To review or not

[PlatinumCore16]

Hi haven't been here that long, but I was looking to share my experiences with certain firearms, but I really didn't see a specific section for reviews or even reviews of certain weapons in the various forums. Many times questions are asked of a certain caliber, frame size, proposed use, or other criteria and many people chime in with their knowledge and experiences but I haven't ever really seen a location or sub that focused solely on the sharing of experiences of any firearm, let alone the "popular" ones.

Same goes with gear/accessories. Mostly just questions asked of how people feel about a certain one, or what is useful in various scenarios and situations with responses from across the board.

[NoSecondBest]

Just my $0.02 on the subject: Reviews by non-professionals (people without certified technical skills, or shooters without credentials from being major competitors) are.... just opinions. They're worth just what you pay for them. Everyone has an opinion on things, but I don't want to buy, or not buy a product based on someone's opinion if it's not backed up with validated training or experience. When anyone asks a question about a product and there are a myriad of answers, you can sort through those answers and form your own opinion as to whether or not their observation may have answered a question you had, or might have. I know it sounds like the same thing, but there's a subtle difference. Bottom line, what makes you an expert?
Please don't take this response personally. I'm just explaining how I interpret amature evaluations of products such as firearms from anyone. Perhaps others feel the same and that's why you don't see "reviews" on here as a specific subject matter.

[O4L]

I don't see any harm in telling your experience and opinion on something you want to review.

That's what the internets are for!

Anyway, it's good to know that we have an expert on experts on board.

[DaleA]

Well usually just post the review in the section that covers the gun itself, i.e. a .22 semi-auto pistol would go in the 'Handguns: The Semi-automatic Forum'. If you are reviewing an AR then 'The Art of the Rifle: Semi-automatics' would be the place to put it. Use a title to tell folk this is a review of the item.

NoSecondBest makes a good point I think. I've only had very limited experience with Ruger 10/22's. One standard model and one Target model and while I freely comment on the guns it is ENTIRELY possible that your experience will not match mine. After all I'm just one guy with my own prejudices and there have only been two 10/22's that I've shot to comment on.

That said, I'm always open to hearing people's experiences just so long as they don't try to make me accept their opinion as gospel.

Good luck.

[PlatinumCore16]

NoSecondBest, I didn't take it personally. That's kind of the answer I was looking for. That's why I said sharing "experiences" and not a review, though I did make the title that didn't I? Thank you for your honest view, I think it makes a lot of sense.

O4L, I certainly am no expert on ANYTHING let alone on experts Be that as it may, I think that sharing experiences is a really good way to compile data. The more data, usually the better a conclusion can be reached. But if you ignore the data, then what's the point? I suppose that's why more often than not, the format of threads starts with a question, hypothetical or not, and it goes from there. Unfortunately without context a lot of opinions are just that, opinions. If there is some context or something to backup why you have an opinion, it becomes an experience which is *usually* more helpful. Kind of like when people ask "what is a good SHTF weapon?" I tend to ignore that. Unless someone comes in talking about when they lived through a hurricane aftermath, or lived in a third-world country, or were deployed to war, I don't really care what you think if the gooberment falls and WROL happens because it hasn't here in a long long time (a little over 200 years if I'm right[not counting the secession of the South]). If ex-military or ex-LE wants to tell me about their experiences in a certain situation, I'm all ears. There can be some valuable lessons in those instances because through experience, conclusions can be drawn. Anyways I'm rambling, sorry. What I'm trying to say is I would hope that sharing my experiences with a certain rifle/shotgun/handgun/firearm through range/training/(hopefully never)home invasion/(also hopefully never)a self defense situation someone else can gather more data without having to go through that experience with that implement themselves.

DaleA, yup I'm right there with you. My experiences are limited, but I had a good reason(or so I thought) to get the firearms I did and so I figure that there are probably others in a similar situation. At the time I made my decision, more data could've swung me in a different direction, or reinforced my opinion. The same could be said for other folks in said similar situation. I just want to help.

[Mr. Hill]

Post your review! It'll add to our knowledge. At least it'll be interesting!
Don't worry about lack of expertise. Just provide a fair review and some cool pics.

[5whiskey]

I think most folks here are pretty opinionated, especially guys who have been around a long time. Reviews, experiences, or whatever else may get skimmed over pretty quickly. That being said, were I to have interest in a particular firearm that i have no experience with I would research it before making any kind of purchase. An advanced search here is one of the first places I turn to. In that case I like review threads. They don't have to be posted by a professional shooter for me to consider the information as long as the person giving the review sounds like an experienced shooter and writes in an intelligent manner. A little attention to detail when reading will reveal if the person is someone you should listen to.

In summary, your review may get skimmed over by lots of folks. I don't read them for the heck of it a lot of the times unless it is for a class of firearms I'm interested in. But there is a good chance you could help out a few who are looking for real world experience with a firearm they are considering spending hundreds of dollars on. We make fun of trusting the word of random people on the internet, but I've learned a lot of stuff from online forums. From timing a 2.0 ford motor to the nuances of hand loading ammo, and just about everything in between.

[CalmerThanYou]

Reviews = Good

Unboxing Videos = Bad

[Koda94]

Just my $0.02 on the subject: Reviews by non-professionals (people without certified technical skills, or shooters without credentials from being major competitors) are.... just opinions. They're worth just what you pay for them. Everyone has an opinion on things, but I don't want to buy, or not buy a product based on someone's opinion if it's not backed up with validated training or experience. When anyone asks a question about a product and there are a myriad of answers, you can sort through those answers and form your own opinion as to whether or not their observation may have answered a question you had, or might have. I know it sounds like the same thing, but there's a subtle difference. Bottom line, what makes you an expert?
Please don't take this response personally. I'm just explaining how I interpret amature evaluations of products such as firearms from anyone. Perhaps others feel the same and that's why you don't see "reviews" on here as a specific subject matter.

I'm kind of the opposite on this subject. Show me a professional review that isn't sponsored by the gun and will give you an honest review if he doesn't like it. What makes an amateur an expert is he has nothing to lose by his opinion, odds are you can find more commentary on a specific gun on the forums from amateurs than you can find from a professional review.

I say review away, the more data the better. Thats what the forums are for.

[Chris_B]

Pro reviews by the very expert have one downfall-

They show how the very expert would use the product, not the people it is probably geared towards, in way too many instances. It's hard for an expert to "not be an expert" when using things he or she is expert with.

The real world is not made of Operators. So if a reasonable and competent gun owner feels its complex, it's too complex.

[PlatinumCore16]

Thanks folks, I'll be taking some pics of range practice next time I go and I'll put up a review. I've been shooting/carrying the pistol for 5 years, minus the last 6 months(due to moving), so I feel like I'm pretty comfortable with it. I'll hold off on my shotgun until after I've got some more experience with it. I also would like to go/planning on attending a training class for practical shotgun use this summer, so perhaps that will be a better time to give it a whack.

Shoutouts to CalmerThanYou, that was funny and I wholeheartedly agree.

Also Chris_B for using the term "Operators". Makes me chuckle after reading the thread on H&K, see: "HK Because you suck and we hate you"

[glockman55]

I think sometimes the every day Joe's review is better that the so called experts... jmo..

[44 AMP]

Just my $0.02 on the subject: Reviews by non-professionals (people without certified technical skills, or shooters without credentials from being major competitors) are.... just opinions. They're worth just what you pay for them. Everyone has an opinion on things, but I don't want to buy, or not buy a product based on someone's opinion if it's not backed up with validated training or experience.

This is a very common attitude today, and while not entirely wrong it overlooks & dismisses a lot of potentially valid information. It also assumes that "expert" opinions are automatically valid, because they are provided by someone who someone else declares an expert.

This may be true, should be true, but isn't true in all cases.

A diploma from ...(anywhere) doesn't prove expertise. It implies expertise, but it only proves that you didn't flunk the course.

Actual performance of the task is what proves expertise, or not...

The other drawback to only accepting "expert" opinions from people who have "verified credentials" is that it excludes a huge amount of expertise from people who don't have such credentials to show off. Sometimes, people with decades of hands on experience and no diploma DO know what they are talking about.

[jackstrawIII]

As others have said, I HIGHLY value the opinions of regular people on the forums. I read a lot of them and notice the trends that are common between them.

Chances are, if 80% of people say _____, then _____ is probably true.

Go ahead and post your reviews.

[BarryLee]

TFL is a great source of unbiased information and I would encourage you to offer your personal review. When I make a buying decision I generally read a lot of casual reviews along with more professional reviews. It’s important to realize that one review is nothing but someone’s opinion, but it can still be helpful if multiple reviewers tend to agree on a specific subject.

[dakota.potts]

http://www.armoryblog.com/gun-gear-r...03a3-reviewed/

I write reviews occasionally on a couple different websites or upload them to YouTube. I am not an expert and don't represent myself as one but focus on things that an educated layman would consider, such as fit and finish, ease of installation, customer service, handling and performance etc.

Don't try to represent knowledge you don't have, but reviews are typically always helpful if they're well thought out. No one's clamoring for a Glock 17 Gen 3 review, but there are thousands of items on the market that need to be reviewed; some of which are by relatively small or unknown companies that the bigger media groups might not be covering.

[g.willikers]

Yes, good old youtube has plenty of video reviews.
So does the Full 30 web site.
Liveleak, also.
Reviews are good, as long as they are by someone not just wanting to be online and in front of a camera.

[TailGator]

The reviews I dismiss quickly are the ones that proclaim brand X to be the only one worthy of consideration, and the ones that draw broad conclusions from a sample size of one. Reviews that don't extend themselves too far are welcome reading for me.

[Koda94]

It if wasnt for the ameteurs posting reviews there would hardly be any. They are posting for the fun of it, not to make a buck from a sponsor so you know their opinion is sincere.

Not just the gun reviews, but ballistics and all kinds of crazy stuff...

Want to know how many house walls an AR will really penetrate?
Want to know how to shoot thru your front windshield if you have to? (Aim low...)
Want to know what damage a 22lr will do at 300yds? (Still lethal...)
Want to know if your Glock will still fire after being submerged in mud? (It will...)
Want to know if your 1911 will still fire after being frozen in the artic temps? (It will...)

Glad these guys are doing it, saves us all a lot of time and money.

[Danoobie]

I disagree with NoSecondBest for a couple of reasons.
First, many times experts are either selected because
they naturally select a product, or are paid endorsements.
Either way they have a skewed view of the product.

The other reason is I'm not an expert, and as such I will
probably use a product much more like the rest of the
non-experts, so a non-expert's experience is more pertinent
info, to me.

[Itsa Bughunt]

I used to frequent a digital camera site where they had reviews, (and a lot of them), for every digicam ever made. All were amateur reviews, but it was really helpful because you could read about every little problem that actual users had with any given camera. Reviews like that are useful because the thread of truth emerges from multiple contributors.
On the flip side, I read a certain magazine's reviews which are nearly all puff pieces, then, almost as a footnote you might get "by the way you'll need to put a couple hundred rounds through it before it works reliably".

[Damon555]

I actually put very little credence in professional gun reviews. There probably aren't many who don't have their hands in the gun makers pocket. It's blatantly obvious that the reviews are almost always skewed by advertising dollars....hence the reason there are very few negative reviews.

Post your experiences.....that's what these forums are all about.

[Don Fischer]

Just my .02 cents. Review's from anyone are no more than personnel preference. That's why competitors use different gun's, loads and different loading ideas!

[745SW]

I'll read almost any thang on these forums. Whether I liked it or not I ponder later.

[Chris_B]

Just my .02 cents. Review's from anyone are no more than personnel preference. That's why competitors use different gun's, loads and different loading ideas!

MMMMmmm...well..some people can be objective when reviewing. Many can't. Some reviewers can also explain why their preference is X Y or Z, which can be important feedback for you and me especially if there's a technical reason behind it that we had not considered or is not obvious.

And then there's the reviews that are actually to promote the item in order to enhance sales.