Maybe its cliche, but its a saying we’ve all heard before. “Let’s get down to brass tax,” usually ends up uttered by a negotiator of some sort, whether a businessman, a cop, or a villain. It is the prompt for someone to cut the BS and spit out some sort of truth.
So here we are – the spot where you’re deciding whether this blog is worth a read, wondering who is writing this material and whether you can trust him/her. (Not a politically motivated pronoun reference). And this is where I’ll get down to brass tax.
I have always had a profound interest in firearms. Since I was a kid, I was enamored with them. In fact, the moment my interest piqued stands out clearly in my mind. We lived with my grandfather on a small non-working farm from the time I was 5 until about 10. He was a depression era, 2nd generation American, and I was his sidekick. He made his living as a truck driver (he was long since retired at this point), and as an ancillary benefit of the job, he accumulated massive amounts of “stuff.” MASSIVE AMOUNTS.
One particular summer day, we happened to be in his basement, where he liked to tinker, and make stained glass window sculptures. He opened a cupboard in the workshop area, and that’s when I saw it. I knew what it was… I had seen them on TV. It was a gun, and immediately, the sense of simultaneous danger & excitement washed over me, much like I imagine it did for many of you.
It was a revolver; a BB gun revolver to be precise, but it looked real enough to me. I didn’t grab it – I knew better. I asked him if I could see it. He obliged, knowing it was a BB gun that had never seen use since he had acquired it.
Everything about the look was incredibly intoxicating to me; the metal frame & trigger, the long barrel, the ivory looking grip. The feel in my hand was distinct and heavy, but even better was the instant sense of “cool” that came with it. It made me want to be a hero like Magnum P.I. Or the guys from Miami Vice. (Age clue) In later years, I would come to find that it was modeled after an old Colt Peacemaker.
That was it – my first brush with a symbol of American freedom and pop culture heroism: the modern firearm. It kicked off a lifetime progression of interest into everything guns. And that delivers both of us squarely to this point in time, where I happily tell you: “I love guns.” You’ve said it, too. Don’t lie. I love experiencing them, shooting them, learning about them, taking them apart, cleaning them. That love is my reason for starting this blog. I wanted to write about something I really enjoy, and to share it with others.
Maybe you love them, too, and enjoy reading about them in your spare time. Perhaps you enjoy finding someone else with that common interest and are entertained by hearing their take. Perhaps you’re someone who not only likes guns themselves, but you connect with the part of the fabric of American culture that guns represent. I get it. I’m that person too.
In researching prior to launch, I noticed that there aren’t a lot of independent blogs on the topic. There are the 800lb gorillas, TFB and TTAG. Other blogs are generally from manufacturers or retailers, which may be ok, but are an ancillary tool to their core business. I wanted to deliver something different, something genuine, and maybe something a little more unique to the space that wasn’t just another YouTuber.
To get to the crux of this entire exercise, this will be a site where you’ll find discussion and commentary on different subjects. Some will be thoughts on specific firearms themselves, while others will be observations from range sessions, techniques learned, new industry developments/offerings, etc. My one guarantee is that what you’ll get is uniquely “me.” There will not be any mass produced, AI generated, posts for the sake of creating as much content as possible.
If there is one thing I’ve learned through countless hours of consuming firearms content, its that we’re a passionate bunch, for better or worse. Comment sections of YouTube videos and threads of commentary on X make it abundantly clear that there are many who are all too happy to criticize, condemn, and complain content creators for the most inane things. For that reason, I’d like to make a few things clear for you, the readers:
- I don’t profess to be any kind of firearms expert. Not on firearm history, not on marksmanship, not on technique, not on gear, and not on firearms themselves
- I did not serve in the military, nor was I ever a LEO, or a Fed
- I have been around and have been experienced with firearms for 25 years+
- My line of work has blessed me with unique access to the active & retired SOF community
- I’ll never dox or release specifics on them (especially active duty) unless they are a public figure and consent ahead of time
- As a result, I have had a good amount of both formal & informal instruction on shooting
- I have, and do, compete in match shooting
- Just because I write this blog, doesn’t mean I think I know better than any of you, or that you should take what I say as SME input. These blog posts are meant for our mutual entertainment. Always do your own research and seek out professional instruction, whenever appropriate.
So, there you have it. The genesis of this blog and my abridged origin story. I hope you find this to be a place where we can share our interest in guns, and where you can come to find time to indulge yourself from time to time. Stay tuned for more.
Yours Truly,
ExYank
P.S. – The name… The Stovepipe… well, since I am not an expert or a professional, I wanted a name that was concise, easy to remember, and relatable to all. I didn’t want a pretentious, tacti-cool, holier than thou type name. What’s more relatable than an innocuous sounding weapons malfunction that we’ve all likely experienced if we’ve been around guns for any length of time?
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