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I'm just curious if anyone else here kind of feels like the market for firearms has similar ties to the cell phone market.

Are we caught in the "got to have the latest" "newest" net?

I read a lot on a lot of various websites, and I am inundated with new products. It's like no one wants to write anything worth reading anymore.

Frankly I'm disappointed in many of my favorite gunsites these days. Nothing but, "look at this product that just came out", and "we are the first to show you this new product". It's as if the sensationalism that's taken main stream media infected the one thing I appreciate

Buy, buy, buy.....

I like to read about how things work, history, what's going on in the military, local gun ranges and what they are doing. This is getting harder and harder to find. My library of bookmarks is dwindling.

Has this industry turned into a cesspool of busybodies trying to get the fly to go into the light?

Sorry for the rant. This is the one place I do enjoy as of lately that isn't trying to sell me some new form of sliced bread.

:s0137:


Everyone is trying to capitalize on the firearm industry these days. Companies coming out of the woodwork making the latest and greatest tacticool product. I hear you.


Shoot....I must not be with it these days, I just bought a GP100 and a SP101.... BORING!!


While not a magazine or web site...
I try my best when giving a muzzleloading demonstration to not sound like a commercial or salesman for a specific product or company.

Far too many magazines seem to have just become a commercial or catalog , instead of way to getting information pertaining to a given subject.
Not to forget the gun writers who love to "name drop" or flat out sold out to a company or product.
There is a famous Muzzleloading writer who comes to mind here...but that might be best for a different thread.
Andy

C'mon man..... don't muzzle yourself like that. :D



It has been a long time since I have read a good article where it kept my attention and was well written. If it weren't for this place I would go nuts.

I quit buying & reading gun mags 20+ years ago, because (not just the interwebs) they all said the same thing every time, just insert (specific gun here) and blah blah blah... not to mention sheite-filled "opinions" that are passed off as "objective".
 
Yea I'm in the boring category.

Even if I had a lot of disposable income, all of my wants are models that have been in circulation for years with proven track records.

The new sparkly stuff doesn't do it for me and I haven't seen much in the inovation area other then sticking 2 AR, 1911 or shotguns together for the double barrel repeating firearm goofiness.
 
if you want something to compare along this line of concern, try to follow the 'camera hobby' equipment surges.....

For about 30 years I was a photo hobbyist. Didn't quite realize how hard core the purveyors of New Better Stuff could be. Finally at the tail end of that hobby, with a bag full of camera bodies & 3 bags of very expensive glass, I missed a shot of a lifetime because I had too many too specialized bits of expensive gear, useful only in specific set up static situations easily predictable for lighting, action, etc.

The photo I got was unrecognizable and souring, despite considerable time/sweat/financial expense/seminars/yaddayaddayadd.

So I reassessed my goals, sold the glass, and got a basic then-cutting-edge digital pocket camera. Surprised to learn it took better auto photos 80% of the time than my old gear.

Don't know how gear-heavy current camera hobby really is, as now my cell phone has sophisticated pocket camera that can do slo-mo & other soft ware stuff I've yet to explore.

Similar purchasing/over spending opportunities in many hobby fields, from classic cars/off road trucks/motorcycles, or you name it.

We're all afflicted with it. "Too much is not enough".
An interesting comparison. Considering big bore DA Revolvers, my special love, there have been many advances in the last two or three decades. But none of any relevance to me. There are titanium guns. But I dont shoot light guns well. There are 8-shot N frame .357s. But if I'm going to the N frame size I would rather go to a .44. There are also more powerful calibers such as .454 Cassull, .460SW, and .500SW mag. But any gun I have needs to be suitable for self-defense, whatever its primary purpose. And I don't consider a gun suitable for self defense unless I can shoot it reasonably well one-handed with either hand. .44mag is the most powerful gun I can handle with one hand. Basically, for my needs and purposes, DA revolvers reached their full maturity by a couple of decades ago. Undoubtedly if semiautos were my main love, the story would be different. But not so dramatically different as the situation with photography. If guns had advanced as much as photography, we would all be shooting lasers now instead of bullets.

I sell garden photography along with books and mag articles. Smart phone cameras don't give the resolution or control necessary for professional publication in print media. It takes a full SLR. I started with a 35mm film SLR. Now I have a digital SLR. Meaning still large expensive cameras and lenses. However these cameras and lenses can do way more than I could do with film. Way easier. Vibration reduction lenses, for example, let me shoot nearly everything hand held. I used to have to shoot nearly everything from a tripod. However, I still need all the understanding required to do film photography except knowledge of specific films and development. To that must be added understanding of digital in general and my digital camera specifically. Used to have to shoot exclusively in overcast light. These days I can set my camera to lighten the contrast in shadows so I can shoot in full sun if I have to. Can change most camera settings post shooting, during editing. Exposures, white balance, and most other camera settings can be altered to optimal post shooting. And digital is cheaper. Film and developing were expensive. Digital, once you have the equipment, is free. The pro photograghers I knew in the film era converted from film to digital with little difficulty. At least 80 percent of what they knew was still essential. Sort of like writing with a typewriter and a word processor. The hard part is mastering the art of writing. The more modern equipment simply makes the mechanics easier.

With photography, the rate of genuinely useful advances in equipment is very rapid. There is probably more reason than ever for photographers to buy new gear regukarly. However, I'm pretty happy with what I've got. If I can get far enough ahead financially, I'll doubtless skip the camera gear and buy more guns.
 
these cameras and lenses can do way more than I could do with film. Way easier. Vibration reduction lenses, for example, let me shoot nearly everything hand held. I

there was a point where my Shutterbug subscription ran out. largish format catalog style like the old gun stuff rag every month....one month, out of a couple hundred pages, they put in a small section (maybe 8 pages) of digital only stuff.....

I thought about the pending tsunami of technology breaking on the horizon....about a year later saw my first New Shutterbug (my subscription had run out).....and there it was....about 3/4s of the mag now entirely digital. That was about circa ~2000 give or take a bit.
 
I equate IPAs to licking a Douglas Fir.
I knew there was something off about you... :D

An interesting comparison. Considering big bore DA Revolvers, my special love, there have been many advances in the last two or three decades. But none of any relevance to me. There are titanium guns. But I dont shoot light guns well. There are 8-shot N frame .357s. But if I'm going to the N frame size I would rather go to a .44. There are also more powerful calibers such as .454 Cassull, .460SW, and .500SW mag. But any gun I have needs to be suitable for self-defense, whatever its primary purpose. And I don't consider a gun suitable for self defense unless I can shoot it reasonably well one-handed with either hand. .44mag is the most powerful gun I can handle with one hand. Basically, for my needs and purposes, DA revolvers reached their full maturity by a couple of decades ago. Undoubtedly if semiautos were my main love, the story would be different. But not so dramatically different as the situation with photography. If guns had advanced as much as photography, we would all be shooting lasers now instead of bullets.

I sell garden photography along with books and mag articles. Smart phone cameras don't give the resolution or control necessary for professional publication in print media. It takes a full SLR. I started with a 35mm film SLR. Now I have a digital SLR. Meaning still large expensive cameras and lenses. However these cameras and lenses can do way more than I could do with film. Way easier. Vibration reduction lenses, for example, let me shoot nearly everything hand held. I used to have to shoot nearly everything from a tripod. However, I still need all the understanding required to do film photography except knowledge of specific films and development. To that must be added understanding of digital in general and my digital camera specifically. Used to have to shoot exclusively in overcast light. These days I can set my camera to lighten the contrast in shadows so I can shoot in full sun if I have to. Can change most camera settings post shooting, during editing. Exposures, white balance, and most other camera settings can be altered to optimal post shooting. And digital is cheaper. Film and developing were expensive. Digital, once you have the equipment, is free. The pro photograghers I knew in the film era converted from film to digital with little difficulty. At least 80 percent of what they knew was still essential. Sort of like writing with a typewriter and a word processor. The hard part is mastering the art of writing. The more modern equipment simply makes the mechanics easier.

With photography, the rate of genuinely useful advances in equipment is very rapid. There is probably more reason than ever for photographers to buy new gear regukarly. However, I'm pretty happy with what I've got. If I can get far enough ahead financially, I'll doubtless skip the camera gear and buy more guns.
Well said.
 
I prefer a dark ale or a good stout.

Dark beer, Black Butt Porter and Obsidian Stout, tastes like an ash tray.

nauseous-emoticon_gg62512806.jpg

Go for some Michelob Ultra or Canadian brewed LaBatts Blue (the American brewed Labatts sucks)
 
I'm not knocking digital but when it came along and evolved it basically destroyed a generation of professional film photographers. With big memory cards, tons of auto-fied options and endless do-overs, it basically made trained monkeys photogs overnight. Same thing with video and youtube. No need for years of study, apprenticeship, videography training, any trained monkey is an expert now. While it's great for the average consumer on many levels, I feel bad for those who literally dedicated their lives to the art before digital came along.
And yes, of course... get off my lawn.

To be fair, manual cameras or whatever you call em, have some charm that digital, even with filters can't match. We paid EXTRA to have some of our wedding photos taken with an old something or other camera, and those turned out to be our favorite ones.
 
Yea I'm in the boring category.

Even if I had a lot of disposable income, all of my wants are models that have been in circulation for years with proven track records.

The new sparkly stuff doesn't do it for me and I haven't seen much in the inovation area other then sticking 2 AR, 1911 or shotguns together for the double barrel repeating firearm goofiness.

Me too. Anything I might want that is "new" has been available for a very long time. So, I basically have no interest in reading gun rags.

I'm not an early adopter of technology, or anything new, although I do come around eventually
 
Dark beer, Black Butt Porter and Obsidian Stout, tastes like an ash tray.

View attachment 489147

Go for some Michelob Ultra or Canadian brewed LaBatts Blue (the American brewed Labatts sucks)
I question how you know what an ash tray tastes like. o_O Dark ale is good if it wasn't made poorly.
I quit buying & reading gun mags 20+ years ago, because (not just the interwebs) they all said the same thing every time, just insert (specific gun here) and blah blah blah... not to mention sheite-filled "opinions" that are passed off as "objective".
You should totally buy this gun, its awesome and there's nothing wrong with it. And its only 2 grand, but totally worth it guys, I'm not just saying that cause I'm paid to say it. :rolleyes:
 
To be fair, manual cameras or whatever you call em, have some charm that digital, even with filters can't match. We paid EXTRA to have some of our wedding photos taken with an old something or other camera, and those turned out to be our favorite ones.
To be truthful, the quality of a Photograph comes from the quality of the Photographer. Anybody can take a picture but it takes a Photographer to take a Picture.
 
I'm just curious if anyone else here kind of feels like the market for firearms has similar ties to the cell phone market.

Are we caught in the "got to have the latest" "newest" net?

...

:s0137:
You've struck a chord with me here... RANT: The best thing to curb this comes from a model our establishment uses a lot. There was a lot of discussion around "social messaging" through marketing strategy a while ago. Which is why I believe (almost certain) we now have commercials (particularly alcohol: think modello) that promote "hard work", "friendship", "values"... etc (eg: "if you're like Hosey Ramirez here, a die hard American, you are very smart, hard working, up from the boot straps, law abiding citizen and to be just like Hosey, you must drink Modello espesial booze). Other then that sort of "messaging" or nudging, which I often do support given alternatives, you're left to some pretty poor business models. Only way to change it would be to form an NGO that promotes better marketing strategy and information dissemination within the industry and get a lot of industry people involved and hire some intellectuals and business types to run it. Otherwise, you're right, it's stupid. You go get a gun magazine and it's a 50 page advertisement for federals new bullet or cartridge and factory Hornady ammo, usually something creedmoor. NGOs are taking over the world, and the uber rich are taking over NGOs....
 
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