I got some kind of Promotion in the mail that will allow me to get 12 issues of Shooting Times for $8.00. It has been so long since I've read one, I need your all's input as to the value of the info in it today.

1. Back when I took it, Layne Simpson was a writer and Reviewed the (then new) Ruger Mark II rifle. It was a glowing report and had me interested. Got to look at one in a Gun Shop and the Owner(who knew me REAL WELL) said, "YOU won't like it at all and will be very upset if I sell it to you!" Come to find out, Simpson neglected to mention that Ruger had gotten rid of the absolutely excellent, Fully Adjustable Trigger found on the original model.

Lying by omission is not something I need.

2. Mike Venturino(SP?) wrote nothing but articles about Hank Jr's firearms, or so it appeared. He seemed to be a good writer, but most of it was a rehash of what he had said before.

Rehash after rehash of the exact same thing is not something I need.

3. Rick Jamison skewed ALL Reloading data in favor of the 300WinMag. Absolutely NOTHING was as good as a 300WinMag - NOTHING!

The sad part is the 300WinMag is indeed excellent and did not need skewed data to make it shine.

Phoney data is not something I need.

That is about all I can remember about it from way-back-when, so the decision to drop it back then was easy.
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So, is it " worth " 67cents an issue today?

For 8$ you should be able to something you like in 12 tries. I'll try them all once

I USED to subscribe to tons of mags.
Now I'm down to a few.
Just got the same deal for G&A, and so far, hasn't even been worth the few bucks it cost, at least to me.

FF&G is the only one I anxiously await.

i just keep switching gun rags as their promotions come and go. you get a little good infor out of them, mostly BS, but entertaining. so what kind of entertainment do you get for 67 cents today

It's ok HC, I tried them for a couple years. I'd say it's worth $8.

I had Petersen's "Hunting" for 3 years and let it lapse. Yesterday I sent in to subscribe with them again as they offered two more years for $12.

Hunting and the American Rifleman are pretty good mags. When I was getting several, it seemed I'd get them breeze through and that was it. They do come in handly around the deer camp though or when in the airport traveling.

Good Luck

Reloader

For 12 issues you will get 8 reviews of new rifles that came out that year. They will all be glowing reports of "outstanding accuracy of 1.5-2.5 MOA, that operate "flawlessly" with minor feeding and ejection issues, and "wonderful fit and finish" that ignores the spotty bluing and and bad wood to metal fit shown in the high gloss pictures.

There will also be 6 great articles on reloading for "obscure cartridges" like the 270, 30.06, 7mm Mag and 300 Win Mag along with a "special reloading issue" that highlights the "exceptional performance" of the 300 WSM, the 338 Mag and the 22.250.

One issue will highlight the "exceptional performance" of the timeless long magnums like the 7 Mag, 300 Win, 338, etc. and one issue will show you the "exceptional performance and efficiency" of all the new short magnums.

Tell you what, (this is a one time deal) send me $8 and I will lie to you and feed you a line of BS 12 times a year via email and save you from having to go to the mailbox everyday.

As long as you remember that the reason the magazine is so cheap for you is that 75-90% of the articles are actually paid advertisements for one manufacturer or another, you will be fine.

It will be sort of like the last article in "Rifle Shooter" about the new Smith and Wesson I-Bolt rifle. It has a synthetic stock that is peeling off, the flat forend does not fit hands, it is built for bench shooting, it failed for fire 10% of the time, and the bolt is a bitch to get out. Other than that and the lackluster accuracy...it is going to be real good when you get yours, because trust us, it has been fixed.

As long as my wife shops Wal-Mart, I just read them there. Yes, all of them.

The answer to the question is Yes..
There will be enough in the magazine to make it worth $.67.
I subscribe to ST, and read all of the gunsmithing stuff, plus other articles that are interesting. I get my money's worth out of it.
I subscribe to all of the gun magazines. They are part of our shooting/hunting infrastructure, and they need support too.

Don

You forgot Larry Weishum flogging Contenders in every issue.

I sure am glad I asked. But it seems like some of you "enjoy" it and some describe it with words which bring back a lot of unpleasant memories.

quote:

Tell you what, (this is a one time deal) send me $8 and I will lie to you and feed you a line of BS 12 times a year via email and save you from having to go to the mailbox everyday.

Thanks for the offer.

Hot Core,

How many times a month/week/day do you spend $0.75 on a cup of coffee or a soda, skoal,cigars, a beer or newspaper at a coffeshop.

I take numerous publications from Small Caliber news to Precision Shooting, reload over 30 chamberings from .17 to 45 caliber and have been doing so for at least fifteen years. Like you I am well past being a newbie to firearms hunting and gun rags. I take these different rags in order to stay current and to increase my knowledge base. Take them for what they are, get whatever value you can from them and use it to your best advantage.
GWB

I have had a subscription for a while. Not sure when I ever bought it, but keep getting the magazine. For the last several years, ST has been crap. Barely worth perusing before the trash can. In the last several months, there has been a change of editor and the magazine has gotten better. I would say it's ok, especially if you are interested in a wide range of gun subjects and not just tied to one subject (hunting rifles, for example).

-Lou

quote:

Originally posted by Geedubya:
How many times a month/week/day do you spend $0.75 on a cup of coffee or a soda, skoal,cigars, a beer or newspaper at a coffeshop. ...

Hey Geedubya, I do have some things I squander money on, but not many on your list. Never acquired a taste for coffee, but do drink(whistle on the pot just went off) a couple of gallons of Tea each day. Might have 4 soda pops in a year. Don't dip and smoking would be bad for my "Hunting" . I am pretty wild on beer, got a Blue Ribbon 12-pack 16 months ago and still have maybe 4 of them(had some old MARINE company in to visit which deserved a few). But you got me on the news(?)paper, I do get it on most Sundays. It has a right good sports section but is about as far to the Left as a paper can get. If I didn't get it, I wouldn't miss it except for one thing - it is great to put on the floor and let Bore Cleaner run onto it from a rifle's muzzle.

One of my old buddies gets Shooting Times and said Dr. Oehler has a column in it now. Though he and I don't agree on everything, I do like to hear his opinion, which makes me think.
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I do currently get the NRA American Hunter and enjoy it. They made some changes to it a year or so ago and it is as good as I remember it from my youth.

Currently get the RMEF Bugle, but I'm going to let my membership expire when it comes time to renew. The contraversy over Mr. Zumbo's comments drew a lot of mail in their Letters Section which portrayed the NRA as the problem - not Zumbo's comments. It appears I just don't fit in with the error in that line of thinking. But I do fully support the RMEF effort to preserve land, the more the better.

It seems like I get the best Hunting Stories right here on good old AR though. A lot of you folks are excellent writers and include enough details that it is easy to "mentally" participate in one of your Hunts. I do appreciate getting to read those stories.
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Thanks for all the input. Best of luck to all of you this year, good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

I agree with Hot Core's comment: "best is on AR".

I get ST for free....its barely worth it.

I get all gun mags for free as its a perk from my wifes job. For the money I would spend mine on bullets, powder and brass. I like "Handloading" but over half of each edition is advertising and blow cards.

it's worth the 8 bucks, but not much more. I let mine lapse for 15/yr...

agreed, not much other than glorified advertising, but so are the majority of the hunting shows on TV and I still like to watch them.

A dissenting voice... Paul Scarlata's series on obsolete firearms in ST is worth much more than you will be paying by itself.

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
For 12 issues you will get 8 reviews of new rifles that came out that year. They will all be glowing reports of "outstanding accuracy of 1.5-2.5 MOA, that operate "flawlessly" with minor feeding and ejection issues, and "wonderful fit and finish" that ignores the spotty bluing and and bad wood to metal fit shown in the high gloss pictures.

There will also be 6 great articles on reloading for "obscure cartridges" like the 270, 30.06, 7mm Mag and 300 Win Mag along with a "special reloading issue" that highlights the "exceptional performance" of the 300 WSM, the 338 Mag and the 22.250.

One issue will highlight the "exceptional performance" of the timeless long magnums like the 7 Mag, 300 Win, 338, etc. and one issue will show you the "exceptional performance and efficiency" of all the new short magnums.

Tell you what, (this is a one time deal) send me $8 and I will lie to you and feed you a line of BS 12 times a year via email and save you from having to go to the mailbox everyday.

An absolutely stellar post! More usefull information in that post than you'll find in a year's worth of gun magazines!

Rick Jamison hasn't been with ST since he won his cartridge case lawsuit.

ST used to be very good years ago when it was still a 'pulp' paged magazine. All the article pages worked well in the outhouse. Now that every page is glossy\shiny, it's not even worth a shit!!!

If articles by Ken Ohler and Reid Coffield aren't worth .67 to you, don't subscribe.

I will pass on ST. I get Handloader, Rifle and NRA pubs. Every once in awhile I will pick up a G&A at the supermarket newstand if it has something that tickles my fancy. Most gun rags anymore are nothing more than writers shilling their sponsor's products.

Time for another scotch.......

I usually stop by the grocery store for milk 1 a month. It takes no more the 5 minutes to read all the gun rags at the stand so I don't have to bother with throwning them out.