Best magazine subscription for handguns

[SureThing]

I don't mean magazines that carry ammo, but rather publications? I was just curious which magazines actually do reviews, rather than go on and on how good a gun actually is not.

They are all in the pockests of the mfg's from what I can tell.

Is there a gun mag worth subscribing to?

[doc2rn]

I like "handgunner" the best since they report both positive and negative gun reviews. One time I should have listened to that advice as I am totally in agreement now. My favorite gunnie is John Connor, look up his article Little Lizzie from the archives and grab a cup of joe cause it will make you think.

[SlamFire1]

I have been receiving Gun Tests since 1992. Obviously I like it. It is the only publication that can claim it is not swayed by advertisers. They don’t accept advertising. When they review something, it is a different sort of review from magazines that accept advertizing. In each issue, they will recommend not to buy something because 1) the item under test is unreliable, 2) not worth the money even though nothing is inherently wrong. They make a good attempt to be fair, but when a product starts having problems they just dump on it. I find that funny, sometimes nit picking, sometimes unfair. But I love to read something that has opinions. I can remember reading a GT review that ended with a picture of an AMT pistol suspended over a garbage can. Well, AMT products were that bad, I met a number of unhappy owners, but you would not read about it in a commercial pub.

Rifle and HandLoader have beautiful glossy pages and pictures, new interesting firearms, but the editor Dave Scovill promotes a total shill magazine. The June 08 issue and the review of the Remington M798 underscores how they turn defects into quality attributes, make excuses for poor accuracy and poor function. If you read carefully, yes you will understand the firearm has problems. But the recommendation is still a buy.

Guns and Ammo used to be a total shill magazine. I quit reading them for a decade when I purchased a G&A issue based on the cover. The loud print stated something like “Gun oils, what works!”. The article was a total disappointment. Instead of telling what oils provided lubrication and corrosion resistance, the article told you how to set up your own salt fog apparatus and the like. Obviously the original article would have upset some advertisers, so any comparisons between products were edited out! Worthless.

However, I have noticed that G&A is doing better. I like that their current articles get to the point. Read most gun articles and they start out with the invention of gunpowder in China, slowly work their way into the percussion age, and then there is this lengthy history of the cartridge in question. Such filler will take about 1/3 or an article. G&A has removed this noise in recent issues. And I read an article where the author tested a Ruger cartridge, I think 375 Ruger, and basically said “what’s the point”? He also pointed out that the cartridge worked at a higher pressure and that was undesirable for a big game cartridge in 110 F weather. It is good to read a critical review once in a while.

American Handgunner has excellent writers, and I consider it one of the better commerical magazines. But there are still limits to what they can say and not upset an advertiser.

[FLoppyTOE]

FMG publications. Handgunner, GUNS, and others. I subscribe to both, despite the hords of people who will tell you all gun magazines aren't worth the paper they're printed on. These magazines, have fair reviews, great writers, and loads of additional strories that are interesting and not neccessarily geared at selling you something.

[marshall3]

Gun Tests is the only one I know of that gives really valid reviews of firearms. The rest are trying to keep the advertisers happy, and sell pretty guns.

[mainmech48]

Ditto on FMG's mags. "American Handgunner" and "Guns" are the class acts of the genre.

[MMCSRET]

Handloader, it covers guns and loading for the gun much more concisely than any other publication, and they are great for reference, I have every copy ever published.

[Mad Magyar]

However, I have noticed that G&A is doing better.
I respectfully disagree...In fact, they have become the poster-child for "slick salesmanship"....Bought & Paid-For!!!:cuss:

[ArmedBear]

Gun Tests is the only one I know of that gives really valid reviews of firearms. The rest are trying to keep the advertisers happy, and sell pretty guns.

Seconded.

I may not always like their opinions, but they're not shy about giving them.

The rest are pure unmitigated BS, bought and paid for by sponsors.

As a participant in various sports presently and over the years, I've found that, to me, nothing from Petersen is worth the paper it's printed on. They should all be free, and I still wouldn't read them.

[Mongrel]

I enjoy American Rifleman and it comes with a free membership in the NRA with every subscription. It keeps me abreast of the issues gun owners face and I like that they often carry stories on service weapons.

Interestingly enough, if you hold on to your old gun magazines you can take them out ten or 15 years later and re-read the same articles. It's the same thing you will read on the newstand today (even the reviews), only the pictures are outdated. So save yourself some money and just keep two or three years on hand and recycle them!

If I really want to know what's going on I will surf the weapon for opinions I respect...

Paper is dead :evil:

[Captain38]

Mongrel,

You say, "I enjoy American Rifleman and it comes with a free MEMBERSHIP in the NRA with every SUBSCRIPTION".

I BELIEVE you MEANT "...a free SUSCRIPTION with every MEMBERSHIP", didn't you?

[ArmedBear]

No, I think he said what he meant -- tongue-in-cheek, of course.:)

AR is fine bathroom reading, and it's always fun when you have a hippie from the neighborhood collect your mail while you're away.

[Halo]

I got a two year subscription to G&A for pretty cheap. I like it fine for casual reading and the pictures, it's basically gun porn. Plus each issue comes with enough postage-paid subscription cards to heat your home for a whole winter.

[Mike OTDP]

Mongrel pegged it. There is more recycling of stories than anyone wants to admit.

American Handgunner used to be pretty good - Ichiro Nagata's photography is spectacular - but it went down a very formulaic path. Every issue had Gunsmith X's custom 1911, Knifesmith Y's custom folder, and the alternate Cowboy and Plastic Wondergun articles. A sad decline from the days when they had their hands on the prototype S&W Olympic Rapid Fire pistol.

Gun Tests? It's OK, but tends too much toward grabbing what's on the shelf and comparing it to whever else they have in hand...whether or not it is similar.

[weisse52]

+1 on FMG. None are perfect but they are my choice

[camslam]

I've subscribed to many gun mags in the last few years and I don't think any of them are what I would call complete, top-notch, reading.

That being said, I enjoy Handguns quite a bit, the others are mostly just casual reading with some good info occasionally, but I will say this:

IS THERE A SINGLE 1911 OR VARIANT LEFT TO BE REVIEWED. :barf:

Does anyone know of a magazine that primarily covers legal issues, tactical issues, and defensive scenarios and their outcomes.

I like reading Massad's case studies in Combat Handguns, but they are too short and only come 8 times a year.

[.38 Special]

This topic comes up enough that I'm beginning to know the players. And I have already disagreed with some of them. Slamfire1, for instance, really dislikes Rifle and Handloader but I think they are among the best -- though neither is a handgun specialty magazine. Scovill irritates the daylights out of me, but I don't think "total shill magazine" is at all fair. They do have their puff pieces -- Stan Tronziec (sp?) is one to avoid if you're looking for hard-hitting reporting -- but the magazines also have excellent articles written by Bart Skelton, Mike Venturino, and John Barsness, who are some of the best in the business. Handloader, in particular, offers a level of technical insight that isn't found anywhere else, excepting the benchrest rag Precision Shooting, of course.

The bottom line, though, is that I don't know of any perfect gun magazines. American Handgunner is the only one that I take on a regular basis. I agree that it is a bit formulaic, but handgunning is sort of a limiting topic. It's mostly gun porn written by some knowledgeable folks, with the occasional puff piece offset, IMO, by the occasional real gem.

[aka108]

I'd go with Gun Tests. The slick cover newstand magazines never tell you something is a junker. They all end complementing whatever they are writing about.

[Thernlund]

I subscribe to American Handgunner and Combat Handguns. They were gift subscriptions, but I like them both ok.


-T.

[basicblur]

I'm really not interested in revolvers (well, maybe a 6" Colt Python!) so I get Combat Handguns. Tends to concentrate on more what I'm interested in (I'm a pragmatist donchaknow), although they do tend to be a bit heavy with 1911 iterations.
I do tend to recall 'em mentioning problems with guns they test, so I assume they're not just cheerleaders for their advertisers?

HOWEVER

For me they're just a starting point. If I'm interested in something I read, I do more research.

Also gotta give 'em 2 thumbs up for Ayoob's legal articles and the "It Happened to Me" section, as well as the self-defense articles.

[SlamFire1]

but I don't think "total shill magazine" is at all fair.

I agree. But the world is easier to categorize into "0"’s or "1"’s. And I am only 80% consistent, influenced partially on how much caffeine and sugar is in the tank.

[VegasOPM]

I like American Handgunner. I read it cover to cover every month. I tried Gun Tests, but it only has "gun tests" -no articles. Plus, several of the "unbiased " tests did not fit with my experiences at all.

[Eric006]

Is the magazine shown on the site below the same "Gun Tests" referred to here?

http://www.gun-tests.com/

Thanks.

Eric

[TehK1w1]

I've read quite a few gun magazines, and most of them seem to alternate between yellow journalism and rather obvious pandering to the companies whose products they are 'reviewing'. I looked at a copy of G&A's Handguns(or maybe 'Pistols') sub-magazine, and was rather amazed by the article on Extreme Shock ammo, which the author seemed to see as the best thing to come along since smokeless powder. I've never tried the stuff myself, but his article clashed so violently with every other source that I've seem or heard that I can't help but be skeptical. This kind of thing seems to be the rule rather than the exception.

[71Commander]

John Connor is da bomb.:uhoh::what:



Does anyone know of a magazine that primarily covers legal issues, tactical issues, and defensive scenarios and their outcomes.


Freedom First. Get a free NRA membership with a subscription. ( ;) Mongrel)

[bestseller92]

Gun Tests is good. I like Combat Handguns, though they get a bit loopy at times. And American Handgunner is still good, though not nearly as good as it was when Cameron Hopkins was the editor.

[REPOMAN]

I enjoy reading American Handgunner and Guns...... My name is Repoman and I approve this message:neener:

[stevereno1]

I like "American Handgunner".

[JN01]

Gun mags have their use. You just have to keep in mind that much of what is in them is opinion.

I enjoy some of the RKBA type articles by David Kopel/Don Kates types.

Some of the articles on shooting techniques/carry styles, etc can provide food for thought.

Guns and Ammo has done some interesting historical firearms articles.

Even the test report type articles, which more often than not are biased in favor of the subject firearm, can be useful in that they provide an overview of how the gun operates, technical specs, etc.

Take the basics you get from them and then inquire on boards like this for a more real world evaluation, keeping in mind that people there also have their own biases.

[crabkiller]

I started reading any gun mag I could get my hands on and American Handgunner is the one I pick up before boarding the plane.

[stevelyn]

I like American Handgunner. They probably have the best writing staff of any magazine out there.

Most of them also write for the sister publication GUNS, which is also an excellent magazine.

[davidconatser]

It is not solely about handguns, but does have a lot of good information about them.

The title put me off of it for a long time. I am a seasoned civilian and figured it was for LEOs and gung-ho young guys.

Then at a course with Sheriff Campbell of Boone County Indiana, I met a couple of the writers and they had some back issues for us to look at.

About a third of it is for LEOs and SWAT folks, about a third for military and a third for civilian self defense.

I do skip some of the articles, but there is a lot of good information from people who have been there that is applicable to all of us.

It does take ads, but does not seem to be product driven. You might consider having a look. http://www.swatmag.com/

David

[Quoheleth]

I still like Shooting Times, though I don't think it's as good as it was 10 years ago. I like Sherriff Jim Wilson's work, and the other boys who write there do good work. They also have at least one reloading article per issue, and frequently have articles on great guns in history.

All in all, if I have 45 seconds in a drugstore and need to grab a magazine for the road, I'll look for & buy an ST before anything else.

Q

[loop]

I feel kind of bad about even asking, but...

Is there a place I can subscribe for new Wilson mag every month?

I'd pay $200 a year for that.

[putteral]

You can get a free membership to the NRA only if you buy a Taurus. Then you get the American Rifleman also free but just for 1 yr.