Who Needs Gun Magazines Now that We Have Forums

[SharpsDressedMan]

Anyone else finding the writings, topics, and pictures better on the forums than in the gun rags? I find that too many of the magazine writers are full of themselves, and are basically rehashing topics, or giving "glory" to new guns or manufacturers. More honest stuff is found in these columns. There was a day when the great gun writers ruled, but now the almost "interaction" and grassroots reviews and thoughts are better than ever. What's your opinion?

 

[22-rimfire]

I still like Gun Mags. I subscribe to a number of sporting magazines that include specifically guns.

 

[Zundfolge]

Even though I have a little netbook I just can't bring myself to forum while on the toilet.

Gun magazines have their place.

 

[Hk91-762mm]

I get several every month -Sadly they are thinner and more ads -! But I like to read before I fall asleep and I keep all the new ones at work for--Slow times !

 

[jcwit]

Amish people!

 

[Tim the student]

I like magazines of all types. As much as the internet makes life easier in many ways, it is not a substitute for feeling paper between your fingers.

As has been said, I also will not bring my computer into my bathroom, but I do have a collection of magazines in there.

 

[Old Fuff]

Some writers offer genuine expertice in their field. The same can be said about some Internet forums, but the forums also have some outrageously bad information mixed in with the good stuff. Some magazines are better then others, but I think there is still a place for the printed page...

Besides the bathroom.

 

[Avenger29]

I get several every month -Sadly they are thinner and more ads -! But I like to read before I fall asleep and I keep all the new ones at work for--Slow times !

More ads? They are all ads.

I don't subscribe to any, but me and my buddies do pass them around.

 

[ConstitutionCowboy]

I subscribe to 5. I find them indispensable. I actually read them! And yes, there is always the throne room...

Woody

 

[ctlee]

It seems to me there is nothing new under the sun: Hence the reason for the re-hash of old favorites like cocked and locked carry with a 1911 model or some DA pistol. Or, the most versitile rifle ever 30-06 and why everyone should have one.
I stopped getting gun mags (except American Rifleman) on a regular basis a long time ago. I still pick up a few a year to read up on "new" offerings.

By the way; Does anyone else think the "new" 6.8 cartridge is just a .270 in a shortened case?

 

[Geno]

I like life’s simple pleasures. I like to write long, and well-detailed letters with my fountain pens. I like blue-black ink, on home-made cloth-paper. I appreciate the natural elegance of a woman who wears minimal make-up, stockings with that line in the back, and whose clothing leaves much to the imagination. I like cars and trucks with manual transmissions, no air conditioning, and an unrefined ride. I like the roaring 20s, home-cooked meals, single-shot firearms and simple conversation with good friends. On a Sunday evenings, I like to kick my feet up, light a bowl of TC Downtown Special and peruse the pages of a good hunting or shooting magazine. You can call me old-fashioned; I retort simply that I like life’s simple pleasures.

Geno

 

[oneounceload]

I have found in the last few years, that the "gun tests" the regular mag writers perform always seem to result in a positive accolade for the gun and its maker (advertiser). I am letting all but one lapse. I WILL keep my subscription to Shooting Sportsmen - very goos honest reviews of shotguns, gorgeous eye candy, and good tips on technique

 

[John Wayne]

I would love to find a gun magazine worth reading, but most of the time I can tell you what's in it before I even see the cover. Generally speaking, they are overpriced fliers full of ads. I'll save my $7 and put it towards ammo.

Books, on the hand, are a different story but again, good gun books are few and far in between. Most I've received as gifts have had several errors and cost waaaay too much. If I buy a book it ought to at least be free of errors, otherwise what's the point?

 

[browningguy]

Forums are moderatly more useful I think, but only if you already know enough to seperate the facts from the other stuff. The problem with gun mags is they have a hard time being critical of their advertisers, but the forums are full of stuff that is just flat out wrong.

 

[alemonkey]

Not just gun mags, but I think magazines in general have become a joke. Look at pretty much any of them anymore and they're nothing but ads and biased product reviews.

 

[MedWheeler]

I still enjoy 'em..

Internet filters on workstation computers often block sites related to "weapons", which is true where I work. However, we have no policies prohibiting carrying weapons-related print material into the station; I even had one in the ambulance with me today, flipping through it while riding shotgun (yes, pun intended!) in traffic..
There will, for quite a while longer, be a place for print material...

 

[Judicator]

Gotta have some pretty pictures to look at when you're on the john

 

[candr44]

The only magazines I find useful are Shotgun News and some of the Guns and Ammo special publications. The spelling is also better than forums and no petty arguments, paranoid tin foil hat lunatics, or outraged fanatical purists.

Having said that, I find more useful information and resources in gun forums than magazines. Forums are far more useful for doing research on a particular gun and a good place to exchange information.

 

[bigalexe]

I need some way to load rounds into semi-auto firearms and the Magazine seems to be the way to do it.

Oh wait... are we talking about those periodicals sent through the mail? Yeah i don't subscribe to those.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

I have a subscription to American Rifleman, and occasionally will buy a gun mag if it's got a review of a gun I'm interested in somewhere inbetween the 3 full tests of so-and-so's new 1911 that I can't afford. I wonder if the writers all work in the same building or something because the reviews from several different gun mags will cover the same models in the same month pretty often. Or maybe the manufacturer's just send out press release guns to multiple writers at the same time.
There's something about the feel of a magazine...especially in the throne room. Or an airport gate area (you almost feel wonderfully evil reading them there).

 

[Savage99]

Sharps,

I spend quite a bit of my time reading gun talk on forums and I read magazines of any kind these days very little.

I still get the American Rifleman and the American Hunter as my son and I are life members. I don't read all of the articles in them either.

Yes the internet has taken over for me.

 

[CajunBass]

Nobody ever told me I couldn't read both. So I do.

 

[22LRFan]

I stopped buying the magazines when I found out they have the same articles on there websites for free. I've gotten to the point where I would much rather read a book on the throne than an overpriced advertisements.

 

[22-rimfire]

I have several books going on at any one time. I often do not open a magazine, and other times will read them cover to cover. I buy magazines at the newstand and subscribe. Some get read more than others. I find reading on a computer screen uncomfortable for anything other than short periods of time.

Looking forward to the day I buy my first Kindle however. Looks like a great idea which makes reading from the little montior almost as comfortable as reading from a hard copy. The price is what keeps me from buying one.

 

[jackstinson]

I find that too many of the magazine writers are full of themselves, and are basically rehashing topics, or giving "glory" to new guns or manufacturers.

Yep, we never see any of that sort of behavior on gun forums.