Chances are if you’re into the tactical thing, then the vast internet has exposed you to tons of guys running Gucci kit. Instagram is rife with crazy gear. It makes it very easy to get wrapped up into nice kit because of this. On top of that its easy to find good reviews on lots of equipment, but just because something reviews well doesn’t mean that its right for you.

While I love reviews and will be writing a lot more myself, there is more to gear than just reviews. In fact, a lot of us go through an evolution. What do I mean? Well, we start out with our initial purchases and then our gear begins to change and evolve. We discover that despite being high quality, some pieces of kit don’t work for us. Other pieces work great though.

Methodology

Often times I find myself asking a lot of questions. Most of them revolve around why somethings is. That’s right, I’m that guy that asks why… a lot. The fact of the matter is that there is a lot to be gleaned from knowing why something is.

Often times with context and a good understanding of the workings of a particular thing, you can make some very good educated decisions. Another good way to make educated decisions is experience. Getting experience with gear is absolutely valuable, but it can also be painful for your wallet. It also results in this gear evolution.

My gear has evolved naturally. I now have a methodology as to how I choose gear and why I head in certain directions. I’ve gained this methodology through my experiences and there have been many expensive lessons learned. Asking questions and trying to gain knowledge might not save you from wasting tons of money, but it can take you a long way.

So what am I trying to get at?

Data

Having a methodology to your kit and how you use is key. It is something that you have to gain yourself though. What can be both interesting and helpful though is data. You can gain your own data by doing things, but there is another way to gain data.

Other people’s experiences, gear evolution, and methodologies can shed a lot of light on better ways to do things. Hell, that’s why we train. You’re learning skills that were deemed vital to success by an experienced individual. There are a lot of reviews and opinions out there on the internet, but some times there is a lot of vital context and methodology that gets left out. Granted, it isn’t always key to telling you whether or not a product is of quality.

I find it very interesting to learn why people started where they started and ended where they ended. The journey is often more important than then end point though. There are a ton of lessons be to learned and in order to learn these lessons, you need the data. How do you gain this data? Talking to people.

The People

The point of all this is to gain data. To do this I plan on talking to people. The reason is because it is both interesting and I believe having data in front of us can help us make better decisions. This isn’t that simple though. Often there isn’t really a single correct answer. There are typically many ways to come to the same solution.

Variances could have any number of reasons. It could be a difference in backgrounds, experiences, preferred style, ect. Understanding where some one is coming from and how it affects their gear’s evolution their is both interesting and valuable in making educated decisions. That is why I’m setting out to network with, at first, a handful of people with different backgrounds and experiences. I plan on attempting to bring these to you. This might give you more useful information to make educated decisions.

Who will these people be? You’ll have to wait and see, but I will tell you that they are all shooters. Some I have shot or trained with, others I know shoot well, some have vast knowledge of history and gear, some might compete, while others might have vast experience on the 2 way range. More interestingly, some people might have a combination of experiences.

The Point

Lets get right down to it. What is the point? Its to gain a collection of data. Some people might gravitate towards certain methodologies much more than others. There is bound to be a lot of similarities and differences. Hopefully at the end of this there will be a lot of data to go over.

What I am personally curious about is how much of these evolutions and methodologies will over lap, compliment each other, diverge, and contradict each other. How the data falls will hopefully be interesting and thought provoking. If it helps people make better decisions on their gear purchases and how they approach gear in general, then that is a win to me.

How long this goes on will depend. I plan on starting out with a handful of people. We’ll see where this goes and depending on what we discover, it might keep going. Also if there is a lot of interest, then why stop? I’m also sure that the farther this goes on, the more I will be able to refine my approach to gathering the data. I’m sure this in and of itself will have an evolution.

Either way, in the next part we will hear from our first shooter and hopefully start to gain some useful insights on the how and why of gear choice and use.