Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Gunwriter honesty

If the "private ranch" and "groupie" comments, were directed at me, then you're even more full of $hit, than I had first imagined! I've never hunted elk, let alone set foot on a private ranch that raises them. Been on two guided hunts in my life; one for antelope, and another to Africa. Busted my butt to pay for both, and have nothing to apologize for. Neither happened until after age 40.And while I have met a few gunwriters over the years, I'd hardly be considered a groupie.

You'd be best served by putting down the keyboard, and just stick with whatever you're drinking or smoking. otherwise, you'll continue to make an a$$ of yourself.

Jeff

Well, let's see...if you think guides make it look easy for the writers, what have you to say about the writers who are guides, like Phil? Or the writers who have been guides, like John? Or the writers who have been national championship shooters, like Wayne Van Zwoll? Kinda hard to claim they've never been there and done that, eh?

The whole deal is really pretty simple. You have to pay attention and know something to start with, then you can make informed decisions for yourself. Though it seems quite a lot simpler to make up your own decisions without knowing anything.

I have met and talked with the three writers I mentioned, by the way, so I have a sense about them as men, not just as generators of words on paper. I believe they say what they mean and mean what they say. And I know Jeff better than I know them. Don't even think about going where it might look like you're going, cause you'd be way wrong.

How much money you have shouldn't play a role in what you believe, though.

Dennis

Will the village that is missing its idiot please forward us a shipping address so that we may return him.

How can you name any group of human beings and say they are ALL this or ALL that?

As for calling some very creditable writers liars you have proven that there is a least one jerk in every crowd.

If you believe them all to be liars do us all a favor and do not read their stuff. If you do not read it you can not comment on it right? If you do not comment on it then WE no longer have to read your drivel.

Gunwriters have accountabilty for what they say, and have said.

Being on the record tends to sort things out.

I like gunwriters.....if it were not for them,how could we read about guns?

This reads like New Years Blues.

Happy 2009 to all.

Funny stuff. A guy first claims gun writers lie. Then when one proves he doesn't, the guy claims it's arrogance.

Chat boards are like rolling green mountain meadows: no matter how pleasant it is, there's a turd in it somewhere.

We found the one that inhabits this place.

I'll just make one last observation before leaving this thread:
The acronym I used to sign off on my previous post stands for Good For You, Sir.

Friend Rocky,

Excellent point.

As you might know, I did a fair amount of guiding myself. I quickly found that, like the general public, there were lots of great guys. Regrettably, I also had to guide the occasional butthole. Any time I was guiding a butthole, I tried to remember the great abundance of serious hunters; the guys who did not whine, the guys who could shoot and the ones who would actually hold a leg. This helped me to forget the current annoyance and to take one insult at a time, until he was gone.

Readers are the same way. Most of them really appreciate all that we do, our lack of pay, our endless hours of collecting handloading data and our dedication to the craft. And then there is the butthole who calls us all liars.

I prefer to remember the readers who appreciate us. Hopefully, the ignorant and annoying ones will simply go away.

Steve

PS. Have you noticed that those who criticize us usually cannot spell? They also seem to have trouble constructing a simple declarative sentence. I'm thinking that they do not know a dangling participle from their dick. Strange about that.

Best bon mot of 2009 .

Dennis

Most gun writers are good, some will pimp anything. I remember an article extolling the virtues of the Colt 2000 pistol. Several years later, the same author wrote an article saying it was one of the worst guns ever produced.

Holy shirt?,

I'd like some examples of some gunwriters not knowing anything, especially the ones who frequent this forum...

You may not always like their answers, but I'll take the gamble that all here certainly know a thing or two. They even have the audacity to share with even the most neophyte of shooters, with good manners to boot.

The fact they get spit on from the balcony is unnerving. Be nice or STFU; I like having these guys here.

Not surprised to find them having each other's back since they have been lumped together without any say...

(Not directed at you, Dennis )

Hawk1...no problem .

When I was a hunting and shooting writer for a local daily newspaper for five years, some 20-odd years ago, I learned first-hand that there are a certain number of people who want to take a shot at you just because you have your name and picture in the paper. Then if you dare say something they disagree with, or something unfortunate about one of their favorite possessions, your intelligence and ancestry will come into question .

I've also had the good fortune to meet several gunwriters, including some who post here, so I have the advantage of having looked them in the eye. If I felt like questioning something they said or did, I believe I would elect to do it in person, or at least via PM. Generalized slurs dsguised as questions aren't too productive, but do create opportunities for some to feel righteous. I remain unimpressed...

Dennis

I really enjoy reading some of the gun rags. I also take most things with a grain of salt. While reading through a magazine, I ussually don't notice who the wrote the article until I read something stupid. Examples of this are things like measuring barrel temp with a baby thermometer that only reads from 90 degrees to 110, or "data not available because I screwed up part of my test and didn't want to take the time to get it right". That ruins a guys reputation and credibility quick.

All,

The initiator of this thread posed a fair and simple question. He asked if he was expecting too much for writers to be honest. The simple answer to his question is no, that is not too much to expect. After all, the outdoor and gun magazines are non-fiction, or at least are supposed to be, therefore the writing should be factual.

I have known Phil, John, and Steve for a very long time, and I can assure you that you'll get no fiction in their writings. Alas, I've not met Rocky as yet, but will have to fix that at SHOT perhaps.

As Phil mentioned earlier, all writers report their experiences, and if their experience is thin, then their writings will reflect that. That doesn't mean that they are being dishonest, it only means they don't have a lot of experience. I do believe that an experience of one is better than no experience at all, but such minimal experience can certainly lead one to some false conclusions. For example, my very first Cape buffalo folded like a jack rabbit to my shot, deader than a hammer. From that experience, I might conclude that Cape buffalo are really easy to kill. If I reported that in a story, it would be factual and honest based upon my experience. It would also be terribly misleading. Subsequent experience with M'bogo have proven to me just how misleading it would have been.

I've been in the writing business for almost four decades now. In that time, I have at least met most of the writers that are now legendary. Just about all that I have known were/are just like everyone else, they put their britches on one leg at a time. Yes, there are a couple that seem to think they can levitate into their Levis, but they are the exception, rather than the rule.

I believe it is true that the magazines of today are far more apt to report only positive product information rather than a complete appraisal, warts and all, of products. That is not the doing of the writer however, at least that is not normally the case. The editor and the publisher determine the content of their magazine, not the writers. Generally, if the appraisal contains negative comments, it will not see print. Since advertising pays the bills, one dare not offend an advertiser or potential advertiser. You might not like that, I know that I don't, but that is simply the way it is, like it or not.

Outdoor writing, like any other profession, is made up of people. Most are great guys and gals, a few are so-so, and there is always the occasional dork or two. The same can be said of the contributors on this forum.



Tom

I know who that guy is . To call him an arsehole is demeaning to arseholes everywhere. I've met a few gunwriters, and most of them were good people, some, not so good. Just like folks everywhere. That rascal is one of the worst, though.

Have never even thought about gun writers being dishonest. Just doesn't seem so. I have also noticed that many are experienced hunters, officers, and shooters that know what they are doing. I enjoy reading their stories, especially for some R&R. If anyone had a legitimate beef at all, it would have to revolve around a statement proclaiming that writers openly praise the good stuff and quietly knock the bad. Well, from where I'm from, we would just call that good manners, but some people might take it otherwise and start this thread.
Dan

One thing I do not understand is why there is this dedicated minority on hunting/shooting forums that hates gunwriters with such a passion. I remember what happended to Craig Boddington on AR a few years ago and it was shameful.

Hey, there are some guys I don't care for reading, but not because I think they don't know what they are talking about, but because I don't like the subject matter of their writing, or maybe the writing style. But they probably know much more than I ever will.

You gotta know how to take 'em. If one of 'em told me the bore on a given item would mike 7.21mm, dead on, and had a chamber that was hand-lapped, I'd likely take him at his word. On some of his war stories, I might apply the Fisherman Rule.

Fisherman was telliin' me about a twenty pound fish he'd caught. Asked him if he had any witnesses. He told me yep, there were witnesses, or it would'a been a thirty pounder....

And BTW, I knew Skeeter.