american rifleman

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

spuscg

member
Joined
Sep 8, 2008
Messages
197
i joined the nra and willl be getting this magazine. how are the reviews?
 
I enjoy the magazine and it's free :)
Most of the articles are pretty good. There's quite a bit about old guns and a lot of legal/political articles but it's the NRA so that's kind of expected.
 
i did the 3 month free trial thing, but decided 2 nights ago to go ahead and call and just get my membership going. i chose the american hunter magazine though. reviews on it?
 
Both publications are first rate. When you renew next year, you can change your magazine selection if you wish, or for a nominal amount, you can elect to receive both.

Welcome aboard!

Poper
 
Thanks for joining the NRA, we need everyones support. The American Rifleman is an excellent magazine that I have enjoyed for many years.
 
In my opinion, their reviews are probably a little better than some of the gun rags like Guns & Ammo. As someone else said here they often have interesting articles on older and milsurp weapons that you won't often see anywhere else.
 
I must be the only one who thinks the reviews are really, really poor quality. Most of the time they look like marketing brochures direct from the manufacturer to you.

A lot self-aggrandizement. Lot of articles/picture of NRA dignitaries giving each other awards.

I do like the history articles, and occasionally the milsurp stuff is very interesting. They had a very well photographed article on disassembly/re-assembly of K-31s for example.

In my opinion, it's pretty much a waste of paper. I'd rather see my dues go towards more safety/education courses.

Mike
 
In our household all of us are NRA members (Life Members) and we get the American Rifleman, American Hunter, and America's First Freedom. All are excellent and professional. America's First Freedom is oriented more to the political and philosophical aspects of our firearms rights and is an excellent read. I would tell anyone who is contemplating joining to choose your magazine on the basis of your primary interest.

Welcome to the NRA! We need more members to assist us in protecting our Second Amendment Rights.:)
 
I am somewhat in agreement with Mike. The NRA's transition from a shooter's club to a lobbying organization was marked by a dumbing down of the publications. We HAVE to have a large well funded lobbying and publicity organization but I miss the technical stuff. And I don't give a rat's hind end about the latest camo motor scooter.
 
As mentioned, it's not as good as it used to be, and could stand to be improved a bit, but IMHO, it's still the best "general" (as opposed to one dedicated to handloading only, rifles only, hunting only, etc) gun magazine available, compared to all the others I have read.
 
For a magazine that tries to cover a lot of ground in 120 pages -- new products, reloading/tech stuff, antique guns/history, competition, legal/political, general news -- I would give it an A+.

I like it enough to save them, so I have a 2-foot stack in the basement, and sometimes I get lost for hours flipping through back issues.
 
The NRA's transition from a shooter's club to a lobbying organization was marked by a dumbing down of the publications.
Click to expand...

I remember reading at it when I was kid (early to mid 60's), and I don't remember it being quite so much a recycled sales brochure for the gun makers. Maybe it really was, and I was just a kid and didn't understand that the advertisers got to write the articles. I swear I remember a lot smaller and more interesting ads in the back of the magazine.

It would be interesting to find some of those issues I vaguely remember from the sixties and see if they are as poor as today's.

And I don't give a rat's hind end about the latest camo motor scooter.
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth. And every ATV reviewed is revolutionary and perfect at the same time.

Mike
 
I like it, but I chose America's First Freedom instead. The writing on political matters is top notch and reminds me of how shallow mainstream media is.
 
I like American Rifleman and American Hunter. I'm a member of the NRA and get them both. When you do that you only pay $9.95 for a full year of American Hunter, that's not bad, less then 90 cents a month.
 
I've wondered for a long time if the founders in 1871 had been able to see where their organization (and publication) would be going in the 21st century, might they have named them something other than National RIFLE Association and National RIFLEman?

Bnlife member
 
The NRA is an indispensible organization if you are a gun owner. The publications are very good. Certainly better than average. I'm glad you joined.
 
"I must be the only one who thinks the reviews are really, really poor quality. Most of the time they look like marketing brochures direct from the manufacturer to you."


Although I do thoroughly enjoy AH as well as other major firearms magazines (G&A), the reviews in all of the publications are basically puff pieces designed to advertise new products.

(+1 here on not giving a rip about reading the ATV or pickup truck reviews in these publications.)
 
I think the reviews are not worth the read. I never see articles in any gun magazines that will tell you that a product stinks or if it even has real flaws. Rifleman will only give glowing reviews as pretty much all the others do. If you want good reviews you have to go to forums like these online. We don't get paid and as the customer we are a bit more critical.
 
The mag is great for keeping up with the political scene, which is critical... Actual gun reviews are much better dealt with in "Gun Test" magazine, IMO...they're not perfect, but better than most.
 
American Rifleman pertains mostly to pistols and revolvers; American Hunter pertains mostly to rifles. Go figure. My son gets American Rifleman, while I opted for American Hunter, so we both get to read both magazines. I still like Predator Xtreme magazine best. cliffy
 
I love reading that magazine. It keeps me up to date on what cool guns are comming out. The armed citizen is my favorite part to read. I will re-new my membership here real soon.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
American Rifleman or Hunter?
Replies
23
Views
2K
220_Swift
2
T
  • Locked
NRA Magazines What's Up?
Replies
19
Views
998
bdickens
B
M
  • Locked
which NRA magazine?
Replies
14
Views
903
dralarms
D
C
  • Locked
American Rifleman Index?
Replies
1
Views
518
eagle45
E
4v50 Gary
  • Locked
What (paper or e-zine) gun magazines do you guys read?
2 3
Replies
62
Views
2K
tws3b2
tws3b2
Back
Top