Recently I have been thinking a lot about "tactical" firearms, "tactical" clothing, "tactical" gear et cetera and the more I think about it, the more that I think tactical for some is black, bloated and built by the lowest bidder.
For example a "tactical" M4 built for night ops could easily be a 9lb gun that would be completely the wrong choice for you or me. Or 5.11, blackhawk, insert name here might be well suited for a XE guy in the sandbox, but for me it is a bunch of unneeded pockets in a non-stylish form at the mall.
As a group we frequently make pragmatic statements like... "Cover or concealment is determined by the incoming rounds" or "the right bullet/caliber/gun is determined by the target." ... but I don't think we always think though our gear choices that way.
For example... I like my training gear (and everyday wear) to be light weight, tough, allow easy movement, to not have too much excess fabric, have very limited stretch and breath. More often than not these requirements can be met as well at the mall as by a tactical company.
Not thinking about any certain gun, what would you want out of a firearm in the following groups?
Every Day Carry
Home Defense Pistol
Home Defense Long Gun
Hunting Long Gun
Shooting Sports Gun
Things that should be considered are size (H,W,D), weight, capacity, penetration, manual of arms, balance, shot to shot time, cost acceptable reliability. You should not list a caliber, an action type or manufacturer.
I think we may see that our needs/wants and our purchase choices may not line up.