They make really cool things that go BOOM.
I highly recommend it to people who like that kind of thing.
There’s a thread on it from March 31 for the first season.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=602779&highlight=sons+guns
I’ve been enjoying it so far. I’m not sure how much longer they can come up with interesting projects. This new season they are focusing more on the big boom. Mounting multiple guns on a single trigger. The grenade launcher they worked on this week was cool.
I wish they’d show more of the actual gunsmithing. But, I understand it’s not very exciting. Gunsmiths are similar to watch repair guys. It’s very meticulous work.
I’m not sure I could work for Will. He’s pretty demanding. I noticed the guys say yes sir to him like he was a drill Sargent.
I watched a bunch of the first season, but I’ve pretty much given up on it. An hour is too long, adding emotional drama (Dad will find out about the party! My boyfriend is upset because I’m famous and men are hitting on me as I walk down the street) to a gun show is ridiculuous, celebrity guests - like the American Chopper guy wanting a machine gun that looks like motorcycle handles - suck, and the projects are getting out of hand.
The worst part though, was the guy who wanted them to convert his AR-15 to left handed. You don’t have to learn to fire an AR-15 right handed or convert it - the AR-15 is already possibly the southpaw-friendliest rifle out there. The charging handle is ambidextrous, there’s a huge deflector that stops the brass from hitting you in the face, and putting in an ambidextrous safety (which IMHO is unecessary) is a 5 minute DIY project. I’ve fired thousands of rounds left handed through a standard AR, and have yet to catch a single casing in the face.
I agree with much of what muldoonthief has to say. Much of the charm of the first season was that it had some interesting gun-related story lines, wrapped up the action in a half hour, and did so without taking itself too seriously. I found that refreshing in this kind of reality TV. I’m not a fan of the new format.
I haven’t checked, but it wouldn’t surprise me that the first season was put together thinking that it would be a one-off deal. Success surprised the network and they ushered out the original directors, brought in folks from other shows (American Chopper, perhaps?) to “improve” things.
I like the show but the flawed/unimaginative concepts are irritating.
A 1,000yd AK-47, wtf for? The AK is revered because of the loose tolerances that allow for really dirty operation and mass production. If you accurize it, then it’s not really the ultra-reliable rough and tumble AK any more. The 1,000yds is the real kicker though, again I say, wtf for? The 7.62 isn’t a 1,000yd round. Shit, the .308 isn’t a 1,000yd round. It’s a bizarre goal.
How about this week’s suppressed grenade launcher. I fell asleep and missed most of the ep, did they ever give a rationale for suppressing it? Because it strikes me as a little pointless unless they made grenades a lot less noisy.
How many times are they going to stick several machine guns together? Apparently that never gets old. I appreciated the linked-gas system AR’s but that wasn’t even their concept.
It’s still a kickass show, I just can’t help but wish it were even more kickass.
For civilian (police) use with tear gas canisters - apparently a 40 mill is loud as hell when it goes off.
I’m surprised Homeland Security isn’t concerned about this show. Some of the stuff Red Jacket does could give the wrong people ideas. Next week they are mounting a machine gun in a helicopter. Nothing like having a home grown gunship buzzing around. In the wrong hands that could do some serious damage.
I understand Will’s shop has the proper firearm licenses. It’s ok to work on military weapons for legit clients. I feel a little uneasy showing this stuff on tv.
I am LOVING this. Discovery has been showing episodes all night since I got home from work. I think it’s amazing! Kris barely beating that guy who shot the single shot AK by 0.12 seconds?!?!!? The fireball / shooting sparks guitar?!?! ROCK AND ROLL!!!
I like that all the guys call Will “Sir”. That’s not really a drill sergeant aspect; that’s how we do it down south. Y’all just ain’t used to doing things our way. On the episodes I’ve seen so far, there is a common theme that Will is trying to run the shop like a family and he’s glad to see the boys (and Stephanie) working together to help each other out while others leave the shop to do whatever they have to do. What? Didn’t you call your father ‘Sir’?
I liked the rocket launcher they built, but I didn’t see if it was reloadable or not. If you only get 15 shots and you don’t kill the pirates, they could have RPGs or something. So maybe you need the reload function.
@muldoontheif: while the brass deflector on the AR-15 works pretty well from keeping brass from hitting your face while shooting southpaw, it doesn’t really do much if you’re wearing short sleeves to prevent brass from hitting your arm. I’ve had plenty of spent rounds to go down my uniform sleeve. Trying to shake a hot shell out of your sleeve while being timed totally throws off your score during qualification.
Only two more episodes left. Now they’ve got the arrow guy. I usually plan for some program crossover on Discovery Channel, like the Chopper Guys. I’m surprised they didn’t bring Mike Rowe or The Mythbusters on.
Oh, and speaking of assembling weapons together, I think the Master Key door-breaching weapon was the best I’ve seen so far.
Well that makes sense. Thanks, I never did see that ep.
This week was pretty damned cool. The helicopter mount was neat and we got to see more gunsmithing than usual on the Uzi mod.
Anybody recognize this from this week’s show?
That asshole has to be certifiably crazy.
It’s an interesting subject, but the owner makes Senior from American Chopper look downright reasonable and easygoing. He’s just too much and I can’t watch it because of him.