[Colt-SL]

...I got to wondering what your favorite(s) would be? I get NRA's American Rifleman and routinely buy Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times and really like Guns of the Old West.

What other good ones am I missing?

 

[longranger]

"Handloader" is the only one I get now,most of the new rifles and handguns are uninteresting or the rifle magazines are 70% plastic semi auto stories and advertisement. I have no need to be informed about inferior quality rifles and handguns, all the really good guns have already been made with a few exceptions.

 

[chaosrob]

I do not purchase magazines. I look through my dads old G&A and ST and am amazed by the actual content they used to hold and were fairly thick. These things are now half the thickness and most of the content is ads. The articles also appear to be more opinion than actual data based. The new mags that I have seen are not my fathers old magazines and I cannot justify spending the money on them. YMMV

 

[dogface6]

I stopped reading them when Skeeter Skelton and Bill Jordan died.

COL Charles Askins, Elmer Keith, Lee Jurras, George Nonte - all had something interesting and educational.

Today - not so much.

And anything in modern copies of 'The American Rifleman' pales by comparison when you hold up anything written before the '80's - when they directed their efforts towards politics, fund-raising and buying western properties away from their political powerbase.

 

[Chaffee]

I like old copies of 'Guns' and 'Gun World' from the 60's-70's. Also old copies of American Rifleman. Good reading. But my favorites are the old big 'Gun Digests'. Not the former 'Gun List' magazine. I have all of them from 1945-1972 and a few others. Great articles by great authors.

I used to subscribe to G&A, ST, American Rifleman, Shotgun News and Gun List. Gun List-Digest is the only one I still get and the subscription just ran out. I'm debating on whether to re-up or not, as I don't read them any more due to Gunbroker and the like.

 

[UncleEd]

Finding old magazines may not be of much help to the OP.

Although I don't subscribe to any gun magazines, I would suggest American Handgunner (if you like Guns of the Old West you'll like some of the writeups by John Taffin and Mike Venturino, and some of the columns, i.e. Clint Smith and Ken Hackathorn on modern techniques are OK).

Sometimes I'll buy Handloader or American Handgunner.

 

[BearBio]

Handloader, Gun Collector, sometimes Surplus Guns (but most of that now is merelt re-cycled Venturino. Articles are only a couple of pages at most.)

 

[Colt-SL]

Gosh, I forgot that half of these existed! At one point I used to take half a dozen subscriptions. Times they are a-changing!

 

[kenhwind]

I use to be a big fan of Guns and Ammo subscribed for years. After Robert Peterson sold his publishing business, G&A slowly became a generic gun mag. Same is true for Shooting Times IMO.

Although I do not receive them anymore I thought that American Handgunner and Guns magazines were very good, and I do get The American Rifleman.

 

[rhmc24]

I get the American Rifleman mainly because I'm a member. Had G&A for years and couple others one subscription period. All I did was look at the pictures and almost never read articles. All pretty much the same & one keeps me up to speed on new guns that come out. Even the new gun thing never amounted to much. I did check out & bought the Ruger LCR at LGS because I liked it and detail info in a mag article.

 

[tecolote]

I get American Rifleman, but go the local Books-a-Million and read the rest. Haven't bought any in ages. As for books, I'll buy them from my local bookshop,or if they're unavailable,get the library to do an interlibrary loan.

Regards,

Tecolote

 

[LEO918]

I'm down to the American Rifleman myself. I get all I need from the various forums now.

 

[Tranter45]

I stopped reading them when Skeeter Skelton and Bill Jordan died.

Many moons ago I used to buy Guns & Ammo 50/50 with a mate (was an expensive import). He moved away and I stopped reading it. Really used to enjoy reading Skeeter Skelton and Bill Jordon - and was unaware they had passed on. Dogface's post prompted me to google them. Following from Wikipedia - they both had very interesting military and law enforcement careers.
Charles Allan 'Skeeter' Skelton (May 1, 1928 – January 17, 1988) was an American lawman and firearms writer. After serving in the US Marine Corps from 1945-46 he began a law enforcement career which included service with the US Border Patrol, a term as Sheriff of Deaf Smith County, Texas, and investigator with both the US Customs Service and Drug Enforcement Administration. William Henry "Bill" Jordan (1911–1997) was an American lawman, United States Marine and author. Born in 1911 in Louisiana, he served for over 30 years with the U.S. Border Patrol, while also serving as a US Marine during World War II and the Korean War. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve as a Colonel.

I will do some further research on these guys and the other writers mentioned later. (Sorry for deviating from the thread topic - brought back old memories.)

 

[gobus1]

I take American Rifleman, of course, but my favorite is Gun Tests. They do not take any advertising and they buy guns off the shelf like you and me and shoot the heck out of them. They rate the firearms and do not pull punches. I have been a subscriber for 20 years and I have always found their advice and recommendations to be good.

 

[steg]

If you are a Colt aficionado, apart form American Rifleman, the only magazines you need are the Gun Collector and The Rampant Colt, which you get 4 times a year if you are a member of the Colt Collectors Association.

 

[BigG]

I stopped reading them when Skeeter Skelton and Bill Jordan died.

COL Charles Askins, Elmer Keith, Lee Jurras, George Nonte - all had something interesting and educational.

Today - not so much.

And anything in modern copies of 'The American Rifleman' pales by comparison when you hold up anything written before the '80's - when they directed their efforts towards politics, fund-raising and buying western properties away from their political powerbase.

Took the words out of my mouth. I bought books by Charles Askins, Jr., Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan, etc. Those still make the best reading.

 

[68python]

...I got to wondering what your favorite(s) would be? I get NRA's American Rifleman and routinely buy Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times and really like Guns of the Old West.

What other good ones am I missing?

Small Arms Review .
Newstand or online.

 

[weagle99]

I receive American Rifleman because I am an NRA member. The writers have never, and I mean never, met a new gun that wasn't almost perfect, but the historical articles are usually top notch.

I also receive the Dillon Blue Press catalog which is normally good for a decent article occasionally.

Everything else I read online on the various forums. Most new guns don't interest me all that much to be honest.

 

[Chaffee]

I also receive the Dillon Blue Press catalog which is normally good for a decent article occasionally.

I forgot about Blue Press. I still get that one as well. I usually don't get much past the cover though.