp. single-stage trigger) on guns that will be used in the field. Just say ‘no’ and get a proper trigger. I have rifles and pistols that have sub-pound triggers, but they’re never, ever used in field conditions. They’re range queens, never, ever loaded outside of a target range (or test bullet trap) environment. I’ll make an exception for double-set triggers, where the trigger can be ‘set’ to sub-pound weights, but the gun, when cycled, doesn’t start with a sub-pound trigger pull until the trigger is set.

    Mods that make some sense:

    Lengthening of forcing cones on older shotguns (when the shotgun has enough barrel thickness). Forcing cones used to be a very abrupt transition zone in older shotguns when shotgun shells were loaded with a felt wad, and you wanted to wad to “grab up” to the barrel as quickly as possible to prevent gas blow-by.

    Back-boring of shotgun barrels. This entails enlarging the bore diameter by honing a few thousandths out of a shotgun barrel forward of the forcing cone, before the choke. This allows the new plastic combo wad/cup components to move down the barrel with less friction, less plastic deposited in the barrel, higher velocities. The expanding skirt of the new wad/cup components allows the barrel to be a bit larger than nominal diameter for the gauge, and still get a good gas seal. A typical back-bored barrel (for a, eg, 12 gauge) might go from 0.729″ to 0.733 to 0.735. This might be most beneficial in older shotguns where the bore was already rather “snug” for the felt wad era of ammo. I’ve seen older American-made shotguns with bores (again, eg 12 gauge) of 0.724″ – ie, tighter for the loose shot column on top of the felt wad. The plastic wad/cup development allows for optimizations in shotgun barrels.

    Stock fitting on long guns – either a shotgun or rifle, but especially on a shotgun.

    Bushing a bolt nose on a factory bolt action rifle. Getting the firing pin to hit a cartridge smack in the center of the primer is one of the higher bang:buck mods you can made for getting tighter groups. Rifles that hit their primers off-center tend to have more vertical stringing than rifles (because they get wider SD’s on their muzzle velocities) that nail the primer dead–center every time.

    Improving trigger “feel” rather that decreasing trigger pull weight. A 4.5 pound trigger that feels crisp, without creep/grit, will feel better than a 2 pound trigger with creep/grit/jump.

    Fitting a barrel bushing on a 1911 to hold the muzzle of the barrel with less/no slop. This is more important for accuracy than tightening the slide on the frame, IMO, and lots less expensive.

    Fitting better sights onto just about any firearm.

    “Action jobs” on revolvers. It makes for a much smoother DA pull.

    Putting a high-quality barrel on a rifle. By “high quality,” I mean a single-point cut rifling barrel. Figure $350 and up for these barrels on rifles with other than .223 or .308 barrels, a bit less on the .223/.308 barrels.

    Action bedding on stocks that don’t have it.

    Truing the front ring of an action to the axis of the bolt, so the barrel is perfectly lined up with the bolt axis. This can help on both bolt actions and AR-15 upper receivers.

    Glueing barrel extensions of AR-15 barrels into the upper.

    Adjusting the gas tube in an AR so that it doesn’t hit the gas key off-center.

    Using a “match” (ie, heavy wall) upper instead of a GI or other commodity upper on an AR.

    I’m sure I could come up with other “worth it” mods if I thought about it for more time…

    • Ultra-light triggers (esp. single-stage trigger) on guns that will be used in the field. Just say ‘no’ and get a proper trigger.

      I have a .45 cal. Hawken rifle, percussion cap muzzle loader with a dual trigger — a standard trigger and a “set” trigger. Without the set trigger, the standard trigger is normal, probably a 5-pound break, but, man, the first time I used the set trigger (adjusted to be very light), it felt like all you had to do was breath too hard on the standard trigger. I had more than one premature firing (not exactly an ND, but I was letting out a breath for the shot and wasn’t familiar yet with just how light the trigger was and … bang. At least there was no flinch!)

      I suppose there’s a place for that, but I wouldn’t be using the set trigger at it’s lightest setting in the field.

      I actually think set triggers are a nice idea, so you have a standard weight trigger for day-to-day use and only a lightened trigger when you really want it.

      • ‘I had more than one premature firing…’

        Happens to the best of us. And if she can’t get over it, it was never meant to be anyway.

      • Set triggers are a great answer for the shootist that wants a “match grade” trigger for precision shooting, but still wants to have a “field safe” trigger for hunting. I really think they’re a good piece of design to address the issues in trigger control.

        I honestly wish they’d make a comeback here in the US. Sadly, they went out of fashion with the introduction of the lever-action rifle, and have never really been found much since outside of reproduction Scheutzen rifles or black powder reproduction arms.

        • I now have two flintlock rifles made right at the turn of the 18th century. One is rifled .50 and the other is a smoothbore 20g (ish). The smoothbore has a set trigger, with the first being close to 7lbs and the second just under 1lb. Although not as attractive as my rifled flinter, it is quickly becoming my favorite gun. It was clearly made for someone who knew they would be using it in the woods. In fast shots closer than 50 yards, a snap shot with the first trigger is plenty precise for any game on this continent. At 100 yards, taking my time, I can send a roughly .60 caliber ball into an 8′ target with perfect reliability, and I need no other powder than FF.

        • Since there is no edit button, to be clear, that’s somewhere between 1790 and 1820, so I guess that’s more of the turn of the 19th than 18th.

        • Double sets on my old Steyr SSG 69 and a single that you press forward to set on my Blaser Ultimate kit. It takes a bit getting used to it but it certainly adds to the ability of both the rifles and shooter when used properly. Both also shoot very well without setting them as well. These weren’t actual mods, however, that’s how they were shipped in the first place.

        • And I should’ve added that I’ve put Rise Armament 140 trigger kits in several of my ARs and though very reasonably priced (as in friggin’ cheap), they have made quite a positive difference in how they shoot for me as well.

    • A friend brought his AR-10 w/ brake. I was in the next stall. That brake put part of the muzzle blast right in my face. I’d much rather get hit by brass, than that.

    • I have a muzzle brake on my AR. It makes follow-up shots much easier. I was taught not to shoot unless I have a sight picture, and with a 16” barrel AR and my 150 lb. frame, I would get inches of muzzle rise every time I pulled the trigger. This allowed a lot of time to pass between shots. With the muzzle brake, I can run it very fast. I’m not saying it isn’t annoying to people at the gun range (hell, if they made a slip on part that closed the ports, I’d use it to spare everyone else at the range), but I flatly reject any notion that a good muzzle brake isn’t beneficial on a .223 rifle.

    • Muzzle brakes for can mounting on an 223/5.56 = sacrificial baffle instead of the first baffle in the can.

      And don’t shoot w/o the can. That is a terrible thing 😉

  10. At the range? Not much bothers me at the range unless it’s one of those FUDD’s that feels they need a mountain howitzer (Magnum) to kill a deer.
    They can’t handle the recoil so they have a muzzle brake installed.
    It deafens everybody on the line AND behind the line!
    One of my biggest heart breaks is walking into a local pawn shop and see 25 to 40 AR’s sitting on the rack!
    If I ran a pawn shop and an AR came in, I’d buy it for $100.
    Want to make a loan?
    Hundred dollar max!
    Bits, pieces and parts are too cheap online.

    • Yeah, agreed. Biggest caliber I use for hunting in Arizona is .30-06. It does everything and doesn’t kick at all without a muzzle brake, even with a light rifle. At least, to me it doesn’t. I don’t even hunt deer, they don’t taste nearly as good as elk and the whiteys we have here are the Coues deer and they’re like 100 pounders before gutting. Why bother when you can hunt elk?

  11. I mod my firearms, but ONLY with mods that provide functionality and benefit, NEVER for looks alone, although looks are in the equation. As an example, my AR pistol .300 blk came with the SB Tactical SBX-K brace. I took if off and installed the SBA3. I also changed the pistol grip to the Houge over-molded, which are really nice, having one on my Arsenal SAM7R . For optics, I put an Aimpoint Micro T1 on it.
    I don’t need more goofy add-ons. Don’t need popup sights, special triggers, trigger guards etc. They just don’t provide anything significant. One thing self defense weapons should have is some sort of light.
    Many self defense gun uses happen in dark or low light. My SAM7R has a Surefire, my daily carry doesn’t nor does the AR……yet.

  12. Compensators on 5.56 firearms (especially AR-15s).With as little recoil as 5.56 has anyway, Besides costing money, do they really do anything besides annoying everyone next to you at the range?

    • If the rifle were full auto, maybe a comp could keep the barrel on-target better.

      Semi-auto only? I’m not buying the claims.

      And, as you say, they annoy the hell out of everyone else on the range – especially if you’re shooting under a roof on an outdoor range.

    • I put one on my wife’s AR, but that was because she’s a girl. I did pick out one that was purported to be relatively quiet though. Supposed to cut recoil in half, but half of zero is still zero, so I didn’t notice much difference. It was also only $35. I’m not that stupid with my money.

    • Even more stupid: comps on 9mm carbines. Putting a comp isn’t going to fix the typically blowback design; I think it’s really about look and showing people how much useless crap you can throw (and perfectly good money you can blow) on a gun.

  13. Dragon skin and lead fishing sinkers to weight a hollow rifle stock. Oh wait, I’m doing that on Saturday.

    • I stuffed doubled up socks into my empty stock and poured steel shot from one of my old 2lb dive weights.

      Works well and actually balances the HB barrel out. You just would not want to take it deer hunting unless you were in a permanent stand.

  14. The most ridiculous gun mods I’ve seen are registrations, followed by capacity-limiting mag-inserts, mandated-broken operating controls, and stock / grip / fore-end mods to get around conversion to Evil Demonic Killing Machines. (It’s like those tattoos. You know, “those.” Get one of those, and now you’re demonically possessed. Pistol grips as the mark of Satan — discuss.)

    A whle different category of ridiculus are “smart” triggers, and not just because these, too are imposed.

    Voluntary but still silly are bump-stocks and similar, though Our Betters are correcting that. Hey it’s sily, so we gotta make a law against it. (You know what we have? A law-shaft gap.)

  15. Punisher skull anything.

    Any time you think about putting a Pskull on something, think about what that Pskull would look like with a face on it.

    “Thiff if my pffafety, ffir.”

  16. “Battle worn” finishes. They just seem so phony. If you want a gun that looks like it’s been shot a zillion times, shoot it a zillion times.

    • I totally agree about the battle worn finishes. If I wanted to buy a gun that looks worn out, I’d be shopping at a pawn shop and not a gun store. And I’m sure NOT paying full retail or more for a worn out looking gun.

    • We (the kids and I) put a rail on our Ruger KMK-512 and tried it out with a red dot and a fixed power scope. While it made the pistol somewhat more accurate it increased the sight acquisition time from less than half a second to more than three seconds. I thought that we would get accustomed to it, and that it would point naturally after a while, but in four or five sessions at the range it didn’t happen. So we went back to the open sights (and lived happily ever after 🙂 .

      • No shit.

        Has a scope on mine with the 7 inch barrel, and it also tamed muzzle-flip…

      • I agree G650. I have a Ruger Super Redhawk 8 inch in 44 Magnum. I have had the barrel Mag na Ported, an action and trigger job by my local Gunsmith, and have a nice 2×6 power Leopold handgun scope on it. Very accurate, I use a BiPod when handgun hunting deer in the brush, up to 75 yards max. I have harvested two that way. The barrel porting helps with recoil and muzzle rise. I don’t care what anyone else says, it works for me, and that is all that matters. Enough said.

      • I had a Super Blackhawk 10.5″ with a scope. The scope not only added weight, but also aided accuracy.

    • Hey, that’s on my short list. Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter in .44 magnum with 2-7or8x scope.

    • You needn’t say more. I would just further demonstrate your ignorance.
      Here in Illinois, where you can use a rifle for coyotes and varmints but not for deer, scoped revolvers kill a lot of bucks. They can be used quite accurately when rested on the rail of a tree stand, and are a darn sight easier to haul up there than a shotgun.

      • As stated in the article, one mans trash is another’s treasure. There’s nothing more useless than a pistol with a scope. Seems like the mark of a true fudd to me. Not my ignorance. Just not my thing. I don’t give a shit if you pay a tax stamp to put a foregrip behind your bipoded scoped pistol. What ever makes you happy. Yet it remains my opinion it’s useless and something I’d never want in a million years. Whether you call me ignorant or not.

  20. Dyspetic Gunsmith wins the interwebz…and I don’t care what other’s do. Not my $😄

  21. Gun attachments that take the form of judgemental jerk-wads who think they are the standard of reality for everybody else and who post about things that others do that make them roll their eyes. Get over yourselves and realize everyone else is rolling their eyes at you.

    • “Get over yourselves and realize everyone else is rolling their eyes at you.”

      Now that’s rich!

      A judgemental jerk-wad calling out others as being’ judgemental jerk-wads’.

      And here we see an example of the the pot calling the proverbial kettle black.

      What a fucking hypocrite…

  22. Folding buffer tubes on ARs. If you want a folding stock or brace, go with a different system.
    Suppressor height sights on carry pistols, because pistols don’t have enough snag points already…?
    Overly aggressive stippling, how bloody are your hands going to get anyway, Conan?
    Coyote buttf*ckme brown/Flat Duh Eerff every-damn-thing. Not too many malls I’ve been in that’re baby diarrhea colored. Just stop.
    What’s the deal with the obsession over 550 cord?(paracord for you nasty legs or civilian-types) Don’t get me wrong, it’s versatile and cheap, can fix about anything, looks good on my lady’s arm, can choke a terrorist…
    ok, I get it. 550 for days but the others, just stop it.

  23. Anything cosmetic. Mods are fine if they add or improve function to the weapon. But all the cosmetic mods that are available today is revolting. But hey to each their own. Usually those who suck at shooting, make their guns look cool.

  25. Paracord (550) GI and duct tape can fix just about anything…I regret to report that the AR platform had been transformed from fair to middlin’ anti-coyote rilfe into a paramilitary totem and Leggo/tinker toy for millions of neverwas/mittys and wannabes. All I can think is that it’s like painting flames on the nose of a prius. That you can do something is not always a good enough reason to actually do it. Without meaning to the AR-15 has become a hostage to fortune in the battle for the 2nd Amendment. When push comes to shove is the wrong time to learn that the nail that sticks up the highest is the first one that gets hammered down, hard.-30-

  26. Worst mod is having your brain removed and/or put in backwards so that you go to the range and start gushing about how we should all vote for Democrats.

    • Not quite what Mike is commenting on, but I did have my brain in backwards at the range once. I had a minor med. procedure with sedation. Doc. said sedative was something + fentanyl. Thanks doc. I slept that whole day. The next day I felt like a million bucks & went to the range which was a mistake. I was firing my pistol and was jittery as shit. Then I almost violated something and the RO had to shout at me.

      I packed up and went home. I’d recommend giving yourself 72 hours after sedation.

  31. Regardless the specific mods, if the combined value of your mods runs well into the four figures, on a nowhere near four figures gun, then that’s cheesy as hell. Get off the range and go pimp your Kia.

  33. 360 Pic Rails on your rifle. No one wants 10lbs of junk on it. Unless your an operator that needs options, leave the junk off. A light, maybe, laser if you can’t aim. You don’t need a green laser, a infrared, nightvision, thermal, sonic plotter or a quad multi-plane optic(the ones that have a scope,red-dot on top of your scope, magnifier, ect). Don’t do it. a 1-6 scope is fine on a modern rifle. If a 12 year old can out shoot you with a .22LR your doing something wrong.

    And people, LEARN To USE your irons and learn sighting, otherwise your a waste.

  34. oh in addition, who the hell needs a auto shotgun with a drum? what are you gonna be shooting? going duck hunting? yeah the wildlife off is gonna tag you. Going skeet shooting? overdoing it. Clearing a club playing techno? def so.

  35. The Tactical Operator that gets dressed to go to war at the range. I’ve seen overweight men that can’t run a half block, but wearing the full go to war gear and they think they’re all that. at a indoor range which they have to walk 10 feet to the table to the shooting stall. put them through actual full day range course and they will die. *face-palm*

    • Man, you got that right……We have them ALL over our range.

      We got a lot of retired military in our area (yes, i’m one too) and the easy majority still dress like there on their way to the big sand-box.

      Me? I go in jeans, t-shirt (or sweatshirt) and call it good. No different if I’m heading to my local auto parts store.

    • I was gonna say that too! But I decided that was more like “problem with shooter” than “problem with mods” so I didn’t. But still. Yeah.

      • I rarely see this but to each their own 🤔 perhaps it’s cause I’m in a military town.

  36. Fun Switch

    Unless you’re one of those NRA losers. Then a fun switch is purely an investment with 8% annual interest.

    • Missed the but really isn’t.

      “Threaded barrels on a pistol that isn’t a suppressor host”?

  37. The thing about AR’s is you can adapt them and customize in so many ways. That appeals to a huge number of gun owners and no, they are not all Navy Seal Pointy End of the Spear Wannabees.

    My AR-15 is fun to shoot. That’s the point of it for me, I enjoy it. No dressing up, I do not own tactical clothing or web gear or a Molle vest and not a one of my pistols has ever been in a thigh-drop holster. No imaginary battles, just setting up clays and gongs and such like and having fun with an interesting boomstick.

    I did do a couple of things. The stock, Magpul had one that fit me better, locks up solidly unlike the cheapo thing that came with it. Got a fantastic buy on an EOTech sight. Gun has Magpul folding sights on it too. I enjoy using both.

    No monopod, no laser, no spotlight. It has a free float quad-rail because it was cheap and I couldn’t pay for something better. Been that way for years, I should rethink it, take some weight off the gun.

    Oh yeah, has a simple, short front grip on the bottom rail.

    As much as I shoot the thing I shoot my Ruger 10/22 even more. It’s cheaper, owned it nearly a half century and it still hits what I aim at. Total mods to that gun were a sling, a bunch of magazines and because my eyesight ain’t what it once was it now has those FireSights with the little glowing plastic inserts, catch the sunlight.

    It is important to own plenty of magazines. Because loading magazines is a chore when all you want to do is enjoy some plinking time.

    Can also be quite dangerous. That Alien Vampire Zombie Virus Apocalypse is just around the corner you know,, could show up at any time. You don’t wanna’ be reloading magazines at such a moment.

    Huh, now that has me wondering? If you have one of those super insane green laser pointers that can light matches can you also use it against Alien Vampire Zombie Virus Apocalypse hordes? Sort of like Kryptonite?

    Anybody tried that mod yet?

    Maybe I’m going to have to get into this mod thing after all……….

  38. It’s your money, do what you want. My rifle is fde, with a surefire light, burris 1-4×24 on a pepr mount, and magpul accessories. Got a problem with that? Guess what. I dont care.

  39. Expensive firearms with cheap optics. Its like buying a mcmansion and having stairs out the back sliding door instead of a deck. Same equation, different objects.

    Forend dongs that people fully grasp with their hand under the rail. YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG!!!!! But your abject stupidity still entertains me.

    You already mentioned the lovely receiver designs. ARGH!! I ARE TROJAN!!!! FEAR ME…..actually I’ll be laughing.

    People hating on tests that show the object they nutswing on sucks and they cant take it because they shot 100000000000 rounds without a malfunction.

    and of course the opposite of that….

    People doing tests that always have malfunctions with certain products but most definitely not the ones they nutswing from.

    possible to be continued……

    • The optics price thing is a strange one.

      When I first got into firearms in the Air Force I was told by an instructor that the ratio of optic to rifle is 1/2…so your optic should be at least 1/2 the price of the rifle you are putting it on. $300 10/22? Slap a SImmons 3×9 on it. $2000 bolt gun? Nightforce, Swarovski, or Leupold for a grand. However, companies like Vortex and Primary Arms have forced me to reconsider. Prior to their offerings an Aimpoint PRO was the standard that adorned my AR’s, but both companies and SIG and some others have released very good optics at very good prices. The last two red dots I bought for Daniel Defense AR’s have been a Vortex Crossfire II and a Vortex SPARC, and they both have been run consistently and hard and are great for general carbine use. A friend of mine has had a Primary Arms 1×6 for three years and swears by it. Now I think the ratio can shrink to 1/3 or 1/4 due to better construction as long as you buy from the right company. The reason Trijicon ACOGS are $1200 is because they have to be able to survive a swim out of a submarine at 60 feet underwater and the shock of a parachute landing. That is what you are paying $700 extra bucks for over a similar Primary Arms offering. You aren’t getting $700 of extra optical quality. As long as you aren’t doing either of those things why pay extra for the ability?

      • Guns are tools and tools should work, especially if the tool can be used for an emergency situation. I have a few cheap optics that are range toys but most are things I can depend on and not give a second thought to if I had to count on them to protect life. However different strokes for different folks and not really my original intent.

        What I was saying, lol this example always comes to mind, was a gentleman I interacted with who had an actual HK mp5, all kinds of dumb additions clamped to it and claimed he had almost 5k invested…and atop it sat a sig romeo, one of the aimpoint copies that’s under 200 beans. It just boggles my mind why you would have all that money invested into something and then spend 1/25 of the entire price on an optic. Does not compute for me.

  40. I don’t like it when people do not have a conceptual understanding of weapon fundamentals. Why do people buy mods yet they simply do not invest time in the factory iron sights.

    I see a lot of people bypass zeroing iron sights, for a aftermarket optic. Sad.

    I don’t really care what people do as long as they practice and have respect for those around them.

  43. IR aiming devices (DBALs, ATPIAL-Cs, etc.) on an AR. Unless you own a $15,000+ night vision set, which you are regularly using to shoot in darkness, take that $1400 weight off your rifle. I know we all want to look like our favorite YouTube stars, but in reality even they shouldn’t be doing it.

  44. As per mods that aren’t so hot, just about any of that junk that used to get hung onto a Norinco SKS. Talk about trying to polish a turd… Ditto the vast majority of stuff I see weighing down a 16″ AR being caried by a 375 lb guy in a Hoverround at the gun shows.

    I also owned an M-1 rifle that had been “sporterized”. That was a waste. And 8 years back or so I picked up a 1941 Johnson at the Owatonna Cabeles for a song because it wasn’t put together properly- missing the pin ahead of the “drum” and it wouldn’t close or function. It also had the rear sight lugs buffed off and a Williams sight drilled into the very front of the receiver, with a ramp front also installed. Not a Winfield job, just some gomer gunsmith. I had it working in about 15 minutes, it’s still in one of my safes. Good deal there.

  45. Well, I didn’t see it so I’ll stick it in. Has anybody else tried MagGuts? I ran into an ad and ordered two, they seem to work dine, but I haven’t actually fired the gun with them, yet. They sell a kit for around $25 which changes out the internals of your magazine to increase the capacity, usually one round. I ordered 2 for the LC9, took me 5 minutes and sure enough, the mags are now 8 instead of 7. Loading them feels the same, they look the same, if they end up functioning correctly I have 6 or 8 other mags I’ll be ordering up. Particularly for a carry gun with limited capacity, $25 for 8 instead of7 seems like a no brainer mod, to me.

  46. -Expensive Duracoat camouflage/battleworn finishes…just buy 7 bucks worth of Krylon and use the damn firearm to get that authentic look.
    -ATIPALS, DBALS, etc…you are just LARPing as a Navy SEAL.

  47. , a cosmetic silencer on an AR. It did nothing but add weight. A 1911 with so much race gun it was impractical, .308 tripod mounted semi-auto belt fed machine gun( inaccurate novelty)and a smoke bomb that didn’t smoke all that much that looked like a grenade….I’ve never been to a public range, but from what I hear it’s not near as fun as a private range.

  48. Cheap glass on expensive firearms.

    Skeletonized anything, you are ruining what little chance at reliable function you had by opening up your slide/receiver so that all manner of contamination can find its way in.

    Decorative fluting that actually makes the barrel less rigid.

    Its not an accessory per se, but people who bring drones to outdoor ranges should get tied to a post downrange.

  50. Flat triggers, especially colored flat triggers.

    Every one should come with a flat-brimmed ball cap.

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