hickok45: interesting and informative, or more annoying than anything else?

PlumRotten said:

Not a gun reviewer.... a gun/product presenter. He merely talks about guns he gets paid to talk about......Nothing more. He's not going to say anything Negative about any "product" he is presenting....otherwise he would not get his paycheck.....nor would he get any other product giving to him to "present" for the next Pay check. Pure entertainment for profit. Nothing wrong with it...but that's what it is.......Plan and simple...

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Where did you get this information?

Cooldill said:

Wow. Don't like his style? Either watch something else or make your own videos if you think you can do so much better.

There's about 3 MILLION people subscribed to him. He must be doing something right. And he does amazing work for the shooting community. He presents himself as an honest, down to earth, highly responsible firearms enthusiast. His videos might not be quite as informative as some, but he has an "everyman" sort of quality that I think leads many to relate to him.

Unlike many channels with dudebros and bearded weekend warriors who try anything and everything to be as tacticool and edgy as humanly possible, vying to be the ultimate macho badass, Hickok45 is just an old dude from Tennessee that likes to shoot guns in his backyard for fun. I'm sure he'd tell you the same thing.

Say what you will about him but he's a great roll model for new or old shooters alike and doesn't put on any airs. I think he's awesome.

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You nailed it cooldill.

huntsman said:

Entertainment first information second, I like the guy he has skills and he doesn’t talk with his hands like the warrior/operator types.

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Exactly.
For those who don't like his channel, guess what? You can watch a different one believe it or not. But I forget sometimes this is the internet and someone always has to complain. Even if it is just an old man and his son having a little fun shooting in Tennessee while giving viewers basic info.

drunkenpoacher said:

Where did you get this information?

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From an orifice, perhaps?

Say anything you want about the man but you will never be able to say he does not know how to shoot.

Mizar said:

Well, if Hickok didn't go into details about that splendid Hudson H9 and it's incredible recoil reduction system, maybe he was not impressed by it in the first place...

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It didn't impress me very much either.

drunkenpoacher said:

I'm a big fan of Hickok45. I find his reviews very honest and informative. He doesn't bombard the viewers with personal opinions. He simply tries to show a gun for what it is and let the viewer decide.
I saw the Hudson review and thought it was quite good, the review I mean. Nothing impressive or innovative about a huge two plus pound 9mm with low recoil.

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Well said.

Hickok does folksy talk & shoots.
He doesn't do gun reviews, he doesn't do technical details, he doesn't do accuracy, he doesn't do trigger pulls/weights, he doesn't do multiple loads, he doesn't do functional discussions, he doesn't do pros & cons, he doesn't do any real analysis of design or manufacturing issues, he doesn't do great detail on features.

He talks & plinks, with an engaging personality, but he does not do gun reviews & you don't get any real depth on anything.
You watch a guy put on a friendly plinking session, with a little bit of overview on the gun in question.
Denis

PlumRotten said:

Not a gun reviewer.... a gun/product presenter. He merely talks about guns he gets paid to talk about......Nothing more. He's not going to say anything Negative about any "product" he is presenting....otherwise he would not get his paycheck.....nor would he get any other product giving to him to "present" for the next Pay check. Pure entertainment for profit. Nothing wrong with it...but that's what it is.......Plan and simple...

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I'm pretty sure the only one that pays hickok45 is youtube. Federal and Bud's sponsor him, but that's probably more about ammo and getting guns to review than anything monetary.

I think his stuff is pleasant enough, if somewhat low on content in terms of usable information. That's OK, not everything we watch has to be useful. I mean, I like football, but I'm not really learning anything useful from watching it! If you enjoy his stuff, great; if not, also great.

Hickock45 looks exactly like a longtime friend of mine.

I like Hickok just fine...he seems like a "good Joe" and is enthusiastic about the hobby. Highly technical?.....No....but great for general info, especially for new shooters.

He seems like a good guy and his videos are entertaining. I like the guy and watch his videos for fun, not for technical info on the guns.

For an informal, laid back, sippin' on my coffee type of review . . . I do tend to like Hickock45.

WVGunman said:

An example of what's annoying: he actually got a Hudson H9 to try out, a gun that has been big news in the gun press for some time now.

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Where? Other than his video, I think I have read exactly one article on it.

Honestly, I find it grossly unremarkable. The lower receiver takes 1911 style parts and mates to a copy of a Glock upper.

It’s ok but I don’t care for his vids. At least he isn’t like some others who claim to be a grown A man.

I also like Hikock and his son John. I basically see him as a gracious person - he usually doesn't berate a gun to the point where it's awkward or uncomfortable (Hi Point aside .) He shoots a gun, and if it doesn't work right, he lets the gun's performance on video speak for itself. Doesn't edit it out. And to be fair, though he may not be brutal towards poor performing guns, he doesn't gush over his favorites, unless they're specific guns in his own collection. (e.g. Model 29 Smith.)

He's a comfortable person to listen to, and a great shot. He's humble about his shooting skills, and his gun knowledge. Sometimes he'll say he doesn't know much about something, but often he's being modest, I think. On the other hand, he's not a hunter, so when he reviews hunting weapons, it's likely he's not going to give people all the info they might be looking for. Like he was shooting a Ruger #1 in .375 H&H that he'd just bought, but was merely blasting water jugs at 10 yards. Not a meaningful review for Zimbabwe hunters, but it was still fun, and he's very open about not being a hunter. Maybe I appreciate it because I'm not a hunter either.

But there's no law that says you gotta like Hikock. Lots of people like Nut'n Fancy, but I rarely watch his reviews. To each their own.

I don't know what the Hudson H9 is. And I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express!
I can find far worst guys to watch on u-tube. I think he is ok.

WestKentucky said:

At least he isn’t like some others who claim to be a grown A man.

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Lol! Indeed.

When I read (or watch) the review of a gun on the internet, I am really interested in only one thing; did it malfunction? Under what conditions? And what was the cause?

I don't know the person who posted the review from Adam and so I have no idea whether their subjective impressions of the gun will mirror mine or not, so I don't really pay them very much attention.

I've only recently discovered his videos and have found them quite informative. If I want the technical info on the firearm I just go to their website and read it, I watch his videos to see how the firearm performs. I have seen quite a number of instances where the gun will malfunction but he doesn't cut that portion out of the video. If he was beholden to a company due to payments to show the gun you wouldn't see those problems, you get to see it warts and all. I have watched other videos by the mall ninjas, spec ops wannabes and boy Rambo snipers and most are so immature and poorly thought out that they are more annoying than helpful. Sometimes his talks get a bit long winded but that is what fast forward feature is for, move ahead to the shooting. His videos are really quite well done for a couple of guys that aren't movie production professionals. Try it one time with one of your own firearms and see if you can talk more than 5 minutes without saying the same thing over and over and still make it interesting.

He lives not far from me....and as mentioned before....if I'm interested in a particular gun I look for one of Hickok45's videos about it. He talks about what actually matters when it comes to owning a particular weapon. I don't care about all the technical crap......Does it work or not? That's all I want to know.....and I can make a safe, relatively informed decision based on how his video's have demonstrated. Plus the man in mildly entertaining, he reminds me of my grandfather. Which I think is how he projects himself........

Hokie_PhD wrote:
I guess the guys that are hardcore reloading channels don’t get what it takes to make good videos.

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That.

Or maybe the people with a passion for reloading and the talent, background and experience to make good videos look at the comment section below most Youtube videos and see the accumulated work of the:

• Trolls,
  
• Armchair-Reloading Experts,
  
• Wannabe Reloading Experts,
  
• General Critics, and
  
• People whose lives are so empty that they have to diminish anything anyone else makes,

and just decides it's not worth the effort.

Remember, reloading, just like medicine and any other scientifically-based practice is ruled by fashion (See http://www.cpnhelp.org/medicine_is_ruled_by_fash) and fashion dictates what we want to see.

i like him. he is entertaining to watch, when i research a firearm i sometimes run across videos of his. It adds to the cumulative knowlege I gather before making an informed purchase, or deciding against a purchase. i aspire to one day have a back yard range like his.