Writers of firearms topics monthly columns

[DPris]

We each have our own areas of interest & background.

Mas doesn't duck hunt & doesn't review goose guns.
I don't either.
Others do.

Shooting covers a wide area & nobody's an "expert" on "everything".
That's why there are so many mags & so many mag writers.
Denis

 

[taliv]

talk about protesting too much...

Credibility - I know you don't know anything about the topic. you just spent several posts explaining to me why you can't afford to spend the time or money to get to know gun in question. Why would anybody listen to you? They generally don't. I can only assume you have seen the overwhelmingly negative consensus on the internet forums about gun writers and the quality of their work. people buy Precision Shooting for the expert articles. They buy "guns and ammo" for the advertisements and pictures.

Veracity - see credibility, your 1st hand results are anecdotal and irrelevant


As for the rest, I can only speculate that there is little overlap between your friends and mine

 

[DPris]

I know nothing about credibility?
People generally don't listen to me?

I've kept it polite so far, have taken no personal shots at you, but if you're gonna go that route, it's over.

Every single time I try to explain to people who have no clue whatever, it inevitably deteriorates. Some learn, many are simply not interested in facts from somebody who's done this for a long, long time & actually knows what goes on.

Easier to spout nonsense & tired old myths, and tar everybody with the same brush.
Trying to educate those who refuse to learn is a pointless endeavor as you clearly prove, I'm outa this one.
Denis

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

^^^^

Point taken. However, the comment about "If you want a review on a firearm, an article from someone LIKE Massad Ayoob..." was meant to say that if people want to read an article reviewing a firearm, then they want to read such a review from someone who includes all the important aspects of the gun's design and performance, as a minimum.

Whether such an article is written by Massad Ayoob, David, McKay Brown, Bruce Buck, or any number of other such people, a review HAS to include these types of important details.

 

[old lady new shooter]

"Given the raft load of new female shooters, I have been kinda of curious what floats their boats. do they read gun mags before buying? what do they look for?"

No idea how typical I am but:
a) I have been reading a lot, but all online, not in paper gun mags.
b) What I guess I am looking for is a gun I can feel confident with -- confident that I can shoot it well and confident that it will perform reliably.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

"Given the raft load of new female shooters, I have been kinda of curious what floats their boats. do they read gun mags before buying? what do they look for?"

No idea how typical I am but:
a) I have been reading a lot, but all online, not in paper gun mags.
b) What I guess I am looking for is a gun I can feel confident with -- confident that I can shoot it well and confident that it will perform reliably.

Remember that another important part of this is that the gun fits and feels good in your hand.

Owning an esthetically beautiful gun that shoots well doesn't mean much if you hate the feel or it doesn't fit in your hand well. You'll end up not liking it...and that means you won't want to shoot it.

So, if at all possible, find the gun you're considering buying and at least handle it yourself. Better yet, rent or find someone who has one and shoot it, too.

 

[agtman]

They get paid by the word.

True, or for the submission of a piece of pre-determined word length - e.g., "Dude, we need 250-words on that new Sig 10mm ... Can we get it by Friday?"

They get paid to write in proper English ...

True in theory. In practice, gun rag writers generally are only marginally competent, knowing more about guns than about the craft of writing, and you can be assured that all submissions underwent a healthy dose of editing to get them into "proper English" before publication. Indeed, that's what editors are for - unless the writer is an unusually talented wordsmith, in which case the editorial focus shifts to massaging the concept behind the piece, if it needs it.

... something most [young] folks know little about.

Fixed it for you.

It's really a generational thing. Look, the task of acquiring the traditional "hard" skills of grammar, punctuation, use of appropriate diction, rote memorization of spelling (so you reached for a dictionary less often), etc., that are the basis for one's composition skills were already well on the wane when I was growing up. But now, both the political decimation of U.S. *public education* and the intrusion of the internet and social-media devices into how we communicate have only hammered the final nails into that coffin, I'm sad to say.

In 25 years we'll be looking at a hybrid form of what was once called "proper English."

Depending on the rag, they must also walk a fine line as many of those same folks are advertisers that pay their wages.

Right, ... which means many of the write-ups we see on guns, ammo, and related gear are little more than "paid advertising."

 

[Mike OTDP]

Back to the OP...

It's better than it used to be. Writers need something to write about, and the Dull Old Days when the Big New Thing was releasing a 50-year-old gun in a new caliber. These days, there's at least a few more guns to write about.

What frustrates me the most is the seeming inability for a new writer to break into the market. I think many editors want the same old articles, written by the same old writers, with new photos. And their readership seems to be waning. A bit of new blood and new subjects might do a world of good.

 

[aarondhgraham]

How do they find something new to write about?

How do they find something new to write about other than sale copy for the products of their magazines advertiser’s?

Most of the time they don't.

When I was doing my student teaching at a photography school,,,
A person came in and donated 25+ years worth of photography magazines.

Me and a few students started to sort them by date,,,
We noticed that each month (no matter what year) had the same articles.

Every March there was an article about Capturing Spring Colors,,,
It was always by a different author.

The articles always touted different film/filters/etc,,,
But were always about the same thing.

At first they thought it was coincidence,,,
But after several years piled up they saw the trend.

The gun rags are no different,,,
Certain articles will always be ran at certain times.

How many articles have you read on Winter Concealment or Summer Carry?

The prime purpose of the ra ,,, errr, mags are to make money.

That doesn't mean they don't try to publish good stuff,,,
But in reality they are happy to update and recycle standard topics.

Aarond

.

 

[old lady new shooter]

Remember that another important part of this is that the gun fits and feels good in your hand.

Owning an esthetically beautiful gun that shoots well doesn't mean much if you hate the feel or it doesn't fit in your hand well. You'll end up not liking it...and that means you won't want to shoot it.

So, if at all possible, find the gun you're considering buying and at least handle it yourself. Better yet, rent or find someone who has one and shoot it, too.

That's part of the "being confident I can shoot it well" part -- I want the gun to feel really like an extension of my arm and hand. What I liked about the feel of the 686 6" in the gun store was exactly that, even though it was heavier than the other ones I tried holding somehow it made my arm and hand feel stronger, as paradoxical as that probably sounds. I even tried holding it out straight with only one hand and the feeling was the same. (The salesman expressed surprise that I could do that without wobbling, he said women usually can't. ???)

 

[Sol]

"Great gun"
"reliable"
"laser like accuracy"
"eats everything"
"locks up like a vault"
"gun feature"
"
"
"
"political statement"
"recommend buying this must have"

 

[Savage99]

The internet including forums such as this one have replaced many of the older ways of reading about anything.

I used to subscribe to the usual magazines. Today I can read any topic free and easy on the internet.

We don't get a newspaper anymore. The local paper has their building for sale and the for the few that still get one it's printed in another city. No paperboy now

You and I get to write about what we are interested in and even show pictures etc. on these forums and other sites.

You can search for topics using www.boardreader.com

 

[Hangingrock]

In the NRA publication of August 2015 issue American Rifleman an article titled (The 15 Percenters Rifles For Left-Out Lefties) by Craig Boddington. The information in the article is a rehash/ update of the availability of rifles for left-handed shooters that the writer has written about before in one form or the other in different publications.

Not insinuating that the basic information in the article is not worthy of reprint for a newer audience but for others its old hat.

There is only so much subject matter and at some point it is rewritten and presented to the new audience.

 

[GEM]

I've read that magazines have a three year cycle as that is as long as the typical reader stays with it.

Look at military airplane magazines. How many articles on the F-16 or Typhoon can you read? What they flew in Nam or the Gulf. Let's re-fight the Marianas Turkey shoot.

You can have a report on a gun class (I wrote some). You got there. The instructor was so and so. Here was your gear and others's gear. You got told this and that and ran around and shot things. It was fun. Rarely do you see that the instructor was a jerk. I've taken a class from one jerk - all the rest have been great.