FPS Russia has been on hiatus for nine months. His unexplained absence/radio silence may or may not have anything to do with the still-unsolved point blank assassination of his business manager. Kyle’s on-cam mea culpa makes no mention of his brush with “gun violence.”  The most famous faux Russian since Yakov Smirnov claims his business troubles prevented him from producing new work. Yeah, right. ‘Cause these videos are so complicated. And YouTube rights are so difficult to manage. Anyway, slo-mo bullpup shotgun action on jars of paint is the dish of the day. Every time I critique this guy I get flame broiled. So . . . I hope FPS gets his mojo back from whoever stole it. ‘Nuff said?

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

119 COMMENTS

  2. Ah, yes. Let’s criticize FPSRussia because he actually has *fun* with his guns. As we all know, we’re never supposed to have guns for recreational use.

    Seriously though, I hate it when People of the Gun attack other People of the Gun. It’s divisive, it’s stupid, and it gives the anti’s entertainment as we devour each other. Can we please stop the personal attacks and unite against those who would take our rights away?

    • People of the gun who ignore the basic rules of gun safety are not people of the gun; they’re dangerous man-children who give us a bad name.

    • No, I will not let up on Leonard Embody. I live in TN also and is actions make him a douch bag only to rival James Yeager. We have a section on this called “IGOTD” for a good reason.

    • Hickok45’s channel has plenty of fun vids and far more interesting things to say about the firearms he features compared to FPSKyle. He isn’t an unsafe moron of dubious character either.

    • I will criticize FPSRussia not because he has fun with his guns, but because:
      1) He doesn’t seem to care about the 2nd Amendment nor does he make any statements or defensive speeches like the MAJORITY of other popular gun channels.
      2) He doesn’t care about the people of the gun, he only cares about the Call of Duty kiddies.
      3) He is not a safe person, and his stint with explosives injured his cameramen on at least 2 occasions. So suffice to say that this person is a bad example.
      4) His videos went from mildly educational to complete Hollywood sensational bullshit over time.

      So no. Don’t go all “But people of the gun!”. Some people deserve the criticism, that includes this sorry excuse of a human being. Keep your FPSFakeass, I’m back to watching Colion Noir, hickok45, and tnoutdoors9.

      • Unless you know something I don’t, other than the “doesn’t mention the 2A part” your first two points are completely baseless inferences. The “doesn’t mention” is factual, but the conclusions you draw from them are completely your own, yet you present them as fact.

        • YOU say I present it as fact. I at least have the decency to only stand up for my own opinion, so I post it as what it is, my own opinion. What, I’m not allowed to say what I think and why anymore because it’s “baseless”?

          But here’s the kicker, I have reasons to think it’s not that baseless. His pandering to the CoD kiddies is factual, he appeared in a Black Ops II advertisement and one of his videos was CGI bullshit demonstrating a Black Ops II weapon, the quad rotor thingy. So if he isn’t, then there’s strong evidence he at least intends to.

          And another video CLEARLY shows a cameraman being hit by a flying piece of rock or metal after an explosion, we do hear a “ow!”, and the man himself clearly commented that he was indeed struck, which leads me to think that they stood too close and don’t respect safety distances.

          But once again, this is my own opinion of FPSRussia and why, as I have written clearly, I have written, “_I_ will critizice FPSRussia”, I only implies I, me, and myself, and just my opinion, since it is my criticism, not -the- criticism to rule them all like you pretend I’m doing. It would be nice not to construe that everything I say isn’t an attempt to nail it as indefectible fact; all I’m doing is being very stingy towards a person I dislike heavily. This is all what I _think_ of him. Present me information about him and I’ll see what I can do, but you will not make me like the guy.

        • I don’t understand why you care if he appears in a Black Ops ad, and why it upsets you so. What’s actually wrong with it? And I enjoyed the quadcopter video.

          Based on a couple specific example, yes, he and his guys could be safer (or could have been, maybe they’ve learned from their mistakes), but the thing that hit his cameraman almost hit him too, so it’s not like he’s forcing people to stand in harm’s way while he watches from a safe remove. Sometimes people make mistakes, y’know?

          I just don’t understand why you (and others) dislike him so. Why you even bother, I mean. Why waste your time disliking him? He doesn’t impact your life directly, why are you so invested? You (and others) complain that he doesn’t talk enough about the 2nd Amendment, but in the same breath you decry his safety habits, etc. So if he was being a vocal 2nd Amendment advocate, wouldn’t you just be saying that he isn’t a good 2A ambassador for exactly those same reasons? I just don’t understand. If you don’t like him, don’t watch him and leave it at that.

        • “_I_ will not support FPSRussia”

          Well, I don’t ‘support’ him in the sense that I don’t give him any money, and I don’t run around touting his vids – my favorite Tannerite shrapnel video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W6DUKYIEBc , isn’t even his. (also have a bookmark to the one where he’s missed by the door: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8-azG3Iokk which really is scary: 10″ to the right and he wouldn’t have had a prayer.) But even with that, he’s still fun to watch – maybe the element of danger even adds a little something for some people. People don’t go to car races to sit and watch 40 cars go around and around and around and around and around in a circle for six hours. 😉

        • “People don’t go to car races to sit and watch 40 cars go around and around and around and around and around in a circle for six hours. ;-)”

          While this is undeniably true, few will cop to it. MMA are very popular – though I don’t understand why – and people don’t go or watch to see some skilled moves and counter-moves – they go to (hopefully) see some dude knock the other dude into the middle of next semester. Some people watch hockey for the fights; I don’t, however, when there is one, I’m out of the seat, hoping for a better look. We could go on and on.

          FPS Russia is fun to watch. If it’s not fun for you, don’t watch, and STFU. You’re not going to change a thing with your righteous indignation. So there!

        • Don’t get me wrong – I’m not asking anyone who doesn’t like him to like him because I said so. But it’s not like that’s the only available channel. Some don’t like the way that people who promote him don’t emphasize safety enough. Well, that’s free speech, I guess. Anyway, I take what enjoyment I can, and just leave the rest and get on to other fun stuff. Live and Let Live, I always say.

        • @Matt in FL: I don’t like him because I simply don’t, and he associates himself with a franchise and a fan community that is reputed for its total lack of maturity, which I have had the displeasure of finding out by myself.

          Note that I don’t have a problem with YOU or anyone else liking him. Because that is your right. I’m fine with that, freedom of opinion is sacred, but as I said, I don’t like him and I’ve stated why, but it only engages myself. I’m not trying to get in a war with all the people who like FPSRussia, that’s pointless. All I wanted to do is express my discontent with the guy’s videos and modus operandi. He, in my eyes, is not a good representative of the “People of the Gun”.

          Why do I dislike him? Well, I used to follow his videos, from back when he first started. His earlier stuff is actually interesting. I particularly liked his caliber comparison videos, where he tested 9mm, .45, .357, .44, and 12 gauge against 1 gallon water jugs and showed us the effects of each. THAT was a lot more interesting than quadrotor CGI bullshit or shooting at explosive zombie targets all day long, it was more educational, and it actually was still fun to listen to. Even if I don’t agree that just because you’re outside in the open you don’t have to wear ear protection (which he didn’t, and IIRC, rarely does).

          Then as time and popularity went on, he capitalized on that, he turned himself and his FPSRussia name into a cash cow because all of that youtube money is, arguably, fairly substantial when your view count is expressed in tens of millions per video, yet the quality and the informative value of his videos decreased in my eyes, leading to me being less interested and more and more resentful of his use of sensational over educational. Kind of like the Call of Duty franchise itself, now that I think about it.

        • It’s not about you not liking him. Its about, when you present your reasons for not liking him, you present your opinions as if you believe they’re incontrovertible universal truths.

      • He meant that he dropped it inadvertently a couple times during the video. The slo-mo of the Dragon’s Breath is stunning. Some folks have somehow gotten a stick up their bums, and sadly don’t appreciate enthusiasm and fun. They’re the same androgynes who complain about Kirsten Joy Weiss’ videos.

        You know who you are. Get off the stick. Pull it out! Or ask a good friend, if you have any.

        • Yeah, his accent definitely slipped a few times in that video. He’s out of practice, whatcha gonna do?

  4. I’m not sure if it is here or another blog I read. But, one of them pointed out that fps russia is not russian at all. His productions are fake, and he gets paid by the gun companies to do this. I think he is from Kentucky or something like that. This is a nice video, not trying to trash it. Just explain some things about him.

  5. Well he does do an accent and has the symbol of an authoritarian government that denied citizens ownership of class 3 weapons and killed millions of its own citizens (in case you did not know the hammer and sickle were on the flag of the USSR when it existed.). So in a way it is a little Ironic that he has that symbol on his videos to say the least and people who are the descendants of holodomor victims find that symbol less than humorous especially for a government that no longer exist. It would be like having a show called FPS germany show with the nazi swastika in the background. to say the least if that were the case there would not be many Jewish americans watching his channel to say the least.

      • Don’t usually find those funny especially when most americans don’t speak more than 1 language if anything I find them sad because to me they illustrate this flaw in our education. I have many international friend who know about WWII and still are not amused by these videos. They compared it to Mike Judge’s idiocracy as a benchmark of societal decline so nope not untwisting.

        • So if possessing one iconic symbol of an oppressive regime that was in fact just a symbol is bad then possessing another symbol that was in fact more than a symbol and used in the oppression and killing of all those millions must be worse …. Right? Meaning anyone possessing an AK SKS or any number of soviet era weapons is deserving of your derision right? Ya know since this is so offensive to you I heard about this Feinstein lady who not only wants to ban the gun but ban speech that she dose not approve of. Seems to me you two got a lot in common.

        • The only real problem with this logic is that if we were to shun all symbols of governments that have done bad things to people inside their own boarders there simply wouldn’t be many national symbols left to use.

          Even our own government has done some fairly distasteful things in the past. Do we start saying people shouldn’t display the flag? Hell if we count the things we have done to other countries in the name of politics, good ideas gone wrong, being misguided or as “supporting an ally” in just the time since WWII we have really racked up the tally on “horrible things done”.

          History is there to be learned from. Granted I don’t think our government has much of an understanding of history but hey, neither do most of the people. Yes our education system is failing us and has been for a while. Sure that issue among many others needs to be intelligently addressed but that is a bit much to hope for in the near future.

          Point is if we choose to toss aside all symbols used by governments that have ever done anything horrible we simply won’t be left with many symbols at all. As always it is up to the person to decide what they will support.

          Granted I think I would like the videos more if he dropped the whole Russian thing and just made good, interesting to watch videos.

      • I couldn’t agree more. Has it come to the pass where we can’t laugh along with people who have slightly different interests and opinions from ourselves?

    • Communism can never fail. It just needs the right people to run it. That is why it is acceptable to use communist symbols and idolize communist heroes like Che Guevara in polite company. You could never do these sorts of things with Nazism or indeed even the much more benign Italian Fascism. You can promote communist ideas in any publication that gets up in arms about the Nazi ideas, unless of course you dress them up as anti-Zionism. We should have gone full McCarthy in 1989 and made communist advocates and enablers persona non grata in polite company the way we did with Nazis.

    • So, is it only offensive when the symbol is that of an oppressive nation that no longer exists, or do the Stars and Stripes which fly over America today, same as when the people (Native Americans) that inhabited this land were being slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands, offend you?

      Maybe we should go to a Reservation and ask them what they think…

      • Yea, these are your poor, nature loving Indians right?

        The earliest known United States shooting to happen on school property was the Pontiac’s Rebellion school massacre on July 26, 1764, where four Lenape American Indians entered the schoolhouse near present-day Greencastle, Pennsylvania, shot and killed schoolmaster Enoch Brown, and killed nine or ten children (reports vary). Only three children survived.

        They also beat a pregnant women to death, scalped her, and cut the baby out of her womb. Stories like these did get around in those days, so is it any surprise we didn’t exactly care too much what happened to them?

  7. Ummm… yeah. Not really a fan of FPSRussia. I really don’t like his taste in firearms, his “safe” handling skills, or his fake accent. Honestly, I was kind of hoping he would have stayed gone. Many younger people watch his videos and believe he is safe, intelligent, and fun. Not a good thing.

    • Yet he is having fun and introducing firearms not seen by more
      than a few gun owners.

      Your assumption about many young people believing he is safe, intelligent,
      and fun is just that an assumption.

      • Driving on the sidewalk is also a lot of fun, but it can get people killed and you’re a dangerous idiot if you do it.

  8. As a younger person of the gun, I’ve always found his videos obnoxious. Does he get to play with cool hardware? Sure, but his utter refusal to do so safely is rather off-putting. Plus the accent sucks.

    • The gun community is ripe with off-putting, obnoxious people, you’ll get used to it as time goes on and you become an older person of the gun…

      Few things to keep in mind, just remember, everyone is a firearms and tactics expert and anyone who disagrees with you is an idiot. Um, let’s see, whichever guns you own are totally awesome, all other guns are complete crap, and for God’s sake make sure people know it… Please don’t forget, all calibers are inept, except the ones you shoot, of course. Oh and, if you don’t have the latest, Whack Master 5000 gun, or the newest, supersonic, death ray ammo, you’re probably going to die.

      Well, I think that’s about it, so other than that, welcome aboard!

      • The Whack Master 5000 is junk. Since the Whack Master 5100 XL limited edition was released, it completely obsoleted the 5000. I’d be embarrassed to be seen with one.

        • As you should be, you’re a disgrace!

          Well, next time you’re in a gun battle, you’re not going to make it out alive with that antiquated equipment.

      • So no mention of FPS’s horrible safety record? You know, the only complaint the kid actually had?

        You know what? Fine, f*ck it. Go have your fun; don’t check your targets, don’t use trigger discipline, don’t include a backstop, and let your dumb buddies go downrange without calling a ceasefire. As long as you’re only putting yourselves at risk, I can learn not to care.

        • If using common sense gun safety makes me a radical, then… No, no, I’m not playing that; it doesn’t make me radical at all, it makes me not a fool and a danger to others.

  9. The gun community is ripe with off-putting, obnoxious people, you’ll get used to it as time goes on and you become an older person of the gun…

    Few things to keep in mind, just remember, everyone is a firearms and tactics expert and anyone who disagrees with you is an idiot. Um, let’s see, whichever guns you own are totally awesome, all other guns are complete crap, and for God’s sake make sure people know it… Please don’t forget, all calibers are inept, except the ones you shoot, of course. Oh and, if you don’t have the latest, Whack Master 5000 gun, or the newest, supersonic, death ray ammo, you’re probably going to die.

    Well, I think that’s about it, so other than that, welcome aboard!

    • Spot On Man! I used to run a gun accessories store and made good money from it but the customers were the reason I shut it down. I also own electronics and video game stores and don’t have the same brand of crappy customers. Not saying they are all bad but customer service, constant arguing, putting down brands and products made me want to get out of it. I even hate going to my local gun store to look for ammo because I will get a speech about how my .40 cal sucks, my brand of ammo sucks, and how I need to get a .45 and get the special zombie max ammo or something. Tired of always being put down by gun people. It really turns off people trying to get into gun ownership. I now order all my stuff online and only use my gun shop to ship purchases to. Even then, I have to hear about the AK I bought sucks because it was not an Arsenal brand.

      • “I also own electronics and video game stores and don’t have the same brand of crappy customers.”

        You are one of the lucky ones then. At least once a day, I’m called an f*ing commoner or peseant by the super elites with their gaming PCs just because I like console gaming better…Every brand of expensive hobby has their fair share of horrible human beings.

    • I have a Remington 870 in a Bullpup Unlimited stock.

      The action has more friction in the stock and it feels a bit wobbly before actually installing it on the weapon, but in practice it works just fine.

      I put an AimPoint CompM2 on mine and it is my go-to home defense weapon.

      • I think this might be my next project. Gotta finish the AR first and recoup some funds after I start buying the more expensive parts.

        • The stock sure ain’t cheap, but considering a KSG is like 1100 in the wild right now and you can still get 870s for 200, it does actually make fiscal sense.

          Good luck!

    • I’ve never understood how he got away with that… Mid twenties, and I’ve already determined that I need foam plugs underneath my ear muffs, lest my ears still continue to ring 24 hours after a range trip.

      • The most important thing to understand about Kyle is that this all began as a kid who loved playing FPS video games wanting to try out all the cool toys he was using in the gaming environment in the real world. And so it developed from there.

        I heard him say, somewhere, at some time, that he will wear ear pro for “really loud” stuff but when he is outside the noise dissipates and he is not too worried about it.

        But once you cross the line of blowing stuff up to the point that you are slining huge pieces of shrapnel at your crew and yourself…who really cares.

        I have a bad feeling that one of these days we will read the report of “FPSRussia, an extremely popular YouTube video maker, died in a tragic accident while working on a video” and it will involve him finally catching a huge chunk of whatever catching him in the head, or something like that.

        • I’d argue over the use of the word “tragic” in that byline. “The gene pool just got a little cleaner after a local moron finally offed himself today while doing something incredibly stupid” would be my lead-in. Sure, his family would probably cry at that, but they should have known what to expect when they raised a dumbass.

  13. As part of the effort to normalize firearms and show they can be used for fun rather than murder, I approve of his channell, even though he’s rarely practicing proper safety. But then that is something the rest of us can take care of when dealing with new shooters.

  14. One:If you think FPS Russia is casual about gun safety, try hanging out at a police range on qualifying day.Whoo boy.
    Unlike LE, FPS far as I know isn’t in a uniform.

    Two,I’m sick and beyond tired of the gun community’s arrogant ego tripping .News Flash : NO ONE CARES ABOIT YOUR IDEAS ABOUT GUN USE .Every time someone talks about a different way to carry (empty chamber),a different gun they carry (.380 or smaller) ,or why they have the equipment they use some snarky loudmouth butts in like a talker in the theater and begins to cut down on the other persons approach.

    That shit has got to stop.You aren’t changing my opinion on gun use with an e-post no matter how snarky it is, so don’t bother .We should respect each other enough to hold our peace if someone uses an approach or gun or technique we don’t like, instead of going Jihad when someone has a different opinion then you.

    If married people acted like gun owners, your friends would take one look at your spouse and say “wow man, you shoulda married a D cup at least.Scientifcally speaking, bigger racks mean healthier kids yadda yadda…..”

    • Dude, .380? Empty Chamber? You’re just asking to get killed. Personally I feel .500 S&W is the minimum caliber one should have, sure the gun only holds 5 rounds, but that’s why I carry 6 loaded revolvers at all times. That is of course in addition to my M1A I always keep slung over my chest with an additional dozen mags, anything less than 7.62 NATO just doesn’t have the stopping power a rifle should. I get some odd loks at the grocery store, but at least I know I’m ready if SHTF!

    • If I respect you, I’m going to tell you where I think you’re wrong.

      I think you’re wrong on this one. For instance, some of the shit FPSRussia does is far less safe than qualifying day at a police range.

      Blowing up tannerite a few feet away and nearly killing your cameraman with shrapnel, then laughing about it, isn’t cool.

      Dude’s a douche.

    • “wow man, you shoulda married a D cup at least.Scientifcally speaking, bigger racks mean healthier kids yadda yadda…..””

      I did. Can confirm, kid is healthy and growing like a weed.

  16. “when people of the gun attack (with words I assume) other people of the gun…” seriously, half the people of the gun give the other half a bad name. Have you ever been to a gun show?

  17. The most famous faux Russian since Yakov Smirnov

    While technically correct, I don’t think it is a terrible stretch to let Yakov, the comedian born in soviet-era Ukraine, to claim status as Russian.

    • From Wikipedia (which confirms his Soviet birth and address for 26 years):

      He once told Johnny Carson, “I enjoy being in America: it’s fun, you know, because you have, you have so many things we never had in Russia — like warning shots.”[8] When Carson asked if comedians in the Soviet Union can crack jokes about their leaders, Smirnoff replied, “Of course — once.”

    • My parents are from the same exact place as him and came here at the same time. They have always identified themselves as Russian Jews. I have never heard someone from there call themselves Ukrainian Jews. So no its not a stretch. As for fake Russian accent guy with cool guns, I cant imagine how many guns he has sold and how many new gun owners there are because of his videos.

  18. I enjoy FPS Russia because I recognize it for what it is…pure entertainment. People mostly criticize him for things he never claims to be (i.e. a gun reviewer, a Russian, etc.). Bottom-line is that the guy has nearly 5 million subscribers on YouTube and each video gets a million views within a few days of release. He’s found a niche and has a monopoly on it. Plus, I’m sure he drives the anti-‘s nuts!

    • He definitely claims to be a Russian in the videos, although no one seems to care that it isn’t true. He definitely would not have the popularity he does without that gimmick though. Good on him for thinking of it. Personally I would have just hired a real Russian actor and made the same money without anyone ever seeing my face if it had been my idea.

    • And when he wounds (kills) someone on YouTube and laughs about it, the “anti-‘s” watch and use him against us. 5 million viewers, you should probably know what your talking about and use “common since” safety rules. I mean, take a basic class, PLEASE! Yes, the fake Russian persona works to get viewers, but are they watching for his accent or the way “Russians” do it in “Russia?” (Which apparently is not the correct way)

      You can shoot, blow things up, light things on fire, and have a great time doing it…. SAFELY!

    • “He’s found a niche and has a monopoly on it.”

      RatedRR seems to have made a bit of a surge since FPS has been MIA. He still has nowhere near the numbers but his videos are better and he is much more responsible.

  19. There’s no such thing as bad publicity. Hate him all you want, I wish I had thought of that. According to speculation based on YT’s payout schedule and his subscriber numbers, he’s raking in the $$$. May be close to a cool million a year.

      • What are you basing rankings on? Total subscribers? If so, the lists I found put him in the low-mid 50s overall with 4.74 million subs.

    • Per year? No. However, his main channel has 584.5 million total video views (all time). I have a crappy YouTube channel that will hopefully continue improving but still pretty much sucks, and I make about $2.15 per thousand views from people clicking the Google-placed ads on/around the videos. If FPS has the same payment schedule and click rate, that’s $1.26mm. And I’d guess he monetizes his videos in a better way than me, as I have no clue what I’m doing.

  22. He’s good for the gun community. He is entertaining and good at reaching out to younger shooters. He is addressing the huge Call of Duty community that will one day help us in the 2A fight. Old Fat White Guys and Arm Chair Quarterbacks will do what they do.

    • Well, this approaching-middle-age scrawny beige guy likes his videos. I can’t say I like him because I’ve never met him, but I probably would. I find his videos not LOL funny, but entertaining nonetheless. But I also like South Park, John Stossel and Julie Borowski, I should recuse myself from any commentary about Kirsten Joy Weiss, because I’m far too distracted by her attractiveness, both physical and in her manner, attitude, and those boots! Hubba – Hubba! to really notice the shooting that much. so take it with a grain of nitrate. 😉

  23. You know what, I enjoy his videos. Yes he’s kind of an idiot and he makes some pretty egregious safety errors but the videos are entertaining and his last few show that he seems to be learning and taking more precautions–even if it’s only to prevent him from getting sued.

  25. I liked the slow-mo Dragon’s Breath part. That’s something I’d actually never seen before, and that’s getting harder and harder to accomplish.

  27. Never cared for this youtube gun channel. I’m more a hickok45 and iraqveteran8888 kinda guy. If I want to see big screen firearm excess I’ll watch a damn movie. I enjoy history, specs, reviews and real life shooting, not Hollywood type gun action that mostly puts a bad light on gun rights.

  29. I class Kyle the same as Steve Irwin. I watched the loony ozzie because I was waiting to see a croc eat him. Same with Kyle. Waiting for the fire ball with his name on it.

    Does this make me a bad person?

  30. Does it irk anyone else that he never once mentions the NRA, the Second Amendment or fighting to protect our rights?

    Is it because his vast (huge enough to create a real impact on gun rights activism) audience seems to be mostly 15 year old call of duty experts.

    Did I miss something?

    I just think with such a big audience, and what seems to be a lot of younger people watching, he might drop that phony accent for a second and mention the constant political war we fight over gun rights. Maybe mention a few ways to get involved, a link to the NRA or related website etc..

    Just a suggestion. I don’t begrudge him a single viewer, I just think that kind of platform is priceless.

    • “Does it irk anyone else that he never once mentions the NRA, the Second Amendment or fighting to protect our rights?”

      Not too much. That’s not really his job, the way I see it. He entertains me.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here