Well of course it will always be the man behind the gun but to F with using a crappy gun just because it fits with some sort of inverted snobbery. I shoot with a great gun not because I am a great shot but because it is a brilliant gun to shoot with and makes shooting an absolute pleasure. I am now looking at my glasses because although the ones I use are good I recently tried another type and the effect at the time was quite eye opening, sorry about that, things like that make you think about the equipment that you are currently using... it is I would agree a costly thought process. One comment though we as shooters very often put the price of items at the very wrong end of the scale. For example a really good gun MX8 or DT 10/11 is actually good value they last for ever and you only need one. In fact in terms of lifetime shooting a really good shotgun is the cheapest thing a shooter is going to buy... cartridges to shoot through it on the other hand are the most expensive.. very few shooters I know see it this way.
In as much as you asked me if I was envious, I could just as equally ask if you're a bit defensive? I was just trying to point out that one doesn't potentially need to spend a lot to get a lot: only trying to offer thoughts from personal experience? I'm not in the least interested what others end up buying at the end of the day as it doesn't impact my shooting, but you asked for an opinion and others chipped in with their two penneth as well. Funny old game isn't it. However, if you take subjective things out of it, such as feel, then what exactly are the Pillas and the like giving that the Revisions , Randolphs, etc. don't have for up to 9-10 times the price, apart from not having a post/bar over the nose?
Yup, and everything you said about your great gun applies also to me. For me my 525 is a brilliant gun. For me. I'm just very, very fortunate it happens not to have cost much and as it appears to fit me well (and others have kindly commented that it's a good tool for what one would think it is), and just as equally I don't see the point in spending more to get what I already have but with an adjustable trigger or summat else that I don't know if it'll help. I may well be like you and try a bit of kit and think WOW, but it hasn't really happened yet to the extent that I've noticed any real difference, even when I've tried more expensive guns. I've just not noticed any change,... I guess I'm just fortunate or something.
If you think a 525 is a crappy gun though, then I can't do anything about that, and I'm not interested in convincing anyone otherwise. It just works for me. Sorry bout that.
ardon:
It's about being wise... some are lured by fools gold for the sake of it.