Yes, I'm a masthead writer at a gun magazine and at a knife title. At one time or another, I've written for virtually all of the knife titles, and have freelanced at some other gun magazines and elsewhere, including a major newspaper.
The first thing to keep in mind is that most stories are staff written, often - too often, in most cases- to showcase an advertised product. It's hard for a freelancer to get in the door with that mindset on the part of editors.
Carefully note the bylines at the titles you read and see what sort of features non-staff writers have managed to slip in. Terry Murbach and Mike Cumpston visit here, and they have written some of the best material to ever appear in gun magazines. Maybe they'll see this and comment. Ditto Dave Twigg, who's published a few pieces.
I can tell you that I bought a copy of, "Guns" (I think) once mainly to read a story of Mr. Cumpston's on three-inch barrel .38's. I liked it so well that I wrote to the editor to tell him they needed more such items, and less on the M1911 Of-the-Month.
I sold "American Handgunner" a story on the Ruger .22 auto pistols many years ago, and they coordinated it with Ruger to also run a related article and to get a full color photo of the millionth example of this classic design. You will note that the project gave them a chance to interract with Ruger, a major advertiser.
Another fellow wrote a splendid article on the sort of handguns one should carry (and how) when in dangerous game country. Actually, I've seen two of them: one in, "Handguns" and one in "Guns" or, "American Handgunner."
Dan Johnson's recent story on ammo for .38 snubs sold me an issue of, "Handguns"... once they got around to printing his ballistics test chart from Jason's lab! I assume you saw the traffic here about that!
I'd read a story on defense loads for the .44 Special and the .44 Magnum. I'd read one on Skelton's favorite .38/.357 load, and how it really performed, and whether it could be bettered today by using a different powder than the No. 2400 that he favored. Ditto a story on defense rounds in the .45 Colt, and whether these would also be suitable for some use on game or dangerous animals. I'm always wanting to know more on good .38 Special ammo. Ditto on actual combat performance of handgun rounds.
The rub to much of the business is that you'll need a chronograph to get the data that usually accompanies such an article. Having that info will often make or break a sale. That means you have to be able to set up the chrono and use it extensively, something not often possible at a public range. You'd need private shooting land.
If you can figure out the preferences or background of an editor, exploit that. For instance, if you know that David W. Arnold was originally a South African and that he has an interest in history, offer him an article on handguns of the Boer War. He's no longer editing, "Handguns", but still is on staff, so that's a dead-serious article proposal, if you can get the photos and know what to say. I hope that someone with more resources than I have writes it!
One way to break in might be to write an item for, "Gun Digest" 's feature, "One Good Gun". Also, there aren't a lot of good articles on practical holsters.
First, write to all the gun magazines and request their writers' guidelines. Those will tell you the required story length and how many photos are needed, and how they are accepted. At one time, editors insisted on 8X10 B&W glossies, but many will now use smaller format. Color transparencies are often a must. Some editors insist that submissions come in on computer disk with a separate "hard" copy. Others will accept traditional typewritten copy, if you don't own a computer.
It's usually best to send a "query letter", outlining your proposed article (and available photos), and an outline of the points that you'll make. Tell why you think this story will appeal to readers and list your qualifications for writing it.
Get, "Writer's Digest" and "The Writer" and study the articles there on how to impress editors. The big annual, "Writer's Market" will tell you much about current markets, but in recent years, has had little on gun magazines. It will tell you how to prepare and sumbit a basic mss. to general editors. If you can find a copy, buy the late Jack O'Connor's, "The Last Book". See what he had to say about the gun writing business.
I hope one of the other fellows I named will add more, but that's the gist of it. And good luck. You're going to need it. And don't expect much pay. A GOOD fee is about $350. You'll need to balance this against your expenses, especially in photography and ammo costs and time spent in researching and writing the story. Overall, you'd be better off to work a few nights a week in a retail store instead of writing, if it's just income you want!
Lone Star
