One of my favorite writes Jon Sundra made a major faux pas in the latest issue of Rifle Shooter. It was a review of the Fierce Edge. He claimed that the Fierce rifles had Pacnor barrels when its pretty much gospel from the company and everybody else that they use McGowen barrels. Rifle Shooter has been moving back from being an all black rifle publication but it has miles to go to get back to where it was.
I strongly believe that the parts of magazines that I like aren't GQ pretty boy and pretty girl writers jetting across the world to hunt some strange unicorn looking beast that was taken by a trip by military helicopter. I also don't like articles that are so keen and specialized that they spend 1300 words talking about the platitudes of some wonderful magic rifle that is fed magic beans that put alls the beans in one magic hole.
The best writers use humor and a regular formula that sets up the scene. They know the literary elements of Freytag's pyramid in which they build up a setting and they have a purpose or goal that isn't extremely clear till the article is done or its is very clean and the writer proves their class like a prosecutor.
I used to love Michael Petrov's articles on old gunsmiths in Precision Shooting. I know that this continues with Steven D. Hughes in Sports Afield. SDH is making ground on the foundation laid by Michael Petrov but I like the stories about guns that give information and like the Red Violin give a perspective to the artistry, mastery and the straight up beauty that came with the old masters.
I also like Muledeer's articles. I from reading his stories over the years appreciate his style and his favorite rifles. I like how he has developed character pictures of his friends and his best friend, Eileen. John Barsness is probably the only guy who I feel can describe and explain modern LR technology for the masses and yet get into the nostalgia of the past. It isn't about the size of the deer or which 3rd world craphole he travels to but its his philosophy and his keen intellect that draws me to put a magazine with his articles into my shopping basket. I think that Successful Hunter when he was editing it might have been the best magazine done.
Sports Afield was very good when Diana Rupp first took over. Its still good today but it was better when it had fewer articles that were longer and more well developed. I think that folks wanting to buy real estate should just go find a hunting lease magazine. SA could do that.
There used to be a magazine that was called Hunting Adventures that was done in Canada that was really good. It was a big sucker that had all kinds of articles. I don't know if the publishers were trying to create a magazine that would allow them to write off there entire trophy room and trust fund at the same time but it was very good. It disappeared about 15 years ago.
I really like Muzzleloader magazine. It has more history and gets really detailed in explaining the connecting between master gunsmiths and artisans and their art. It gives a historical perspective about the connections to the past and how they will go into the future.
I am old enough to remember reading JOC and Elmer Keith as a young boy. Both writers were great at developing the story. It is amazing that the majority of young people and even people my own age are connected to Recoil magazine and Snipershide but don't know either or the difference between a model 700 and model 70.
I really like how Phil Shoemaker writes. I think that I have heard that he is becoming a Hunting Guide Emeritus where he still will guide a hunt or two but that Tia is taking over the day to day hassle of going to the shows, arranging travel and doing all the ground work that outfitters do. That gives me hope that he will write more. I would like him to tell about how he search for his J.o. Conner rifle. Or talk about how the functionality of a rifle is more important than the accuracy. Maybe stories about how the Indian is more important than the arrow. There are a lot of different things that he could write about. I remember an Ibex hunt that he took a couple of years ago that was great. He did the entire build up and built up the story nicely. He puts humor in his writing like ornaments on a christmas tree. He hasn't written much lately but the fact that he wrote an elk hunting story where he and his buddy just went out hunting was interesting to me.
I really don't like the BRO hunting stories done by the alpha crossfit folks with 7 digit bank accounts and 6 digit hunting auction tags. I know a guy who spent 5 grand on having professional photographers to take pictures of his Desert Sheep hunt. I like adventure but I like more of the saved up for two years to go on a sheep hunt and explore and develop all of the ups and downs of a hunt. They may not be the best writers but the stories are good. One of my close friends does some good stories and he will be better and make his way into magazine more in the future. Blake Rothschild is on a good path and is developing the photography skills necessary to do well.
