# Fuck the Lara Croft fanboys for driving up the cost of gunparts! (limited interest) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 12, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964 "2005-04-12T13:41:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/1 "2005-04-12T13:41:15Z")
Only those of you who are firearms enthusiasts will find this even mildly diverting. I’ve owned an [H&K USP](http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg11-e.htm) since 1998. It’s a hell of a pistol and is my duty gun when I work for the sheriff’s office. So, ever since I bought the thing, I’ve meant to get the H&K made accessories that go with it. Namely the detachable compensator shown [here](http://www.streetpro.com/usp/usp-acc.html) and the optical sight mount. Here’s where the beshitted fanboys come in. It seems that in the **Tomb Raider** movies, which I have never seen, that **Angelina Jolie** uses a pair of [compensated H&K pistols](http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2003-07-24/flicks_interview.html). Fanboy demand has now driven the price of the discontinued Quik-Comp through the roof. Two turned up on Ebay recently and went for far more than they are actually worth. I was hoping to add a compensator and dot sight to my piece and give some IPSC a try at my gun club, but no…fanboys who won’t do anything but dry fire their pieces while they ogle Angelina Jolie’s tits have to go and price things out of my reach. Why can’t these asstards just buy airsoft pistols? Oh well, I said this would be of limited interest. ---
**Author:** ![Blackclaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e68b1a/32.png) [@Blackclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackclaw)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/2 "2005-04-12T13:56:04Z")
So what’s a compensator do exactly? Compensates for what? Recoil? Flash? ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/3 "2005-04-12T13:57:38Z")
> [@Blackclaw](#): > > So what’s a compensator do exactly? Compensates for what? Recoil? Flash? It makes you look like Lara Croft. DUH! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/4 "2005-04-12T13:58:05Z")
> [@Blackclaw](#): > > So what’s a compensator do exactly? Compensates for what? Recoil? Flash? Given the context of the OP, I’d say it compensates for inadequate penis size. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/5 "2005-04-12T14:04:24Z")
Open your own thread to talk about penises, **Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor**. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/6 "2005-04-12T14:05:23Z")
The more you know: > [@a glock user's webpage](#): > > Compensated: A barrel with gas discharge openings drilled into the top, near the muzzle. The gas expelled from these holes has the effect of compensating for the inherent upward motion of the barrel as the gun is fired. Used in competition, not recommended for self-defense. In otherword, not quite ricing. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/7 "2005-04-12T14:08:01Z")
> [@Blackclaw](#): > > So what’s a compensator do exactly? Compensates for what? Recoil? Flash? A compensator diverts some of the high pressure gas from the cartridge upward. Some of the compensators used on rifles do compensate for recoil. On handguns they compensate for “muzzle flip” which is the tendency of the muzzle to rise as the pistol rotates backwards in the hand. It’s related to recoil but isn’t exaclty the same thing. Some compensators will also function as flash hiders, but the Quik-Comp isn’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/8 "2005-04-12T14:11:04Z")
H&K parts have always been expensive. I wanted to put a PSG-1 stock on my SAR-8 (HK-91). It’s like $1,200. For a piece of plastic. :eek: :mad: And the H&K claw mount for the scope is over $300. (There are non-H&K ones, though.) I was thinking of getting a USP a couple of years ago. My boss had one in .40, and one lunchtime some of us went to the nearby indoor range and he let me shoot it. I liked it, even though I shot better with my 9mm Beretta 92FS. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/9 "2005-04-12T14:21:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Open your own thread to talk about penises, Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor. I’ve got to side with Bosda on this one. The company created an accessory that makes your gun bigger and they decided to call it a compensator? Doesn’t H&K have a marketing department that could have told them that was a bad idea? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/10 "2005-04-12T14:30:11Z")
We knew the gags would be coming. Just gotta roll with it. 😃 I’ve fired compensated pistols in competition before. Nice…very nice. Of course, I’m not a good enough or fast enough shot for it to make a lick of difference in my score! But as \*\*Johnny L.A. \*\* noted, H&K has always had outrageous prices on their stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/11 "2005-04-12T14:59:46Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Open your own thread to talk about penises, **Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor**. \I am just an innocent widdle lamb!\ 😃😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/12 "2005-04-12T15:00:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Doesn’t H&K have a marketing department that could have told them that was a bad idea? I think the name compensator has been around before H&K made one. ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/13 "2005-04-12T15:45:05Z")
I hear ya, **Scumpup** , this even relates to sporting clays shooting. I wanted to get a larger bolt release for my Beretta (made by Angle Port and a few others), but since this is an added attachment for the souping up of an off-the-shelf Beretta, they want $85 for a $1.25 piece of machined metal!! I’ll stick with a sore thumb, thank you, and spend the $85 on three flats of ammo. Wankers. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/14 "2005-04-12T19:43:56Z")
Goddamn fanboys anyway. It’s bad enough you can’t get an original flash gun for a Speed Graphic press camera since they all got turned into light sabres but now they’re jacking up the price of H&K parts. If only the propmasters had just glued some elbow macaroni on a flashlight and painted it silver you could still afford a complete and orignal Graphic. FWIW the one compensated gun I own is designed for guys not insecure about the size of their barrel. It’s an EAA Witness carry comp. The comp is just an extension on a shortened slide so it’s the same size and looks integrated instead of like a ricer add-on exhaust tip the size of paint can on a one inch tailpipe. Ironically I Have to replace the slide for competition because IDPA doesn’t allow compensators. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/15 "2005-04-12T23:49:21Z")
Only for certain years of the Graphic, though; we have a 4x5 Anniversary (I believe; it’s either that or a Crown) with a flash that was easy to get because _it’s_ not the lightsaber version. ---
**Author:** ![little\_bit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@little\_bit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/little_bit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/16 "2005-04-13T16:38:33Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Why can’t these asstards just buy airsoft pistols? Because that orange tip is too much of a distraction, and they’re not smart enough to paint it. (By the way, the airsofts are pretty. I use them for my Lara Croft halloween costume.) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/17 "2005-09-25T20:29:54Z")
Update: Finally got one last night from ebay. Had to snipe to get it and still paid more than I’m happy about. Fuck the fanboys. Fuck Lara Croft. Fuck HK for no longer making the Quik-Comp. Fuck me for thinking I simply must have one. ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/18 "2005-09-25T20:51:35Z")
Not a gun expert, but I own a few… but I have to ask… why do you attribute this to some “Lara Croft phenomenon”… it was a shitty movie, and the fans who do like it are likely too underage to purchase weapons. Supply and demand, my friend… if the manufacturer is making less, then curse him for the higher prices. H&K’s are nice, but I prefer [Sig Sauer’s](http://www.sigarms.com/products/handguns.asp) myself. But to each his own… rant on! 🙂 PS. This is not an attack on the OP, just an opposing viewpoint. I don’t care to debate the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/19 "2005-09-25T20:59:22Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Update: Finally got one last night from ebay. Had to snipe to get it… If only you’d been bidding on a rifle, eh? ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964/20 "2005-09-25T22:42:03Z")
> [@Squee](#): > > Not a gun expert, but I own a few… but I have to ask… why do you attribute this to some “Lara Croft phenomenon”… it was a shitty movie, and the fans who do like it are likely too underage to purchase weapons. _Movie_? I know there was the movie, but the main thrust\* of the fandom has always been the video games. The first one was released in 1996. - [beavis and butthead] huh-huh-huh-huhuhuhuhuh, she said “thrust” [/beavis and butthead] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-lara-croft-fanboys-for-driving-up-the-cost-of-gunparts-limited-interest/298964.md?page=2)