Kreyzhorse
New member
I trust the Firing Line but have zero faith in any gun rags reviews.
Gun Rags you Trust?
- Thread starter clintpup
- Start date
That would depend on what is meant by ‘trust.’
Otherwise, none.
Gun publications – both online and analogue – are useful resources with regard to what’s happening in the firearms industry, such as new guns being introduced, gun specs, and pricing; but as already correctly noted: their reviews and opinions are completely useless.
No, but I used to put more stock in them. I recently liked the look of the Remington R1 Enhanced. I read as many reviews as I could and they all raved about the quality and reliability not to mention the features. The magazines even mentioned buying from a generations old company was smart since they would have experience and good customer service. I wanted a 9mm so I bought one. It was nothing but trouble. It wouldn't cycle and had a failure rate of 30-60%. All kinds of jams. After the first range day I disassembled and inspected it. When I removed the slide the ejector feel out. I called Remington and they sent me a new one with a new pin. I installed it. The second range day was no different than the first. I went home and checked the extractor and it wouldn't even come close to holding an empty case. It was actually a 45 extractor. I called Remington and they sent another one. When it arrived it looked exactly like the first one and yep it also was a 45 extractor. I called Remington back up and they admitted that they had missed up the 45 and 9mm extractors and couldn't tell the difference. You would think they could or at least order new ones of each and discard the old one. Well I finally got them to let me send it in. That's when I found out that Remington can't repair their 1911s in house, they send them to a third party contract repair facility. You would think with all that reviewing going on someone would have pieced together some of this information especially considering the problems Remington wad with the 700 rifles, Marlin lever guns and the R51.
Sorry for the rant but after the issues I and others have had you would hope there would be at least ne review that actually gave an unbiased (paid for) review.
The good news is I bought a Springfield range Officer and it has run perfectly right out of the box as any 1911 should. it has over 2500 rounds through it without a hick-up. its the gun the Remington should have been but wasn't.
I do read magazine reviews but mostly for the specifications only.
Sorry for the rant but after the issues I and others have had you would hope there would be at least ne review that actually gave an unbiased (paid for) review.
The good news is I bought a Springfield range Officer and it has run perfectly right out of the box as any 1911 should. it has over 2500 rounds through it without a hick-up. its the gun the Remington should have been but wasn't.
I do read magazine reviews but mostly for the specifications only.
"I "like" Handloader, but their reviews are just as bad as the rest of the gun mags. And the mag has badly deteriorated from what it once was due to it editorial policy of only using a small stable of writers who do nothing more than regurgitate the same info, month after month in different ways. They have not had a truly new and interesting article by an outsider in decades. Too bad."
There's a conversation going on about this very subject over on 24 Hour Campfire. In a nutshell, while Dave Wolfe was still alive, the magazines were his pets and he didn't care if they lost money. After his death the bean counters took over. They still lose money on the magazines from subscriptions but make up for it with all the ads and BS material from most of the gun writers. I got the impression from John Barsness that if those gun rags gave us what WE wanter, they'd go belly up the first month or have to raise the price of the magazine by several multiples. Let's face it. Gun rags just ain't what they used to be.
My gunsmith runs a tiny 1" by 2" ad in Rifle and Handloader and probably in Successful Hunter as well at $500.00 a month per magazine. You figure what big outfits like Ruger, Winchester and Remington must pay per month. I doubt if they're paying that from petty cash. Add up all that ad money and we're not talking chump change.
As far as trusting them? Not really. But then again, I haven't bought a new rifle in close to 9 or 10 years.
Thinking very seriously of selling off 90 percent of what I have and keeping maybe 9 or 10 at the most. Way too many are safe queens.
Paul B.
There's a conversation going on about this very subject over on 24 Hour Campfire. In a nutshell, while Dave Wolfe was still alive, the magazines were his pets and he didn't care if they lost money. After his death the bean counters took over. They still lose money on the magazines from subscriptions but make up for it with all the ads and BS material from most of the gun writers. I got the impression from John Barsness that if those gun rags gave us what WE wanter, they'd go belly up the first month or have to raise the price of the magazine by several multiples. Let's face it. Gun rags just ain't what they used to be.
My gunsmith runs a tiny 1" by 2" ad in Rifle and Handloader and probably in Successful Hunter as well at $500.00 a month per magazine. You figure what big outfits like Ruger, Winchester and Remington must pay per month. I doubt if they're paying that from petty cash. Add up all that ad money and we're not talking chump change.
As far as trusting them? Not really. But then again, I haven't bought a new rifle in close to 9 or 10 years.
Thinking very seriously of selling off 90 percent of what I have and keeping maybe 9 or 10 at the most. Way too many are safe queens.Paul B.
Groundhog34
New member
There is only one I can think of that gives honest reviews. It is Guntests. They frequently rate guns C, D or F. Very few A. Try it.