General GunTuber thread

[Corn Flakes]

We got spoiled for decades on what came into the country; but the wells abroad have ran dry or the spigots turned off, and the few importers of milsurps that are left have generally pivoted to modern firearms.

Oh, I know that. I bought a SKS back when these were dirt-cheap and I'm still salty I didn't get a M1895 before Ian kept recommeding the damn things. But even when we had that glut of perfectly fine milsurp rifles, it was not hard to get taken for a ride because you never knew what had actually happened to the rifle before it got to you. A buddy of mine back in the day got himself a Mauser of some description and the gun looked fine and the lockup was safe, but three shots into trying to check it for zero the stock basically exploded in his hands. He wasn't injured, but we found out that the wood was rotten throughout. Seriously, it looked spongy. So he took the rifle to the shop and found out the barrel was also shot. Like, "hotdog in a hallway" loose around the bullet. So he just threw the damn thing away.

And that was a rifle that looked perfectly fine and had decent provenance. It was Eastern European but it only served in one army. These visibly damaged, pitted and/or rusted rifles coming out of Africa? Getting those is like adopting and old, limp dog. Just like the dog isn't there to guard your house, the gun isn't there to be fired. You're getting them to have them near you. Either the dog at your feet, or the gun on your wall. And don't get those mixed up.

As for the African cache, I figure the best rifles were cherry-picked by a select group of people (owners, investors, Gun Jesus, etc) for their personal collections, long before any of it was offered to the public. And that any functional and/or valuable rifles left are like ipods in a claw-machine full of what is essentially junk. But people will still pay for a chance.....

I do so love old boomers complaining about kids wasting money on gacha games and Fortnite skins, when they're willing to drop half a grand on some rusted-over Royal Tiger import just because "IT'S MILSURP". The generations may change but impulsive idiots are all the same.

 

[Molly White's Breast Milk]

So which guntubers are confirmed/suspected shills and who is g2g? I'd love some channel recommendations as well.
I know IV8888 is a shill. Paul Harrel for sure not a shill.
Anybody want to add?

MachineGun Dad only shills for his local gun store in rural PA. If you miss guntuber content from ~2010, watch MachineGun Dad.

 

[WhoBusTank69]

But even when we had that glut of perfectly fine milsurp rifles, it was not hard to get taken for a ride because you never knew what had actually happened to the rifle before it got to you.

Excuse my further derailment, but this is the main issue someone faces in the current expansion of the milsurp market. With so many buyers(and sellers) you have more people to distrust when it comes to what they're selling. RTI and other Ethiopian imports will be sold as what the rifle is rather than as a wallhanger similar to other trickery I've observed both in my own buying and examination on behalf of others including, but not limited to; smudging powder residue over cracks in receivers, grinding down and refinishing bulged barrels, leaving handguards loosely attached to conceal bulged barrels, grinding locking lugs to """fix""" headspace, letting dirt and grease dry over bulged receivers/barrels(that was fun), and my personal favorite, painting over rust in the chamber.

In fairness, a few of these have taught people how sturdy guns can be. But with more people willing to buy and an increase in retards doing things they shouldn't, you have an exponential chance of having both a gun with many parts someone has physically shoved up their ass for their own enjoyment without cleaning afterwards(one hearkens back to the infamous pictures from /k/) and/or a gun that is theoretically very unsound and should be destroyed or otherwise removed from the market.

 

[Corn Flakes]

Excuse my further derailment, but this is the main issue someone faces in the current expansion of the milsurp market. With so many buyers(and sellers) you have more people to distrust when it comes to what they're selling. RTI and other Ethiopian imports will be sold as what the rifle is rather than as a wallhanger similar to other trickery I've observed both in my own buying and examination on behalf of others including, but not limited to; smudging powder residue over cracks in receivers, grinding down and refinishing bulged barrels, leaving handguards loosely attached to conceal bulged barrels, grinding locking lugs to """fix""" headspace, letting dirt and grease dry over bulged receivers/barrels(that was fun), and my personal favorite, painting over rust in the chamber.

In fairness, a few of these have taught people how sturdy guns can be. But with more people willing to buy and an increase in retards doing things they shouldn't, you have an exponential chance of having both a gun with many parts someone has physically shoved up their ass for their own enjoyment without cleaning afterwards(one hearkens back to the infamous pictures from /k/) and/or a gun that is theoretically very unsound and should be destroyed or otherwise removed from the market.

That's just the way of things, unfortunately. A market starts booming, attracts people who just want to make a quick buck without concern for quality, the market gets saturated, there are a couple high-profile scandals or flops that damage the market's credibility, and eventually the market crashes and the profiteers move on to the next big thing. It's a tale as old as commerce itself.

 

[Only A Retard Sometimes]

So which guntubers are confirmed/suspected shills and who is g2g? I'd love some channel recommendations as well.
I know IV8888 is a shill. Paul Harrel for sure not a shill.
Anybody want to add?

BritishMuzzleloaders
C&Rsenal
Duelist1954
Cap and ball
Gunblue490


I dont mind "shills" that are upfront about it. LuckyGunner shill's their ammo business at the end of each video but the video's themselves are not shilly at all. they are mostly about concepts with the exception of some of their reviews which i think still tend to be fair.

Hickok45 is great if you just want a visual users manual and stats. He has always been honest about where he gets the guns.

Gunblastdotcom were the first online shills and thus never developed the deceptive attitude of some channels.

 

[Pocket Dragoon]

But even when we had that glut of perfectly fine milsurp rifles, it was not hard to get taken for a ride because you never knew what had actually happened to the rifle before it got to you.

That's why the thought of buying milsurps online has always made me cringe, same as buying a used car; even if they're "hand-selected" or "inspected".

I do so love old boomers complaining about kids wasting money on gacha games and Fortnite skins, when they're willing to drop half a grand on some rusted-over Royal Tiger import just because "IT'S MILSURP". The generations may change but impulsive idiots are all the same.

True, but I don't think it's boomers buying into things like the African cache; by now the "smart" majority have already filled out their collections, or have zero interest for whatever reason(s). Sure, there are those who are late to the game & absolutely have to have the Mauser or Enfield they've always wanted, with the rest being plain ignorant or simply pathological buyers.

I figure it's largely X'ers and millennials who bought into the African cache first, and and in the future we'll see those same crusty rifles being resold at exorbitant prices to ignorant/wealthy boomers or clueless zoomers; and gladly pay through the nose, because they have no living memory & experience with the history & market.

 

[Mikoyan]

BritishMuzzleloaders
C&Rsenal
Duelist1954
Cap and ball
Gunblue490


I dont mind "shills" that are upfront about it. LuckyGunner shill's their ammo business at the end of each video but the video's themselves are not shilly at all. they are mostly about concepts with the exception of some of their reviews which i think still tend to be fair.

Hickok45 is great if you just want a visual users manual and stats. He has always been honest about where he gets the guns.

Gunblastdotcom were the first online shills and thus never developed the deceptive attitude of some channels.

I hate most of guntube because of the shilling. I'll watch the occasional Hickock video because of just that - you know he's bought, you know exactly what that means and you're just here to see grandpa have fun with guns.

Good picks all around. I'd add Hoplopfheil with the caveat that his videos are limited in scope and be prepared for autism. But he is 0% shill.

 

[Pocket Dragoon]

I hate most of guntube because of the shilling. I'll watch the occasional Hickock video because of just that - you know he's bought, you know exactly what that means and you're just here to see grandpa have fun with guns.

By this point, isn't the same true for the rest of the big-name guntubers? Excepting those that are big enough that they don't need to shill, or have income outside of their channel that isn't tied to their online presence.

I'd add Hoplopfheil ... he is 0% shill.

Any proof of that, or just a guntuber's word & the current community consensus? And again, the word doesn't have any meaning anymore; the same as "grooming".

This also touches on the weird personal connections people develop for their favorite guntubers & brands.

Maybe it's just me, but I remember a time when most everyone on screen was paid to be there; excepting probably witness interviews on the afternoon news, and it was incredibly naive to assume otherwise.

I just don't understand why it matters it matters so much, aside from being ego-related or some form of virtue signalling.

 

[Sleazy Car Salesman]

Any proof of that, or just a guntuber's word & the current community consensus?

If he is sponsored and doesn't specifically state that he is that's actually illegal. Same goes for any Youtube content creator, Tom Scott actually has a good video on the subject.

 

[Only A Retard Sometimes]

If he is sponsored and doesn't specifically state that he is that's actually illegal. Same goes for any Youtube content creator, Tom Scott actually has a good video on the subject.

all his sponsored content is through TFBTV and does not appear on his youtube account.

 

[Pocket Dragoon]

If he is sponsored and doesn't specifically state that he is that's actually illegal. Same goes for any Youtube content creator, Tom Scott actually has a good video on the subject.

True, but a sponsorship isn't the same as monitized videos, which is what I often hear the word shill being used to describe. And again; why should it matter if an online content creator allows 30-second mass-produced ads (like Raid)? Or review products from certain manufacturers (i.e. Springfield), bought with their own money?

It's the usage of the term that confuses me, and why/how people get so invested.

 

[Sleazy Car Salesman]

True, but a sponsorship isn't the same as monitized videos, which is what I often hear the word shill being used to describe. And again; why should it matter if an online content creator allows 30-second mass-produced ads (like Raid)? Or review products from certain manufacturers (i.e. Springfield), bought with their own money?

I think a lot of it comes down to the idea of selling out and there's also a strong undercurrent that a sponsorship removes some of the fair and impartial nature of a review or test. I'm not gonna say what my opinion is on the matter but I think that's where most people come from.

 

[Mikoyan]

By this point, isn't the same true for the rest of the big-name guntubers? Excepting those that are big enough that they don't need to shill, or have income outside of their channel that isn't tied to their online presence.

Any proof of that, or just a guntuber's word & the current community consensus? And again, the word doesn't have any meaning anymore; the same as "grooming".

This also touches on the weird personal connections people develop for their favorite guntubers & brands.

Maybe it's just me, but I remember a time when most everyone on screen was paid to be there; excepting probably witness interviews on the afternoon news, and it was incredibly naive to assume otherwise.

I just don't understand why it matters it matters so much, aside from being ego-related or some form of virtue signalling.

Pretty much all of his own-channel videos (others are right, TFB's different) are best described as 'brutally fucking honest', in ways that would get you excluded from most 'free shit for videos' rounds. It's part of the autism.

And I'm old enough to remember old TV too.

My personal preferences (and hence 'why it matters') are to have as little performative bullshit in a video as possible. If you have goofy-ass production values to your video they better be something good. Particularly I don't want to have smoke blown up my ass about how the latest micro 9 off the conveyor belt is TOTALLY GROUNDBREAKING, A GAME CHANGER.

Speaking of production values and probably not shilling, what do you all think about Gunthots? They're goofy and their videos are pretty stylized but they kind of hit the mark.

 

[TerminalTryHard]

Speaking of production values and probably not shilling, what do you all think about Gunthots? They're goofy and their videos are pretty stylized but they kind of hit the mark

I've posted some gun thots stuff in the past but I'm not a big fan. Just not interested in people complaint about gas port size.

 

[Rent Tin]

True, but a sponsorship isn't the same as monitized videos, which is what I often hear the word shill being used to describe. And again; why should it matter if an online content creator allows 30-second mass-produced ads (like Raid)? Or review products from certain manufacturers (i.e. Springfield), bought with their own money?

It's the usage of the term that confuses me, and why/how people get so invested.

I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe a monetized video as "shills"... People have to make money after all.

Somebody being a "shill" isn't that complicated, just somebody that is hyping up something or promoting it when they otherwise wouldn't in return for money or favors.

 

[Corn Flakes]

I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe a monetized video as "shills"... People have to make money after all.

Somebody being a "shill" isn't that complicated, just somebody that is hyping up something or promoting it when they otherwise wouldn't in return for money or favors.

I think most guntubers (and youtubers in general) don't really give a shit about being called "shills" for running ads or doing sponsored content. So long as they do their due diligence with full disclosure (which some have failed to do in the past), they're in the clear, and they assume their audience knows that. It's a job like any other.

The ones that get really worked up over it tend to be the ones with ideological hangups about "creative independence" (or "capitalism", if they're really stupid), and that's on them. You might even see them deliberately demonetizing themselves and refusing any kind of funding outside of crowdfunding or direct audience donations. Of course, they rarely address the fact that being completely beholden to one's audience for their income means they also have to please said audience at all times, and you can't go around going contrary to their opinions, so instead of being a corporate bitch you become a public bitch. And I'm not sure which is worse.

 

[Sleazy Car Salesman]

The ones that get really worked up over it tend to be the ones with ideological hangups about "creative independence", and that's on them.

There is one guy that is anti sponsorship for ideological reasons that I will give a total pass to and that's Project Farm.

If you've never seen a Project Farm video he does direct comparison product testing, typically for tools and hardware store stuff, and he puts multiple brands against each other head to head in a series of scientific studies to see who makes the best product. The reason he refuses sponsorships and insists on only buying products at the store is because he doesn't want to run the risk of a manufacturer going through a batch and selecting the best example of their product to send him, he wants the buyer experience of going to the store and rolling the dice on product control.

 

[Corn Flakes]

There is one guy that is anti sponsorship for ideological reasons that I will give a total pass to and that's Project Farm.

If you've never seen a Project Farm video he does direct comparison product testing, typically for tools and hardware store stuff, and he puts multiple brands against each other head to head in a series of scientific studies to see who makes the best product. The reason he refuses sponsorships and insists on only buying products at the store is because he doesn't want to run the risk of a manufacturer going through a batch and selecting the best example of their product to send him, he wants the buyer experience of going to the store and rolling the dice on product control.

That's not really ideological, that's a very practical concern if you're taking sponsorships on subjects you review and a lot of people do it like that. Nothing wrong with that. A lot of these people take unrelated sponsorships, though. Like, if you're a semi-alcoholic AKphile whippersnapper reviewing gun memes, a sponsorship from RAID: SHADOW LEGENDS might annoy the hell out of your viewers, but it keeps the lights on and doesn't put your credibility as a gun meme reviewer into question.

And you can always run ads if youtube is fine with it. Project Farm doesn't take sponsorships from 3M or the WD-40 Company, but he sure as hell keeps his videos monetized. And good on him for doing so.

 

[Sleazy Car Salesman]

That's not really ideological, that's a very practical concern if you're taking sponsorships on subjects you review and a lot of people do it like that. Nothing wrong with that. A lot of these people take unrelated sponsorships, though. Like, if you're a semi-alcoholic AKphile whippersnapper reviewing gun memes, a sponsorship from RAID: SHADOW LEGENDS might annoy the hell out of your viewers, but it keeps the lights on and doesn't put your credibility as a gun meme reviewer into question.

And you can always run ads if youtube is fine with it. Project Farm doesn't take sponsorships from 3M or the WD-40 Company, but he sure as hell keeps his videos monetized. And good on him for doing so.

Got ya, I misunderstood the kind of people you were talking about.

 

[Molly White's Breast Milk]

Good picks all around. I'd add Hoplopfheil with the caveat that his videos are limited in scope and be prepared for autism. But he is 0% shill.

If Hop shills it's hard to notice. He'd probably fit in around here if he doesn't already post here since /k/ has gotten super faggy lately.