Which shooting publications do you know and trust?

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1) Small Arms Review
2) Shotgun News
3) SWAT Magazine-when it first came out in the early '80's.
 
For those who enjoy fine shotguns and wing shooting, "Shooting Sportsman" is an excellent magazine, published in high-gloss on fine paper with articles and photos from some of the best gun writers alive today
 
Trust how? None of them will do an honest review of a gun. Guess it's hard to sell advertisement spaces if you offer any criticism. I don't trust any magazine to give me the same honest opinion of a gun as if that gun writer were standing in front of me.

I cancelled al my subscriptions but of course still get Am Rifleman. They're good for seeing what's new but that's about all.
 
Handloader
Rifle
Guns
American Handgunner
Shotgun News Treasury Issues

American Rifleman (NRA membership)

As a previous poster stated, I too prefer the writer over the publication. It just so happens that my favorite writers are pretty much all together in the above publications....AR excepted.
 
None that accept advertising from any product they review/test.

Mike
Exactly!
More specifically, I trust none of the gun reviews on these magazines. Nice pics and all, but in the end, it's always "ultimate" this or "perfection" that.:rolleyes:
I'd rather get info from different folks on various gun boards.
 
I don't have the problem most have with Guns and Ammo. Not all the articles appeal to me, but I enjoy it. And what magazine doesn't accept advertising on some level? Who are you kidding? Even the NRA publications have to have financial support from somewhere. I get American Rifleman because of my membership and enjoy that too.

Sometimes we get a leeeetle too high on our horse for our own good. Seems like everybody is above everything. I can read most anything and make a decision for myself if the writer is pandering to a company or not.

My big gripe on Guns and Ammo is how much I miss Colonel Cooper. But people hated him too. Everybody hates someone. I thought the guy was great.
 
American handgunner
Guns
FFG

trust... they're journalists. They have a passion for guns. They write about guns. I read. I like guns. I read about guns.


Too many complaints about advertising and opinions.
 
Exactly

The original question is "which magazines do you know and trust". In other words, enjoy.

Nobody asked which ones were beneath you.
 
Trust does not equal enjoy in any language. And no, I could care less who they sell ad space to or how they turn a profit. But none of the gun rags have EVER reviewed a gun that had poor workmanship, reliability issues or an inferior design. Every gun they review is fantastic, innovative, supremely accurate and 100% reliable. Needless to say, if you are looking for insight or honest criticism, you will be disappointed.

If the OP intended to ask which gun rags we ENJOY, then I could list a few. But that was not the question.
 
How can we trust that which we do not enjoy?

We big enough boys to see though the frosting that gets written during gun reviews. And I don't see all articles telling us everything is wonderful.

The OP might not have mentioned enjoy. But it didn't ask how high our noses were in the air either. I kind of enjoy reading everything. Then I take into account who the writer is and what magazine its in. Just like I do with a newspaper. Applying a critical eye to what you read is an easy thing to do. I can do that for myself.
 
whalerman, it seems you just have problem with folks whose opinion differ from yours regarding the OP's question. You trust and enjoy them? Hey, more power to you. Some folks don't, and we state our opinion. What's that got to do with "high horse" or "nose in the air"??
 
Add me to the list of NRA's American Rifleman. IMO, it's better than most, but still has fluff. I primarily read Shotgun News for the ads because the editorial content is bankrupt for the most part.
 
Sorry to give you that impression, 1231. And I certainly understand your point. I just think when it gets down to things like people dismissing magazines that accept advertising we are getting our "nose in the air" a bit. And when you cancel all subscriptions because they don't live up to ones standards you are getting a bit on a "high horse". That was my line of thinking. I hope I don't ever become that much of an expert. If things get where you can't even read what others have to say, who is the guy with the "opinion"? Might not be me.
 
Whalerman, not sure who it is you are arguing with. I already said I don't care about ads. I care about content. I'm not going to pay for a subscription just to see eye candy. I can look for free at the newstand and gun shows too.

In this country, we have a free market. That means you vote with your wallet. This is why Fox News dominates the news ratings. When someone creates a magazine with relatively objective reviews, I will buy. Until then, I'll keep my $20 and use it on ammo.
 
Sorry to give you that impression, 1231. And I certainly understand your point. I just think when it gets down to things like people dismissing magazines that accept advertising we are getting our "nose in the air" a bit. And when you cancel all subscriptions because they don't live up to ones standards you are getting a bit on a "high horse". That was my line of thinking. I hope I don't ever become that much of an expert. If things get where you can't even read what others have to say, who is the guy with the "opinion"? Might not be me.

No one said YOU should cancel YOUR subscription, but if I don't like a magazine, than certainly I can cancel MINE. That's what competition is about, if you don't like something you have every right to purchase something else. This is also freedom of speech. When a better magazine comes along, and I want to read that one instead, it isn't censorship of the previous one. We all have preferences and everyone here still wants to read guns and hunting magazines. My interest lean more toward hunting, so those are my favorite magazines, and I still buy AH and Guns and whatever cover catches my attention. That means we all have an "opinion". But who's opinion do you trust more: a guy who is getting some money from the product he reviews, or someone with an unsolicited opinion?
 
I always have my filter on when reading any magazine, and I do a lot of reading between the lines.

Precision Shooting is pretty good, if you're into rifles.
 
Blue Ridge, I'm arguing with 1232, who says I have a problem with other's opinions. I don't. I'm sorry some have gotten to a point where they trust no publications. I'm not there yet. You have to read everything with a critical eye. And things change as well. I've given a new look to magazines I've gotten tired of years ago and found they were nothing like I remember. I'll listen, and read, anything about guns I can get my hands on. I can figure out for myself if certain articles or writers have merit. And one of our posters spoke of listening and learning from people on blogs. I submit you have to do the same thing when you read blogs. Everybody has their own biases and agendas. That doesn't mean I refuse to read what they say.
 
I think I prefer certain WRITERS more than certain MAGAZINES. Also, it depends on type of article I want to read...

x2!

I look at magazines as a source of information that sort of keeps me on the pulse of what's going on in the industry and in the country. I will go over magazine information and if I feel it's pertinent to my interests, I'll continue to research on forums where you can talk to people with first hand experience (not that a gun writer doesn't), I like to get my information from multiple sources if possible.

American Rifleman with my NRA membership

I like:
Wolfe Publication's Handloader, (and Rifle, although I don't subscribe to it currently)

I still subscribe to Shooting Times too.

I keep threatening to subscribe to ChuckHawks online, but I haven't yet...
 
I don't really trust any of them. I like the gun magazines for info on new products coming out but I really don't trust their reviews. I noticed several years ago that the biggest advertisers never get trashed in a review. If they mention a gun malfunctioning then the writer immediately explains away the issue.
Now if it's a small brand that most have never heard of then the reviews get a bit harsher.
Sorry but that's the way that it is. I stopped trusting the magazine reviews a long time ago. There's some internet sources that I like but I take everything with a grain of salt.
 
/\ +1 I like how when a gun malfunctions in a test, the writer explains it away by saying this is a pre-production model or an early production model and I'm sure production models will have this problem fixed or corrected.
 
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