SWAT MAgazine

[AKsteve]

Is this the only worthwhile glossy mag out there these days? The other stuff I look through at the book store is pure trash.

 

[rhino]

Women & Guns is at least as good. It may not be as "tacticool" or entertaining, but the information is very practical and is as poser-free as you're going to get in a periodical. The gun rights and legal stuff is a strong point, but you'd expect that since it's a publication of the 2nd Amendment Foundation. The only downside is that Gila Hayes is too busy to write much for them anymore.

 

[Fenway]

I enjoy reading SWAT at the store. maybe I should subscribe.

 

[sjstill]

SWAT & American Cop are about the only mags I subscribe to.

 

[INJoker]

I find good info in Guns and Ammo from time to time but they have this terrible habit of picking really cool firearms in the most obscure calibers imaginable. It seems like every time I pick one up there is a $4,000 rifle chambered in 4.4387 x 8.8563 and it's "ideal" for hunting caribou or whatever.

I also take issue with some of their handgun recommendations... Personally, I'd run 2,000+ rounds through any handgun I was going to review. Sometimes I get the impression the author lazily blasted off a mag downrange and then wrote about how phenomenal the firearm is. Either that, or they get "hand-picked" models sent to them from the factory that out-perform what you or I will see on any gun-store shelf.

Maybe it's just me though...?

 

[Mike Elzinga]

Bottom line is that there is almost nothing new under the sun. Any new gun that comes out is more or less a copy of something we already have, albiet with a new safety widget. Writers are forced to write stupid review of guns we all already have tried and didnt like. We are blessed that nowdays almost all guns from the big manufacturers now run right from the get go. There are no longer the reliabilty issues that once were. People can argue over which gun and ammo are the best but just cuz a gun in a mag does 1.5" with Super Mag Ultra Stud ammo and 10" with PunkASS ammo, doesnt mean the one you buy off the shelf will.

I would also love it if no company ever introduced a new caliber that is ballistically identical to something we have already had for 20 years.

The reason that most gun mags suck now is because there havent been any shocking innovations in the industry for some time. They are just regurgitating a new color of the same stuff.

Just my opinion, worth less than what you paid for it.

 

[Fenway]

Has Gun and Ammo ever written a bad review on anything? I have a subscription because I found one on ebay for about $3 and thought what the heck.

I read glamorous reviews and then a page later I see an ad by the manufacturer.

 

[Mike Elzinga]

Also funny how the new Rugechesterton PX12 FireMax pistol chambered in 11.4MM Nambu Ultra Mag represents the greatest innovation in firearms ever and has every feature any gun owner anywhere could ever possibly desire, and yet comes with crappy 3 dot sights that must be immediatly replaced if you ever want to hit anything. Who actually likes 3 dot sights?

Sorry to lose it, but this thread hit a nerve. I havent bought a gun mag in several years and barely even read them if they are laying around. Most mags now represent little more than a "Who's more tactically badass" competition between gunwriters.

 

[SilentWarrior1]

Can't say that I've read it much... I like John Connor's "Gun Crank Diaries". I usually get a chuckle out of those.

 

[rhino]

What's really funny is when a magazine runs an article that not only praises the merits of a "new" gun, but publishes accuracy data for a gun that does not exist yet. The modus operandi is typically getting a few pre-production photos of non-functional mock-ups or prototypes, fabricating a story and some "data," and then voila!

 

[BloodEclipse]

I quickly learned that all the gun mags were just Sales mags in disguise. I thought I'd get a non biased source so I subscribed to Gun Tests. Well I think the way they test is seriously flawed so I let it expire. I did like the one Swat I picked up at the Marsh.

 

[stormryder]

Before they became PC then went under I always liked American Survival Guide.

I currently am reading back issues of Backwoods Home and really enjoy Massad Ayoobs & the Claire Wolf Articles.

They seemed more down to Earth and budget minded.

 

[epsylum]

What's really funny is when a magazine runs an article that not only praises the merits of a "new" gun, but publishes accuracy data for a gun that does not exist yet. The modus operandi is typically getting a few pre-production photos of non-functional mock-ups or prototypes, fabricating a story and some "data," and then voila!

The Taurus OSS thingy is the worst one. They have "tested" that gun for almost a year and the damn thing still isn't out yet. Besides WTF is so friggin special about basically a Taurus 24/7 with a tan frame?

 

[abnk]

SWAT Magazine is a cheap and effective way to challenge and refresh my mindset every month. Definitely worth it.

 

[TomN]

I never even thought to look at SWAT magazine. Now I'll have to pick up a copy!

 

[younggun21]

Just read my first copy of SWAT Magazine. I was impressed with a few of the article's but was troubled by the reviews. The writers spent more time describing the product (at times in the exact words used on the website) than reviewing it. All in all though I'll buy another copy.

-K

 

[ryanmercer]

Before they became PC then went under I always liked American Survival Guide.

I currently am reading back issues of Backwoods Home and really enjoy Massad Ayoobs & the Claire Wolf Articles.

They seemed more down to Earth and budget minded.

BWH rocks... you should join their forum http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum

 

[IDCC]

It's the best out there. Several Hoosiers contribute as well. I really enjoy reading Pats articles.

 

[Dave]

Shotgun news has some articles once in a while.