The amount of people that are watching less than 1min of this video is staggering. For the ADHD nerds (like me): I agree with Trex Arms in the fundamental premise he makes. So does Hop. I think Lucas understands the dynamic I discussed here today. But due to the manner in which he goes about it being somewhat unnuanced (or rather "soundbite like") a lot of people that are using his statements as a excuse to go all in on one side of the discussion or other. That's ultimately not a good thing for this community. I think this is my first video I've ever discussed a community "drama" thing, but I think it's important not to get lost in the sauce of 2A prep stuff.
I don't think he was un-nuanced at all. But yes, people will use any little sound bite to create pointless drama. He literally started selling NV and somehow people still debate if he thinks people should own NV. 😆
I'm glad I got rid of mine back when their terms of service took a turn for the worse. Everyone just clicks the "I agree" now no matter how bad they admit to screwing you over
Unless someone is a teacher or aspiring one, I see Instagram as a place where the lower IQs go to obliterate their op sec. No one needs to know anything about you, and let's be honest, no one online really cares about you. Don't treat it like "your friends circle". You don't know who's looking at your photos or what their intentions are.
Dude, you get us. Training is a struggle, but this hobby is fun! We are trying, and yes we are LARPing. Thank you for understanding. Both sides are right here.
@SpecOpsGear I think a lot of people have romantic views of a WROL situation. Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Niger, Sudan, Syria, Libya, and Ethiopia are just some of the many examples of why we should not romanticize cultural/societal collapse. It's an incredibly bloody and messy affair.
@RichardClark-hw6ic I see what you're saying, and I agree with you depending on how that term is used. Fred Baker (Counting Coup Tactical) talks about it very similarly to BrassFacts and Hop, and I like their approach. All training is technically LARPing. That includes training the military goes through. The people who put down civilians for "LARPing" are assholes like Tim Kennedy and Dakota Meyers who think this kind of knowledge and capability should have gatekeepers. They can call us what they like, but at the end of the day all training (mil or civ) is technically LARP. You just either pay for it or you're paid to do it.
@@goobertoober95 I like all of your points here. 👍 The sad part is that those types of over-the-top training guys will be stuck out in the cold if things do go sideways. They will not be welcome with any military troops because of they are civ, they won't want to follow anyone else they don't know personally, and they won't want to lead anyone that doesn't meet their standards. It's a sad lonely place to be, and a little frightening for the rest of us to see what they'll do with themselves. I hate to say it, but we could see some weirdo raiders who terrorize people come out of this isolationist mentality. Strength without some flexibility breaks the span.
@whelper4231 you raise a fair point there! Those kinds of guys definitely give off the Fallout version of Raider vibes, lol. There seems to be a lot of overlap between that group and the hard-core CQB guys too. There is such a thing as too niche. I guess it's just a reminder for us normies to drink deep from the fountain of tactical knowledge, but not too deep...
Comparing nods culture to sneaker culture is spot on. There are guys that chase the vibe and guys that chase the skill. And you even touched on the fact that the past few years has been the biggest boom in gun culture. Of course there are going to be dudes who are here to flex not realizing they’re cringe. That’s what happens when things become mainstream/popular.
Everything in the USA is like this, at least during the past 15-20 yrs of internet prevalence. A big number of internet users take their online presence more seriously than their actual life, their actual skills, their actual abilities. They are what in the 70s-80s 1/4 mile racing culture we called "bench racers" and owners of "garage queen" cars. They think the image is the most important thing. And that's how the spend their money and how they live their lives. Pursuing an image. A tiny portion of them will work on their skills, and might abandon their poseur POV in the process.
Nightvision for rural areas while doing pizza delivery is an absolute god send. Nobody ever turns on lights, and if they do it's after they answered the door. Night vision allows me to scan for people and note stairs/steps in the walkway. Digital night vision is perfect. Use as a monocular so you don't get robbed. My prior solution was just a really nice flashlight -but then when I'm swinging it around I blind people, and that's one karen away from losing a pretty okay job. Edit: found out later hop said "I live with my parents and work a delivery job" 😂 I don't kive with my parents -I guess I'm that far ahead?
Jesus I wish I could have done then when I was delivering for pizzahut 10 years ago lol Hated when they never left their porch lights on neither making it more of a pain in the ass to find at night
Everyone wants to imitate/ achieve parity with SOF, but for SOF, it’s a full time job. They don’t pay to go to the range, they get paid. They can be in the gym 6 days a week and get paid to do so. The job for regular civilians wanting capability is challenging. Working 40+ hours a week and training/lifting/prepping on top of it is a whole other can of worms. Good video BF
Also, what’s funny is that the actual SOF instructors (e.g. Modern Tactical Shooting) don’t look anything like what you see on more popular guntube. They work more on fundamentals and basic shooting skills than anything else.
@Matt-xc6sp "if you don't buy it now someone else will" It used to be "if you don't buy it now it will still be available at the same price 6 months later"
Maybe its just me, maybe im gonna be crucified in these comments, but ive never been a fan of how lucas botkin talks about things like this. Most of us dont have the money to shoot thousands of rounds every month. Most of us dont even have EOTech or Aimpoint money. It took me a full year to build my first AR. I have a family to feed and house. So yes, I run a Sig red dot and a Streamlight. And no, I dont do much training outside of a flat range. An for most people thats enough. Granted I spent 7 years in the Army and Have trained pretty well in squad and team tactics, Im not doing his high-speed sprinting around walls in some special training area smoking steel every month. Thats my rant, stop shaming people for not having access, money, or time for high speed training and let them be happy when they manage to afford a cool new toy.
It's complicated. Sometimes having the boys make fun of you for not training or not having kit is good because it raises our standards. On the other hand, you'll look stupid living in a pod and eating bugs wearing your dtnvs and crye pants. We're headed for trouble, but we're also headed for crippling debt, inflation, rising costs and a impending depression. So, to buy NODs or bags of beans, that is the question.
Don't forget Image Intensifier prices are skyrocketing. I was able to find 30+ snr Elbit WP monoculars for $2800 a couple months ago, now you're lucky to get a photonis Echo for that prices.
@@TheMsdos25 this would be an argument for getting into tubes while you can. If you ever have the misfortune of going to a public range, you'll see a lot of nice rifles with airsoft optics. I've seen dudes with 3 AKs, multiple ARs who also say they can't afford NODs and decent glass.
@@thehistorian1232 How do you figure that we're not headed for trouble? Money printing and inflation at all time highs, govt agencies being weaponized against political rivals, middle class living on debt. No, you can't eat NODs, but if things really go sideways then low light capability is worthwhile. NODs are better than stupid vacations, bar tabs, weed, restaurants and car payments.
You did make me realize I’m really lucky to have friends, with land, who love shooting and trying to improve our shooting skills and gear, comms etc. cause yeah a whole lot of people don’t have a location to do so.
@@Token_Black_Guy same...last time i zeroed my optic was 10 quick rounds at a dirt cliff, with a house next to it. got as close as i could at like 25 yards, and hauled ass.
I’m lucky enough to have a public 100 yard range that is a 17 mile drive from my house to at least zero in my firearms and train for CQB. Though it does get packed on the weekends just for the fact that it’s open 24/7 and is available to everyone.
I think there needs to be a realignment of expectations with night vision. Gun TH-camrs want night vision to proliferate and become mainstream. Then, when more people buy them and do normal people things with them, they cry. I’m not defending making nv a fashion accessory, but there needs to be an understanding that most people have lives and just want something cool to spend their money on. You have a choice: normalization, or proper use. That’s just how the world works.
good point. and also those buying nv are funding the industry further and promoting it aswell regardless of how cringe it can be. I'd rather see it than not see it.
"[Groceries] costing easily twice as much as they did 10 years ago" Bro... try TWO years ago. Milk is literally more expensive than gasoline for me now and we don't have cheap gas here.
When I replaced my edc, I got a Staccato. Immediately I got hit with "you bought it because it was cool". My thought was: "If you're not buying stuff because you think it's cool, then what are you doing?"
Being spartan perhaps? Honestly, most things I buy isn't because they're cool. It's because they're needed, and work. I could buy some of the coolest AR15s and glock slides with lightening cuts out there. Instead, my sights are set on BCMs, and very plain utilitarian brownells slides. I like ubiquitous things that work (hence glocks), but I've never been one for style and fashion.
To your point: I was recently at a handgun training event where I knew the majority of students would be newer/less experienced. While many of them showed up with full-size guns and even competition belt setups I ran my 3.25" carry gun, IWB, and pocket reloads. Not to show off, but to remind them of where concealed-carry pistols skills should be and also show them that you don't need a Stacatto and race belt to shoot.
Let them shoot! If they wanna do it on equipment that is tried and tested for competition, effectiveness, whatever, let them learn on those platforms. If anything, it might make them better shooters in the end.
This resonates so much with me. After 2 years of USPSA, IDPA, and tactical 2-gun, it’s almost the end of the season where I’m at and I’m actually looking forward to a break from constantly training and dumping endless amounts of time and money into this “thing” we do. Nothing like working a 40-, 50-, or 60-hour work week, and having to drive 40 minutes in traffic to hit up the range (only to spend 45 more minutes setting up and tearing down) twice a week and then driving however far to shoot matches (sometimes over an hour and a half away) on your only days off. Combine that with the need to workout to stay in relatively good shape, constantly hitting performance walls that seem impossible to break, mental exhaustion, and a stagnating career path. If it wasn’t for my friends that keep pushing me, I’d have thrown all of my shit into the garbage can and got back into motorcycles.
As someone who is into cars and firearms culture, I get so unmotivated everytime I think about how much money I would have if I just dropped all my hobby’s.
@@jamfd3s788 The problem, really, is dabbling. Having "hobbies." If you are at the hobbyist level you spend way too much money chasing the hot new item. Hobbyists replace use of the gear to its potential, with owning the latest and greatest. Owning, talking about, and showing off the gear is way more important to a hobbyist than being excellent at using the gear. Hobbyists are collectors. Which is to say, museum-keepers. And someone should be keeping a museum of well-designed gear, but competing for who has the best museum is a bit on the childish side, at least when pretending otherwise that you're somehow knowledgeable about the gear. Because its specs and its appearance and its % of factory newness are all relevant, but they're only half the equation at best. The other half (or more) is being accomplished at USING the gear.
I saw a post on twitter about people without nods being loot drops for those who do. I could only roll my eyes as an ex active infantry who often left my nods popped up because the loom was more than sufficient.
In short: Embrace your cringe, part of the love of it is cringe, gear alone doesn't make you better, have fun with your friends both around the serious aspects and the silly. Train and prep as much as is reasonable for you.
About 2 mins earlier, I'd say, but I agree completely. At least on the work part. I'm not a "cool guns" person and don't understand those who are. I just like doing things and getting good at them, I don't much care about gear envy or gear upgrades outside of utility, practical effects, etc. Maybe because I'm not rich, but I'd rather spend money on ammo/training than another gadget or "upgrade." I think it's a bit odd to give any weight to spaghetti arms and his persona/presence/retailer/guntuber statuses. He's a nobody outside youtube culture. I don't know any competitive shooters that think of him, let alone think highly of him. Even making him a pivotal "opinioneer" is sorta odd and fantasy-world, to me.
Night shift what? Night vision in concept is to maintain the upper hand in force on force interactions. What are you doing for work that you don’t want to be seen whilst maintaining visual on someone else?
@@AutoSearPin I bought a gen 2+ pvs14 and I use it for airsoft a lot. I also use it for star gazing and hiking. I don't use it for my work; I work indoors at a well lit pharmaceutical company. But being outside at night on my days off just sucks when I can't see much.
Whenever I think about this kind of prepping, I always try to do a gut check against how much of it is fun/sexy, and how much of it is likely to applicable. The fun/sexy stuff keeps me coming back, but for applicability I look to recent conflicts that might have analogs to what (if anything) I might face. Recent conflicts involving scrappy participants like Kurds fighting ISIS and especially the war in Ukraine are great places to look. This causes me to ask questions like: - What is the value of NODS there? - Is one $5k optical scope better than ten $500 scopes? - Is it more important to have the perfectly optimal gear, or to have familiarity with lots of different gear? - Is it better to get your technique honed to perfection, or to get it good enough and work on applying it in different situations? - How are the latest techniques changing things? Look at drones -- do you know how to use a drone? Do you know their capabilities and countermeasures? Keep in mind that what will most likely save your ass are boring things like evading detection, organizing and feeding your neighbors, having basic medical skills, building shelter, and so on. Not to mention that the thing most likely to kill you is not working out or getting into a car accident. My skills are *fine*, I could definitely do way more training, but as it stands, all my friends have decided I'm the arsenal. So if I'm in the 99th percentile, maybe I should be working on learning to train others, and taking them to the range and ranch before they come to me in a panic.
You know the Kurds and Ukrainians are provided with real military weapons by the US whereas our government (US regime) is trying to actively disarm and strip Americans of our 2A rights.
Meh. Form usually follows function. I remember someone at the range thought I had a skeletonized aluminum grip for looks. I explained that the all-aluminum build was because plastic gets torn up, and I want this thing to last. There's not a flake of 6061-T651 or plastic anywhere on it, except gorilla tape, which is there to "rubberize", or hold something on. I started hot gluing that gorilla tape for water-proofing. There's nothing uglier than hot glue, but I don't care. If something is going to get knackered, I'm going to make it stronger. Nature won't change for me, so I adapt to it.
Agree on the last points. Biggest point of failure is actually your body and mind. Taking care of those is far more important than training. They're not mutually exclusive. Going on hikes is training. It's not necessarily intensive or "tacticool", but it's still training. A lot of people train without knowing it. Technically, driving is training. Plenty of 15 year olds with banged up vehicles can tell you how important that is.
defenitely! One of the things some 'prepper' channels are is that people should bring skills to the table. For example, if you are the 'arsenal', your friends should bring food and manpower (both 2A and not 2A). Hope you have a great day!
Nutnfancy called this back in like 2007. We've become obsessed with 2nd kind of cool. Our community is healthier when we are balanced between 1stt and 2nd kind of cool. For thise unfamiliar 1st kind of cool is how well something works i.e. function. 2nd is just for ascetic/fun.
Nutn is quickly approaching retirement home status But man, did he have some nuggets of wisdom that stood the test of time, back when almost none existed.
@@BrassFacts Nutnfancy is still out there testing the gear he uses. He already owns a PVS14 and he is currently testing lasers. I think he mentioned he's currently working on a review for a Steiner d-bal.
@@BrassFacts "approaching retirement age"... At 62, I guess I fit in that category pretty easily, but that doesn't stop me from having an interest in what you "kids" are doing. The age thing will figure into whatever unfolds going forward. We old people have lived long enough to see that trends are just that, and that there are more important things than the latest game release. You'll be happy to have a couple of old dudes around you if things go sideways.
It saddens me to see that Nut'n 's most current video releases are only raking in like 20k-25k views =-[ The man is a national treasure and was a front runner of Action Adventure/Gear Review/Run n' Gun fun content on YT. Yepp, Nut'nFancy showed me its okay to rock a Fanny Pack... Then that beautiful bastard James Reeves comes along and shows me that you can also look damn sexy doin' it!
Thanks for making this video. I felt like Lucas' comments were a bit immature, in part because I haven't been on instagram enough to see all the cringe and probably because I have lived the buy-everything-you-see-just-to-show-it-off life (hence the name)--at least I was showing it off to friends, not the internet. But all these purchases, while some were very ill-advised, ultimately made me want to train to the level of my gear. I hated the idea of showing up to a match with gucci gear and shooting poorly. So I trained--in gear--and I'm still on that journey. For NV specifically, if we encourage people to own night vision, there has to be more of a payoff than once a month use for 2 hours of shooting. I say take them everywhere and see if you can get some use out of them beyond shooting (night hikes, testing different lighting conditions, showing off to the bros because they really are that cool) because this keeps you from getting serious (and possibly justified) buyer's remorse. The shooting is important but the overall comfort with the device and your headborne system is also important--Lucas even made this point. A lot your gear can be trained with off the range. And Wendy's sounds pretty good after a long hike. End of rambling.
Right with you brother, I have an addiction to AR-15 military history and I buy uppers all the time because they are a clone of a retro, or are a clone of some sort of SOCOM era blah blah blah. I live in the country, so nobody cares what I (or others) do with guns. When I get nods, I 100% see my self driving around at 3 am with them just grinning. Hiking, and especially shooting under nods will be a common thing for me,. It will be a bit before i can afford what I want, but Its gonna be epic. Lol
This is one of your best videos @ Brass Facts. With the way things are going throughout our country, what's most important is that we welcome and educate as many new shooters in this community as possible. I'm all for the tacticool gear and building weapon systems simply on the strength of "what if", but balcanzing this community is the last thing we need - particularly when some of the most influential voices reside in that 'bubble of privilege' you mentioned. Solid content as always man!
some of us are too poor to do any of it but we are slowly acquiring the gear and absorbing the knowledge. Im honestly just a gun nerd that ultimately doesnt want to be a victim. But my lifestyle doesnt allow for training in gear outside of the city and dropping 1/3 of my income on ammo and gear or NODs especially. I’d like to eventually tho of course
Since I live in an area that has most areas well-lit, I started questioning my purchase of bump+$3k PVS-14 with WP and 2500 FOM... but the national forest is only 45 minutes drive east of me, so still valid to go out to the gravel pit and shoot with them; just haven't yet. Yeah, I'm one of the ones that aren't "serious" about it, as mentioned in the video, but I had the available cash from working a grueling job and wanted to add it to my capabilities. I've practiced driving with it and that took some getting used to, but was really awesome to see some of the cameras around my neighborhood (using the pinhole cover due to lighting) that I never knew were there.
@@BrassFacts Thanks. This video had me a bit on the fence of where I landed in the descriptors of NV owners... mostly settling on the "I'm an owner that saved to add to my capabilities, much like I took the USMC Combat Lifesaver course as a civvie and built my own IFAK to have if I need someday." Doesn't necessarily fit ny of the 'types' described, but I'm okay with that... I never was one that fit a clear mold or group.
I love that more and more people like you and Arkayne are talking about the issue of people thinking they need the highest end of something because the base line price is already a lot so dudes who can afford it give you your whole option. I hope we get back to training and practice.
$12,000 a year on ammo? As a former military small arms instructor and former cop, I'm glad I got my training when the ammo was free. Now that I'm 73 on social security, I'm saving my ammo, but I can still hit a bulls eye at 1000 yards and my animals let me know if anyone is around my little farmhouse late at night. Love your channel. You guys look like you would have been a hoot to hang out with when I was younger.
Being able to accurately hit a target at range in the dark with night vision is a really cool experience. I have only used night vision a few times using a friends goggles and it convinced me to look into it. The prices are really high but the advantages are worth it.
It’s really only worth it if you have public land to go larp on or can just drop $1.2 million on a couple hundred acres. I don’t have access to either of those around me so there’s not really a point of getting it since I would only be able to use it when hiking
For real. He lies about starting TRex himself. His dad bankrolled and owns TRex Arms. They are also in a cult while pretending to be normal Christians. They have a dress code and an additional book they added to the Bible.
Lucas has become the definition of Tacticool cringe. He’s a superb shooter, but he’s also full of himself and it shows. He also totes “budget” videos that are still far beyond the average man’s budget like there’s a disconnect between his bubble and reality.
Things have to be cool for people to do something without it being “necessary” and almost none of the best gear is useful in our daily lives. So yeah we should encourage people to train but we shouldn’t demotivate each other for having fun with the currently useless toys that cost more than some people make in a month.
No you're absolutely correct, superficiality and fraudlent sense of self are excellent things to pursue. Better to be a Big Time Poseur than someone who can do the thing, eh? At least you'll be "popular" which in a way, I guess, is working toward excellence in SOMEthing at least. But is "popularity" really a good sense of self-worth? Is that too awkward a question for many people to consider? Maybe there's the crux of the problem.
For a community largely made up of people who claim to hold the ideology of “I don’t care what you do with your own personal property as long as it doesn’t effect me”, the gun community sure does seem to care a whole lot about things other people do with their personal property that has zero effect on them. Taking yourself seriously all the time and not doing things for fun misn’t a sign of maturity, it’s a clear indicator of immaturity. Also, most people don’t care about filming themselves training, editing that footage, and then receiving endless criticism from keyboard warriors. That doesn’t mean they don’t train, and it doesn’t matter if they train it’s their life. Lucas also seems to forget how difficult it can be for most people to find a range that allows real training, let alone a range that’s open at night. Not everyone owns a massive private range and not every lives near or has time to drive hundreds of miles to BLM land. Taking a goofy picture takes a few seconds and hurts no one. My primary justification for buying NODs was hiking at night, urbex, and stargazing. I don’t have time or facilities to train at night very often and when I do it’s almost always with white light because that’s a much more realistic scenario. People also seem to forget that a huge chunk of NVG sales are from telescope nerds, and they’re usually buying the highest spec ones.
Kinda yes, kinda no. The Instagram and social media gun community is more like that. Nobody else cares because they aren't trolling through your social media to see if they should dunk on you for having cheap gear, or make jabs at you for having expensive gear. Basically social media is what contributes to most human suffering.
Bro… this was single handedly the best rant I’ve heard you go on!!! You perfectly described what I’m goin through and I’m sure many others. I love this hobby and lifestyle but man it’s expensive and can be toxic. The worst places I see it are FB groups and the comments.
Brass Facts' words are wise. Going way out on a limb, I'd guess that when Lucas comes off as a bit abrasive, he has just witnessed someone acting super-douchey and he gets a little blunt. It's human and understandable. His message that training is more important than gear is sound, but it's also intimidating to new shooters, which I was just a few years ago. I avoided content like that of T.Rex Arms and Garand Thumb until recently, when I thought I was better prepared to consume that content. I still take them with a grain of salt because I'll never be able to devote the kind of time and money to it that Lucas, Mike, Brass Facts, and Hop do. And I'm fine with that.
When I lived in LA I used to practice at the range with my neighbor who was a sniper on a SWAT team. Can't tell you how much they drummed into my head about the importance of basic shooting techniques, reloading, and repetition/memory. I used to get frustrated because these guys could shoot the lights out and thought I would never have a chance in a real life and death situation.. They would laugh and tell me they had to shoot 100,000 rounds to get that efficient and to relax. I understand what T Rex is saying and continue to improve my fundamentals and keep shooting.
Thanks for sharing brother! I spend more time than most I know preparing, training, etc. I constantly feel it's not enough, and I still find time time do other things I like, spend time with the family, and work a ton. That said, many of my friends are not in such a situation and simply cannot. Nice for a youtuber to give a detailed perspective for most of us.
Retired Army grunt here with a couple trips to the sand box. I fully agree with everything you said. There is way too much dogma in the 2a world. Sure I see a lot of stupid shit too and I myself will criticize people for it. Not because I'm being a dick but because I want to see people improve their skills.
Probably already been said but a lot of gun people are not shooters. They are gearheads or collectors or aesthetes that love the industrial design behind tactical stuff. As you say, it’s hard to access good range facilities for anyone that does not live near the desert or mountains or other sparsely populated open areas.
I think you covered it very well. Yes we should always be pushing to be better, but within our means and with realistic goals and expectations. As you said, anything that helps push people to train is a positive, and if that means having some fun or posting “cringe” nod pics, so be it. Even if they’re not shooting under nods, they’re getting time under them and others might end up following suit and getting some nods themselves.
Thank you for saying everything I’ve been thinking. Preachy influencers guilting people over training is just as annoying as the hypebeast goon consoomerism
Damn...that rant really spoke to me. 😅 I've been training/shooting/instructing for 3 years or so. The loss of disposable income has been real. The loss of buying power in the last 2 years equates roughly to a loss of 10k in wages.
So well said. I always just blow off those statements from influencers because they occupy a much different place on earth than I do. I wish I could get paid to run drills and review the latest greatest tactical anything. But I’m really busy working 50-60 hours a week to barely scrape by to support my family. I am saving for pvs14 ‘s and lust over them. I’ll get them when it makes sense. It’s always going to be a ridiculous purchase for me, but I do on occasion like to be rewarded for the insane amount of work I do. Anyways , this video needed to be made and you got a new forever viewer.
As someone who butt chugs the better gun tuber content. Yourself, hop, 9 holes, trex, risky... I think that Lucas is generally promoting training any way any how. Not necessarily by spending. He's promoted training with airsoft, lots of dry fire stuff, etc. Basically promoting achieving and maintaining a certain skill, kit and fitness level. Mostly in a cost conscious fashion. And his company really pioneered producing and distributing an upper mid tier product at lower mid tier pricing. This year I signed up for a 10 course training curriculum. That's 10 days, one a month for 10 months. Covering everything from basics, triage, maintaining clearing, shooting in a team environment, movement, cqb and night shooting with white lights. You and hop keep it real. 👍
IMHO owning NODs now is the same thing as owning a Jesse James chopper in the early 2000s. More of a flex than actual utility, for 90% of people out there, the the very few people who actually USE them? Nah its only for pictures and then back into storage.
Thanks for keeping it real for us dads. I do my best to squeeze in preps, training, ammo etc. with increasing economic and familial demands. Of course NV and thermal are big advantages and someday I'll get something.
I would argue this is your best and most personal video. Well done. I feel like this was the closest it felt to talking to a close friend. Also this video prompted me to subscribe. Keep up the real content homie ❤
I’ve come really close to selling it all and just waiting until I have my stuff together financially. I didn’t, and am just running what I have as much as I can, it’s in and I do enjoy it.
I got to see quite a lot of this recently when I was invited to a large event by someone from tactical instagram that I met at a separate competition. I never cared about larping, go off regents, but the amount of people there fully kitted out wearing level 4 plates and running scar's, or dual tubes with the most gucci ar I've ever seen, but their guns weren't even zeroed. Then they go asking if they should get more lasers or suppressors. Use your gear. I saw quite a few guns go down because some people just don't maintain their equipment too. Be that guy that can strip their gun at night without a light and put it back together because they know it inside and out.
That’s something I don’t get- I don’t understand not maintaining your gear until it fails for no reason. I’m not gonna do anything to my Colt AR that hasn’t been done before. The guys who know have said, “Do this.” I don’t need to figure that out myself.
What a great video. I liked how you elaborated how much it truly costs TH-camrs like yourself or even smaller "TH-camrs" like myself to provide content. And how everything comes out of our pockets to provide content. I love doing it however. Just costs time, effort and money/resources!
I agree completely. I am completely burnt out and just want to quit. Seems like no matter what I do, it's all pointless because the gear I can afford will be overkilled by what Lucas from T rex arms & Mike from Garand thumb has. Why even try.
Stop caring about what other people say and think and just have fun. Hobbies shouldn't be draining. If they are, you either need new hobby or need to do something different.
I agree. I watch less videos from them now. However, I don't know your political views or if you think country is headed for chaos....but I personally think America is going down the drain. So for me, I gathered a few basic firearms when on sale, and a lot of parts to make a few more. Now it's about being able to defend my family & train others in basic firearm handling, cleaning/repair, shooting. Point being, firearms are NOT a hobby for me...they are means of protection/threat for my family.
@@jvt_redbaronspeaks4831 But is your family on board with your plans too? It's difficult when you have a family that doesn't want to train or prepare at all. If I suddenly died of a heart attack, none of my family would know (and doesn't care to learn) how to properly use the supplies I have set aside and it would all go to waste.
Thank you for being down to earth about this. I want NODs and a supressor but I got bills to pay, an Aero Precision rifle and 20K rounds of training will have to do!
First of all catawampus. Second of all, find local matches. This is an easy efficient way to stay in the shooting game. Take it as serious as you want. But it allows for a gear shake down, exposes you to different shooting situations, particularly 2 gun and pcsl matches. They don't often take a ton of ammo an fluctuate with the times. They will definitely show weaknesses that you can dryfire in between matches. For those with limited time, its an easy way to plan a shooting day once a month or once every other month where you only need to bring gun and ammo. The nature of a match can be competitive and cause a little pressure but can also be really fun and just an overall good time depending on your goals at that time. Its also a great way to find like minded people. You also get to see every piece of gear the world offers and can decide for yourself if something is worth it based off of real-life feedback. You also will realize how much stuff you just don't need by watching others crush stuff with strike eagles, irons, or romeo 5s. After a while, you'll have your own perspective and can appreciate a lot of insta posts for what they are....practical entertainment.
My training has fallen off and I had to liquidate my NODs due to a divorce. Shit is rough out there. Two years ago I was rolling with the boys every week, then that group fell off because of life changes as well.
I think Lucas is 100% correct, so is Garandthumb when they say that buying stuff just to buy it is dumb and you should go out and train. I think the problem is they never say how. Personally, Paul Harrells videos on gun training is a very good start to know what to at least expect. Its called "Shooting in Stressful Situations."
Great video. The community probably just needs to take itself a little bit less seriously, trex's arms all into the 2A "we're totally not larping but preparing for civil unrest and/or the actual government " is pretty cringe, it's the embodiment of the taxidermy wolf "In a world of sheep" meme. By all means own expensive nods, go for night hikes, go hunt with it, even go airsoft with them, or just keep them in storage 99.99% of its lifetime, who cares, shooting is mostly just a fun hobby if we can all just drop the what-if-macho and be really honest.
It will never stop to amaze me how much random people worry about what i do or dont do with my gear. I partially get it with guns, people who are armed but dont know what their doing are kinda dangerous, but nvs? If i want to own quad nods to do star gazing with my girlfriend or to flex on instagram, than that is mine, not trex arms Business
I got the notification. But Chrisky wanted me to come here and tell you that I'm too poor for NODs. Until next time, to live vicariously through our Guntoober idols, fellow poors!
Great video. A very balanced perspective. We need more voices like this promoting the value of training, fun and culture, without going to the cringe on any of those
The course correction that Lucas and T.Rex seem to be pushing for the industry is for us to become generally more responsible. That ties in with overarching concept that the only thing that can save our country at this point is for the average man to chose being a responsible citizen again. Responsible for our politics and making politicians actually work for us by holding them to account instead of pulling a lever mindlessly. Responsible for our local communities by filling needs, getting to know your neighbors and helping them where you can. Filling needs that the community needs where the government has failed to do so. And having the balls to stand up against evil shit that people want to normalize in your local school or board of supervisors meeting. But I also think being too hard on people who like to have a bit of enjoyment in their hobbies is a possibility too. The hinge pin being, are you just having fun? Or are you also training? So its still a balance, course corrections gonna course correct.
The "take this seriously" crowd is completely out of control themselves. There's dozens TH-cam videos about "proper cqb foot work" which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life. These guys complaining about Instagram are going to get dusted worrying about whether or not their foot is angled properly instead of the dude who just emptied his mag into the drywall they're hiding behind. (Sorry I was a MOUT instructor and this is a big pet peeve)
I bought a green tube from TNVC because they said white was a 6 month wait. Should have gone white because my green tube was fucked up and i had to send it back and wait even longer for a new batch.
I generally mind my own business and let people do what they want. However when goon bros start gloating, I gotta ask them how many firefights they've been in under nods. Its always 0.
The amount of people that are watching less than 1min of this video is staggering. For the ADHD nerds (like me):
I agree with Trex Arms in the fundamental premise he makes. So does Hop.
I think Lucas understands the dynamic I discussed here today.
But due to the manner in which he goes about it being somewhat unnuanced (or rather "soundbite like") a lot of people that are using his statements as a excuse to go all in on one side of the discussion or other.
That's ultimately not a good thing for this community.
I think this is my first video I've ever discussed a community "drama" thing, but I think it's important not to get lost in the sauce of 2A prep stuff.
Pretty bad you have to qualify an opinion
Who watches less than 1min??????
I don't think he was un-nuanced at all. But yes, people will use any little sound bite to create pointless drama. He literally started selling NV and somehow people still debate if he thinks people should own NV. 😆
you forgot to have Subway Surfers gameplay going on the side of the video.
Rookie move
SMH my head
T-Rex is a elitist d-bag.
This hobby is a lot less toxic when you don't have an instagram account.
That’s for damn sure! So glad I got off that and Facebook.
fr instagram is for girls lmao
I'm glad I got rid of mine back when their terms of service took a turn for the worse. Everyone just clicks the "I agree" now no matter how bad they admit to screwing you over
Unless someone is a teacher or aspiring one, I see Instagram as a place where the lower IQs go to obliterate their op sec. No one needs to know anything about you, and let's be honest, no one online really cares about you. Don't treat it like "your friends circle". You don't know who's looking at your photos or what their intentions are.
this hobby was less toxic without Lucas Botkin.
This was a damn good video.
this was a damn good comment :D
Seriously though, thanks, been watching your stuff for quite sometime.
MY BOY! Would love to shake your hand!
@@Andrew-wp1bzlmao he’s not a god dude. He’s just a normal guy.
The guntube multiverse crossover we didn't ask for but needed
Did not expect to see you hear Mr. Noir! I concur!
Night vision is for Wendy’s
Thermal overlay
Is for Taco Bell
Yup, only thermal is gonna show you that toxic taco cloud your buddy just released.
💯🎯
Sonar vision is for Pizza hut🤌🏻
You forgot the gas mask.
Dude, you get us. Training is a struggle, but this hobby is fun! We are trying, and yes we are LARPing. Thank you for understanding. Both sides are right here.
It's LARP, and i hope it stays as LARP because watching everyone you care about die would suck.
@SpecOpsGear I think a lot of people have romantic views of a WROL situation. Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Niger, Sudan, Syria, Libya, and Ethiopia are just some of the many examples of why we should not romanticize cultural/societal collapse. It's an incredibly bloody and messy affair.
@RichardClark-hw6ic I see what you're saying, and I agree with you depending on how that term is used. Fred Baker (Counting Coup Tactical) talks about it very similarly to BrassFacts and Hop, and I like their approach. All training is technically LARPing. That includes training the military goes through. The people who put down civilians for "LARPing" are assholes like Tim Kennedy and Dakota Meyers who think this kind of knowledge and capability should have gatekeepers. They can call us what they like, but at the end of the day all training (mil or civ) is technically LARP. You just either pay for it or you're paid to do it.
@@goobertoober95 I like all of your points here. 👍
The sad part is that those types of over-the-top training guys will be stuck out in the cold if things do go sideways. They will not be welcome with any military troops because of they are civ, they won't want to follow anyone else they don't know personally, and they won't want to lead anyone that doesn't meet their standards. It's a sad lonely place to be, and a little frightening for the rest of us to see what they'll do with themselves. I hate to say it, but we could see some weirdo raiders who terrorize people come out of this isolationist mentality. Strength without some flexibility breaks the span.
@whelper4231 you raise a fair point there! Those kinds of guys definitely give off the Fallout version of Raider vibes, lol. There seems to be a lot of overlap between that group and the hard-core CQB guys too. There is such a thing as too niche. I guess it's just a reminder for us normies to drink deep from the fountain of tactical knowledge, but not too deep...
Comparing nods culture to sneaker culture is spot on. There are guys that chase the vibe and guys that chase the skill. And you even touched on the fact that the past few years has been the biggest boom in gun culture. Of course there are going to be dudes who are here to flex not realizing they’re cringe. That’s what happens when things become mainstream/popular.
Or you can chase both the vibe and the skill.
@@Valkyrie1911 skill kinda becomes a vibe
He’s basically describing a “Hype Beast” there’s guys who buy 1k sneakers 👟 just because they are “Popular” they don’t even care how they look!
Everything in the USA is like this, at least during the past 15-20 yrs of internet prevalence. A big number of internet users take their online presence more seriously than their actual life, their actual skills, their actual abilities. They are what in the 70s-80s 1/4 mile racing culture we called "bench racers" and owners of "garage queen" cars. They think the image is the most important thing. And that's how the spend their money and how they live their lives. Pursuing an image. A tiny portion of them will work on their skills, and might abandon their poseur POV in the process.
⌚ Evropa thê last battlê
Nightvision for rural areas while doing pizza delivery is an absolute god send.
Nobody ever turns on lights, and if they do it's after they answered the door.
Night vision allows me to scan for people and note stairs/steps in the walkway. Digital night vision is perfect. Use as a monocular so you don't get robbed.
My prior solution was just a really nice flashlight -but then when I'm swinging it around I blind people, and that's one karen away from losing a pretty okay job.
Edit: found out later hop said "I live with my parents and work a delivery job" 😂
I don't kive with my parents -I guess I'm that far ahead?
That’s actually a great idea as we get cheaper and cheaper Nods.
How tf can you afford NODS on a pizza delivery budget????
Customer: Hi, I'd like to order a Pepperoni pizza.
Pizza Hut: Bravo Six, going dark.
Pizza delivery is just another euphemism for drugs.
Jesus I wish I could have done then when I was delivering for pizzahut 10 years ago lol
Hated when they never left their porch lights on neither making it more of a pain in the ass to find at night
I will not apologize for my carry handle autism. I have committed to it
Based A2 gang 💪
He just has a little 🏳️🌈 streak in him
My autism materializes in an ultra slim handgaurd and a pistol brace on my 14.5 lol
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Mee tooo
Everyone wants to imitate/ achieve parity with SOF, but for SOF, it’s a full time job. They don’t pay to go to the range, they get paid. They can be in the gym 6 days a week and get paid to do so. The job for regular civilians wanting capability is challenging. Working 40+ hours a week and training/lifting/prepping on top of it is a whole other can of worms. Good video BF
Also, what’s funny is that the actual SOF instructors (e.g. Modern Tactical Shooting) don’t look anything like what you see on more popular guntube. They work more on fundamentals and basic shooting skills than anything else.
sof pay for ranges all the time.
It's been weird seeing sneaker/hypebeast culture spread around different communities lol
it's made music equipment, and specifically guitar pedals and synths, absolutely insufferable.
I blame instagram.
Isn’t it just the end result of ever more effective marketing with the goal to keep selling people stuff?
@@Matt-xc6sp probably, but it still sucks
@Matt-xc6sp "if you don't buy it now someone else will"
It used to be "if you don't buy it now it will still be available at the same price 6 months later"
Maybe its just me, maybe im gonna be crucified in these comments, but ive never been a fan of how lucas botkin talks about things like this. Most of us dont have the money to shoot thousands of rounds every month. Most of us dont even have EOTech or Aimpoint money. It took me a full year to build my first AR. I have a family to feed and house. So yes, I run a Sig red dot and a Streamlight. And no, I dont do much training outside of a flat range. An for most people thats enough. Granted I spent 7 years in the Army and Have trained pretty well in squad and team tactics, Im not doing his high-speed sprinting around walls in some special training area smoking steel every month. Thats my rant, stop shaming people for not having access, money, or time for high speed training and let them be happy when they manage to afford a cool new toy.
Earth to all, Streamlight is the OG tactical light that’s been around longer than anybody…
It's complicated. Sometimes having the boys make fun of you for not training or not having kit is good because it raises our standards. On the other hand, you'll look stupid living in a pod and eating bugs wearing your dtnvs and crye pants.
We're headed for trouble, but we're also headed for crippling debt, inflation, rising costs and a impending depression. So, to buy NODs or bags of beans, that is the question.
Don't forget Image Intensifier prices are skyrocketing. I was able to find 30+ snr Elbit WP monoculars for $2800 a couple months ago, now you're lucky to get a photonis Echo for that prices.
@@TheMsdos25 this would be an argument for getting into tubes while you can. If you ever have the misfortune of going to a public range, you'll see a lot of nice rifles with airsoft optics. I've seen dudes with 3 AKs, multiple ARs who also say they can't afford NODs and decent glass.
>we’re headed for trouble
We’re absolutely not. But if you really thought we were, it wouldn’t even be a question- you can’t eat DTNVS
Welcome to capitalism ...
@@thehistorian1232 How do you figure that we're not headed for trouble? Money printing and inflation at all time highs, govt agencies being weaponized against political rivals, middle class living on debt.
No, you can't eat NODs, but if things really go sideways then low light capability is worthwhile. NODs are better than stupid vacations, bar tabs, weed, restaurants and car payments.
You did make me realize I’m really lucky to have friends, with land, who love shooting and trying to improve our shooting skills and gear, comms etc. cause yeah a whole lot of people don’t have a location to do so.
Can confirm haven't zeroed my guns yet cause no open ranges
@@Token_Black_Guy same...last time i zeroed my optic was 10 quick rounds at a dirt cliff, with a house next to it. got as close as i could at like 25 yards, and hauled ass.
I’m lucky enough to have a public 100 yard range that is a 17 mile drive from my house to at least zero in my firearms and train for CQB. Though it does get packed on the weekends just for the fact that it’s open 24/7 and is available to everyone.
Absolutely true. I'm trying to keep access to land a priority for my friends and they are starting to understand how big that is.
I wish I had gun loving friends
Night vision is for seeing when it’s dark. Sometimes it’s dark at Wendy’s. Sometimes you need night vision at Wendy’s.
Like waffle House, bad things happen at Wendy's at night.
Denny's, I need my cheap shit food at 2am
@BrassFacts Now we are giving away our regional locations and surrounding food suppliers. Dennys
Yeah sometimes the straw for my large frostee gets lost between the car seats. What am I gonna do? Use my phone light to try and find it?
@@BrassFactsdon't forget surprise rock concert too
I think there needs to be a realignment of expectations with night vision. Gun TH-camrs want night vision to proliferate and become mainstream. Then, when more people buy them and do normal people things with them, they cry. I’m not defending making nv a fashion accessory, but there needs to be an understanding that most people have lives and just want something cool to spend their money on. You have a choice: normalization, or proper use. That’s just how the world works.
good point. and also those buying nv are funding the industry further and promoting it aswell regardless of how cringe it can be. I'd rather see it than not see it.
This is the best take I've seen so far in this comment section Jonathan.
I usually like Brass Facts, but this video he made isn't that good.
⌚ Evropa thê last battlê
Most people are gay losers so I feel their pain seeing what people post
Right? It makes no sense lmao
"[Groceries] costing easily twice as much as they did 10 years ago" Bro... try TWO years ago. Milk is literally more expensive than gasoline for me now and we don't have cheap gas here.
Good thing the US regime government blows endless money on foreign intervention while here at home they refuse to secure the US southwest border.
That's weird. Anything major different now than 2020?
@@kerbalairforce8802We're not wearing stupid masks
When I replaced my edc, I got a Staccato. Immediately I got hit with "you bought it because it was cool". My thought was: "If you're not buying stuff because you think it's cool, then what are you doing?"
Being spartan perhaps? Honestly, most things I buy isn't because they're cool. It's because they're needed, and work. I could buy some of the coolest AR15s and glock slides with lightening cuts out there. Instead, my sights are set on BCMs, and very plain utilitarian brownells slides.
I like ubiquitous things that work (hence glocks), but I've never been one for style and fashion.
You are very wise
@@mghegotagun I dunno dude, "functionality" is pretty cool to me. Few things are less cool than something that doesn't work.
@@MysticMungusSlungus
Functionality and reliability is super cool.
@@mghegotagun Absolutely.
To your point: I was recently at a handgun training event where I knew the majority of students would be newer/less experienced. While many of them showed up with full-size guns and even competition belt setups I ran my 3.25" carry gun, IWB, and pocket reloads. Not to show off, but to remind them of where concealed-carry pistols skills should be and also show them that you don't need a Stacatto and race belt to shoot.
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Let them shoot! If they wanna do it on equipment that is tried and tested for competition, effectiveness, whatever, let them learn on those platforms. If anything, it might make them better shooters in the end.
Nobody cared though
This resonates so much with me. After 2 years of USPSA, IDPA, and tactical 2-gun, it’s almost the end of the season where I’m at and I’m actually looking forward to a break from constantly training and dumping endless amounts of time and money into this “thing” we do. Nothing like working a 40-, 50-, or 60-hour work week, and having to drive 40 minutes in traffic to hit up the range (only to spend 45 more minutes setting up and tearing down) twice a week and then driving however far to shoot matches (sometimes over an hour and a half away) on your only days off. Combine that with the need to workout to stay in relatively good shape, constantly hitting performance walls that seem impossible to break, mental exhaustion, and a stagnating career path. If it wasn’t for my friends that keep pushing me, I’d have thrown all of my shit into the garbage can and got back into motorcycles.
As someone who is into cars and firearms culture, I get so unmotivated everytime I think about how much money I would have if I just dropped all my hobby’s.
@@jamfd3s788that’s happens to me when I look at my tool box and tools and I need them to make money.
There’s no reason you can’t own motorcycles too…….
@@jamfd3s788 The problem, really, is dabbling. Having "hobbies." If you are at the hobbyist level you spend way too much money chasing the hot new item. Hobbyists replace use of the gear to its potential, with owning the latest and greatest. Owning, talking about, and showing off the gear is way more important to a hobbyist than being excellent at using the gear. Hobbyists are collectors. Which is to say, museum-keepers. And someone should be keeping a museum of well-designed gear, but competing for who has the best museum is a bit on the childish side, at least when pretending otherwise that you're somehow knowledgeable about the gear. Because its specs and its appearance and its % of factory newness are all relevant, but they're only half the equation at best. The other half (or more) is being accomplished at USING the gear.
@@jamfd3s788what's the point of money if you don't use it?
Honestly evaluating the need/use of all your gear is and should be a constant effort.
I saw a post on twitter about people without nods being loot drops for those who do. I could only roll my eyes as an ex active infantry who often left my nods popped up because the loom was more than sufficient.
Getting yelled at by a staff sausage for not having your nods down despite it making it harder to see.
Remember having to scrounge for batteries constantly….never using them because you couldn’t get any damn batteries?
In short: Embrace your cringe, part of the love of it is cringe, gear alone doesn't make you better, have fun with your friends both around the serious aspects and the silly. Train and prep as much as is reasonable for you.
This man speaking facts around the 8 minute mark..
Really fucking depressing facts😂
Comrade brass facts increasing the class consciousness of the proletariat 🫡
About 2 mins earlier, I'd say, but I agree completely. At least on the work part. I'm not a "cool guns" person and don't understand those who are. I just like doing things and getting good at them, I don't much care about gear envy or gear upgrades outside of utility, practical effects, etc. Maybe because I'm not rich, but I'd rather spend money on ammo/training than another gadget or "upgrade."
I think it's a bit odd to give any weight to spaghetti arms and his persona/presence/retailer/guntuber statuses. He's a nobody outside youtube culture. I don't know any competitive shooters that think of him, let alone think highly of him. Even making him a pivotal "opinioneer" is sorta odd and fantasy-world, to me.
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@@budget-88🗣🔥🔥
I work night shift, so I'm about to buy night vision. It just makes sense.
@@budget-88 ur mom the last battle xddd
Now I’m just picturing someone leaving work at 11pm and putting on NODS before disappearing into the shadows of the nearby Alleyway.
Night shift what?
Night vision in concept is to maintain the upper hand in force on force interactions.
What are you doing for work that you don’t want to be seen whilst maintaining visual on someone else?
@@AutoSearPin I bought a gen 2+ pvs14 and I use it for airsoft a lot. I also use it for star gazing and hiking. I don't use it for my work; I work indoors at a well lit pharmaceutical company. But being outside at night on my days off just sucks when I can't see much.
@@AutoSearPin I bought a gen 2+ pvs14. I use it for airsoft, stargazing and hiking. I couldn't even use it at work if I wanted to.
The only gatekeeping NVGs need is the price tag
Amen
Whenever I think about this kind of prepping, I always try to do a gut check against how much of it is fun/sexy, and how much of it is likely to applicable.
The fun/sexy stuff keeps me coming back, but for applicability I look to recent conflicts that might have analogs to what (if anything) I might face. Recent conflicts involving scrappy participants like Kurds fighting ISIS and especially the war in Ukraine are great places to look. This causes me to ask questions like:
- What is the value of NODS there?
- Is one $5k optical scope better than ten $500 scopes?
- Is it more important to have the perfectly optimal gear, or to have familiarity with lots of different gear?
- Is it better to get your technique honed to perfection, or to get it good enough and work on applying it in different situations?
- How are the latest techniques changing things? Look at drones -- do you know how to use a drone? Do you know their capabilities and countermeasures?
Keep in mind that what will most likely save your ass are boring things like evading detection, organizing and feeding your neighbors, having basic medical skills, building shelter, and so on. Not to mention that the thing most likely to kill you is not working out or getting into a car accident.
My skills are *fine*, I could definitely do way more training, but as it stands, all my friends have decided I'm the arsenal. So if I'm in the 99th percentile, maybe I should be working on learning to train others, and taking them to the range and ranch before they come to me in a panic.
You know the Kurds and Ukrainians are provided with real military weapons by the US whereas our government (US regime) is trying to actively disarm and strip Americans of our 2A rights.
Meh. Form usually follows function. I remember someone at the range thought I had a skeletonized aluminum grip for looks. I explained that the all-aluminum build was because plastic gets torn up, and I want this thing to last. There's not a flake of 6061-T651 or plastic anywhere on it, except gorilla tape, which is there to "rubberize", or hold something on.
I started hot gluing that gorilla tape for water-proofing. There's nothing uglier than hot glue, but I don't care. If something is going to get knackered, I'm going to make it stronger. Nature won't change for me, so I adapt to it.
Agree on the last points. Biggest point of failure is actually your body and mind. Taking care of those is far more important than training. They're not mutually exclusive. Going on hikes is training. It's not necessarily intensive or "tacticool", but it's still training. A lot of people train without knowing it. Technically, driving is training. Plenty of 15 year olds with banged up vehicles can tell you how important that is.
defenitely! One of the things some 'prepper' channels are is that people should bring skills to the table. For example, if you are the 'arsenal', your friends should bring food and manpower (both 2A and not 2A). Hope you have a great day!
Amazing comment, thank you for posting
Nutnfancy called this back in like 2007. We've become obsessed with 2nd kind of cool. Our community is healthier when we are balanced between 1stt and 2nd kind of cool.
For thise unfamiliar 1st kind of cool is how well something works i.e. function. 2nd is just for ascetic/fun.
Nutn is quickly approaching retirement home status
But man, did he have some nuggets of wisdom that stood the test of time, back when almost none existed.
Nutnfancy to firearms is like The Simpsons are to politics
@@BrassFacts Nutnfancy is still out there testing the gear he uses. He already owns a PVS14 and he is currently testing lasers. I think he mentioned he's currently working on a review for a Steiner d-bal.
@@BrassFacts "approaching retirement age"...
At 62, I guess I fit in that category pretty easily, but that doesn't stop me from having an interest in what you "kids" are doing. The age thing will figure into whatever unfolds going forward. We old people have lived long enough to see that trends are just that, and that there are more important things than the latest game release. You'll be happy to have a couple of old dudes around you if things go sideways.
It saddens me to see that Nut'n 's most current video releases are only raking in like 20k-25k views =-[
The man is a national treasure and was a front runner of Action Adventure/Gear Review/Run n' Gun fun content on YT. Yepp, Nut'nFancy showed me its okay to rock a Fanny Pack... Then that beautiful bastard James Reeves comes along and shows me that you can also look damn sexy doin' it!
Thanks for making this video. I felt like Lucas' comments were a bit immature, in part because I haven't been on instagram enough to see all the cringe and probably because I have lived the buy-everything-you-see-just-to-show-it-off life (hence the name)--at least I was showing it off to friends, not the internet. But all these purchases, while some were very ill-advised, ultimately made me want to train to the level of my gear. I hated the idea of showing up to a match with gucci gear and shooting poorly. So I trained--in gear--and I'm still on that journey.
For NV specifically, if we encourage people to own night vision, there has to be more of a payoff than once a month use for 2 hours of shooting. I say take them everywhere and see if you can get some use out of them beyond shooting (night hikes, testing different lighting conditions, showing off to the bros because they really are that cool) because this keeps you from getting serious (and possibly justified) buyer's remorse. The shooting is important but the overall comfort with the device and your headborne system is also important--Lucas even made this point. A lot your gear can be trained with off the range. And Wendy's sounds pretty good after a long hike. End of rambling.
be glad about the instagram part. its BAAAAAD.
Right with you brother, I have an addiction to AR-15 military history and I buy uppers all the time because they are a clone of a retro, or are a clone of some sort of SOCOM era blah blah blah. I live in the country, so nobody cares what I (or others) do with guns. When I get nods, I 100% see my self driving around at 3 am with them just grinning. Hiking, and especially shooting under nods will be a common thing for me,. It will be a bit before i can afford what I want, but Its gonna be epic. Lol
This is one of your best videos @ Brass Facts. With the way things are going throughout our country, what's most important is that we welcome and educate as many new shooters in this community as possible.
I'm all for the tacticool gear and building weapon systems simply on the strength of "what if", but balcanzing this community is the last thing we need - particularly when some of the most influential voices reside in that 'bubble of privilege' you mentioned. Solid content as always man!
⌚ Evropa thê last battlê
Balkans*
The biggest problem with NODs is finding a place that's open at night.
Go camping in places you can shoot.
Absolutely this.
@kerbalairforce8802 so in addition to NODS, we are now tacking on an off road capable car plus camping supplies and driving several hours.
@@kerbalairforce8802this 💯🎯
if you dont already have this shit why are you buying nods?@@rando3448
some of us are too poor to do any of it but we are slowly acquiring the gear and absorbing the knowledge. Im honestly just a gun nerd that ultimately doesnt want to be a victim. But my lifestyle doesnt allow for training in gear outside of the city and dropping 1/3 of my income on ammo and gear or NODs especially. I’d like to eventually tho of course
Since I live in an area that has most areas well-lit, I started questioning my purchase of bump+$3k PVS-14 with WP and 2500 FOM... but the national forest is only 45 minutes drive east of me, so still valid to go out to the gravel pit and shoot with them; just haven't yet.
Yeah, I'm one of the ones that aren't "serious" about it, as mentioned in the video, but I had the available cash from working a grueling job and wanted to add it to my capabilities. I've practiced driving with it and that took some getting used to, but was really awesome to see some of the cameras around my neighborhood (using the pinhole cover due to lighting) that I never knew were there.
nothing wrong with that, take it at the pace you can handle. It's a life long journey.
@@BrassFacts Thanks. This video had me a bit on the fence of where I landed in the descriptors of NV owners... mostly settling on the "I'm an owner that saved to add to my capabilities, much like I took the USMC Combat Lifesaver course as a civvie and built my own IFAK to have if I need someday."
Doesn't necessarily fit ny of the 'types' described, but I'm okay with that... I never was one that fit a clear mold or group.
@@BattleChemistjust the fact that you even put thought into what "category" you fall in is kinda pathetic. Who cares? Do what you want to do.
I love that more and more people like you and Arkayne are talking about the issue of people thinking they need the highest end of something because the base line price is already a lot so dudes who can afford it give you your whole option. I hope we get back to training and practice.
One of the best commentaries I’ve seen by you. As a noob myself with just a Pvs14, I appreciate your words and encouragement.
Imagine being the guy to go to Wendy's with NODs on. Way more attention than you were hoping for
⌚ Evropa thê last battlê
@@budget-88🗣🔥🔥
Slowly puts helmet + NODs in back seat as I pull into Wendy’s drive-thru…
Owe yeah or like passing a highway patrol officer only to realize he was wearing nods too….smile and wave boys smile and wave.
We love this open format, and seeking out information that my not necessarily be on the forefront of main gun culture. Keep up the good fight my guy.
$12,000 a year on ammo? As a former military small arms instructor and former cop, I'm glad I got my training when the ammo was free. Now that I'm 73 on social security, I'm saving my ammo, but I can still hit a bulls eye at 1000 yards and my animals let me know if anyone is around my little farmhouse late at night. Love your channel. You guys look like you would have been a hoot to hang out with when I was younger.
Being able to accurately hit a target at range in the dark with night vision is a really cool experience. I have only used night vision a few times using a friends goggles and it convinced me to look into it. The prices are really high but the advantages are worth it.
It’s really only worth it if you have public land to go larp on or can just drop $1.2 million on a couple hundred acres. I don’t have access to either of those around me so there’s not really a point of getting it since I would only be able to use it when hiking
Lucas says what’s cringe and then immediately posts “this is $100 worth of sushi”
For real. He lies about starting TRex himself. His dad bankrolled and owns TRex Arms. They are also in a cult while pretending to be normal Christians. They have a dress code and an additional book they added to the Bible.
⌚ Evropa thê last battlê
Lucas has become the definition of Tacticool cringe. He’s a superb shooter, but he’s also full of himself and it shows. He also totes “budget” videos that are still far beyond the average man’s budget like there’s a disconnect between his bubble and reality.
That is most definitely the best description of the hydralisk noise I've heard.
Things have to be cool for people to do something without it being “necessary” and almost none of the best gear is useful in our daily lives. So yeah we should encourage people to train but we shouldn’t demotivate each other for having fun with the currently useless toys that cost more than some people make in a month.
No you're absolutely correct, superficiality and fraudlent sense of self are excellent things to pursue. Better to be a Big Time Poseur than someone who can do the thing, eh? At least you'll be "popular" which in a way, I guess, is working toward excellence in SOMEthing at least. But is "popularity" really a good sense of self-worth? Is that too awkward a question for many people to consider? Maybe there's the crux of the problem.
⌚ Evropa thê last battlê
For a community largely made up of people who claim to hold the ideology of “I don’t care what you do with your own personal property as long as it doesn’t effect me”, the gun community sure does seem to care a whole lot about things other people do with their personal property that has zero effect on them. Taking yourself seriously all the time and not doing things for fun misn’t a sign of maturity, it’s a clear indicator of immaturity.
Also, most people don’t care about filming themselves training, editing that footage, and then receiving endless criticism from keyboard warriors. That doesn’t mean they don’t train, and it doesn’t matter if they train it’s their life. Lucas also seems to forget how difficult it can be for most people to find a range that allows real training, let alone a range that’s open at night. Not everyone owns a massive private range and not every lives near or has time to drive hundreds of miles to BLM land. Taking a goofy picture takes a few seconds and hurts no one.
My primary justification for buying NODs was hiking at night, urbex, and stargazing. I don’t have time or facilities to train at night very often and when I do it’s almost always with white light because that’s a much more realistic scenario. People also seem to forget that a huge chunk of NVG sales are from telescope nerds, and they’re usually buying the highest spec ones.
You can still comment on things, these people you mention aren’t actively trying to restrict what you do
Kinda yes, kinda no. The Instagram and social media gun community is more like that. Nobody else cares because they aren't trolling through your social media to see if they should dunk on you for having cheap gear, or make jabs at you for having expensive gear. Basically social media is what contributes to most human suffering.
Nothing like a sweaty goonsesh with the boys, good info 😎👍
Bro… this was single handedly the best rant I’ve heard you go on!!! You perfectly described what I’m goin through and I’m sure many others. I love this hobby and lifestyle but man it’s expensive and can be toxic. The worst places I see it are FB groups and the comments.
Still on FB lolz 😂💀
@@John_Connor556 weird… it’s almost like you’re the exact kind of person BF’s is calling out..
Brass Facts' words are wise.
Going way out on a limb, I'd guess that when Lucas comes off as a bit abrasive, he has just witnessed someone acting super-douchey and he gets a little blunt. It's human and understandable. His message that training is more important than gear is sound, but it's also intimidating to new shooters, which I was just a few years ago. I avoided content like that of T.Rex Arms and Garand Thumb until recently, when I thought I was better prepared to consume that content. I still take them with a grain of salt because I'll never be able to devote the kind of time and money to it that Lucas, Mike, Brass Facts, and Hop do. And I'm fine with that.
No, he’s just a douche bag plain and simple.
Lucas Botkin is the patron saint of the instagram gun douchebag.
Thanks for putting this out. It's OK to have fun sometime.
When I lived in LA I used to practice at the range with my neighbor who was a sniper on a SWAT team. Can't tell you how much they drummed into my head about the importance of basic shooting techniques, reloading, and repetition/memory. I used to get frustrated because these guys could shoot the lights out and thought I would never have a chance in a real life and death situation.. They would laugh and tell me they had to shoot 100,000 rounds to get that efficient and to relax. I understand what T Rex is saying and continue to improve my fundamentals and keep shooting.
Glad you got out (as did I before 2020) 🤙
Thanks for sharing brother! I spend more time than most I know preparing, training, etc. I constantly feel it's not enough, and I still find time time do other things I like, spend time with the family, and work a ton. That said, many of my friends are not in such a situation and simply cannot. Nice for a youtuber to give a detailed perspective for most of us.
Retired Army grunt here with a couple trips to the sand box. I fully agree with everything you said. There is way too much dogma in the 2a world. Sure I see a lot of stupid shit too and I myself will criticize people for it. Not because I'm being a dick but because I want to see people improve their skills.
This channel rocks. Thanks for all the work you do to put these together. You and Hop are awesome!
and theres some guys like me who are mountain biking with gen1+ nods
Owning the night on a 10-speed? Right on!!
@@brian_b_music 12 but yes
@@quizzii5963 That’s awesome man!
I actually feel more motivated to get good and try to lift up others around me after watching this. Thanks brass.
Probably already been said but a lot of gun people are not shooters. They are gearheads or collectors or aesthetes that love the industrial design behind tactical stuff. As you say, it’s hard to access good range facilities for anyone that does not live near the desert or mountains or other sparsely populated open areas.
I think you covered it very well. Yes we should always be pushing to be better, but within our means and with realistic goals and expectations.
As you said, anything that helps push people to train is a positive, and if that means having some fun or posting “cringe” nod pics, so be it. Even if they’re not shooting under nods, they’re getting time under them and others might end up following suit and getting some nods themselves.
Thank you for saying everything I’ve been thinking. Preachy influencers guilting people over training is just as annoying as the hypebeast goon consoomerism
Damn...that rant really spoke to me. 😅
I've been training/shooting/instructing for 3 years or so. The loss of disposable income has been real. The loss of buying power in the last 2 years equates roughly to a loss of 10k in wages.
So well said. I always just blow off those statements from influencers because they occupy a much different place on earth than I do. I wish I could get paid to run drills and review the latest greatest tactical anything. But I’m really busy working 50-60 hours a week to barely scrape by to support my family. I am saving for pvs14 ‘s and lust over them. I’ll get them when it makes sense. It’s always going to be a ridiculous purchase for me, but I do on occasion like to be rewarded for the insane amount of work I do. Anyways , this video needed to be made and you got a new forever viewer.
As someone who butt chugs the better gun tuber content. Yourself, hop, 9 holes, trex, risky...
I think that Lucas is generally promoting training any way any how. Not necessarily by spending. He's promoted training with airsoft, lots of dry fire stuff, etc. Basically promoting achieving and maintaining a certain skill, kit and fitness level. Mostly in a cost conscious fashion.
And his company really pioneered producing and distributing an upper mid tier product at lower mid tier pricing.
This year I signed up for a 10 course training curriculum. That's 10 days, one a month for 10 months. Covering everything from basics, triage, maintaining clearing, shooting in a team environment, movement, cqb and night shooting with white lights.
You and hop keep it real. 👍
IMHO owning NODs now is the same thing as owning a Jesse James chopper in the early 2000s. More of a flex than actual utility, for 90% of people out there, the the very few people who actually USE them? Nah its only for pictures and then back into storage.
Thanks for keeping it real for us dads. I do my best to squeeze in preps, training, ammo etc. with increasing economic and familial demands. Of course NV and thermal are big advantages and someday I'll get something.
Can't wait to see your response video to the gpr call out
I would argue this is your best and most personal video. Well done. I feel like this was the closest it felt to talking to a close friend.
Also this video prompted me to subscribe. Keep up the real content homie ❤
Broke- Night vision is mandatory
Woke - You’re better served spending money and time on the fundamentals
Bespoke - Night vision is gay
new rainbow phosphor iit💀
Night vision IS gay because you're using it to see other men in the dark
Checkmate atheists
⌚ Evropa thê last battlê
@@budget-88 shutup Nazi
@@Danktorias I2 dogging accounts for half of the market.
I’ve come really close to selling it all and just waiting until I have my stuff together financially. I didn’t, and am just running what I have as much as I can, it’s in and I do enjoy it.
I got to see quite a lot of this recently when I was invited to a large event by someone from tactical instagram that I met at a separate competition. I never cared about larping, go off regents, but the amount of people there fully kitted out wearing level 4 plates and running scar's, or dual tubes with the most gucci ar I've ever seen, but their guns weren't even zeroed. Then they go asking if they should get more lasers or suppressors. Use your gear. I saw quite a few guns go down because some people just don't maintain their equipment too.
Be that guy that can strip their gun at night without a light and put it back together because they know it inside and out.
That’s something I don’t get- I don’t understand not maintaining your gear until it fails for no reason.
I’m not gonna do anything to my Colt AR that hasn’t been done before. The guys who know have said, “Do this.”
I don’t need to figure that out myself.
I miss StarCraft so much. Sunken Defense was my every night for so long!
I wish i didn't loose me hop, and a friend doing a night of drunk SC bw for the first time in like 15 years.
Thanks for this. Been needing a vid like this after starting to browse the magical place known as /k/ (especially /nvg/)
You need to go back
What a great video. I liked how you elaborated how much it truly costs TH-camrs like yourself or even smaller "TH-camrs" like myself to provide content. And how everything comes out of our pockets to provide content. I love doing it however. Just costs time, effort and money/resources!
I agree completely. I am completely burnt out and just want to quit.
Seems like no matter what I do, it's all pointless because the gear I can afford will be overkilled by what Lucas from T rex arms & Mike from Garand thumb has.
Why even try.
Stop caring about what other people say and think and just have fun. Hobbies shouldn't be draining. If they are, you either need new hobby or need to do something different.
I agree.
I watch less videos from them now.
However, I don't know your political views or if you think country is headed for chaos....but I personally think America is going down the drain. So for me, I gathered a few basic firearms when on sale, and a lot of parts to make a few more. Now it's about being able to defend my family & train others in basic firearm handling, cleaning/repair, shooting.
Point being, firearms are NOT a hobby for me...they are means of protection/threat for my family.
@@jvt_redbaronspeaks4831 But is your family on board with your plans too? It's difficult when you have a family that doesn't want to train or prepare at all. If I suddenly died of a heart attack, none of my family would know (and doesn't care to learn) how to properly use the supplies I have set aside and it would all go to waste.
Thank you for being down to earth about this. I want NODs and a supressor but I got bills to pay, an Aero Precision rifle and 20K rounds of training will have to do!
"I'm fleeeeexing on you with my (AGM) NODS!"
I have an older GP PVS 14 L3 in my lid works well for me and I enjoy driving with it. Life can be hard but it is what you make of it.
I was a goon before I ever knew it
Best gun video I’ve watched in a longtime thank you for addressing hyperneesh terminally online issues. I fn love the internet!
Brassfacts Friday 🎉🎉🎉
First of all catawampus.
Second of all, find local matches. This is an easy efficient way to stay in the shooting game. Take it as serious as you want. But it allows for a gear shake down, exposes you to different shooting situations, particularly 2 gun and pcsl matches. They don't often take a ton of ammo an fluctuate with the times. They will definitely show weaknesses that you can dryfire in between matches. For those with limited time, its an easy way to plan a shooting day once a month or once every other month where you only need to bring gun and ammo. The nature of a match can be competitive and cause a little pressure but can also be really fun and just an overall good time depending on your goals at that time. Its also a great way to find like minded people. You also get to see every piece of gear the world offers and can decide for yourself if something is worth it based off of real-life feedback. You also will realize how much stuff you just don't need by watching others crush stuff with strike eagles, irons, or romeo 5s. After a while, you'll have your own perspective and can appreciate a lot of insta posts for what they are....practical entertainment.
“My life for Aiur!” “Honor guides me”. Where’s the dog footage man wtf
zerglings are basically puppies.
We need more of these straight up no bullshit videos.
My training has fallen off and I had to liquidate my NODs due to a divorce. Shit is rough out there. Two years ago I was rolling with the boys every week, then that group fell off because of life changes as well.
Sorry to hear you’ve fallen on hard times amigo. Here’s hoping your luck turns around and things improve soon
@@chupacabra304 thanks brother
Should have never got married bozo
I think Lucas is 100% correct, so is Garandthumb when they say that buying stuff just to buy it is dumb and you should go out and train. I think the problem is they never say how. Personally, Paul Harrells videos on gun training is a very good start to know what to at least expect. Its called "Shooting in Stressful Situations."
Great video. The community probably just needs to take itself a little bit less seriously, trex's arms all into the 2A "we're totally not larping but preparing for civil unrest and/or the actual government " is pretty cringe, it's the embodiment of the taxidermy wolf "In a world of sheep" meme. By all means own expensive nods, go for night hikes, go hunt with it, even go airsoft with them, or just keep them in storage 99.99% of its lifetime, who cares, shooting is mostly just a fun hobby if we can all just drop the what-if-macho and be really honest.
Absolutely well put. Excellent perspective.
Solid talking points
I forgot to mention that LPVOs are trash, honestly, missed opportunity
@@BrassFacts
should just start every video telling people to sell their LPVOs regardless of what the video is about lmfao
Very insightful and well put together, I feel like the nuance of these stances are beyond Lucas to comprehend though.
Lucas talks a lot for someone who quit in the middle of a shooting competition
Training under pressure is very LGBTQ+
Bro, this is beautiful. Feel like i saw this years ago, can't believe it was only 4 months.
It will never stop to amaze me how much random people worry about what i do or dont do with my gear. I partially get it with guns, people who are armed but dont know what their doing are kinda dangerous, but nvs? If i want to own quad nods to do star gazing with my girlfriend or to flex on instagram, than that is mine, not trex arms Business
This is one of the best videos about gun culture I’ve seem
I got the notification. But Chrisky wanted me to come here and tell you that I'm too poor for NODs.
Until next time, to live vicariously through our Guntoober idols, fellow poors!
Great video. A very balanced perspective.
We need more voices like this promoting the value of training, fun and culture, without going to the cringe on any of those
The course correction that Lucas and T.Rex seem to be pushing for the industry is for us to become generally more responsible. That ties in with overarching concept that the only thing that can save our country at this point is for the average man to chose being a responsible citizen again. Responsible for our politics and making politicians actually work for us by holding them to account instead of pulling a lever mindlessly. Responsible for our local communities by filling needs, getting to know your neighbors and helping them where you can. Filling needs that the community needs where the government has failed to do so. And having the balls to stand up against evil shit that people want to normalize in your local school or board of supervisors meeting. But I also think being too hard on people who like to have a bit of enjoyment in their hobbies is a possibility too. The hinge pin being, are you just having fun? Or are you also training? So its still a balance, course corrections gonna course correct.
Wow man. Before youtube, you would've written badass articles, I'm sure. Great content, I subbed.
The "take this seriously" crowd is completely out of control themselves. There's dozens TH-cam videos about "proper cqb foot work" which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life. These guys complaining about Instagram are going to get dusted worrying about whether or not their foot is angled properly instead of the dude who just emptied his mag into the drywall they're hiding behind. (Sorry I was a MOUT instructor and this is a big pet peeve)
I bought a green tube from TNVC because they said white was a 6 month wait. Should have gone white because my green tube was fucked up and i had to send it back and wait even longer for a new batch.
As someone that regularity trains in my night vision, I also fully live in the "goon" lifestyle too lol
Good on ya 🫡
This should get interesting 🍿 👀
Lucas calling anyone gay is rich
Noone looks intimidating wearing skinny jeans 😂
The 7:50 statement hit me right in the gut. After working dumb hours doing concrete. I use my minimal time after work and my 1 day off to train.
I generally mind my own business and let people do what they want. However when goon bros start gloating, I gotta ask them how many firefights they've been in under nods. Its always 0.
Brass Facts bringing the balance to the force. 🤙🏻