Wonder how many opinion posts are pure B.S.?

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When I read a reveiw for a XYZ, and the facing page is a full page ad for that same XYZ, then it is clear they used the review to sell the page. I do not write for magazines, but I do buy a lot of advertising. No company is going to spend close to 6 figures to advertise adjacent to a review that has any possibility of panning their product.
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Well, if you already have a favorable review, it does make sense to use it to sell advertising. But that's a different situation than generating a pat review for that purpose.

My point is that in most cases there is not a real feedback path from the advertiser to the writer. I've never seen an editor coerce a writer into generating a pat review for a advertiser-- not that it can't happen, but I've never seen it. Due to the extreme low pay, most gun writers are freelance and their reputation is what allows them to get published.
 
Due to the extreme low pay, most gun writers are freelance and their reputation is what allows them to get published.
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I agree with this. I live just down the street from one such freelance writer, and he is a straight shooter & my transfer FFL. My earlier comment was founded on the uneasy feeling I have when I read a review in a magazine, and then see an ad for that exact item either in the review or adjacent to it. I do not have that concern when Joe 6 pack, in this forum, takes his newly acquired XYZ to the range & posts his results. My comment was more to support the pure nature of such posts & argue against the OP's point than to slam gunwriters.
 
Well, if you already have a favorable review, it does make sense to use it to sell advertising. But that's a different situation than generating a pat review for that purpose.
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Kind of makes my point, doesn't it? Which review is more likely to get purchased from our freelance friends? One that can sell an ad, or one that might loose a regular advertiser?

I think it is naive to assume that writers are not aware of this cold hard math. When is the last time any of us read a truly bad review in such a magazine? It used to happen frequently up to the late 80's, and many writers gained a great deal of respect as a result. I have not seen that in awhile.

When a gun has FTF's or FTE's today, excuses abound when those same products used to get slammed as unacceptably unreliable. 14lb double action pulls used to be described as dangerous & ridiculous, now they are described as likely to lighten up with use. I can think of dozens of other similar examples.

I think forums like this are the closest thing we have to "consumer reports" for guns.
 
I do find it kind of entertaining that the opening post's example is that amateur reviews on the internet are too negative (due to ignorance), while the complaint for professional reviews is that they are too positive (due to corruption).
 
while the complaint for professional reviews is that they are too positive (due to corruption).
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Irony can be pretty ironic. I am not comfortable calling my un-ease with positive reviews a sign of corruption by the writers. I am just acknowledging that selling reviews to a company that is taking money from those you review is a clear conflict of interest, and it is an ackward line to watch them walk.
 
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You'll read 8 people in a row say how a particular gun in question is good, reliable, a good value, etc... Then, you'll have one person say how he bought 3 of these brands (Different models), and that they are all "UNRELIABLE". Sorry, but a) I think they are full of B.S. for making such a claim; and b) If the brand was Sooooo bad, why did they buy up to 3 of them???
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Well, I can only answer for me. I bought four Kel-Tecs, one after the next. These were all purchased fairly early in my CHL journey, while I was experimenting and seeking The Perfect Concealable Handgun.

First was a second-gen P3AT...price was right, bought it from a co-worker who said he had just a few rounds through it. That dang thing wouldn't fire two consecutive rounds without a FTF. I spent some time on the KT Range site, learned to F&B, found that Bill at KT would send me free parts and found that mags were cheap and .380 ammo was cheap (back then it was).

While I was struggling with it, found a first-gen P3AT locally for a good price, and grabbed it too. This way, I could swap parts, mags, ammo, etc...got better at F&Bing, got to know Bill better. The first gen worked a bunch better...I could fairly often make it therough a mag without an FTF.

Somewhere along the way I found a P32 and a P11. Both seemed like viable options, to what...I'm not sure. The P11 seemed like a high-cap alternative to my Kahr PM9...except for the fact that the trigger sucked and once again, I couldn't get throiugh a mag without a misfeed. :)

More F&B, more mags, more ammo, more calls to Bill, more free parts...

Bottom line, I ended up cutting my losses, selling each with full disclosure (actually gave the P32 to a friend) and gave up on the concept of getting something for nothing.

--Still have my PM9 and wonder how I ever could have been tempted by the P11.
--Bought an LCP and will never take the P3AT seriously again.
--Never replaced the .32, wonder what I was thinking.

If you think I'm full of "BS", I can put you in touch with the current owner of the P11 and the P32... :)
 
AKElroy,

I know you didn't put it that way-- it's the standard complaint.

With regard to the conflict of interest-- it would be a conflict of interest on the part of the publisher, who brings the two together. I don't think it's a conflict of interest on the part of the writer: he only interacts with the publisher in the transaction. This separation is why I don't think that advertiser pressure on writers is a significant cause of poor article quality.

As a writer, I just haven't seen it.
 
The "best"

Threads that often bring out the BS are, in no particular order:

- "What is the best..."
- "Caliber X vs. caliber Y", and my all time favorite
- "What should I buy..."

Oddly enough, such threads often draw the most number of rabid responses.
No, wait a minute, that makes us all BSers. What I meant to say is .....



;)
 
Zak, I have seen writers in unrelated fields influenced by their employers, and I have, in my opinion, not seen the kind of biting reviews that used to be common.

I subscribe to 5 different gun related magazines, and none of them contains the type of occasionally harsh reviews that used to be a hallmark. Peterson's appeared to me at least to be completely objective back in the day. When Colt's Double Eagle was introduced, it was slammed for having a disconnector fastened under a plastic grip panel. When the Delta Elite cracked a few frames, it was slammed. When S&W released their first 1911, the test sample shot 15" low & was slammed. I even read reviews of interarms PPK's that said it was unacceptable for SD due to the ridiculous DA pull. In the decade plus since, I really don't recall seeing anything similar.

I just don't see it anymore.
 
In some cases, it may be that the person is trying to get their "post count" higher. There were some chatrooms I used to frequent 8-10 years ago that had a lot of people doing that. Some were just a word or two, or even just some (***) or (@@@), just to fill space.
 
My personal gripe is the phrase, "It'll shoot 1/2 MOA all day long......... as long as I do my part." I will almost always cry B.S. on those comments unless the comment is backed up with targets & competition credentials.

I shoot 300 meter F-class and 3-position competition every month against some of the best in the country (we host Camp Perry's team once every 2-3 years) and I see very few who shoot "1/2 MOA" all day long - & they DO their part.
 
My personal gripe is the phrase, "It'll shoot 1/2 MOA all day long......... as long as I do my part." I will almost always cry B.S. on those comments unless the comment is backed up with targets & competition credentials.

I shoot 300 meter F-class and 3-position competition every month against some of the best in the country (we host Camp Perry's team once every 2-3 years) and I see very few who shoot "1/2 MOA" all day long - & they DO their part.
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Isn't that the truth. I go to my range every week, and the target's I see look more like a shotgun blast. (shot from a bench rest) But to read about it on the internet, every factory rifle will shoot sub MOA groups all day long.

I think that we have stumbled onto a new form of "fishing story".
 
I try to keep my opinions to guns I have owned, temper the opinion with the fact that a single specimen may be better or worse than the general run of the model, and try to label scuttlebutt as something I have heard.

That said, opinions on guns are often made at the urban legend factory, including quite a few I have known and accepted (and ultimately rejected) over the years.

I have learned to avoid answering the "should I buy" questions. Given the malfunction junction specimens of wunderbar Model X and the reliable specimens of trash Model Y that other folks have encountered, any sight unseen advice will get challenged.
 
Opinions are worth what you paid for them. Except for advice you actually paid for, and then it's NOT worth what you paid for it.

Everyone has a reason for reaching out and telling people their opinion. Even with the best of intentions, the result isn't always as good as they planned. The best way to weigh advice you get on sites like this one is to become experienced enough that you can call out he BS when you see it, because it just doesn't fit in with your real-world knowledge.

When you ASK for advice in here, just understand that it won't all be good. Depending on how you phrase the question, and who responds, maybe none of it will be. When I ask for help in here, I regard it as something to consider, and not the final reason for any decision I make.
 
I was given my first firearm in 1949 and was shooting my dads 22 RF rifle a few years before that. My life long hobbies has ben hunting ,reloading, fishing, and camping. Free time and money has limited what I could do. Im 75 years old and enjoy reading about others experiences. I have lived in North Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming and have never goin out of the four states to do any outdoor sports. Most of my life has ben spent in small towns and rural areas. I have shot pronghorn ,mule deer, elk, small game,varmints,and birds. I was able to own eighty some firearms of various brands and cartridges. I have also tryed out various brands of scopes and reloading equipment. What I have found is that every thing I have owned is different so I never knew how good it was untill I used it. So when I read about someones else experiences and equipment it my or may not hold true for me.
 
If you think I'm full of "BS", I can put you in touch with the current owner of the P11 and the P32... :)
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So, how are the guns fairing with their new owners?

One thing that I do know about KT' is that they run 100% with FMJ and older design more rounded HP's like Federal Hi-Shok & Hydra-Shok.
 
So, your opinion is that all accurate shooters shoot targets and compete?
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I know that was in jest, but it illustrates a point.

You don't have to have targets and competition credentials, but targets give you and others some verifiably concrete measure of accuracy, and competition credentials give others some idea of your experience level and understanding of what you're describing.

Compare two statements:
1) "Hi, I'm Ed and I shoot XYZ competition regularly. I hold the classification Medium-Uber-Dude in that sport. Normally I shoot with an Accuracy International AW 338 LAPUA Magnum. For the last six months I've switched to a Feather AT-9 exclusively as my competition gun and I've prepared the following report on my opinions and experiences with it. ..."

2) "Hi, I'm Jim and I hunt a lot. I got one of those new Savage .30-06s and it sure is accurate. I killed 5 deer with it this year. Last year I only killed 4 with my old .30-30. It really is the best thing out there."

Now Jim may be a better shot than Ed, and Jim's Savage may be more accurate than Ed's Feather or AI. But there's no way to tell. Jim doesn't offer much of a frame of reference for others to compare his results, and his credentials don't illustrate what he might actually know about rifles -- beyond "Minute-of-Deer" accuracy measurements.

Of course this even better illustrates the concept of "relevancy." Give folks enough understanding of who you are and what angle you come from that they can determine if your experiences are relevant to them.
 
Isn't that the truth. I go to my range every week, and the target's I see look more like a shotgun blast. (shot from a bench rest) But to read about it on the internet, every factory rifle will shoot sub MOA groups all day long.
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No kidding!

I was just talking to somebody about that the other day. Case in point, this photo. I'm on the right, shooting a 4" Kimber, one ragged hole per group at 10 yards. In my opinion, not exactly superman type stuff by any means. But out of the 10 lanes at this range, how am I far and away the best shooter in the place? Look at the guy next to me, geared out to the max and completely peppering his target with a high-dollar Wilson.

Maybe its just that I grew up with a dad that was a real shooter and taught me how to not to simply throw rounds down range.

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