Good gun magazine

[crawdaddy]

I'm looking for a good informative gun oriented magazine to subscribe to. I'm already getting American Rifleman. Rifles are my first love but I would like to get information on long guns and handguns in general. I'm thinking Guns and Ammo, but it seems to me that they don't go into great detail, but I've never had a subscription just read a few off the rack. So any suggestions?

 

[jhco]

"guns and ammo" is good and so is "handguns"

 

[riverrat373]

Try "Rifle Shooter".

 

[mcdonl]

Guns and Ammo has a lot of mags like AR-15, Handguns, 1911 Pistols, etc.... I like American Handgunner a lot too.

 

[Smokey Joe]

Gun mag...

I don't subscribe to any--except American Rifleman--what I do is go to a store that has a good selection and page through the tables of contents. IF a particular magazine has an article I want to read and save, I buy it. Usually none does.

I'm picky; only read articles about loads and firearms and techniques in which I have a specific interest. There is too much else to do to read just any old thing.

Probably I spend less on magazines this way than if I were to subscribe to a couple--and I certainly throw away a lot less paper I don't want.

 

[ACORN]

"Gun Week"

 

[Ruggles]

American Handgunner
Guns

 

[Flynt]

While we're on the topic, how about gun magazines that provide fair reviews of guns? Most publications depend on firearms industry ad revenue, and they've never met a gun that doesn't get a good review.

 

[Coltman 77]

Take a look at "Combat Handguns", I enjoy it.

 

[oneounceload]

IMO, I USED to subscribe to G&A, Shooting Times, etc....but most are getting leaner and leaner and the articles seem to be nothing more than an ad for that particular gun.

I DO subscribe to one gun mag - it is for shotguns - Shooting Sportsmen........the articles.....writers.....and photos are awesome

 

[SteelyNirvana]

Stay away from Guns and Ammo. Unless it's changed in the past year, it's a watse of paper. Nothing but articles on expensive guns and very little on the RKBA issue, handloading and other articles that have any interest to the common shooter. If you want to see what I mean pick up a copy from the late 80's or early 90's.

I would recommend GUNS, American Handgunner and if your a reloader, Handloader. Those are the only three I feel are worthy of spending my hard earned money subscribing to.

 

[35Rem]

American Handgunner
Guns

-These are the best out there.

 

[Big Wes]

Gun Tests....no ads just straight skinny on all types of guns.

 

[BHP FAN]

Guns of the West.

 

[ThomasT]

The only mags I subscribe to are Handloader and Rifle Magazine from Wolf publishing. They have good detailed articles with lots of load data. Not the little 3-4 paragraph reveiws most mage seem to have now.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

They only come out once a year, but I like Massad Ayoob's Complete Book of Handguns compilations. These are put out by the same company that publishes Combat Handguns.

 

[EvanWilliams]

Most gun mags are rags! You are paying to have advertisements delivered to your door.
I go get Gun Tests. American Rifleman as it goes with being an NRA member and keeps you current on what is going on with NRA. I agree that Combat Handguns is OK. Massad Ayoobs articles are worth it.
I have heard good things about gun week and will likely get a sub.

BTW, gettin on THR will teach you more than any gun mag

 

[oneounceload]

Stay away from Guns and Ammo. Unless it's changed in the past year, it's a watse of paper. Nothing but articles on expensive guns

HUH??....expensive guns??? maybe, if your budget is $100...........they cover all kinds of guns....my issue with them, is they haven't written about a gun they didn't like for some reason, especially if that mfg. bought an ad.....but expensive????...not hardly....

 

[Smokey Joe]

Problem with Gun Tests magazine...

Well, actually, there are two problems. (1) As with any other magazine, there are an awful lot of articles about guns I'm not interested in. Why should I pay a subscription for information that isn't useful to me. (2) Gun Tests has--how to say this politely--an "aggressive" subscription policy. I answered an ad offering one free issue, which was sent. Next thing I knew, there was a collection agency expecting me to pay for a years' subscription! This might have just been a mistake if it were only me, but Gun Tests comes up from time to time on these gun discussion boards, and several other members have reported the same or similar tactics.

Consumer Reports does the same sort of bias-free testing, but for household products and cars, not guns. They have a website you can subscribe to (I do) where you can go any time and look up exactly the item you want information on. IF Gun Tests had a similar website, and IF they hadn't treated me so shabbily, such a website might be an interesting one to which to subscribe.

ETA--Of course, there's a third problem with Gun Tests. As with almost any gun magazine, they test and report on the newest, latest, and greatest, and for mass consumption. Most of the guns I'm interested in are either old grungy milsurps, antiques, guns that have been re-worked from something else, or high-falutin' target guns that Joe Average couldn't care less about. Gun Tests isn't going to evaluate, for example, a Jim Clark custom job on a 40-year-old Series 70 1911. If I only bought off-the-shelf, sparkly new guns, the info in Gun Tests might be a lot more useful to me.

 

[Sunray]

"...the articles seem to be nothing more than..." And constant repeats of the same subjects. I've seen one article, in any gun rag, in 30 some years, that didn't consider the subject firearm the best thing ever made.

 

[stevelyn]

American Handgunner
Guns

-These are the best out there.

Yup, and I would also add RIFLE and HANDLOADER to that list.

 

[EvanWilliams]

How many articles on the 1911 have been done to date? A trillion?
Geez.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Gave up on Gun Tests years ago. They complained about minor things and didn't report on fabrication techniques (parts stamped, casted, MIM, forged), because each writer was independent (they sold their articles to the magazine and it wasn't like there was a staff of writers - at least when I subscribed over ten years ago), there was no standard objective test applied to all guns, and last, I could get the same type of information over the internet or decent gun boards like THR.

 

[Pack]

I get "Guns & Ammo" and "Gun Tests".

While it's not perfect, I like "Gun Tests" a great deal more. As word of it has spread, their staff has moved agressively to improve the magazine. Just within the past few months, they improved their website, transitioned to color photos, and included charts which listed a host of guns of the same general category as those in a particular test, so as to give handy reference of the overall "rankings" in a particular niche.

I like a lot of the writing in Guns & Ammo. You just have to acclimate yourself to the overwhelming bias in favor of certain manufacturers...

*cough* RUGER *cough*

 

[COMPNOR]

Stay away from Guns and Ammo. Unless it's changed in the past year, it's a watse of paper. Nothing but articles on expensive guns and very little on the RKBA issue, handloading and other articles that have any interest to the common shooter.

And how do you know what the "common" shooter wants in a magazine? I've enjoyed Guns & Ammo. I don't subscribe, but if I see it on the Newstand and its got some articles I might be interested in, I pick it up.