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Old August 6, 2006, 11:46 AM   #1
symr00
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What Happened?

I have been a subscriber for almost 3 years and I just noticed in my last issue that almost every right page is a full page ad. Last year you guys claimed to have 100 pages and now are not doing that anymore , the issue would be half the size if you took those full-page ads out. You also brought back the drawing sweepstakes but I have noticed they are gone again. As a LEO, I started my subscription due to all the excellent info in it for those of us in law enforcement but now I see the magazine is steering away towards internet commandos. I guess this is a trade-off for getting 12 issues a year. I will continue to look forward to the articles written by Reitz, Thompson, McKee, Rogers and Awerbuck and as much as I agree with other LEO's about
Wolfe being anti-government and anti-police, her Liberalist spew thrown in once a month mixes it up a bit and always makes for a good read.
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Old August 6, 2006, 11:55 AM   #2
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symr00-
We truly welcome your input but I disagree with your analysis. First off, SWAT has never gone above 41% advertising in a world where 45-50% is the industry standard. Whenever ads have threatened that percentage, we add 16 pages at no extra charge; just to make certain you get better than full value of Editorial. The Sweeps was hardly a SWAT trademark...and was only added in when we had room. It's the first to go when Editorial is being squeezed...and that is as it should be.

If you feel the September(?) issue is geared toward "Internet Commandos", by all means call us on it....but mention the specific articles that disappointed and the reasons why. This Forum is not meant as a cheering section for SWAT...if we disappoint, we honestly want to hear it. But we need a bit more specificity to act than you've provided; and I encourage you do so.

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Old August 6, 2006, 02:22 PM   #3
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Im still scratching my head at the comments that Clair Wolfe is anti-police and anti-goverment. I prefer to think of Claire Wolfe as more common sense than politics. I think Claire Wolfe is more comparable to Thomas Paine in this day and age.

having served in and worked around the military for over 20 years one of the things I have learned is that the government doesnt give out anything free. Everything you get from the folks in Washington comes with a pricetag. Sometimes that price is the loss of certain freedoms and independence. You usually have to sign some type of agreement when you get money from the government that tells you what you can do and cant do. In some cases it may not be long before the paymasters become the puppetmasters.
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Old August 6, 2006, 03:25 PM   #4
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IMHO, too many cops are too quick to assume that _all_ other cops are as professional as they are... Like any field, there are bad folks... And in this case, you've got bad folks with weaponry and the legal empowerment to use them... I don't think she's anti-police. I think she's a realist.
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Old August 6, 2006, 06:58 PM   #5
symr00
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Mr. Lucibella,

I don't feel the September issue was geared toward internet commandos. I have just found that many of the reviews have been for items L/E and Military use but are tested by folks who test them for a day or so at the range or a 3-5 day firearms class. It would be nice to have items reviewed by guys and gals that actually wring them out in the real world.
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Old August 6, 2006, 08:21 PM   #6
Eghad
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Why dont you ask to test something to write an article?
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Old August 6, 2006, 08:31 PM   #7
Rich Lucibella
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I don't feel the September issue was geared toward internet commandos. I have just found that many of the reviews have been for items L/E and Military use but are tested by folks who test them for a day or so at the range or a 3-5 day firearms class.
Ummm, very few advances in Tactics and Training originate with Delta or HRT; they traditionally come from civilian and law enforcement trainers. That's a simple fact....simply ask the SEALS why they train with every "range guy" they can find.

Quote:
It would be nice to have items reviewed by guys and gals that actually wring them out in the real world.
Ouch!
Louis Awerbuck, Eric Gelhaus, Denny Hansen, Tiger McKee, Eitan Meir, Scott Reitz, Pat Rogers, Clint Smith, Leroy Thompson, Brent Wheat, James Yeager.....I just ran out of the "off top-o-head" names that come to mind. Apologies to the stellar cast that I've slighted.


All of which begs the question, once again.....just which pieces or authors did you find lacking and why?
Rich
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Old August 14, 2006, 03:23 AM   #8
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as much as I agree with other LEO's about
Wolfe being anti-government and anti-police, her Liberalist spew thrown in once a month mixes it up a bit and always makes for a good read.
Claire Wolfe writes for SWAT? I might have to check the magazine out.
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Old August 17, 2006, 09:05 PM   #9
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It would be nice to have items reviewed by guys and gals that actually wring them out in the real world.

Ouch!
Louis Awerbuck, Eric Gelhaus, Denny Hansen, Tiger McKee, Eitan Meir, Scott Reitz, Pat Rogers, Clint Smith, Leroy Thompson, Brent Wheat, James Yeager.....I just ran out of the "off top-o-head" names that come to mind. Apologies to the stellar cast that I've slighted.
Rich... forgot me

Yancey Harrington
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Old August 17, 2006, 09:11 PM   #10
Rich Lucibella
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Yancey-
Hiding out here since 2002? And I never knew, you sneaky Devil, you.
I can't even say "Welcome".
Rich
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Old August 19, 2006, 03:39 PM   #11
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I hate to say it, but

I'm getting bored with SWAT magazine myself. There are still a few good articles, but to me many of the articles give me the feeling that the authors are writing with a more of their own personal and political opinions rather than writing with full blown facts and that they don't give into consideration that not all societies and geographical regions are the same and that their opinions of tactics that work out in the jungle or out in the desert doesn't work for the civilian in the city.
To me SWAT was a magazine about self-defense, weapons and tactics used by special teams and forces and also for the regular guy who wanted to get some ideas about self-defense and now I'm reading about some South American native's knives and blowguns which has nothing to do with the regular guy or police and military forces.
Articles about all the training centers are getting boring also. Those articles don't give any advice or tips that were given by the instructors, but the articles are usually nothing but the author praising how great the instructor was and how well they did and how great the facilties were, but nothing that will actual teach the reader anything. Those articles are more of one big commercial than something for the reader to learn from.
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Old August 19, 2006, 07:50 PM   #12
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DD-
That's the type of input that we really take to heart.

I thank you for it and will try to review with those eyes. We can all get into a rut....I don't believe SWAT has, given the range of authors and subjects. But, then, many businesses have thought all was well, while ignoring a valid warning shot from a customer.

Given the rep that we've carved out, we should never be at a loss for great authors or subjects; given the Editor we have we WILL never be at a loss for great composition. Still, your comments deserve a redoubling of effort.

Thanks again-
Rich
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Old August 30, 2006, 09:18 AM   #13
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Rich, I'm glad you didn't take my comment too negatively and willing to use it in a positive way.
I cannot sit here and tell you what kind of articles to put in your magazine as that would be selfish of me and your other readers and subscribers may like the content as it is. If you want me to give my opinions on articles I personally like and dislike, I will gladly do so.

While I'm here posting. I would like to make a comment on an article in the July issue about 'The Controversial Chamber Check'.
Rich, between you, me and everyone else. Have you heard or felt that checking your chamber by pulling your handgun's slide back a little to check if a round was there was a controversial subject or really that difficult to do without having to think up of all kind of techniques and handgrabs in order to safely grab your handguns's slide and pull it back without putting your hand in front of the muzzle? Does grabbing a handgun's slide and pulling it back a little really kick so many gun owner's asses out there?
I swear, either the author was making things up just to write an article, is uncoordinated or has weak hands if he feels that pulling a handgun's slide back a little to check the chamber is that much of a controversial subject and skill to achieve successfully and safely.
I mean, c'mon now. This is an example of an article that I wish I didn't use up time reading
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Old August 30, 2006, 12:01 PM   #14
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DD-
Appreciate the feedback, but I think you may have missed the point of the article. The controversy is not about whether or not a "press check" should be performed, but in what manner it is done.

I've been safely performing a chamber check with a 1911 the same way for 40 years. Recently while at one well-known school I was told in no uncertain terms that I had been doing it wrong. Why? Because my way not their way.

While some of the articles in S.W.A.T. may be old hat to you, I and others, when I put the editorial together I have to remember that we have a new generation of shooters coming up, and they are seeking information on different techniques.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

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Old September 4, 2006, 12:56 AM   #15
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Articles about all the training centers are getting boring also. Those articles don't give any advice or tips that were given by the instructors, but the articles are usually nothing but the author praising how great the instructor was and how well they did and how great the facilties were, but nothing that will actual teach the reader anything. Those articles are more of one big commercial than something for the reader to learn from.
I can't speak for Denny or Rich, but I wouldn't want to use a tactic that I read a paragraph about in a magazine without some real-world supervised instruction. A full article, like the press-check article, I would be willing to try if it was not something overly complicated, but I'm not going to take the Gunsite 250 class through a magazine article. For instance, the Scout Rifle article made me rethink about where I should mount my EOTech on my AR-15. Before, it was on top of the upper receiver. Now it is as far forward on the handguard as I can mount it. I'll just use the class articles to see if a class is worth attending in the opinion of the author.
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Old September 4, 2006, 08:29 AM   #16
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For instance, the Scout Rifle article made me rethink about where I should mount my EOTech on my AR-15. Before, it was on top of the upper receiver. Now it is as far forward on the handguard as I can mount it.
I've always mounted red-dot on the handguards in practice for using it in conjunction with a PVS-14. Sure, it probably takes an extra tenth of a second for me to get my eye centered, but it's not something I ever really notice.
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Old September 4, 2006, 12:43 PM   #17
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The addition of Claire Wolfe's column is one of the reasons I extended my subscription by three years.

I'm not sure what "liberalist" means, but I think a more appropriate label for Ms. Wolfe would be libertarian.

In any event, her column is the second thing I read in every issue. The magazine is stronger for her contributions and would be diminished if they were lost.
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Old September 9, 2006, 07:59 AM   #18
Timeframe
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Leave it to a cop to not beable to understand the writings about Ms Wolfe.
She not anticop,she is against those in your ranks that think that they are above the law.
She is against the cops that think they do not have to be accountable for any of their actions.
She is against be labled a cop hater just be cause she has the balls to speak out
when you and some of your buddies go over the top.

Claire Wolfe anticop? :barf:

You just don't like someone shinning a light on your faults.

Last edited by Timeframe; September 11, 2006 at 10:05 PM.
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Old September 10, 2006, 11:56 AM   #19
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Leave it to a cop to not beable to understand the writings about Ms Wolfe.
She not anticop,she is agaist those in your ranks that think that they are above the law.
She is against the cops that think they do not have to be accountable for any of their actions.
She is against be lable a cop hater just be cause she has the balls to speak
when you and some of your buddies go over the top.

Claire Wolfe anticop?

You just don't like someone shinning a light on your faults.
Forgive me for getting off topic but sir, you don't know me. I bust my butt working for one of the most politically correct government agencies catching child molesters, murderers, alien smugglers, drug runners and other scumbags coming through out borders illegally. We're not "above the law." We have less rights than the people we apprehend. I never said Ms. Wolffe was a cop hater, just anti-police. There's a big difference and I also stated that her articles are a great read.

Back on Topic:

I really enjoyed Larry Coreirra's review on the XCR. It's nice to read a review by someone who will actually print a product's pros/cons/faults and malfunctions. You don't get that today in the other gun magazines.
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Old September 11, 2006, 12:23 PM   #20
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It's nice to read a review by someone who will actually print a product's pros/cons/faults and malfunctions.
Thanks, symr. It's the only way we know how to do business here at S.W.A.T. I know what you are saying about "gunzines", but Roy Huntington at American Handgunner and Bob Brown at SOF are also stand-up guys.

Denny
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Old September 11, 2006, 10:18 PM   #21
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You are right,sir,I do not know you,but considering the labels that you applied to someone who speaks the truth about the government and cops in general,I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to.

You called her articles a "Liberalist Spew" this equals a great read? Please...............
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Old September 12, 2006, 07:28 PM   #22
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I usually keep my mouth shut, but I thought I'd open it this one time.

I was reading a competing periodical the other day because it had pretty pics. I like pretty pics.

Imagine my surprise when I got to one of the last articles in the mag, and it read eerily familiar. At first, I was boggled by the sense of DeJaVu and figured that I had read the article first and forgot about reading it.

A bit later, I picked up the mag to read some more, and the first article I came to, in the front of the mag, was identical to what I remembered reading at the back of the mag. Minutes of frantic skipping back and forth, and...., yup.... it was the exact same article by the same author, covering two entirely different weapons. It was verbatim excepting only where the name of the gun had to be changed.

Haven't yet seen that in SWAT.

As to Claire Wolfe, I'm cool with her writings. I don't agree with a lot of what she writes, but I like that she's inciting dialogue. She's making people think. That's a good thing.

What would I like to see in future issues?

One thing I've been thinking about, and that I think would be popular is some kind of "interactive" challenge. When I took the TriCon CP1 course, we had a shootoff at the end of the last day, the winner taking home a G2 flashlight. Jeff set the bar by firing the drill in a medium speed of something like 5.2 seconds. It wasn't a difficult drill, but it was fun and people did really try their best to win...because everybody wants to be a winner.

Couldn't SWAT do something similar by printing a simple challenge; the winner getting nothing more than honorable mention, if that. Say, for example, perform a double-tap, from the holster (concealed), in less than 2.8 seconds. Or, build a fire without using matches. Or, navigate a given course with map and compass.

For some people, any particular challenge might be too simple, but for some that challenge will be more than can be accomplished (I hate compasses, and they hate me.)

Just thought it would be fun. Probably not practical, though. Now you know why I generally keep my mouth shut.
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Old September 12, 2006, 11:38 PM   #23
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Thanks for opening your mouth, Vaughn. Interesting idea. We'll kick it around a bit and see if we can come up with something.

BTW, if you liked CP1, you'll really enjoy CP2 if you have plans to go to it.

Denny
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Old September 13, 2006, 06:33 AM   #24
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Denny, CP1 was great (I won the flashlight!! ), but I don't know if I could do CP2. "A hundred and twenty glorious seconds...."

Best training I've had to date, but I really need to get into better shape if I'm going to take it to the next level.
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Old September 13, 2006, 04:23 PM   #25
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symr00, thank you very much. That's my article about the XCR. I've been honest with everything I've ever written for SWAT. That is how Denny wants it. If it has problems, he wants to know about them, and he's not afraid to print them.
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