So late last year, I wrote a post generally defending Red Jacket Firearms and their Discovery Channel television show, “Sons of Guns”, from those who considered it to be less-than-satisfactory.
Well here is me, saying I was wrong. Better Half and I have completely given up on Sons of Guns, barring the unlikely event that there is absolutely nothing else on the TiVo, in which case we will go read a book. So what caused the change of heart?
Was it Will Hayden’s positively atrocious management style? Yeah, I know, the whole “we have to get this done in three days / a week / etc. / whatever” schtick is nothing more than a contrived-for-television artifact employed to increase suspense and interest in the show. It still pisses off the Industrial Engineer in me, especially given how Will takes his “frustration” at his “short deadlines” out on his employees rather than himself, given that it was himself who got him into the situation to begin with. But that particular breed of idiocy was a “feature” of the show from the very beginning, so that is probably not it.
Was it the complete and total disregard for firearm safety in the shop? Again, this was a “feature” from the very beginning, what with fingers on the trigger, cameramen in front of (hopefully unloaded) firearms, blanks being shot off inside the shop without warning or hearing protection, and so forth, so probably not.
Was it the equivalent disregard for shop safety? I cannot count the number of times I boggled at people not wearing goggles, gloves, or hearing protection when they probably should have, and one of the shop employees literally walking into a vehicle-mounted smoke-grenade launcher as it goes off is simply inexcusable. But, again, consistent theme, that.
Was it the mind-boggling ignorance of the players? I swear, I have to seriously doubt if the folks on that show had ever heard of Google. Between their apparent inability to find and procure uncommon-but-not-extinct parts and ammunition, their astonishing lack of understanding when it comes to basic engineering and physics (yes, when you chop a barrel and then drill holes in it, the muzzle velocity of the round will suffer – I am not even a “gunsmith” and I know that), or just some of their decisions in general (Hey, let us give a massively-important project to some wrench-jockey who has never built this particular firearm before!), I was constantly wanting to beat my head against the boob toob. But, hey, that is just part of the appeal, right?
How about the general attitude of the show? Well, now we are getting somewhere. “Antagonistic working environment” does not even begin to describe the televised section of the shop, what with the domineering, damned-near-incapable-of-admitting-he-is-wrong-even-when-the-evidence-is-right-in-front-of-his-face Will lashing out at anyone who dares to disagree or question him, and then letting one of his shop-monkeys – and the least-skilled and -experienced one at that – marry his daughter*, more than telegraphing the fact that everyone else is screwed when it comes time for someone else to move up in the world. And do not even get me started on the whole, “This guy is outbidding me on gun auctions so get me his name and address and we will pay him a visit,” bulldren; I am honestly amazed that was aired, just due to the stalkerish and borderline illegal nature of it.
But that is just the tip of the “attitude” – throw in some excessive, scene-disrupting profanity in just about every segment of the show and a general taking-for-granted of some of the most skilled people in the shop, and, hell, I would have quit that shop… and it turns out that Vince actually did.
Which brings us to the real core of why we stopped watching “Sons of Guns”, which, coincidentally, is similar to the reason why we stopped watching “Top Shot”. I agree with Vince leaving RJF – the environment had simply gotten toxic with Will constantly relying on him, but simultaneously taking every opportunity to slight and ignore him – but I completely disagree with how he handled it (and, unfortunately, continues to handle it). I get his leaving and the motivations for doing so, but you do not simply pack up your bags and disappear without a fare-thee-well or even so much as a “this is where you send my last check”; you man up, you finish whatever task you are working on at the moment regardless of how it ended up in your lap, you tell Will – to his face – why you are leaving, you let your shopmates – who you know depend on you – know you are leaving, and out you go. Ducking and running is… well, unacceptable.
That said, Will taking somewhere around two minutes (as edited on the show) on national televisionto verbally harangue and abuse a random guy who was at RJF doing Will a favor, while simultaneously taking the opportunity to explore, in great depth and with markedly colorful language, Vince’s sexual proclivities, lineage, and general-purpose worth as a human being goes beyond “unacceptable”. I watch television to be entertained, not watch some loud-mouthed, narcissistic, blustering, self-proclaimed bad-ass abuse what little situational authority he has in the name of assuaging his apparently injured ego.
I have worked for and with people like Will before. I left the Navy because of people like Will. I sure as hell am not entertained by people like Will.
And so, thanks to television producers never seeming to get tired of never-ending drama llama parades, we have given up on “Sons of Guns” just like we gave up on “Top Shot”. Sure, the drama would have (or at least we assume it would have) been there anywise, but it detrimentally distracted from what I apparently wrongly assumed was the general purpose of the show – redneck-engineering cool old and new guns into shootable condition, and then using them to punch all kinds of holes in all kinds of things. Unfortunately, I am quite sure shows like “Sons of Guns” are part and parcel of why firearms are being slowly normalized once again in American society, but I – like many before me – have to wonder what kind of stereotypes and misinformation this show’s attempts at normalization are unintentionally – or intentionally – embedding in the American psyche at the same time.
You and I both know that Will Hayden and the rest of his circus are not representative of firearm owners or gunsmiths in general, but what about people new to the scene? I am pretty sure I do not want their first exposure to the firearm community to be some self-absorbed jackass verbally assaulting someone who has absolutely nothing to do with what he is so angry about…
(Of course, all of these determinations, comments, and criticisms are based on how Discovery chose to represent the events through their editing and filming; Lord knows what the actual truth is.)
(* – “Letting… mary his daughter” is the wrong phrasing, simply because his daughter and her husband, being of legal age, are welcome to marry whomever they so desire, but it is the only way I can think of writing it. Will, on the other hand, is not required to keep his son-in-law on as an employee.)
We arrived at the same conclusions. I just got there long before you. /shrug.
At least you can admit when you are wrong.. Unlike some people.
Cheers, mate.
Regarding Top Shot: over the last couple of season, I think they’ve done a good job of trimming the drama. That’s been especially true this season, where there’s been very little. There have been a few small disagreements, but not much of the douchebaggery that we’d seen in prior seasons. And, as the season has gone on, it seems like they’ve focused less and less on what happens in the house (maybe because there’s less drama to focus on), often skipping straight from one competition to the next (with commercial breaks, of course).
Also, the newer spinoff series, Top Guns, is kind of decent. They feature the same guns that were used in Top Shot that week, along with the same “expert” shooter from the most recent episode and some previous season’s TS competitor. It’s essentially drama-free, instead focusing on how the guns work and, more importantly, just how fun it is to shoot them. The contests at the end seem fairly contrived, but that seems to be the point: a few guys getting together and just having fun shooting.
@ Patrick: Eh, yeah… I apparently have a tolerance for bulldren that would simply astonish a younger me these days – probably a byproduct of the military – so I was able to deal with a lot of the nonsense you and others were pointing out. But they seemed intent on stepping up that nonsense at every available opportunity, until, eventually, even I had to punch out.
On a complete unrelated note, I meant to write this over on your site, but it disappeared before I could – it is shame to see you close up shop, but I can understand motivations for doing so. Best of luck in the future
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@ Monte: Good to hear that they have been able to reign in the Llamas, but, as the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression. Full Metal Jousting is currently meeting our “badass martial sports reality show” quota for the week, though we might consider giving Top Shot a proverbial shot again in the future (if its cancellation rumors are not true).
Makes me glad I never bothered with that show.
Given the adverts highlighted the “rough work environment” that seemed like a total no-go.
On a related note, I’ve canceled my Cable Subscription and don’t miss it one iota.
And when talking with the cable company I got the impression that I’m not alone.
If you don’t like the Drama Llama it’s best to cuttoff support. Not watching is a great start.
If you mean by rumor that Colby Donaldson stated on Twitter that the show was not renewed and that fans should contact History Channel, then, yeah, a rumor…
(Which suggests the decision is not final, as of yet.)
This last season’s contestants seem to have taken measures against inviting the llama in, though not all were deliberate, and not all effective. We’ll see what the rest of the season is like, though.
My friends and I wrote off Sons of Guns long ago as anything serious (think first ten minutes of the first episode). After that, we regarded it as comedy.
So, I don’t think it’s totally necessary to quit watching, just change your mindframe to that of watching slapstick gun comedy instead of ‘this is srs business ya’ll’.
Linoge,
Google Vincent Buckle’s blog and you’ll find out that he didn’t just walk out as it was shown on TV. Might have to look for the cached version of his post.
But he stated that he packed he was verbally harangued by Will for not shipping Fed-EX overnight and specifying early deliver when the shop had never used that method before. When management sets up procedures and then abuses people for following those procedures — well I see that as a problem. And that was before the gun arrived in Vegas damaged.
Vince stated that he — in full view of the cameras — packed up his stuff, informed everyone in the shop he was leaving, said his goodbyes and left.
Vince has acted professionally and responsibly by not trashing Will for his behaviors; probably with greater restraint than I would have shown.
Linoge wrote:
Yeah, I hadn’t wrote anything since November so when March rolled around for me to renew the domain, I decided not to renew. Quite honestly, I was all talked out of the gun scene. I had wrote all I felt like writing. I absolutely have respect for you guys who continue day in and day out and press on. However, I started feeling like I was preaching to the choir. Also I felt that I could affect change more by spending more time locally.
It was a good ride and I’m obviously still keeping up with the guys I like. You have my email so if you ever want to share/talk/whatever, feel free to email me.
I gave up on Sons of Guns with the “shooting off blanks inside the shop” incident.
Quiet, consistent professionalism just isn’t good for ratings. True on Top Shot, true on Sons of Guns. Although I will say that so far on Top Shot this season, the drama llama hasn’t shown up that much, and some of the shooting challenges have been quite fun to watch.
The more interesting thing for me is the proliferation of shooting shows on NBC Sports. 3 Gun Nation is going strong, with their own “Pro” series now, and Hot Shots! seems to be a hit. That’s three mainstream cable channels with shooting shows on them.
Cool.
@ The Jack: I can deal with rough working environments – hell, acting as the ELECTRO onboard a frigate that was older than me pretty much defined that concept. But I cannot deal with willfully unsafe environments being managed by a petty tyrant with delusions of grandeur.
Hence why I left the military, actually…
Anywise, we still watch enough random stuff on enough channels that cable is pretty much a necessity… especially since cable internet without the cable is almost as expensive as the two services combined regardless.
@ Ian Argent: Unfortunately, I feel certain that dialing back the drama is what contributed to the show potentially being canned… After all, Survivor is on its eleventy-billionth season right now, and it is nothing but straight drama condensed to its most pure state.
@ the dude: But, like I said, it is just not that funny for me any more. I once had the distinct… pleasure… of standing, at attention, for two hours, on the un-air-conditioned bridge of the aforementioned frigate in Mayport, FL in summer, along with the other 20-odd officers of the ship, while the CO verbally harangued us, in much the same way Will does, over the inefficiency and tardiness of the civilian contractors, i.e. something that we had very little direct control over given the way military contracts and union grunts work (or not, as the case may be).
Like I said, you can imagine how that colors my view of Will’s temper-tantrums.
@ Bob S.: In response, I would invite you to put the shoe on the other foot, and follow the link back to Vince’s weblog I provided in my post, specifically: http://vincentbuckles.com/a-small-world/
If a metaphorical dick-measuring contest is your idea of “acted professionally and responsibly”, I shudder to think of what “unprofessionally and irresponsibly” look like in your world
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Now, I have dug through his site and abused Google more than a little, but I can find no account of his leaving RJF. Likewise, I will, again, point out that I agree with his reasons for leaving, and would have done so in his place (in fact, I probably would have done so long before he did). However, so far as I know (based on your accounting of the post and Discovery’s broadcasting of their carefully-edited chain of events), Vince never directly informed Will that he was leaving, or why, or anything of the sort. If that is the case (and Lord would I love for someone to just put up at least their version of the chain of events, rather than this “if we ignore it it will go away bulldren they are inflicting upon us now), Vince screwed up.
@ Patrick: Fair enough. I am getting those inclinations of late as well, but I do this whole blogging thing as much for personal therapy as I do for any other reason. Still something of a shame that all of your posts and data just up and vanished overnight – I hope you made a back up
.
@ ExurbanKevin: Hell, I could live with “loud, inconsistent professionalism” – it is that last part I am only really concerned about, and it is primarily there where RJF failed.
And “inconsistent” would have to refer to the products, not the actual professionalism.
Anywise, this whole post started with me originally writing a post saying that any exposure we got on the television was probably good exposure, so I will have to refrain from commenting about the new stuff until I have actually seen it.
Didn’t I read here that Will lost his FFL? I think that is the only reason why I am still watching- to see that shoe drop.
Will and Stephanie lost their shared FFL back in 2009, and Vince took it over for them at that point. Currently, I think (stress on that) Joe Meaux holds the FFL for RJF.
Amusingly, this is why you never see Will put is hands on a firearm between “we received it” and “we are out on the range shooting it” – I guess he totally cannot be involved at any point in the construction process.
I’ve never watched a full episode, the only bits I can remember seeing are when it’s been on in various waiting rooms and whatnot. I lost interest as soon as ENDO posted the daughters, “I’m gonna take the DE out and shoot it!” then takes an M9 out, and then gets condencending when she’s called on it on her or the show blog/FB. Yep, they lost me before they even started. The blank mag dump with the uzi in the shop, plus a clip of one of them getting pissed and throwing a customer’s AR across the shop was just gravy. I’d rather just punch myself in the face for half an hour than watch them and their jackassery.
Apparently the whole DE / M9 mixup was due to Stephanie hurting her wrist… which is fine in my book, if they were honest and upfront about it. But, like you said, they decided to be dicks when people called them on trying to play a bit of sleight-of-hand, and it went downhill from there.
I could force myself to suffer through the show simply because of the hardware being showcased, but my proverbial back just got proverbially strawed.
“Anywise, we still watch enough random stuff on enough channels that cable is pretty much a necessity… especially since cable internet without the cable is almost as expensive as the two services combined regardless.”
Interesting. For me it was about 50% savings.
Wow, not allowed to even handle them? Way to pick your shop producers.
@ Jack:
Same for me, cut the cable that we barely watched, and the phone that we never used, saved us 60-ish bucks a month.
Kinda miss Adult Swim and a few other things here and there, and wish HBO-GO would pull their head outa their 4th-point-of-contact and not require a cable subscription. Other than that, meh.
@ Jack: Tennessee seems to be trapped in a single-service-provider conundrum, in that any given address only has a single landline cable provider, so there is no real need for them to be competitive.
So they try to sucker you in with package deals, and given that we still do watch TV, we go with it for now
.
@ Ted N: Yeah, I would miss things like Eureka and some other stuff, simply because the stations do a pretty bad job putting their stuff online or allowing it to be shared via Hulu / Netflix / etc.
But, I guess, that is because I am easily entertained
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” but you do not simply pack up your bags and disappear without a fare-thee-well or even so much as a “this is where you send my last check”; ”
I have to disagree with you on that one. It’s pretty low on the list of how you should leave. But if your boss is a big enough douche, and the working environment is bad enough (as appears to have been the case here), it seems perfectly understandable to me.
I really can’t imagine anyone in the gun industry will hold that against him. Lord knows that if I was treated like crap for having the audacity to do someone a favor, I’d most likely leave them hanging as well. You don’t correct bad behavior by rewarding it.
Well, that is the thing, though – it did not go from “zero” to “shit” overnight. This was an obvious, gradual increase in dumbfrakkery going on at Red Jacket, and while everyone does have a limit for that kind of gos-se they can tolerate, that limit should be below where you simply storm off into the night without a trace.
Beating treated like crap certainly excuses your leaving, but it does not really excuse running away.
This is exactly why I will never be featured in reality TV. This drama crap is what sells.
I have little to no doubt that a lot of this animosity was in the shop before Discovery came along and started airing all of it… but I also have absolutely no doubt that the producers/directors at the channel did absolutely nothing to prevent it, and may have actually gone out of their way to encourage it.
As you say, drama sells, which is why things like Survivor are on their umpteenth year, and things like Firefly barely last their first year.
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