PSA - PLEASE BEWARE OF YOUTUBE "EXPERT" VIDEO'S!!

[chief38]

Posted here as a general "gun smithing" comment that applies to Smith & Wessons as well as all other brands.

As I posted a week or so ago, two of my friends are interested in the Ruger LCP Max. Yesterday one of them purchased it brand new. As I am a "need to know and need to understand kind of Guy", I watched a video on complete disassembly / reassembly just because... I have absolutely no reason or desire to disassemble his new gun, but again as a mechanically inclined guy and into guns, I just wanted to see under the hood and understand what makes this pistol tick - and strictly for entertainment. Again, this applies to all guns including S&W's!

I watched a very painful video (about 45 minutes) of a well intentioned fellow fumbling, forcing, turning parts 4 directions before getting them in the correct orientation, and struggling to disassemble and reassemble this gun. Some of his tools (punches) were bent up and obviously misused and although he has probably done this procedure only 2 or 3 times prior to making the video, you could plainly see him stressing the polymer frame by prying and smacking it during the process. IMHO, while maybe well intentioned, he had little business making his video with his limited knowledge and skills. I am posting this solely to make people aware that there are no qualifications to make and post Youtube videos and many of them can actually get you into trouble. I felt obligated after watching this video to post this thread. I truly believe that there are many guys who do a procedure once or twice and feel they have the knowledge to make and post a video - NOT. Just wanted to caution many Newbies here to take these video's lightly and use your common sense when looking for mechanical advise or a tutorial. Watch the video and again use common sense to determine if the maker actually knows what he's doing. If they are constantly fumbling, misusing tools, and look like they are doing this for the first time - run!

Not saying all Youtube gun video's are bad (I have seen some excellent video's) - just saying we must be selective in which ones we take to heart. I shook my head for 45 minutes and did watch it in "pain". LOL!

 

[cracker57]

when I was a young lad I traveled the states doing sport shows selling.
we had a saying in the old days that a expert was anyone who was more than 100 miles from home.
today experts can sit at home and make utube vid-idiot's out of themselves.

 

[stansdds]

Everybody is an expert at something and they often have very little knowledge about what they profess to know.

 

[Old cop]

As someone who is not mechanically inclined I leave all adjustments, save the most basic, to the factory experts.

 

[67tempest]

I have gotten a lot of good info from watching YouTube videos but a lot of bad info also. You have to take what you see with a grain of salt. There are lot's of videos posted out there by people who obviously have no clue what they are doing.

At the range one day a buddy of mine was shooting his Mark II Ruger. I commented on how I've never stripped mine down completely to clean it after shooting due to the issues with getting them reassembled. He said he never had an issue putting his back together, he said he used a hammer! That's the kind of YouTube video you want to avoid.

 

[6string]

It's not just gunsmithing. The vast majority of the content on youtube is pure trash. The tons of annoying ads just makes it worse! ( I thought TV was bad!!)
That's not to say there's not a few gems in the dumpster bin.

Mostly, though, youtube is just a public forum that provides narcissistic gratification to a lot of delusional, insecure people.
Most of the people who possess real talent and skills are too busy fulfilling the real world demand for their abilities and don't have the time or inclination to make videos. That is, unless somehow it provides them with some sort of advertising value.
Otherwise, why should they waste their efforts creating free content for a huge tech company run by a handful of billionaires?

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself, "Why did this guy post this video?"

 

[TheTinMan]

Jerry Kuhnhausen - noted author of fantastic books on how to fix and tune specific firearms. Yes BOOKS. Those clunky paper things where you have to turn the pages and need a light source to read…

I must say that SOTAR has the best gunsmithing content on YouScrewed that I’ve found. If you want to build an AR, I can’t recommend that channel enough. Then there’s that guy who starts his “S&W trigger job” by prying the side plate off with a screwdriver…

 

[gwpercle]

Also beware the U-Tube Expert Reloading video ...
My Goodness that guy did everything wrong , blew his top break latch and then proceeded to blame the gun .

Reloading and Gunsmithing ...just avoid like the taxman !

Gary

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Posted here as a general "gun smithing" comment that applies to Smith & Wessons as well as all other brands.

As I posted a week or so ago, two of my friends are interested in the Ruger LCP Max. Yesterday one of them purchased it brand new. As I am a "need to know and need to understand kind of Guy", I watched a video on complete disassembly / reassembly just because... I have absolutely no reason or desire to disassemble his new gun, but again as a mechanically inclined guy and into guns, I just wanted to see under the hood and understand what makes this pistol tick - and strictly for entertainment. Again, this applies to all guns including S&W's!

I watched a very painful video (about 45 minutes) of a well intentioned fellow fumbling, forcing, turning parts 4 directions before getting them in the correct orientation, and struggling to disassemble and reassemble this gun. Some of his tools (punches) were bent up and obviously misused and although he has probably done this procedure only 2 or 3 times prior to making the video, you could plainly see him stressing the polymer frame by prying and smacking it during the process. IMHO, while maybe well intentioned, he had little business making his video with his limited knowledge and skills. I am posting this solely to make people aware that there are no qualifications to make and post Youtube videos and many of them can actually get you into trouble. I felt obligated after watching this video to post this thread. I truly believe that there are many guys who do a procedure once or twice and feel they have the knowledge to make and post a video - NOT. Just wanted to caution many Newbies here to take these video's lightly and use your common sense when looking for mechanical advise or a tutorial. Watch the video and again use common sense to determine if the maker actually knows what he's doing. If they are constantly fumbling, misusing tools, and look like they are doing this for the first time - run!

Not saying all Youtube gun video's are bad (I have seen some excellent video's) - just saying we must be selective in which ones we take to heart. I shook my head for 45 minutes and did watch it in "pain". LOL!

Anyone with a camera can be a u-tube hero in their own mind. You'se hasta separate the de wheat from de chaff.

 

[Duckford]

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself, "Why did this guy post this video?"

The problem with sex, drugs, and rock and roll is the fact that most kids are only interested in the first part, and have no interest in music or playing rock and roll.

Endless streams of people who want the fame, fortune, benefits of popular music, popular media, but don't want to even learn a single chord of music or actually know or do anything right. Socialist media is full of wannabe's, fakes, phonies, but mostly the types that want to just make content and get rich and famous fast and without actual knowledge or usefulness.

Its the appeal of easy and perhaps major reward. And, every single time a phony or a fake makes it big, it just encourages other fakes and phonies to try harder to be a fake. Every bad artist who can't make music, every fake expert spheeling garbage. Every success without merit just encourages the unmerited to keep hawking garbage.

 

[CalifEd]

I learned to read MRI's so that I could understand what the Neurosurgeon was talking about when we were discussing my back surgery.
Fascinating to see and talk with a body mechanic that was willing to take the time and effort to discuss things.

 

[Erich]

Kinda like some of the internet legal advice I've seen.

 

[Retired W4]

Jerry Kuhnhausen - noted author of fantastic books on how to fix and tune specific firearms. Yes BOOKS. Those clunky paper things where you have to turn the pages and need a light source to read…

I must say that SOTAR has the best gunsmithing content on YouScrewed that I’ve found. If you want to build an AR, I can’t recommend that channel enough. Then there’s that guy who starts his “S&W trigger job” by prying the side plate off with a screwdriver…

I have found Kuhnhausen's shop manual very informative. Call me "old school" but I prefer having a good book, written by a known professional, in front of me than watching a video.

 

[Autonomous]

Boy howdy. I followed a fella's reassembly instructions very carefully then discovered he had me put the mag spring in upside down. Luckily this was a simple field strip video.

So, while I didn't learn much about my new gun from him, I learned a lot about choosing information sources.

One good source is NicTaylor00. His videos helped me tune some of my stuff. Dunno what all he works on but maybe he'll have something for you.

 

[mikerjf]

Being on YT doesn’t make anyone an expert… no more than being on the nightly news backed up with a government position does.