The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: ericire12 on October 27, 2008, 12:56:19 PM
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No, Haz. Not clips. ;D I'm talking periodicals here....
I personally have subscriptions to two gun magazines (Guns & Ammo, and Shooting Times) and basically that is all I read..... although I will occasionally thumb through a few various mags at the newsstand when I can.
I just wanted to get your takes on what you all like the best and why.
Here are my opinions:
I have found that all in all, Guns & Ammo is ok. They occasionally put out really great issues, but sometimes will put out a "Why did I just waste my time" issue. I thoroughly enjoy Shooting Times, and will read almost every issue cover to cover. They have really great articles and pictures are pretty good too. American Handgunner has by far the best photography out there right now..... but much like Playboy, its not really worth reading the articles. I also really like to look through Shotgun News..... I thumb through it any chance I get, but probably only buy one issue a year at the newsstand because some of their stuff is kinda repetitive.
Any other mags out there you guys think I should give a look? I am very interested in seeing what all of you think. Maybe we will do a poll about this later.
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I just get the American Rifleman mag from the NRA
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I get the NRA mags (wife & I each get one) and I think it's Shooting Times started sending free issues, so I'm on board with that.
I occasionally will pick up something like a tactical handgun mag or something, but honestly... most of them are full of paid advertisements...many disguised as reviews.
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I get the NRA mags (wife & I each get one) and I think it's Shooting Times started sending free issues, so I'm on board with that.
I occasionally will pick up something like a tactical handgun mag or something, but honestly... most of them are full of paid advertisements...many disguised as reviews.
Correct. But its still content and/or gun porn!
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I get American Rifleman (life member NRA).
I also get GUNS Magazine and American Handgunner from FMG Publications and thet are IMO, top notch magazines. I like the articles by Clint Smith, Massad Ayoob, John Taffin, and John Connor (most of you would like Connor, he tells it like it is, plain & simple).
If some of you have not seen or heard of them, here are links to their web sites:
http://www.gunsmagazine.com/
http://www.americanhandgunner.com/
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My three fav's are,
Guns & Ammo
American Handgunner
American Hunter (NRA)
I do switch it up every couple of years.
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The American Rifleman is my overall favorite, mainly for the accuracy testing, an average of ten, 5 shot groups with at least 3 different kinds of ammo, plus they give the conditions the firearm was tested, a lot of the historical articles well researched and informative.
After that.
1) Handloader magazine, it also has articles on firearms, and how to make the best ammo for them, especially if ammo is no longer available, although for a short time it seemed like the Ross Seyfreid handloading tips magazine, as he would have 3-4 articles at a time. I have handloader going back to the first copy in I believe 1976, a treasure trove.
2) Precision shooting magazine, Dealing exclusively with extreme rifle accuracy. The columnists are some of the best and the best in the world, Like G David Tubb, Derrick Martin etc...
3) Shooting Sports magazine from the NRA, it is now only available as a paid subscription, but has good info, if you like NRA tournaments or Olympic/International shooting.
4) Rifle magazine, a step brother of Handloader magazine, you can even get an online subscription.
5) SWAT, mainly because a friend of mine is a columnist and one of my rifles was in it, soon another one will be in it. For those that don't know, the Head guys house burnt down with lots of the information lost, but all is recovering.
6) The Shooting Journal, if you like fine rifles and shotguns, with some historical pistols thrown in, and some good classifieds.
7) American Handgunner, great pics, but short on new stuff these days, I range officered Cameron Hopkins when he was shooting Ipsc, and don't have high regard for him, and that clouds my view of the mag. I do buy it when I see something that interests me.
8) Shooting Times, generally above Guns and Ammo, their reloading section is usually a notch above most.
These are the ones that come to mind.
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Try "Combat Handguns". I like it a lot and it has good info.
JMHO
Richard
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Guns and Ammo
American Handgunner
Guns
American Rifleman
Shotgun News
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"Handloader" & "Rifle" they're sister publications that come out on alternate months.
Even if you don't re-load, "Handloader" has great articles on cartridge development (4 part series on the .223) and on what works and doesn't in various cartridges. They also cover to a certain extent, some of the guns that go with the rounds.
"Rilfe" tells it like it is. Recently a very funny article from a gun writer on why he hated his "required" trip to Africa and why he'll never go back. It was also a revealing article about some of the myths of African hunting.
And of course I get AR. I occasionally pick up other mags from the news stand. Over the years I've subscribe to Shotgun News, American Handgunner, Shooting Times (when Skeeter was alive), and G&A. Can't say as how I'd spend my money for them at this time though.
Alf
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American Rifleman and Guns & Ammo Annual (but not the monthly mag) since the late '70s. Lately the G&A Annual has been mostly catalog and hardly any magazine articles. It used to be a lot better.
AR is still my favorite mag. I don't get any other gun mags or any non-gun mags unless I get a free subscription. And Ichiro Nagata's photographs in American Handgunner truly are works of art. I don't know many photographers, of guns or otherwise, by name.
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American Rifleman and Shooting Times.
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Criticism of them notwithstanding, I am an unrepentant reader of firearms periodicals. My favortie remains Gun World. While I miss the days of Jack Lewis in charge, the current editor Jan Libourel has done a good job keeping the magazine on track with a balance of articles about pistols, rifles, and shotguns. Libourel has taken heat over the years (especially during his time with the Petersen publications) for supposedly writing puff pieces and "kissing-your-sister" articles, but, unlike many editors in the gun magazine business, Libourel is well-educated and well-read. He brings intellectual integrity to the pieces he writes as well as the ones he guides into print. I recommend Gun World to anyone who is looking for a good gun magazine.
Despite the popularity of gun forums on the Internet, the fireams publications have a future because they are a handy package of consumer information. Yes, they are driven by advertisers, but this aspect is not necessarily a bad thing. As long as readers keep their perspective on the issue, gun magazines are good infotainment.
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Criticism of them notwithstanding, I am an unrepentant reader of firearms periodicals. My favortie remains Gun World. While I miss the days of Jack Lewis in charge, the current editor Jan Libourel has done a good job keeping the magazine on track with a balance of articles about pistols, rifles, and shotguns. Libourel has taken heat over the years (especially during his time with the Petersen publications) for supposedly writing puff pieces and "kissing-your-sister" articles, but, unlike many editors in the gun magazine business, Libourel is well-educated and well-read. He brings intellectual integrity to the pieces he writes as well as the ones he guides into print. I recommend Gun World to anyone who is looking for a good gun magazine.
Despite the popularity of gun forums on the Internet, the fireams publications have a future because they are a handy package of consumer information. Yes, they are driven by advertisers, but this aspect is not necessarily a bad thing. As long as readers keep their perspective on the issue, gun magazines are good infotainment.
And you have to have something to read while you are on the can!
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American Rifleman, :) NRA member :)
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And you have to have something to read while you are on the can!
Doesn't everybody take their laptop with them there?