Harris Publications closing down...

[Slater]

I usually always see these on the magazine racks at supermarkets, Wal-Mart, etc. Haven't bought one in years (so I guess I'm one of the guilty Internet-sourcing parties) but it's still sad to see firearms-related publications go the way of the dodo.

So were these worth a look (or a purchase) or just fluff pieces?

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/04/28/news-harris-publications-closing-down/


News just hit today that Harris Publications is closing down. You might recognize the magazines they publish:

Combat Handguns,
Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement,
Pocket Pistols,
Survivor’s Edge,
Tactical Weapons, and
Special Weapons for Military & Police.

[glocktogo]

I usually always see these on the magazine racks at supermarkets, Wal-Mart, etc. Haven't bought one in years (so I guess I'm one of the guilty Internet-sourcing parties) but it's still sad to see firearms-related publications go the way of the dodo.

So were these worth a look (or a purchase) or just fluff pieces?


http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/04/28/news-harris-publications-closing-down/

They were good back in the 80's, but have long since become not even thinly disguised marketing rags.

[Dienekes]

I think there's also an 80/20% ratio here. you get 80% (plus or minus) of what you need with 20% of the research--after that the "returns" diminish noticeably. I've been reading gun magazines ever since Gutenberg branched out. Way back when that's about all there was! Throw in Askins, Keith, O'connor, and some book authors, and done.

Turns out it was like drinking from a fire hose--but really, to what end? Someone once said there was more lying done about guns than sex. Quite possibly. I was once given about 50 years' worth of American Rifleman magazines. I went through them and copied all the articles of interest, and filed them in binders by subject matter. Twenty years later I realized that I rarely, if ever referred to them for anything. No one else had any interest in them, so out they went.

Like TV, magazines serve principally as vehicles for ads, and ads pay the bills. The Rifleman is probably 70% ads and about 30% actual content. If there is an article I want to read in the monthly issue, that's unusual.

The Internet is, of course, a flea market with a few hot spots, and there's some good stuff there. When I was in my Garand phase, one site in particular was a gold mine of information. A few old timers knew things that would never get put inside the covers of a book--although they should have.

Good, bad, or indifferent, gun magazines are going the way of local gun shows--victims of change, to be replaced by something that better serves it's customer base.

Full disclosure--I have all the "Old Coach" columns from the Rifleman, circa 1940-1944. Offhand rifle shooting gives me fits, and someday it will actually all click into place. I hope.