Good enough?

[NOLACOPUSMC]

This is actually the opposite of what I meant in the context of the original post.

We have all had "good enough" moments in life. I recall having the muffler dragging on my '71 Torino one night on I-10 and crawling under the car with a Leatherman, a AA Maglite, and some baling wire I found on the side of the road. Good enough. I remember mowing the yard as a kid and missing the hard-to-read spots around the trees. Good enough. I remember my single days at last call at the bar and picking out that girl across the room through the haze of my beer-addled vision. Good enough.

But that's not what this is about. This is about people that start out at "good enough" as an end state or a goal. They wire up the muffler with baling wire on a 2009 BMW M5 while they're in a garage full of tools and parts. They leave a 4' swath around every tree despite using a o-turn mower and having a wee eater sitting right there. They go home with the fat chick at 9 PM after having only one beer.

In both sets of examples, "good enough" is often an excuse used after the fact. You get caught with the fat chick, somebody explains that your Olympic Arms isn't really "milspec", you show up to a 3-day class with a Fake-point RDS, etc.

We've all been stuck in situations where "good enough" will have to do, but for some people "good enough" becomes a mantra. I've had nothing but horrible luck with "good enough" (go back and re-read the examples in my first post) when I start out there.

i understand what you are saying...I think.

My angle is that a firearm is a tool. in reference to your first analogy about the "value-priced" cordless tool kit. I actually got one of those for Christmas, and they have been through hell and back, and they are working fine. I think more often than not, the issue with these kinds of things is that not so much the level of quality, but the consistency of quality.

Take for example Hi-point pistols. We all know the reputation. Now as much as I hate them myself, I have had several students come through my Concealed handgun class and shoot the hell out of them and they functioned flawlessly. i have also seen two separate slides completely separate within 200 rounds. The problem is you never know if you are getting the diamond in the rough or the lemon next to it.

With more reputable brands, the lemon is more of an oddity. You buy with a higher level of confidence that you are getting a quality product. It is less of a gamble. Now given what most people buy a firearm for--some level of self-defense, it is not something that you can buy and HOPE you got a good one.

At the same time, when it comes to "combat rifles", many of us will not be going to combat. therefore, our "good enough" is different than that of a OMC or a US Marine. However, despite what may be good enough for it's intended role, i agree that "
just good enough", as a minimal acceptable level should not be the end goal.

The bailing wire will be good enough to get me to the service station, but not as a permanent fix. kinda like the people who drive around on their spare for weeks.

Good enough is an acceptable outcome for the intended purpose of said variable.

A Smith and Wesson MP-15 is good enough for almost anything i will need a carbine for. That said, a LMT, Noveske, or BCM would be better (perhaps) but is not necessary.

A Level IV with plates for duty use would be awesome, but all variables considered, a LEVEL II with trauma plates will hopefully be good enough.