Firearms magazines

[mold maker]

It's the same info either copied or rewritten, hidden among the advertisements. If the advertisers are paying, and we are charged an exorbitant price for paper and ink, why bother? The printed media was at one time, the only way to find info. Its time has passed and we are witnessing its death.
Remember when the family gathered around the radio? When was the last time you even paid attention to what was on, or if it was on unless driving? At least it provides pleasant background noise to mask the din of traffic and doesn't require much attention.

[abunaitoo]

I'm old school.
Still like the feeling of holding something in my hands when I read it.
Interweb is great, but nothing can compare to holding a good book / magazine, while reading.
To me, it's like talking with friends in person.
Phone and email are great, but being together talking can't be beat.
I sometimes feel sorry for the younger generation.
I see them sitting together, all on a phone, not one word between them.
It's like that almost everywhere you go.
No one talks to strangers anymore.
They rather text, or yack on the phone.

[JoeJames]

American Rifleman, Life member, so no problem there; Shooting times, Guns & Ammo, Firearms News: subscribe to them, and Handgunner, and Handloader when I can find them. But local Kroger has gone bleeding heart; so I will keep looking for them.

[TenTea]

American Rifleman comes with NRA life membership.
Guns Magazine got me with a *7 years for $35* deal about a year ago...couldn't resist that deal.
That's it at the moment.

[Tom W.]

I'll pick up a Handloader if I can find one, and subscribe to G&A. It's not as good as it used to be, I suspect it's because of all the black rifle articles, and I never warmed up to them. Nor do I want an Aimpoint optic. But I still read it. Maybe I'm missing something, but I for one can't afford a pistol or revolver that cost $1600, nor a rifle or shotgun, either....

[Walks]

I gave up on G&A when Robert Peterson died & his heirs sold off the Publishing Co. To the same folks that took over Shooting Times. They morphed into clones of each other. BLACK GUNS, BLACK GUNS, BLACK GUNS. Read a reloading story & do the numbers. Some of the stories would take 60hrs at 1 minute for every round. And all the loading time not considered. Or else It's 3 paragraphs artistically arranged around 3 photo's. That I could write in 15 minutes.
It's mostly repetitive trash.
Handloader & FOULING Shot.

[mold maker]

Just because the computers made it possible, is absolutely no reason for the anemic print. I can't read it and not being a comic book, the print is more important than the big HD colorful pictures. While I understand that smaller print saves extra pages and ink, the bean counters have made the info contained worthless. Ya can't even replace the Sears catalog in the outhouse with it, because the paper is too slick.

[Thin Man]

Could it be that your stare's political left leaning is having a spillover effect on the sales of firearms magazines? The "politically correct" crowd must have things their way, and that includes everything the majority of this site's members care about. To overcome this, as others have said, start by joining the NRA and get the American Rifleman at your door. You might add Handloader and Rifle magazines, both being excellent in their own flavors. Just because the local vendors don't have what you want on the magazine rack doesn't mean you have to "do without". Join or subscribe and enjoy.

[smoked turkey]

Many of the gun review's in today's gun rags seems to be written mostly by the various manufacturers. This is probably due to the technical nature of their product. After some manipulation of the information, the magazine's writers just put their name on the article. So the evaluations are basically just ads for the product. The slant on them is designed to make the reader want to buy the product. That being said I still enjoy American Handgunner and Shooting Times. Both of these magazines have some really fine writers and they do a very respectable job of their reviews (my opinion). I also get American Rifleman due to my NRA membership and believe that everyone should be supporting them.

[mold maker]

Every couple of months, I gather them up and send them with a PT person to distribute at a rehab center. He says they are very popular among the residents there who are being streached and bent to improve their ailments.

[abunaitoo]

I too am a proud NRA life member.
Have been since 1978.
Used to subscribe to Shooting Times.
Skeeter Skelton was my first go to.
Handloader is not what it was, but it's about the best out there now.
Guns is not bad.

[john.k]

!00%....I get free trade magazines that are far better reading than gun mags that cost heaps.And at least the writers ? for the trade mags may repeat advertisers claims,but they always point out promotional material as such.......unlike the gun mags where so called journalists do gardening,gym,cars ,boats ,and know nothing about any of it....and cant weed out(edit) bxxxdust put up by some contributors that is just plain wrong facts.

[10x]

Canada's Premier gun magazine available mailed to your door with an NFA membership
or on line 6 months later

https://nfa.ca/news-media/cfj/

[Bent Ramrod]

Mine are all specialty/subscription mags or e-mags, except American Rifleman. Fouling Shot, ASSRA Journal, BPCR News, ARTCA Journal. And now the Sharps Collector Report, thanks to some super salesmanship from the leading lights of the Sharps Collector’s Association. I told them I could never afford an original Sharps rifle, but they wouldn’t listen to me.

Having no staff of professional writers (except now BPCR News), these depend on their memberships for articles, which, leave us face it, can be of variable quality and minuscule reader interest. Harder to get through and less informative than a puff piece in a slick mag on the latest plastic 9mm, even.

The fact is that our hobby areas are finite. If you’ve been into them for 10 years, you’ll see little that is actually new to you except “exciting” new products. If you’ve been into them for 20 years, mostly it’s slight nuances and takes on the lore you already know.

Somebody has to be interested in the contents of the newsstand gun mags. When I go out to the rifle range, the ground is covered with 9, .40, .223 and 7.62 x 39 shells like the opening of the movie Lord of War. That’s a Market.

[marlin39a]

I gave up even glancing at gun magazines on the racks. I get a free newsletter from Gunsamerica every week with the latest and greatest. I usually go through it quickly, and delete.

[robg]

I subscribe to handloader/rifle and guns and ammo as they are very rare to find over here ,20 years ago no problem.UK magazines are so dull and dry.

[jonp]

They have gotten very yuppie it seems to me. When Field and Stream ended up with more articles on rock climbing and mountain biking than hunting I cancelled but a magazine has to follow what the trends are I guess.

Other than the free mags from The NRA the only one I still subscribe to is Fur-Fish-Game which I been lucky enough to have been published in a few times on rifle ballistics, recoil etc. It's more geared to trapping than anything but there is always articles on hunting and fishing in every issue. If you don't subscribe pick one up. One of the last, true "how to" hunting, fishing and trapping magazines out there.

[WILCO]

Not a big fan of black rifles.
Older the better for me.

I'm a recent fan. MILSPEC floats my boat. Iron sights rock too.

Still love the old stuff. My credit card is proof of that.

Once in a while, I buy a gun magazine. Share it with the newbies.
Then they ask questions. I show them the world of MILSURP.

[abunaitoo]

Went to barns and noble today.
Had to drive all the way to town.
Only book store left on the island.
Firearms section was really small.
I did find three that I bought.
Didn't have some that I was looking for.
Kind of sad people no longer buy books and magazines.
I'm wondering how long before movie theaters start to disappear.
I still miss drive inns.
Kids now days can't believe we used to do that.
Almost all asked if there are any still open.
None.

[mold maker]

At today's prices, I won't notice them missing. Movies have way overpriced their entertainment value and the mags are just advertisements with a regurgitation hidden somewhere in between.