I did the same thing and have boxes upon boxes of magasines from every interest area over the years.
For the most part, magasines will give you mainstream info and prejudices. They will market products to you that the average person will want. Some info is useful (we agree with it), others not (we don't agree with it). Rarely is anything based on proper testing.
Good general info.
Readers like to feel that they are getting something new and exciting even though they are not. To be blunt, precious little has changed in the shooting world in 100yrs. The parts have gotten better but all variations on the same theme.
If this were clothing, the industry would have died a long time ago.
So we come up with creative ways to say the same thing. Add some colour or whiz bang product to increase the prowess of the user (camo wallets - that's gonna help get me a B&C buck). Throw in some catch phrases like tactical and you create a 'new' industry for consumers to spend money on.
Do the troops really enjoy carrying a 18lbs 308 rifle?
Most hobbiest are not enthusiasts in a technical way. Many on this board go beyond just making a noise and seeing a hole in the paper. We want to know why and experiment to truly improve performance. Wildcatters fall into the same category.
The internet is changing a lot because we now have exposure to not just 6 or 7 scribes but the whole shooting world. We can now tap into the 5% of the bell curve. Some will agree, most will not even have a clue but that's society.
Look at the many on some forums that feel that 308 is the best LR cartridge ever invented. I guess they have never visited a 1000yd BR match and certainly wouldn't be interested in the info on 6mmBR.
magasines are a reflection of popular culture. It controls as much as it is controlled. It can be informative, even useful and every now and then we can learn something new.
But we are die hards so do all the research we can. That knowledge base is large but not boundless. Like they say, many here have been there, done that, even wrote a post.
The cutting edge is exciting but also very limited. Average hunters have hundreds of choices for their walkabout deer gun. Extreme range hunters have basically three choices and we want to narrow that down to a perfect selection.
Many love to watch the space shuttle leave for the stars. We are the sorts that want to build the next rocket.
Oh, if you really want to have a hoot with some interesting writing, read a 'tactical' rifle mag. Specialty Weapons... or a very similar title is a rag I pick up to see all the new military/civi toys. The writers there really don't know much about shooting.
By the way, I can vouch for one writer who does his homework and burns alot of powder. That would be our very own Ian M. Good stuff.
I am a hunter that has a 100yd zero. Even at 200yds, I hit POA. Yes, I tend to pull high...
Jerry
