[GunnerShotz]

Forgive me if this has actually been discussed at length before, but has anyone ever suggested a dedicated gun review section on THR? It could be it's own section broken down into gun type, or a sub-section could be added to each gun type in Tools and Tech.

I know the task might seem daunting at first, but with a fair rating system and possibly some kind of voting system for inclusion of models couldn't it work?

Have the administrators ever really thought about doing this?

What does everybody think?

[DataMonkey]

I'd like to see/create a firearms review section as well. My thoughts, and maybe this is too expansive of an idea is to have it organized in a hierarchical fashion. For example, categories could be the following:

Firearms

Retail Stores

Services

Under each category it could be broken down by manufactuer, store name, etc...

Those are the initial thoughts. Mods...any chance of creating a section for this?

[Sam1911]

In my humble opinion, this is like the request a few weeks ago to create a "Curio & Relics" forum for discussion of guns that happen to be over 50 years old and are therefor able to be purchased by Type 03 "Curio and Relic" collector FFLs.

My comments then are the same as now. We have forums that would seem to cover every category of firearm (or non-firearm weapon), and accessories, and a gunsmithing forum for most "services," and a general forum for most everything else.

What does further segregating the discussions accomplish? Personally I suffer great angst (well... maybe not GREAT angst, but a little) over whether to post something or search for something in Handguns: General, or in Handguns: Autoloaders/Revolvers. Now should I further look in Handguns: Reviews, or Handguns: Curios & Relics? Or the "Reviews" subforum of the C&R subforum of Handguns: Autoloaders? Etc., etc.

Isn't almost EVERY post regarding a specific gun a review at least at some level? If you were curious about S&W 629s, would you have a reason to wish to screen out those posts which WEREN'T "reviews"?

I don't mean to rant, just to illustrate my question. How does this help? Not an agument, I'd like to hear how the site would better serve you if it was reorganized this way.

[DataMonkey]

My hunch is it would cut down on the threads of "Does anyone have experience with XYZ Shop?" and my thought is that by reviewing an actual firearm, one should actually have experience with it. It should cut down on the bias and Glock vs. 1911 wars. Many times, when I'm looking for real information on a firearm, I find hyperbole and ranting as opposed thoughtful and insightful responses. Of course, to your point, that may not change all that much.

Additionally, take for example the customer service thread. That thread has a lot of traction and some really good info. Wouldn't it be cool if you could see a composite score in one place for a firm? On top of that, you can quickly determine "Wow, they are bad" or "Hmm...that one guy just seems like an outlier because everyone else loves that firm." It basically comes down to taking great information based on experience and providing a consolidated view.

If you don't add the section, I'll survive. If you do add it, I'll never leave the THR site!

[GunnerShotz]

I hear you Sam ....... that's the biggest argument against the idea that I expected to see: there's already a wealth of info scattered among the current boards and searchable in the archives.

However, as DataMonkey is indicating as well, what separate review sections would accomplish is mainly consolidation. It would focus information pertinant to specific guns and provide a quickly referenced and accurate consensus accumulated over time. That's my point, you see, right now we can only infer a very generalized consenus on any given firearm. With a review section, if anyone weighs in with an "xyz is fantastic" or "xyz sucks" we could doublecheck those statements against a system of good ole American voted majority opinion! This would be the value of members actually rating specific guns. Instead of cluttering up the forums, I think it would streamline things and aid in more intelligent conversation among all the different topics relevant to the boards in place now.

Again, I understand how daunting it might seem at first; but a year from now, after a healthy number of objective reviews and ratings have been posted, THR would have an even more attractive set of knowledge and reference for both members and visitors.

[DataMonkey]

Just an observation...it seems it is us newbies that are looking for the consolidated information. I wonder if our google-fu is just that bad. Of course, I've been lurking here for a very long time and don't post a lot. I really do believe in reading more than posting - kinda tough to come with anything truly original on this board (at least for me).