American Rifleman

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charlesb
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American Rifleman

Post by charlesb » Sat Nov 16, 2013 9:02 pm

Kind of disgusted with the American Rifleman lately.

I can remember when it was almost all about guns.

They ought to take a look at some back issues from the 60's or 70's, and model it after that.

I'd sure like to see them get back on track. To survive in these days and times, a magazine needs to offer something that is hard to find online.

The internet is loaded up with ads and political stuff - but not so much with good gun articles by recognized experts.

The magazine should be one place where you can relax and enjoy reading about guns, hunting, history and such. If they eliminated the full-page ads, dropped all but a few pages of the political stuff and doubled up on the gun-related articles, they would serve their clientele much better.

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Post by Bullseye » Sun Nov 17, 2013 9:31 am

Ads pay for the publication. American Rifleman is basically a free magazine but surely it isn't free to produce the publication. As the machine that is the NRA continues to bloat and expand, it needs more funds to feed itself. I support what they stand for, but not all the ways they go about doing it. These ads are a fact of life, many shooting related websites have them too. We just have to grin and bear it.

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Post by bgreenea3 » Sun Nov 17, 2013 5:02 pm

I actually don't mind the ads so much in the gun mags, they give me something to look into, dream about getting (Cooper Rifles for exampe), or give me a place find the stuff I want, and if the ads keep the price of the magazines down go for it. I don't like when you have to hunt through the magazine to find the second half of the artical you were reading, but just mildly annoyed at that.
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greener

Post by greener » Sun Nov 17, 2013 6:52 pm

Have they really changed that much. I have an old shooting mag that talks a bit more about guns, but the articles sound very similar to American Rifleman now. I gotta admit that it was more interesting when Cooper was writing.

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Post by bigfatdave » Sun Nov 17, 2013 10:38 pm

I'm more irritated that American Rifleman & First Freedom have so many redundant articles.

I thought AR would be hardware/training/sporting stuff, with FF more political.
Wrong.

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Post by Hakaman » Mon Nov 18, 2013 11:44 am

What concerns me more is the condition the shooting industry is in. Can't find
ammo, people hoard what is out there. It wasn't too long ago you could go to
a full range and blast away for a couple hours with available ammo. Will it ever
return?

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Post by ruger22 » Mon Nov 18, 2013 1:29 pm

Hakaman wrote:What concerns me more is the condition the shooting industry is in. Can't find ammo, people hoard what is out there. It wasn't too long ago you could go to a full range and blast away for a couple hours with available ammo. Will it ever return?
I'm wondering. Only place I check for ammo now is Sportsman's Warehouse, since it's the only place that I can be when they unlock the doors at 10 AM. No .22 for six weeks now, and only a very few .38s, 357 or .380 in that time.

Yet they have loads of 9mm, .45ACP, .44 mag, etc. Cases of .223 and 5.56 stacked in the floor.

Many people are like me, not buying anything gun related until we see ammo "normal" again. That's got to be hurting several segments of the industry. I'm not opening my wallet until I see large stacks of Federal Value Packs everywhere. I haven't seen a single one for 11 months.

So far as gun mags, I gave up on those years ago. The reviews are biased in favor of the free gun the reviewer got, so the company will keep sending him more. The ads are somewhat useless, as forums like ours tip us off to new stuff worth wanting.
* 2 Ruger Bearcat stainless, w/ EWK ejector housings & Wolff springs
* Ruger SP-101 .22LR, w/ Wolff springs
* 2 NAA Guardian .32ACP
* 3 Zastava M70 .32ACP
* S&W 15-22 Sport (.22LR AR)
* 2 Ruger SR22 .22LR pistols

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Post by charlesb » Mon Nov 18, 2013 3:09 pm

I'm certainly not looking at any .22lr guns these days, even with all of the overstock sales, etc..

Hopefully the government will improve somewhat with the next election cycle, and there won't be some much fear-driven mega-purchases of ammunition by government agencies and citizens alike, so the market will have a chance to recover.

I'm concerned about the American Rifleman magazine because it is following a pattern shared by many magazines that are failing, and getting ready to fail. The reduction of content in conjunction with the increase in advertizing and off-topic ( political) content is not a healthy sign.

I get plenty of the political end from emails and even phone calls from the NRA... When I sit down with a copy of the American Rifleman, I'm wanting to be steeped in gun culture at its finest - not more of the same crap that I get on the web and over the phone.

If they keep it up, sooner or later it will start affecting membership, not to mention magazine sales.

The other gun magazines are about half thickness and three times the price that they ought to be. As it is in any business, when quality goes down and prices go up, customers go elsewhere.

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Post by Downeaster » Thu Nov 21, 2013 9:00 am

My membership in the NRA has expired, or will shortly. NRA mail goes direct to the recycling bin without being opened. It takes about 5 minutes to scan AR and it goes in the bin too.

NRA is all about the money now. Never enough, always asking for more.

When I see Wayne LaPierre flying coach, wearing an off-the-rack suit, and driving an econo-car I might (probably not, but might...) consider sending them a few bucks.

I will NOT give them my money to support a bloated, overpaid, marginally effective organization.
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Post by bearandoldman » Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:25 am

Downeaster wrote:
I will NOT give them my money to support a bloated, overpaid, marginally effective organization.
I made that same deision some years ago
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Post by Bullseye » Thu Nov 21, 2013 6:36 pm

I registered for their "Do Not Promote" list many years back when I moved here and I haven't received any promotional mailings from the NRA. I have gotten some from the NRA-ILA but they've got that running as a separate organization. I used to get several different money requests weekly, that is until I got on that list. They don't even call me to solicit funds anymore. And if on occasion they do, I just remind them I'm on the "do not promote list" and they hang up.

Registering for the list is very convoluted on their website. You can call and get your name and address added to the list. It made a world of difference for me.

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Post by greener » Thu Nov 21, 2013 6:58 pm

I was an NRA member for years and dropped my membership a few years before Heston because I thought they were a waste of time. Since Heston I've been a member. They are a major force for gun rights. I get all the mail, calls, etc. Most is ignored. I'm also a member of a couple of other groups, one the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a grass roots group that has done a pretty good job being active in local and state issues.

As far as the AR. Is it really all that different than it was in the past? Gun articles, Armed Citizen, advertisements, opinion pieces. It's like anything else I get, I read what interests me and ignore the rest.

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Post by charlesb » Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:09 pm

I support what the NRA does, hence my concern about the AR magazine going down-hill.

The last issue had enough space for three gun articles dedicated to political stuff. - A foot-shooting exercise at best.

The AR staff are experiencing tunnel-vision and the mission drift that tends to follow.

I guess I ought to write them about it. Somebody ought to try to wake them up before they do too much damage to themselves.

It might or might not do any good, but you never know.

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