Has American Hand Gunner ever Lied to you?

[fireman]

Long time reader. First time poster. Back when the 500 S&W first came Out I was the first kid on my block to purchase one. Then I read AHG review and found it to be totally accurate in their review. With the 500 I have probably the Crem de la Cren of large bore hunting Revo. Then about a year later came the "up grade"-460XVR Describing the recoil as "A pussycat" compaired to the 500.
Recoil on the 460 is what can only be described as Biblical.The kind of recoil that when the shock wave hits you it is like being punched hard in the chest. I relegated the 460 to 454 casull status.I let my subscription run out because I feel that if AHG had actually had fired the 460 The story would have been different.
Any simular experiences?
Thanks
Fireman

 

[.38 Special]

I think the physical recoil of the .460 is less than that of the .500, especially when the .500 is stoked with heavy cast bullets. The shockwave from the .460 is, though, unsettling.

As for Handgunner, I'd have to say it's the most accurate handgun specialty mag I've seen. Rifle and Handloader have even higher standards, IMO, but they don't cover the topics I'm interested in as well as Handgunner. The three are the only shooting magazines I take regularly (aside from Rifleman, of course) if that means anything.

Every magazine occasionally prints things with which I disagree, though. In Handgunner, that includes almost everything J.D. Jones has ever written. But oh well. If I gave up on a publication every time I saw something inaccurate I would never read anything.

 

[birdshot8's]

some cats are pretty dangerous. maybe they were thinking of a jaguar with rabies.

 

[The Tourist]

And don't forget that the concept of recoil is subjective.

For example, I'm a big guy. I wear hearing protection and a PAST shooting glove and I can fire a pretty long string of .44 Magnum cast loads.

What drives me nuts (technically 'nuttier') is cumulative recoil. Put me at a bench or a prairie dog town with a heavy barreled .243, and that little 'nudge' starts to wear on my senses. That little recoil bothers me.

And don't forget, guys who say they "love recoil" probably get into their trucks and cry all of the way home to a bucket of ice for their wrist.

 

[fireman]

Fireman

It just seems to me that maybe you must take AHG with a block of salt.
I do not recall a feature in which writer did not like what they featured.
Every gun is not a winner-except the one's they are featuring that issue.

 

[csmkersh]

As already said, recoil is subjective and everyone experiences it differently. Like the The Tourist, his .243 begins to bother him in a prolonged shooting situation. Me, my .30-06 is a tame load - for me. But my 300 RUM eats my lunch after 10 rounds. Then my friend, Charlie Petty seems to be able to soak up the 300 RUM and not bat an eye. And I don't think I'd ever willing fire a 4 bore rifle.

As to handguns, I'll call the limit with my .44 mag and will prefer either the S&W .41 Mag or my old Ruger .357 flat-top. Ya'll can have the hand cannons, they're not for me.



​

 

[.38 Special]

It just seems to me that maybe you must take AHG with a block of salt.
I do not recall a feature in which writer did not like what they featured.
Every gun is not a winner-except the one's they are featuring that issue.

According to the editor, they will tell you when the gun is not perfect, and I have seen them do so. Also according to the editor, you will never see them tear a handgun to shreds in a write-up. If a gun is really bad, they will send it back to the manufacturer with a note to that effect, and they won't write about it at all. I think the line was "You may note that there are some products we never write about. A detective would call that a clue".

 

[TitaniumMan]

I'm one of the lucky SOBs who just doesn't feel recoil. I've injured my wrist while typing, but never a twinge from hand cannons.

My shoulder is the same way. On a rainy day, if I move my arm just the right way, I get excruciating pain. At the range, I can blast away with rifles and shotguns for hours without any pain.

 

[Matt-J2]

Others might call that, 'lying by omission.'
Sure, them not writing about brand X is a clue but any intelligent person will tell you it isn't much of one. They could refuse to write about such a brand for a number of reasons.
Refusing to write a truly bad review, or rather, an honest review of a truly bad product, shows a distinct lack of journalistic integrity, IMO. They've already tested it, after all. They know it's bad. By not writing the review, they're helping to keep a bad product on the market.

Even beyond all that, I have no use for a magazine full of only positive reviews. I like to know what to avoid as well as what's top o the line.

 

[.38 Special]

Well, I won't argue the point with you, other than to note that if you refuse to read any magazine that doesn't write bad reviews, you don't read many magazines. I'm aware of very, very few magazines that will write critical articles about products, regardless of the subject. I am under the impression that Gun Tests is the only such shooting-oriented magazine.

The essential problem is that almost all magazines are supported by advertising. A single negative article about an advertiser's product is almost a guarantee that the maker of that product will no longer be an advertiser. And being that every manufacturer occasionally turns out a bad product or a stupid idea, any advertiser-supported magazine that calls a spade a spade every chance it gets will, within a few years, be out of business.

I think that's called "life". Bummer.

 

[csmkersh]

If you want the unvarnished truth, subscribe to Gun Tests Magazine. They have no advertisers to sweat and buy the firearms they test. You may not agree with their choices, but they do call 'em as they see 'em.

​

 

[HeavyDuty]

Fireman, were you shooting indoors or outdoors?

 

[Matt-J2]

Well, I won't argue the point with you, other than to note that if you refuse to read any magazine that doesn't write bad reviews, you don't read many magazines.

I don't, in fact, read very many magazines. The mags I do read, I tend to skip the handful of product reviews they feature.

 

[mec]

According to the editor, they will tell you when the gun is not perfect, and I have seen them do so...

In just about every issue, in fact.

I just read an article by the editor about two pocket sized 1911 type pistols. They have bobbed hammers and one has a trough in the top of the slide instead of sights. He didn't like either of those features and said so loud and clear. Same thing with Ayoob's review of the new Ruger SR9. He found plenty to like about it but the factual information in the article would disuade many potential owners from buying one.

It is not much fun reading about poor quality guns and even less writing about them. (Though Phil Engeledrum 's efforts in that field had high entertainment value.) The FMG editors tell the writers to discuss the positive and negative aspects of any gun reviewed but are not interested in publishing a trash-o-ramo on any of them.

 

[dagger dog]

I don't know what it is about the recoil on a "HOT" magnum revolver, to me it truly does have that slap in the face feel, from the concussion when the round goes off. I get some hand vibration like when you're holding a piece of metal wrong and you hit it with a hammer, it seems to come all the way from the tips of the fingers down the arms to the elbows then that slap in the face concussion.

I'd like to video my self 'cause I just know I'm slamming those eye lids shut when the concussion hits.

I've trained myself enough to have complete trigger control and no jerking of the trigger(in other words I can hit what I'm shooting at), it's just that slap in the face, that I can't drill myself into NOT FEELING!

 

[fireman]

Fireman, were you shooting indoors or outdoors?

Only Purple mountians majesticy where I live I'm 20 miles from a range with a roof.

Fireman

 

[fireman]

.38 Special said:
"Just sitting and looking at a mountain is an act of worship." ~ Edmund Hillary


I say AMEN

 

[EMC45]

Fired the 500 S&W Mag with 440gr. GC and a stiff charge of H110 I think (friends gun and load) I shot 3 times and never again. The feeling was like a hand grenade went off in front of my face!

 

[Tim Burke]

Sometimes you have to read between the lines. Keep in mind American Handgunner isn't in the business of selling magazines; they are in the business of selling advertising.
Having shot both the 500 and the 460 with stout loads, I wouldn't call either one a "pussycat," unless it was being compared to a 329.

 

[twigs]

I take all gun reviews with a grain of salt. That being said, I eagerly anticipate the delivery of American Handgunner as opposed to several other mags that I read and like.

I recall one of their writers making the comments that .38Special mentioned--that they would send a gun back if they couldn't write a review that was positive. I don't think that's "lying by omission" if they tell you openly that's their policy.

However, more to the point, I have found their descriptions of various guns to be very accurate, their photography to be unbelievably beautiful, and their columnists to be expert, informative, and entertaining. While I take any particular opinion with a grain of salt, that's because the ultimate opinion for me will be mine, based on the facts. I've never seen them be inaccurate on the facts.

 

[HeavyDuty]

Only Purple mountians majesticy where I live I'm 20 miles from a range with a roof.

OK, scratch that idea. (Increased concussion from an enclosed space.)

 

[bestseller92]

AH is still the best pistol mag out there, but it was a lot better before Roy Huntington took over as editor from Cameron Hopkins.

And they need to hire an editor (an actual "editor", meaning "one who edits") to clean up Clint Smith (and Wesson)'s convoluted writing. His sentences are strained enough to make your eyes explode sometimes.

 

[SomeDude]

I had a chance to shoot John Ross' 500 S&W yesterday. After watching him shoot it, I passed. A man's got to know his limitations.

 

[.38 Special]

And they need to hire an editor (an actual "editor", meaning "one who edits") to clean up Clint Smith (and Wesson)'s convoluted writing. His sentences are strained enough to make your eyes explode sometimes.

Glad I'm not the only one with that opinion. I like Clint Smith, but sometimes he puts down a sentence that just makes me think "What the hell was that all about?"

 

[bestseller92]

Exactly. Smith is a very smart guy with tons of knowledge, but he needs a good editor to help him get that knowledge across effectively in print.