One of the interesting things about "gunwriting" is that many (if not most) readers judge gunwriters by how much the writer agrees with the reader's opinions. This is because almost all avid hunters/handloaders are very experienced with at least a few cartridges and rifles--though they may avoid quite a few others that also work well.
This is one reason I've written articles on a BUNCH of different cartridges and rifles over the decades--and aside from providing useable information, have never written that any round or rifle is a POS. The reason I do this is that, despite some gun-magazine readers saying they'd like to read negative reviews of POS's, 98% really don't. This is partly because many consider reading about POS's a waste of time. Instead they want to read about what works--though some will then bitch that gun magaziines never run "realistic" (negative) reviews.
My writing about a bunch of different rifles and cartridges results in a lot of letters, e-mails, etc. praising me for having the same insightfull opinion as the reader--whether I wrote about the .348 WCF, .257 Weatherby, .30-06 or 7mm Obscure But Wonderful Magnum.
On the other hand, articles like Petzal's can suck in far more readers, the reason magazines (and websites) have been running them forever. But too many such articles become obviously repetitive. Which is why magazines and websites just as often run stuff on why the XYZ cartridge is such an improvement over the old ZYX.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
