What gun periodicals (magazines) do you recommend?

L

Lexspeed

New member
I would enjoy hearing from others what gun magazines you read. I am a new owner of an HK P30S 9mm and am really getting into my new hobby. I picked up a handfull of magazines at Books a Million but am not sure they carry the complete range. I live out in the sticks so hour long trips to the book store doesn't work for me, either.

I am mostly into my pistol, but love my old reliable Remington Nylon 66 22lr that has served me well for the 50 years that I have owned it. I just bought a new Vortex Diamondback scope for it and got it back in use. So what do you read and what do you recommend for me? :)
 
I honestly can't recommend any. IMHO they are all trash, the good gun writers have all retired or died, and the current editors don't do any editing so the result is grammatical gibberish masquerading as journalism. And they are all heavily biased in favor of the companies that buy full-page ads every month, so you can't believe their reviews.

The last one I kept going was Shooting Times but, after Sheriff Wilson retired, I let that one lapse, too. I subscribe to Shotgun News, but more for the advertisers selling gun parts than for the articles.
 
Had hopes for Recoil, even authored a few articles for them, but at this point, they are SO driven by the expense/competition/advertising, they have lost objectivity.

I keep tabs on a few YouTube Channels from some top shooters (Patrick Kelley, Julie Golob, Jerry Miculek, etc.) and I also will check out MAC and Sniper101 here and there. Having FB also gives me some direct access to several industry professionals that I respect. I also listen to a few podcasts. I get better, fresher, vetted information.

Find the FB groups you like, the YouTubers you like and go from there. :D
 
I have a subscription to Handloader. There's some good information in it. I'm thinking about subscribing to Rifle (from same publisher). Both seem to be fairly common sense periodicals. After a while all the other one's I got at the newsstand got fairly stale.
 
The only mag I subscribe to (that doesn't come as part of an org's membership) is Shooting Sportsman - but that is geared towards higher-end shotguns and bird hunting. All the other oldies I used to get like G&A and ST suck today, IMO.
 
I find most if not all the gun magazines just plain terrible. I am glad I am not the only one. Reloading manuals are a better way to spend publication money!
 
To be frank, a subscription is a waste of money. The internet has replaced the once- meaningful print media as an information source.

If you want ads, get a Shotgun News.
 
The hard print's are often out of date by the time they reach your door. It's also not clear (on virtually all magazines for that matter) whose's paying for the article or influencing it.

I find google and youtube as better, more timely alternatives for finding specific information on guns, ammo, training and gear.
 
The first magazine to get is the "Rifleman" that comes with the NRA membership!

Beyond that I don't read many magazines these days since I get on the internet forums.

To find specific topics on forums use the search engine www.boardreader.com
 
I like American Handgunner and am a lifetime member of the NRA so get American Rifleman. I might subscribe to Handloader again, I quip 15 years ago when I had to quit handloading to be my wife's 24/7 caregiver. I am just getting back into handloading again.
 
I used to subscribe to all the gun rags, or last least most of them but as subscriptions lapse out, they're not getting renewed. Final list of keepers is RIFLE and HANDLOADER and possibly GUNS. RIFLE SHOOTER'S latest issued was IMHO a disaster. About the only gun writer left that's anywhere decent is John Barsness. He free lances so his articles show up in a lot of gun magazines. I also have three of his books. Good reads.
Paul B.
 
Rifleman since the early 60s; The rest never really had any articles that I would consider "scholarly."

If you want ads, get a Shotgun News.
Click to expand...

You can find most of the principal advertisers on line now. I'm afraid SG News is falling victim to the internet, too.
 
I subscribed to Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times and Guns for years. However, when they stopped buying articles from new, unpublished authors (just keep their staff writers who no longer had anything new to say), and became mostly advertising, I decided that I would not "buy" advertising (would read it if they sent it free), and stopped subscribing. Why buy advertising posing as gun magazines?
 
I gave them up years ago. Gun tests were a joke . Other stories were repeated by a different writer a few months later . All the good writers are long gone .
Want to read buy the books by the old masters . Enjoy them in the evening. With a drink of you choice . :)
 
I only "subscribe" to the American Rifleman. Like Michael T said...buy books. Classics like Jack O'conner's The Shotgun Book and The Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns. Understanding Firearm Ballistics by R. A. Rinker is a good read if you are into numbers. Also pick up a recent edition of The Blue Book of Gun Values, maybe a reloading manual or two, and you will be on your way. A good reference collection of books will only increase in value and use. Mags will most likely be thrown out.
 
As Doctor J said, "Handloader" & "Rifle" are decent periodicals. I generally subscribe to each for a couple of years, let them go until the next cheap offer & re-up.

What I find more valuable is to search out vintage used books on Amazon. Great reading for next to nothing, by the likes of Jack O'Conner, Skeets Skelton and so forth.

For specific info for your gun(s) just enter the make on Amazon. For load info, pick up a reloading manual (I lean towards the Lyman manuals). For specifics, look in a Dillon catalog for the caliber you're looking for. If you're just starting out, search out an early copy of Dean Grenell's "ABC's of Reloading".
 
Mags

As an NRA member, I receive American Rifleman. I also read through the NRA's online magazine "Shooting Sports" which is about competitions and equipment.
The single magazine that I subscribe to otherwise is the quarterly "The Double Gun and Single Shot Journal" - arguably the best produced gun publication available. Alas, no handguns.
Pete
 
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