I'm a lifetime member of the NRA. I do think lately they are getting soft and, unfortunately, I think The American Rifleman is a corrupt propaganda piece and used to mostly generate advertising revenue at the expense of the truth and honest firearms evaluations.
They mostly test guns for manufacturers that pay them to run full-page ads in their magazines.
When is the last time you've seen a full-page Glock ad in the magazine? Now when's the last time you saw an article on Glocks in the magazine? Hmmm... When's the last time you saw an article on a Ruger in the magazine? Every damn month. Or a 1911... It's so blatantly obvious that it's pathetic. Now, their online edition did indeed run a few articles on Glocks. But I don't recall ever seeing a review of the Gen 5 Glocks, or the new 19x, or the G45, or the MOS Gen 5s; all very significant events in the self-defense and law-enforcement world.
And the biased accuracy testing is getting old.
The most recent blatant attempt to hide a gun's poor performance is in the latest issue.
AR is a long-time shill for Wilson Combat. They can print nothing negative about the company or it's products. In turn, Wilson Combat pays a lot of money for monthly ads in the magazine.
On page 78 of the January 2019 issue, they tested the new Wilson Combat EDC X9. Of course it got a glowing review complete with absolute lies...
"On the range, the EDC X9 proved to be every bit as accurate and reliable as any pistol we've tested - performance we have come to expect from Wilson Combat. As the accompanying table shows, this gun is a shooter with excellent sights a light, smooth trigger. More impressive than the groups from the bench, though, was how well the gun..."
Yeah... All lies. Because, if you actually look at the accompanying table, and see the 1.77" group, you would be impressed.
Unfortunately, that's at 15yds and not at the normal, standard 25yd distance that most of their reviews are at. A $2800 9mm pistol should be getting sub-2" groups at 25yds and 1" groups at 15yds. Nearly 2" at 15yds is what every single one of my Glocks will get. As well as my $200 Taurus. What a joke.
Why did they choose to intentionally mislead their members? It's all about the money and their personal biases.
I fear The American Rifleman has been corrupted for years now. And the NRA is becoming just another group of the rich and powerful elites in Washington DC that have little regard for the common American.
