I am considering several new additions to my collection. After checking multiple print and online reviews, my results are all over the map for the exact same guns. I know that some mags/sites are known to heap praise on all new products, and others think that any firearm purchase under 4 digits is sacrilege. Which sources offer the best, most reliable reviews? Which should be read with caution?
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Reliable magazine/online reviews?
- Thread starter wmg1299
- Start date
Honestly, forums like this are your best bet. Just use the search function to look for comments about guns. The vast majority of reviews that you read from magazines or online are from people who are paid to review stuff like that. They praise almost everything.
Another one to be careful with is people who bash a firearm, and in the same breath praise another. Their opinions should be taken with a grain of salt as their personal preferences may be getting in the way of them making a relatively unbiased review.
While looking up reviews can give you some useful information, your best resource is yourself. Shoot the stuff you are thinking of buying before you buy it if you can, and you will form your own opinions. Sometimes people want the cream of the crop, and other times people don't care much about details as long as it goes bang every time and is accurate enough to get the job done.
Another one to be careful with is people who bash a firearm, and in the same breath praise another. Their opinions should be taken with a grain of salt as their personal preferences may be getting in the way of them making a relatively unbiased review.
While looking up reviews can give you some useful information, your best resource is yourself. Shoot the stuff you are thinking of buying before you buy it if you can, and you will form your own opinions. Sometimes people want the cream of the crop, and other times people don't care much about details as long as it goes bang every time and is accurate enough to get the job done.
Kreyzhorse
New member
Which should be read with caution?
Every review should be read with caution. Bias and opinions creep in everywhere. That said, forums like this are, in my opinion, are one of the best place to get lots of well thought out reviews. You will also find some bad ones but its nice to see the pros and cons for gun.
Ultimately, read as much as you can, hold it in your hand if possible and make your own decision.
g.willikers
New member
Remember, too, there are a lot of folks very new to the subject of guns.
Not all reviewers know all that much about what they are reviewing.
Consequently, there's a lot of criticisms about equipment that are more faulty than the guns they are finding fault with.
Not all reviewers know all that much about what they are reviewing.
Consequently, there's a lot of criticisms about equipment that are more faulty than the guns they are finding fault with.
Magazines and other print media (for the most part) are not good places to look for product recommendations. Their advertising dollars come from the very same manufacturers of the products that they review. They will not bite the hand that feeds them.
Another place to be very skeptical of are internet forums. By the time you sort through all the BS of "my brothers father-in-law said" or "I was reading on the internet" you end up with very little usable information. If you actually read most of the comments on internet gun forums most respondents have no actual experience with the item in question. If you are getting advice from someone who has 25,000 posts then it's pretty obvious that they spend too much time typing and not enough time actually shooting.
Not to mention all the folks that think since they read every tactical publication or attended "Joe Blows" shoot and scoot practical gun handling class. The odds of getting any useful information is slim.
3/4 of my items are of such questionable quality to the internet experts that I might as well just bury them out back because they have been deemed useless for anything other than compost. But for some reason throughout the years I've always come out ahead........
Don't get me wrong....from time to time you run into someone that has some practical experience with the item that you are wondering about. But next time you ask a question on an internet gun forum take a look at how many people reply that can't help you at all.....
That brings me to the answer to your question.......The only real way to get information that you can count on (almost) 100% of the time is through experience. I've learned over the years to buy quality the first time.....trust me, it's been trial and error for sure. I never buy the cheapest of a certain item nor the most expensive. The middle of the road is usually a pretty darn good place to be.......
Another place to be very skeptical of are internet forums. By the time you sort through all the BS of "my brothers father-in-law said" or "I was reading on the internet" you end up with very little usable information. If you actually read most of the comments on internet gun forums most respondents have no actual experience with the item in question. If you are getting advice from someone who has 25,000 posts then it's pretty obvious that they spend too much time typing and not enough time actually shooting.
Not to mention all the folks that think since they read every tactical publication or attended "Joe Blows" shoot and scoot practical gun handling class. The odds of getting any useful information is slim.
3/4 of my items are of such questionable quality to the internet experts that I might as well just bury them out back because they have been deemed useless for anything other than compost. But for some reason throughout the years I've always come out ahead........
Don't get me wrong....from time to time you run into someone that has some practical experience with the item that you are wondering about. But next time you ask a question on an internet gun forum take a look at how many people reply that can't help you at all.....
That brings me to the answer to your question.......The only real way to get information that you can count on (almost) 100% of the time is through experience. I've learned over the years to buy quality the first time.....trust me, it's been trial and error for sure. I never buy the cheapest of a certain item nor the most expensive. The middle of the road is usually a pretty darn good place to be.......
If you shoot a lot, talk to those around you, or observe and see what seems to be the most prevalent choice of these people; That usually says volumes about a particular gun. By the same token, observe carefully and see what causes folks the most problems; It can keep you from making the same mistake.
I will say that, as of late, The American Rifleman has just turned into another "we advertise in your rag, so you better be good to us" type of publication, and yes, there are a lot of contributors who are very inexperienced and don't know what they are talking about.
Talking to a few experienced gunsmiths can also help you. They see first hand what is good and what isn't.
Above all, don't be fooled by hype.
I will say that, as of late, The American Rifleman has just turned into another "we advertise in your rag, so you better be good to us" type of publication, and yes, there are a lot of contributors who are very inexperienced and don't know what they are talking about.
Talking to a few experienced gunsmiths can also help you. They see first hand what is good and what isn't.
Above all, don't be fooled by hype.
Magazines and other print media (for the most part) are not good places to look for product recommendations. Their advertising dollars come from the very same manufacturers of the products that they review. They will not bite the hand that feeds them.
Absolutely the truth. Just ask yourself, have you ever seen a negative article about a new firearm. Shooting times, Guns, Handgunner & other magazines are great for learning of new products, but reviews are exaggerated and the gun writer in most cases is "Provided" a well tuned example to conduct any tests.
There is NOTHING better than this and other forums.
I think the first thing you have to do is to know how to critically read a review. First, learn to separate subjective feelings of a reviewer from the objective facts and observations. Saying a gun is reliable is far different than saying, "I shot 500 rounds through the pistol including three different kinds of hollow points without any malfunctions."
Second, understand that a particular magazine or ezine may have a policy of only reviewing firearms or accessories which they think will be solid items; they're not interested in junk. So, yes, those reviews are overall favorable because of the fact they pre-screen items.
I generally look at www.gunblast.com though some people think Jeff Quinn always gives a good review. He does "pre-screening" and, if you read closely, you'll be able to get some hard data from the reviews. However, I do like to check on a couple of the gun forums, especially this one. I've been around here long enough to have an idea of who can better evaluate guns.
Added: There are a couple members here who have YouTube channels I sometimes check out and do a pretty good job of reviews -- Sturmgewehre does the "Military Arms Channel" and Plouffedaddy does reviews as "Mrgunsandgear Channel".
Second, understand that a particular magazine or ezine may have a policy of only reviewing firearms or accessories which they think will be solid items; they're not interested in junk. So, yes, those reviews are overall favorable because of the fact they pre-screen items.
I generally look at www.gunblast.com though some people think Jeff Quinn always gives a good review. He does "pre-screening" and, if you read closely, you'll be able to get some hard data from the reviews. However, I do like to check on a couple of the gun forums, especially this one. I've been around here long enough to have an idea of who can better evaluate guns.
Added: There are a couple members here who have YouTube channels I sometimes check out and do a pretty good job of reviews -- Sturmgewehre does the "Military Arms Channel" and Plouffedaddy does reviews as "Mrgunsandgear Channel".
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Sorry, but the idea that a person must say only good or only bad things about all the guns they comment on in a given review to prove that they are unbiased is ridiculous and has absolutely no merit.Another one to be careful with is people who bash a firearm, and in the same breath praise another. Their opinions should be taken with a grain of salt as their personal preferences may be getting in the way of them making a relatively unbiased review.
Anyone with enough experience with firearms will definitely have found some good ones and some bad ones and is almost certain to be willing to comment on the guns in both categories they have encountered.
If anything, I would say that it would be more reasonable to suspect a reviewer who always has only positive, or only negative things to say about all the guns they comment on in a review. Also anyone who only seems to review a single brand or particular type of firearm.
trg42wraglefragle
New member
When I'm researching a product, or looking for information on something, eg scopes, I'll do a Google search and often included the word forum. I mainly look at forums and you can generally tell one off opinions that mean nothing, and when a reoccurring theme starts appearing you can generally tell you are on to something.
Even reviews on online shopping sites like Amazon or Opticplanet can be useful.
Some magazines or articles can be good, and if they are just a biased opinion it's usually obvious. But if it's a rifle review, and the author say's the rifles accurate and provides evidence or even photos, then it's pretty trust worthy.
You can talk to people at a gun store or gun range and get very biased opinions, so it's really no different than here. I view these forums as like you are able to ask the opinion of a friend or someone at a gun range, but having the advantage of asking thousands of people not just 5 or 6.
Even reviews on online shopping sites like Amazon or Opticplanet can be useful.
Some magazines or articles can be good, and if they are just a biased opinion it's usually obvious. But if it's a rifle review, and the author say's the rifles accurate and provides evidence or even photos, then it's pretty trust worthy.
You can talk to people at a gun store or gun range and get very biased opinions, so it's really no different than here. I view these forums as like you are able to ask the opinion of a friend or someone at a gun range, but having the advantage of asking thousands of people not just 5 or 6.
KyJim: thanks for the gunboats.com suggestion. I didn't know about that site. I find a lot of the YouTube reviews to be very helpful.
I talk to a lot of friends who shoot, but most of us own the same or very similar guns, which limits the variety of guns that we can offer in-depth opinions about. It also takes us all awhile to put 500 rounds through any hunting rifle (handguns and plinkers are a different story). Reliability and build quality are usually my biggest concerns, and I always wonder if reviewers who have a gun for a few weeks can really offer accurate opinions in these areas.
I talk to a lot of friends who shoot, but most of us own the same or very similar guns, which limits the variety of guns that we can offer in-depth opinions about. It also takes us all awhile to put 500 rounds through any hunting rifle (handguns and plinkers are a different story). Reliability and build quality are usually my biggest concerns, and I always wonder if reviewers who have a gun for a few weeks can really offer accurate opinions in these areas.
I'll just add that this is where the manufacturer's reputation for service is important and looking at forums is actually very helpful, IMO. Every manufacturer sometimes makes guns with problems. The issue is what do they do to make it right. For example, I've never owned a Rock Island Arsenal 1911 but I've read enough here and at other forums to know they are top notch at customer service. One of the big name 1911 manufacturers, not so much. I won't mention them by name because the thread will just degenerate. Of course, there's always the occasional consumer who just cannot be satisfied with anything reasonable. So, keep those points in mind if you start looking at forums.Reliability and build quality are usually my biggest concerns, and I always wonder if reviewers who have a gun for a few weeks can really offer accurate opinions in these areas.
Glenn E. Meyer
New member
I might remind folks that SWAT (our sponsor) has had less than positive reviews of the Judge and Double Tap.
sprouticus
New member
Nutnfancy
I know a few folks don't really care too much for him, but he seems to give
honest reviews.
He just posted a review of a Henry and was less then impressed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Ngde2zugs
I know a few folks don't really care too much for him, but he seems to give
honest reviews.
He just posted a review of a Henry and was less then impressed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Ngde2zugs
Sorry, but the idea that a person must say only good or only bad things about all the guns they comment on in a given review to prove that they are unbiased is ridiculous and has absolutely no merit.
Anyone with enough experience with firearms will definitely have found some good ones and some bad ones and is almost certain to be willing to comment on the guns in both categories they have encountered.
If anything, I would say that it would be more reasonable to suspect a reviewer who always has only positive, or only negative things to say about all the guns they comment on in a review. Also anyone who only seems to review a single brand or particular type of firearm.
I don't think you understood what I said at all. I don't think that people who say only good or bad things about firearms makes them unbiased, and I didn't say that either.
I was talking about people that bash a particular gun, and then turn around and praise a totally unrelated gun in the same breath. It happens ALL the time on gun forums. Some guy asks about a particular firearm wanting to know a little about it from people that actually own one, and someone else comes along and says that it sucks and they should be looking at a different firearm instead. It is normally incredibly biased and snobbish.
Any review - be it magazine or forum based should be read w/caution.Which should be read with caution?
Personally, I dismiss nearly all the positive comments and focus mainly on the negatives, no matter how trivial they may seem at first glance.
Negatives to me are like splinters. They are a constant trait of something that just get's more annoying as time goes by.
Personally, I don't mind that. Quite often someone else may have noticed something I failed to catch.I was talking about people that bash a particular gun, and then turn around and praise a totally unrelated gun in the same breath. It happens ALL the time on gun forums. Some guy asks about a particular firearm wanting to know a little about it from people that actually own one, and someone else comes along and says that it sucks and they should be looking at a different firearm instead
Glenn E. Meyer
New member
Gun World just opined that the AR pistol type is less than useful for self-defense and lacks accuracy. Said they were just really fun guns.
Well, if you're talking about someone posting something along the lines of: "All Brand X guns suck, buy a Brand Y gun instead.", that isn't a review by any stretch of the imagination.I was talking about people that bash a particular gun, and then turn around and praise a totally unrelated gun in the same breath. It happens ALL the time on gun forums. Some guy asks about a particular firearm wanting to know a little about it from people that actually own one, and someone else comes along and says that it sucks and they should be looking at a different firearm instead. It is normally incredibly biased and snobbish.
That's someone wasting their time and everyone else's by typing in a post that takes no thought to compose and makes everyone who reads it a little less intelligent. I would still disagree that it's evidence of bias--it's evidence of either trolling (intentionally trying to irritate those who read the post), ignorance, or immaturity.
In terms of an actual review--a coherent attempt to enumerate the features and assess the functionality and accuracy of a particular firearm--it would be quite natural for a reviewer to point out both positive and negative aspects of the firearm under review, as well as to comment positively and/or negatively on other firearms that might be of interest to those reading the review.