American Guns, the TV show we’ve (I’ve) been dreading, aired its first episode last night. Or at least it was scheduled to. I didn’t watch, as I saw the press preview last week and was out running calls on my ambulance all night. My question is this: what did all of you think about it? Was it as bad as expected? Did you let out a groan when you saw the little dog as well? Do you think it’s creepy that “Paige Wyatt” is the top search term bringing people to this site this morning? Should we keep watching this show? Inquiring minds need to know.

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30 COMMENTS

  1. It’s another Cheesy “reality” show that appears to be scripted just like their other programs. Shooting the motorbike which was obviously rigged with explosives was already done by Sons of Guns.Mom likes to wear revealing tops, competing with her daughter. Great job on her body and other work, hats off to her doctor. Little Paige is following in her Mom’s footsteps.A little tiny handgun was reproduced, interesting project, but testing it in the shop at a block of gelatin, and later at a water balloon on some barrels, was a bit dangerous.It’s MTV meets Sons of Guns.

  2. it was almost as bad as i expected. If anything the sons of guns folks at least have personality. The gun selling contest between the son and daughter was pretty telling. her main selling point was “this is a beauuuuutiful gun here” every time she showed a customer merchandise. If she knows so much about guns like her corny description at the beginning of the episode ( much like the rest of the family) why was this her hook to rope people in, or does the store have a continuous amount of creepy old guy biker types (like the dude who bought three guns from her) to buy weapons from her? The description of the son from the earlier preview was spot on, he pretty much sucks and has a crappy attitude. But the biggest dbag on this show is the dad. I go so irritated with the way he was yelling at his employee (the machinist), that is not being a good leader or boss. Once again, sons of guns wins, why are the working people on this show put so much in the background, where in sons of guns they are prominently featured? Flying around in a helicopter with a bag full of money after being abusive towards employees does not win points with me. I liked the old dude gun seller’s comment to the dad “are you gonna lecture me about guns or are you gonna buy something?” the dad seems like he is the type who runs his mouth alot and is challenged infrequently.

    bottom line, it is good that there are more gun shows coming out, but compared to sons of guns, this show is a step backwards. The fact they actually fire weapons is the only good thing about this show so far, as its “reality” narrative is sorely lacking. Why not try to replicate a TS type of show, or was discovery channel they fine with knowing that how much American guns overlaps with sons of guns?btw, what is up with the dad’s feet position in the picture?

  3. Good entertainment, but they just aren’t believable. Yes, I know they are a real family; but seeing a guy apparently so comfortable with his scantly-clad daughter’s flirtatious sales technique just doesn’t seem real. He and his wife talk about the kids being their motivation for expanding the business … I get that, but I wonder if they think it is better to leave them with a money maker than to leave them with in-tact reputations. Also, the setup they had at the end for the daughter to test-fire the AR she won seemed out of place. It was obviously a Discovery-funded endeavor. They’re talking about how tight money is throughout the episode, and then blow a motorcycle worth a couple hundred bucks at the end.

    Still, I enjoyed the show. It was somewhere between “Sons of Guns” and “Pawn Stars”; both of which I enjoy for different reasons (and both of which have a number of artificial scenarios and scripted segments). I liked seeing a gun machined from scratch (something that RJF doesn’t do) and a greater focus on revolvers and western-style rifles. I have little familiarity with old-school firearms, but plenty of interest …

    I’ll keep watching. It beats the heck out of watching my wife’s “Bridezillas” and “Extreme Couponing” recordings.

  5. The only redeeming factor is Mom’s spectacular boob job. She went big. I like that. Then she showcases them well to compete with her teenage daughter, who they pimp out her skin for money. Dad insultingly lowballs every potential seller, which tells me all I need to know about him. The son is OK, typical 21 yo boy.

      • Probably just youth and the right bra. She sure knows how to flirt with 50 – 60yo bikers till they buy a gun. None of it seems to bother Mom and Pop.

  6. It’s conventional reality schlop, but that’s the nature of the beast. I’ll take it given that we have a representation of teenage girls and other family members walking around with 1911s on their hips, and that nothing about that is considered abnormal.

    Eff the details and the nitpicks, this is progress. I’ll watch it on general principle.

  7. Its a double edge sword…….

    Orange County Choppers to get a lot of people to get into motorcycles and each reality type show seems to do the same for a particular genre. The hope is this would make guns more mainstream and less scary. Before this all anyone knew of guns was what the hollywood movies would show and their unreality.

    While with “Sons of Guns”, “Top Shot” and even “Shooting USA” (especially the Gun Nuts Segments) even my gun averse friends and my girlfriend will actually sit down and watch an episode or two. With American Guns, my girlfriend made the comment that “I hope you do not plan on watching this cr@p!. What happened to Sons of Guns?”

    I do not like when they have big explosions when they blow things up without giving the setup that they planted the explosives. Even the Mythbusters make it obvious what and why they are doing things. I also wish they showed more responsible gun handling as well. More edutainment does not hurt.

    I am all for whatever helps bring 2a and guns to the mainstream and less scary to the non-gun crowd especially if it is done with some humor, education and entertainment, but really, unless the episodes get better, this sucks and will be done after one season. Maybe they are going after the college crowd — I don’t know, but right now it is bad.

    • I agree with out on the explosions and obviously setup stuff. Even the customers sound like they are following a bad script. Why do they call this reality TV?

      The best part about sons of guns is the unscripted shop talk and accidental stuff that happens.

      • The best part about Sons of Guns is the sheer joy and enthusiasm the RJF owner and staff have for firearms. It’s infectious.

  8. “Maybe they are going after the college crowd”

    this may be the last group this show appeals to with its forced , corny family “drama.” The biggest problem is that they are majorly lacking in the “cool” factor. Cowboy guns are a bit of a snoozefest for some.

  11. At least they can actually build something & not spend all day on the internet trying to track down some elusive part… While a small fortune in machine equipment sits idle. I seem to recall Sons using their CNC machine once, having to pay someone that knew how to use it to come in and program it, and even then the project was still a spectacular failure.

    I like the idea of a gunsmith actually being able to create a part now & then. It’s like the difference between a mechanic that can rebuild a brake caliper and a technician who just bolts on new parts…

  12. The closeups of the bottles and water balloon being shot were cool but straight out of Top Shot. The son was pretty much a jerk and the daughter bugged the crap out of me with the silly little dog she constantly was carrying around. There was even a scene where she was holding the dog while trying to handle a weapon. Yikes.

    The mom was totally unbelievable as the person who supposedly runs the shop. The scene where she talks to the clerk about getting ready for the big event was classic because her advice to him was useless and you could tell by his body language he’d never talked to her before in his life. And the dad was a total jerk to the machinist. Like the guy was expected to be able to get it 100% right the first time by hand measuring the thing?

    Their “reality” is also lacking in that they insinuate she’s helped build the shop from the very beginning, but if you research it online you discover they’ve only been together for a few years, the kids are hers from a previous marriage, and they apparently had nothing to do with the shop until filming started.

  13. Arguing with the wife, taking a bag full of cash, a helicopter, a kruggerand, and a fitty cal to buy 4 rifles off a rancher seems a bit much.

  14. I think the show ROCKED. yeah – lets hate a show with hot chicks, guns, explosions, and making cool things from steel blocks. thats pretty neat. at least for this dude living in montana. don’t be a hater. cause i know you all will watch it in the closet and then bash it! JS out…

  15. John: Your lack of capitalization is making my eyes bleed. Also, anyone using the word “hater” is automatically dismissed as shallow.

  17. in all honesty, i had high hopes for this show. i love guns. sadly i was very disappointed from what the show delivered. it started ok, it didnt do anything exceptional to grab my attention, especially considering its a new show, so no good hook. immediately i noticed something was wrong. while sitting there with my fiance, we both noticed that the mother walked like a hooker in vegas and had as much plastic as LA Barbie. the daughter seemed to be headed on the same path as the mother. oddly the father seemed to completely unconcerned that his under age daughter dressed way too slutty, that and the fact his wife was shaking her butt a little too much for the camera. the son, i got the distinct impression that he was suffering from chronic depression. or it was the fact that it seemed as though the parents loved the daughter more.
    honestly it felt like they took american choppers, pawn stars and sons of guns; mixed the mediocre parts added more useless drama; threw it in the blender and hit puree. what remained was a show that i could not stop criticizing while it was on. after an hour of watching it i was saddened. i might watch a few more episodes, im trying to be optimistic.
    my worst “beef” with the show is the dad. he didnt seem to appear to be a good father, he seemed more concerned about guns and money than his family. he acted like the kind of boss that threatens to fire you if you do everything exactly how he said to do it and it didnt come out the way he said it would, we all know that kind of boss, the kind that many of us hate.
    the wife/mother of two. she appears to have more love of money than her family.
    the daughter. i will try to be as delicate about this as possible, due to her young age. it is my opinion that any girl of her age that chooses to use her body as a means to an end will end up in a place that none of us likes.
    for a family business, it had less to do with being a family and more to do with money.

  18. The dad has ego issues, the mother has ego and control issues, the son has issues with sunshine and happiness, and the daughter has intelligence issues. And boob issues. I’m positive that’s not natural.

  19. Am I not supposed to capitalize the first letter of new sentences any longer? Did I miss the changeover? If so, my bad! Did I mention I love Mom’s boobs before?

  20. I dont watch much TV but how many cowboy guns did mom have to sell to buy that pair? Let me know if that tidbit gets revealed………thanks.

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