magazines are funny

Bezoar · August 3, 2013, 05:35 AM

Heres an interesting point to make. Since someone elses thread was closed down, i have to make my own.
The original was by "chaperallcat".

There are alot of people who take what they read in the magazines and on the tv shows are reality, must does. They block in what one talking head says as the holy grail of knowledge and anything that disproves that, is well hated and trashed.

In the newest self defense rag from 'gun world", they have a feature on 'selecting proper ammunition for personal defense'. They start it out with , get a shotgun for at home. otherwise keep a pistol.

They say that a snub nose revolver is to powerful to use do to recoil. but yet the barrel wont get enough velocity or energy to ensure repeatable expansion of a bullet. Thus if you use one, use CAST LEAD SWC so you get penetration.

They then say that a short barreled .380 or 9mm are the best overall. anything with a smaller diameter bullet wont have enough energy, expansion, or energy to be useful for anything.
.327 disproves that out of a normal service barrel.
And anything with a bigger bullet diameter is going to have to much recoil, blast, over penetration, that its going to be a one shot gun for most people.

They also make the claim that a jsp or jhp is your only option for self defense. Its supposed to be so much better somehow. but they dont really explain how.

Sure if you want to follow what the magazines say, fine. but please dont disregard the way they contradict themselves in the same articles.

dahermit · August 3, 2013, 10:16 AM

The articles in such magazines are but the personal opinions of those writing them. What ever they write should always be taken with a grain of salt...many times the author has no better credentials to justify his opinion than the people reading the article. And most certainly, no one should use such articles (opinions), as a point of fact (Logical fallacy of Appeal to Authority).
Any article that seeks to explain a logical means of choosing the ideal house-defence gun is not considering how many different factors there would be in each home-defense scenario, including the age of the home owner, the skill level of the home owner, where and how the gun would be stored, etc.
Consider the motive for the article, which has to be, a written piece that the author wants to be paid for (the prime reason for writing it). As such, it is more likely to be sold if it is entertaining. Therefore, articles in gun magazines should be taken for what they are, entertainment.

45_auto · August 3, 2013, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bezoar

They then say that a short barreled .380 or 9mm are the best overall. anything with a smaller diameter bullet wont have enough energy, expansion, or energy to be useful for anything.
.327 disproves that out of a normal service barrel.

Any proof or references as to the effectiveness of the .327? Or are you a gun magazine writer also?

pax · August 3, 2013, 11:41 PM

I used to edit a magazine. This is what I wrote in response to one of our readers making substantially the same complaint – that our writers all contradicted each other.

Quote:

I ran into someone the other day who criticized the magazine because our writers don’t always agree on tactics or techniques. “Can’t you be more consistent?” my friend asked.

Of course we could! But we’re not going to, and here’s why: When writers give different viewpoints of difficult questions, that’s not a bug. It’s a feature! Defensive handgunning is a complex topic, with lots of opportunity for honest disagreement between thoughtful people. And small, apparently insignificant conflicts often function as the markers to iceberg-sized dilemmas lying beneath the surface. They’re a signal flag to the astute reader, alerting them that it’s worth doing a little research to learn the why behind the teaching.

It would be easy enough to present our readers with a single, monolithic view. We could insist that our writers each advocate the exact same techniques, the same tactics, the same gear, the same priorities. We could do that.

But we think that you, our readers, are smarter than that. We think that an intelligent person, when confronted with an apparent or actual contradiction between the opinions of different experts, will realize that self-defense is a complex topic with many different facets. We’re not going to “dumb down” the magazine, or censor out the tough bits. We’re certainly not going to KISS, keep it stupid simple.

Because it’s not simple, and you’re not stupid. And that’s the truth.

**Mike Irwin** · August 4, 2013, 09:12 AM

We occasionally got that complaint when I was associated editor of American Rifleman magazine back in the early 1990s.

Glenn E. Meyer · August 4, 2013, 10:38 AM

Since I have to read the professional literature in psychology, written by folks with advanced degrees and training, I can assure that there are no disagreements and all facts and methods are agree upon.

Or -

I've recently read an article on how to deal with on active shooter training if you are a civilian that I would strongly disagree with. Another on why you should let fellow students in class shoot at you. OMG!

Pax is correct - magazines should present literate and factual pieces and let folks evaluate them themselves as to the conclusions drawn.

One problem with magazines, if I can opine, that they have a readership that likes shoot'em pieces as compared to more factual and analytic pieces. I once had a nice conversation with an editor (another PhD) who said if he had a cover that wasn't how you could bad guys with an ultimate stopper - sales dropped.

Take a class and many students want to talk about how bullet X kills better than bullet Y. The instructor pulled his hair out (and he didn't have much) to get off that and discuss realistic scenario actions. Had to tell them to shut up finally.

DaleA · August 5, 2013, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Another on why you should let fellow students in class shoot at you. OMG!

Well maybe if you were the kid that reminded the teacher the class was supposed to have a test that day...or asked what would be a good gun for bears (or snakes) or wondered aloud if a gun would work in outer space...or wanted to know which was better, a 9mm or .45 auto...

This sounds like it would be an interesting topic for a new thread.

August 3, 2013, 05:35 AM	#1
Bezoar Junior member Join Date: October 19, 2004 Location: michigan Posts: 578	magazines are funny Heres an interesting point to make. Since someone elses thread was closed down, i have to make my own. The original was by "chaperallcat". There are alot of people who take what they read in the magazines and on the tv shows are reality, must does. They block in what one talking head says as the holy grail of knowledge and anything that disproves that, is well hated and trashed. In the newest self defense rag from 'gun world", they have a feature on 'selecting proper ammunition for personal defense'. They start it out with , get a shotgun for at home. otherwise keep a pistol. They say that a snub nose revolver is to powerful to use do to recoil. but yet the barrel wont get enough velocity or energy to ensure repeatable expansion of a bullet. Thus if you use one, use CAST LEAD SWC so you get penetration. They then say that a short barreled .380 or 9mm are the best overall. anything with a smaller diameter bullet wont have enough energy, expansion, or energy to be useful for anything. .327 disproves that out of a normal service barrel. And anything with a bigger bullet diameter is going to have to much recoil, blast, over penetration, that its going to be a one shot gun for most people. They also make the claim that a jsp or jhp is your only option for self defense. Its supposed to be so much better somehow. but they dont really explain how. Sure if you want to follow what the magazines say, fine. but please dont disregard the way they contradict themselves in the same articles.

August 4, 2013, 09:12 AM	#5
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,390	We occasionally got that complaint when I was associated editor of American Rifleman magazine back in the early 1990s. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

August 4, 2013, 10:38 AM	#6
Glenn E. Meyer Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2000 Posts: 20,064	Since I have to read the professional literature in psychology, written by folks with advanced degrees and training, I can assure that there are no disagreements and all facts and methods are agree upon. Or - I've recently read an article on how to deal with on active shooter training if you are a civilian that I would strongly disagree with. Another on why you should let fellow students in class shoot at you. OMG! Pax is correct - magazines should present literate and factual pieces and let folks evaluate them themselves as to the conclusions drawn. One problem with magazines, if I can opine, that they have a readership that likes shoot'em pieces as compared to more factual and analytic pieces. I once had a nice conversation with an editor (another PhD) who said if he had a cover that wasn't how you could bad guys with an ultimate stopper - sales dropped. Take a class and many students want to talk about how bullet X kills better than bullet Y. The instructor pulled his hair out (and he didn't have much) to get off that and discuss realistic scenario actions. Had to tell them to shut up finally. __________________ NRA, TSRA, IDPA, NTI, Polite Soc. - Aux Armes, Citoyens

August 3, 2013, 10:16 AM	#2
dahermit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Location: South Central Michigan...near Posts: 6,501	The articles in such magazines are but the *personal opinions* of those writing them. What ever they write should always be taken with a grain of salt...many times the author has no better credentials to justify his opinion than the people reading the article. And most certainly, no one should use such articles (opinions), as a point of fact (Logical fallacy of Appeal to Authority). Any article that seeks to explain a logical means of choosing the ideal house-defence gun is not considering how many different factors there would be in each home-defense scenario, including the age of the home owner, the skill level of the home owner, where and how the gun would be stored, etc. Consider the motive for the article, which has to be, a written piece that the author wants to be paid for (the prime reason for writing it). As such, it is more likely to be sold if it is entertaining. Therefore, articles in gun magazines should be taken for what they are, entertainment.