Wannabe cops in la la land? or real concerns?

[Questor]

I got a subscription to Handguns magazine and it seems like the writers are writing for the paranoid. They seem to imagine all manner of situations in which a handgun is a necessity. This seems out of touch with reality and is probably counterproductive considering that a lot of them are, shall we say, "out of shape", and probably couldn't defend themselves with anything but a firearm.

Does anyone seriously concerned with self defense gain insight from Handguns magazine?

[Cottonwood]

I don't gain a thing from reading the mag rags, but do from practicing situations thru IDPA or IPSC matches.  I spent many a year in law enforcement and training is the key in self defense.

[Sir Knight]

They give you something to think about. While the chances of one of those situations happenining to you personally are very slim, so is winning the lottery. Yet, people hit the lottery every day and the situations that they talk about also happen everyday.

If it SHOULD happen to you, THAT is not the time to think about what the best course of action should be. If you thought about it before hand or read opinions about it before hand, you'll at least have a plan in your head instead of reacting blindly.

I, personally, like "What If's". Your initial reaction to a situation MAY not be the best course of action to take. Discussing them and thinking about them before hand, I believe, is a worthwhile exercise.

[BlkHawk73]

  I take the conents of gun rags with very little taken as gospel.  They're wanting to do something besdies simply inform the reader, they're wanting to sell the magazine.  Part of that is getting advertising.  Say nice things about a products get's advertising dollars for them.   There are always an exception but the cover to cover hidden advertising, errr articles are a joke.  I one serious about handgun techniques and operations they'll learn first hand from a qualified and respected instructor.  Not the local yokal that nobody has heard of , but a renowned and known instructor.  It takes this instruction as well as continued practice of one's techniques and shooting to become anywhere near proficient ("ready").    I see Handguns mag to be more of read for the mall ninjas

[Savage]

I read the gun rags for entertainment, and to hear about new products. Nothing else. Product reviews, I take with a grain of salt. There is little of value from a training standpoint, other than the real life expereinces of some of the contribitors, or true stories from actual case files. Hey, I even enjoy looking at the pictures!
Savage

[Old Griz]

I don't recall ever reading a negative product review in any of the shooting magazines other than Gun Tests. Can anyone recall one?

[Dusty Miller]

Mas Ayoob did a review of a new gun once and you didn't have to be a genius to see that he thought the trigger was a piece of garbage.  I forget the magazine.

[Sir Knight]

I don't recall ever reading a negative product review in any of the shooting magazines other than Gun Tests. Can anyone recall one?

I've been reading Gun Tests for about a decade (give or take) and the past two or three years, a lot of their conclusions have come to confuse me. For example, they gave the 4040 and excellent write-up but ended up rating it poorly. Conversely, the 239's write-up wasn't anything to write home about but it's final rating was pretty high.

[Old Griz]

I am sorry. I can see that anyone might take what I said as an endorsement of Gun Tests. I gave up on them a long time ago. They used to be pretty sharp, but somewhere along the line they became elitests, more impressed with themselves than anything else. I wrote them once asking them why they never tested their guns with "common" ammo that most of us use (Federal, Winchester, etc.) and they simply sent me the address for Buffalo Bore. When I told them they missed my point, they replied that they got it perfectly. That's when I dropped them.

[Savage]

I dropped "Gun Tests" about 4-5 yrs ago for the same reasons mentioned by Sir Knight and Old Griz. It's for sure I don't look to the other gun rags to influence my buying decesions. You might say:" they all have a dog in the fight!"
Savage

[Questor]

Thanks for the warning. I was considering subscribing to Gun Tests specifically for straight opinions based on real-world tests.  Makes me wonder why I subscribe to Shooting Times. Perhaps I prefer totally unrealistic tests that always come out favorable to the manufacturer.  That can't be it. Maybe it's just force of habit.

[Sir Knight]

Just to clarify, my issue with "Gun Tests" is that a lot of times their conclusion does not agree with their evaluation. Ex: the 4040 was given a great evaluation but recevied a poor final rating. In another issue, the 239 got a pretty lousy evaluation but ended up being rated very highly. Those type of things bother me because either the evaluation is off base or the conclusion missed the mark.

[PaulS]

This isn't anything new, I stopped buying gun mags a long time ago because if the ammo or gun has ads in the magazine then they can't be unbiased. I built my Fackler box (which I blew apart and rebuilt several times before I finally found out how to make it strong enough to hold up to rifle shots), bought a chronograph - and then another one, and started testing my own ammo. I test for velocity, standard and mean average deviation, expansion, penetration and accuracy and do it better than most of those gun magazines ever did. Besides I get information that is pertinent to MY guns and ammo and not the "off the shelf" or "semi-custom" ammo that is commercially fabricated and tuned only to SAAMI pressure standards instead of accuracy or consistancy.

[MikeH]

 Well guys , I gotta disagree with most of ya on this one, at least about American Handgunner. Masssd Ayoob, Clint Smith, J.D. Jones, John Taffin, These are just the men I've heard of. Mas runs (or did?) the leathal force institute, Clint runs thunder ranch. Half you guys probably own J.D. Jones stuff. I think the're the real deal. I read it for much the same reason I read this forum, to learn. They're not "wannabe cops" as far as I know. Some train real cops and/or are themselves cops.
I wouldnt try to argue with many of the points here. "never read a bad revew" True. "Nuthin but a bunch of ads" True. "Just try'n to sell Mags"True
 

I got a subscription to Handguns magazine and it seems like the writers are writing for the paranoid. They seem to imagine all manner of situations in which a handgun is a necessity. This seems out of touch with reality and is probably counterproductive considering that a lot of them are, shall we say, "out of shape", and probably couldn't defend themselves with anything but a firearm.

Does anyone seriously concerned with self defense gain insight from Handguns magazine?

.
 I'm not sure you even read the magazine! Massad has an article in every issue called THE AYOOB FILES thats nothing but a real story about real life violence that someone went through and what we can learn from it!
 As far as "not being able to defend themselves with anything but a firearm." Maybe you should look into a class yourself. I'd bet most if not all of us would be better able to defend ourselves after taking one of Mas'es or Clints classes.
To answer your question, Yes. But I dont have a sword or a ninja suit, and I rarely go to the Mall.
 Mike

[Questor]

MikeH:

I think we're talking about different magazines. The one I'm referring to is related to Shooting Times and Ayoob doesn't write for it, at least not regularly.

[Savage]

American Handguner and Handguner, are indeed two different magazines. The gentlemen Mikey mentioned do contribute to the American Handguner. It's about the best read out there!
Savage

[MikeH]

OOPS, all that for nothing. Sorry.