I just received a text from a fellow Double collector, shooter and hunter that advised he received a note from DGJ that they will be shutting down due to the rising costs and losses they have been incurring!!

Another great publication going down!!I miss AFRICAN HUNTER, and HATARI TIMES.. Now another one going down!!

I had recently sold my complete collection of HATARI TIMES to Cal Pappas!!...

I have a complete set of DOUBLE GUN JOURNAL from the Premier Signed Vol 1 No 1 through 2011. I would like to sell this collection... downsizing!! Please make me an offer. I can deliver from Western Washington, as far as Arizona later this year!!

CheerZ,

Yes, the notice said that they will be publishing a third index, I think in late 2023 and that will be it. Too bad. I have a complete set and eight or ten duplicates.

I just re-subscribed after a 13-ish year hiatus and am so bummed. DGJ and Hatari Times are/were treasures.

When I re-subscribed I wondered if they made any money due to the (personal opinion) low subscription rate. Frankly I'd pay double and be happy.

Hoping/praying someone picks it up or something similar takes it's place.

I recently attended the Jack O'Connor Heritage Center annual event. In addition to the dinner and fundraiser, they host a small gunshow where many of Jack's guns that are privately owned are displayed, and other fine guns and gunmakers like Al snd Roger Biesen, and Jerry Fisher, now sadly gone, along with an Outdoor Writers Roundtable or Forum. One of the main issues,is the age of these well known and experienced writers... this year other than Diana Rupp from Sports AFIELD, in her 50s, and host Wayne van Zwoll, all are well into retirement years, ie 70s, but still writing.... and doing video and podcasts!! Soon, there will be no writers to pump out these great articles on our guns of significance!! It takes years of hands on use and study of these expensive, mostly antiquities we cherish, shoot and hunt... where is the young, budding writer going to gain this experience??
The cost of the heavy clay coated paper DGJ uses is soaring, as is postage!!
I kind of shyed away from DGJ when they covered more shotguns and then added single shots, I didn't have the interest. The double rifle collecting, shooting, and hunting is really such a small, relatively, segment of Outdoor sports, it can hardly justify or support a great Journal any more??
Double Gun Journal was really a great publication!! Rest In Peace!!

Soon, there will be no writers to pump out these great articles on our guns of significance!! "

I agree and have no interest in most other guns.

All of the lever action rifles that I use were invented before 1900 and still kill pretty well - none of them are scoped but still do their job well.
Maybe they will last until I "age out" and they are passed on to my kids and grandkids.

Its sad most people these days dont care for fine rifles and shotguns. It's all these carbon and long range shooting crap guns. I just shot a oryx with my 470 double and the joy of that was way more than the 6 others I shot with my 300 win mag Helix made by Merkel.

I predict I’ll pay $10,000 or less for an h&h royal before I die.

Although not DRs, but Covey Rise is a great publication about upland hunting. The paper is thick stock and most of the writers are younger.

I moved a few years ago and tried to find takers for a collection of Covey Rise, Game Trails, Sports Afield and other well written, thick stock publications (I toss the two NRA mags and G&A after I’m done). I tried Boy Scouts and the like to donate, but no takers. Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation did accept them, but I don’t know what happened.

The good publications are hard to find. I do love Game Trails, as most articles are authored by DSC members reporting on their hunts and not selling anything.

quote:

Originally posted by Colin Masters:
I predict I’ll pay $10,000 or less for an h&h royal before I die.

OH BOY, I guess I made a bad buy on my 375FlMag, at about half what 2 on Guns International have been advertised for over 2 years??!!

Oh Well, I am old so won't hold so long and go down that far??!!

Marcus,

I am still looking for early 90s SCI "SAFARI MAGAZINES" with the old Buffalo Remington ads!!

I have the Lion ad, very COOL!!

I didn't renew my DGJ sub a yr ago, maybe a yr and a half ago.
I just found myself not finding it that interesting anymore, the ads becoming more and more the center focus.
I realize money must be made to keep the enterprize afloat.
But other things were failing in my estimation as well. Photography, or at least the print quality in the magazine I was looking at wasn't near as good as what it had been. Some was down right poor with way off tones and colors.

I had been a subscriber since the beginning.
Gotta be tough to keep most any thing in printed form up and running these days at a profit.

Terry Wieland just mentioned in an article, that he got Blank stares and "who's that" questions when he mentioned AL Biesen and Jack O'Connor to a modern shooter. But O'Conner been gone 45 years or so, and if you NOT into quality guns, Biesen wouldn't ring your bell. Gun maker friend says seems most New shooters, think an AR the way to go.

Sorry to hear DGJ is going under.

I tried it many years ago and liked it but did not subscribe - Why not? Only because my interest was in hunting more than fancy guns.
I have and use GOOD guns, but most are not top of the line guns. For instance, my Parker doubles are the entry level guns with minimal decorative additions. They still shoot very well and are as fancy as I need.
Same for my pre 64 Winchester m70 .308, and 1895 .405 Winchester rifle, M1892 .357 rifle, and lastly my elephant gun - a modern 1886 chambered in .45-90 which also shoots .45-70 well.

All good accurate and serviceable rifles, just not fancy. They are all very accurate and have done well in the field.

What a shame.

We who appreciate the old ways, guns and rifles are quite literally a dying breed.

Again, what a shame.

What was the last per-issue cost?

There is a growing offering of bi-monthly or quarterly outdoor journals that are charging between $15 and $30 per issue. They are doing quite well. Seems the double gun target market would be happy to pay prices like that to keep the doors open.

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:
What was the last per-issue cost?

There is a growing offering of bi-monthly or quarterly outdoor journals that are charging between $15 and $30 per issue. They are doing quite well. Seems the double gun target market would be happy to pay prices like that to keep the doors open.

Totally agree. I'd pay double and still feel like I'm getting a good value. If they lose 20 - 30% of subscribers it still might pencil out that way.

The DGJ has taken down the Subscription price on the website.

DOUBLE GUNSHOP reports the subscription as $45.95, 4 issues!!

As Baxter says, that's too cheap, and subscribers would have paid alot more for this fine journal, especially if focused more on Double Rifles. Well, it is probably time the Publishers want to retire??

Maybe a good Publisher will step up and purchase the business?? It has been such an icon, I would expect it would thrive with an injection of enthusiasm and money??!!

Here's Hoping!!

CheerZ,

quote:

Originally posted by 470EDDY:
The DGJ has taken down the Subscription price on the website.

DOUBLE GUNSHOP reports the subscription as $45.95, 4 issues!!

As Baxter says, that's too cheap, and subscribers would have paid alot more for this fine journal, especially if focused more on Double Rifles. Well, it is probably time the Publishers want to retire??

Maybe a good Publisher will step up and purchase the business?? It has been such an icon, I would expect it would thrive with an injection of enthusiasm and money??!!

Here's Hoping!!

CheerZ,

When I re-subscribed after a very long hiatus I was shocked at the low subscription price and that it included shipping, etc.. Never worked in publishing but the price is crazy low for the quality.

Spent a bunch of my professional life doing cost/price/volume/profit sensitivity analysis primarily in the high end outdoor gear world. 100% of the time things are under priced and 200% of the time the predictions of "if we raise the price 3% our sales volume will drop 80%" are totally false. In fact in several instances raising the price raised perceived value and sales went up, win win.

Not saying the market isn't getting smaller, but I hope whoever picks it up raises the price and keeps this wonderful periodical going for another 20 years at a profit.

A sad day indeed. This message is posted on the DG website:

To All Our Faithful Readers ~
We Regret To Have To Make The Following Announcement

Since 1989 we have striven to produce a journal of the highest quality. However it is with much regret that due to inflated material and labor costs, and diminishing interest in classic guns, we are forced to discontinue The Double Gun Journal. We had sincerely hoped that we could keep going and at least finish this year out; however we can’t go on. We feel so badly that we are letting you all down, but we are not able to financially continue…For the past several years we have been operating at a loss. We now realize that at our age, the demands of a quarterly publication have come to be too much for us.

You can read the entire message at https://www.thedoublegunjournal.net/

I will miss them. I started a subscription when they first came out and kept it till a couple of years ago. Been just buying them off the news stand at the local book seller since.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike O':
A sad day indeed. This message is posted on the DG website:

To All Our Faithful Readers ~
We Regret To Have To Make The Following Announcement

Since 1989 we have striven to produce a journal of the highest quality. However it is with much regret that due to inflated material and labor costs, and diminishing interest in classic guns, we are forced to discontinue The Double Gun Journal. We had sincerely hoped that we could keep going and at least finish this year out; however we can’t go on. We feel so badly that we are letting you all down, but we are not able to financially continue…For the past several years we have been operating at a loss. We now realize that at our age, the demands of a quarterly publication have come to be too much for us.

You can read the entire message at https://www.thedoublegunjournal.net/

Sad but true.

The interest in vintage firearms is declining.

On last Holt auction there was a H&H Hammerless .577BPE that went unsold on auction. No bidders It was later put up as buy-here-and-now for £11000. No buyers. It was a nice one.
On GI most of the doublerifles shows no movement for years and years.