Guest Tiff Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Not sure if this is old news or not (sorry if it is)...... According to my subscription letter from Blaze publications, target sports is finishing as an individual magazine! Instead elements of it will be incorporated into Sporting Rifle each month I really like TS since it seems to be the only UK based one that looks at issues in a reasonably technical way. However I guess it's this more in-depth approach that was its demise in circulation numbers. I'm not sure what to do now with 14 months subscription outstanding? Sporting Rifle I find some what 'bland' and boring at best, so I guess I will have to cancel my subscription. So what other US or NZ mags should I look at instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elwood Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Damned shame, as you say it was the only magazine that went into things in depth or otherwise known as over my head. I can't say I have ever read it from cover to cover but I always managed to find a couple of interesting articles each month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-NZ Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 ....I really like TS since it seems to be the only UK based one that looks at issues in a reasonably technical way. ... So what other US or NZ mags should I look at instead? Well, as I mentioned a while ago, NZ Hunter magazine is very interesting. http://www.nzhunter.co.nz/ check under "sitemap" for back-issue contents (still available) Has decent tech articles and products are thoroughly evaluated, not just a regurgitation of the manufacturer's literature. In-depth series of articles on reloading, another called "Pimp my Rifle" where he goes through all the options for upgrading a factory gun. The editor Greg Duley is a fanatical shooter and extremely knowledgeable, and he has a team of expert writers at hand. Well worth a look IMHO Chris-NZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 I got the same notification today Tiff, I read it with sadness as TS was one of the best reads around, I looked forwards to it dropping through the letterbox each month. As an occassional contributor I know how much effort it takes to prepare, research, build and finally write articles. Richard, Vince, Rob, Laurie and Tim will be sorely missed from my table. I know there are plans for an online magazine as well as the small section of Sporting Rifle. A hell of alot of effort has gone into the magazine over the years and after the demise of pistols it was refreshing to see that target rifle, Benchrest, practical, tactical and F Class had a decent magazine writen by people passionate for their sport. Like I said, its a damn shame its over. Hopefully the online mag will rise phoenix like from the ashes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alycidon Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 The US VHA has a decent magazine; http://www.varminthunter.org/index2.html Not that target oriented though. A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldie Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Great shame. I dont know whether i can be bothered with sporting rifle...there are only so many dead foxes/rabbits/deer, you can look at before getting extremely bored....and seeing which writer has the biggest ######/car/mortgage. target sports was a traceable/reliable/proven source of info, and data, with targets, groups etc to back up the articles, written by trusted writers. Somehow i dont think people hold the sporting mags in the same trust...i certainly dont. Look forward to the online articles though, at least it all hasn,t gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Knowing a few of the writers personally helps in the honesty of the end product, I recall a certain mag that wouldnt consider doing a review unless there was something in it for the editor.... That simply did not happen at TS. I for one will be using the online mag and subscribe to the NZ / US magazines already mentioned although I have to say that the online forums from the US are a wonderful source of info exchanges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR__ Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Knowing a few of the writers personally helps in the honesty of the end product, I recall a certain mag that wouldnt consider doing a review unless there was something in it for the editor.... That simply did not happen at TS. I for one will be using the online mag and subscribe to the NZ / US magazines already mentioned although I have to say that the online forums from the US are a wonderful source of info exchanges. TS was good people. I gave their writers a lot of grief, and they took it well. Very knowledgeable, and if they didn't know they asked. It's kind of bizarre our last good magazine here in the states that was outright honest was TS, or Tactical Shooter, a sub of Precision Shooter, that was dissolved just before I landed in the UK..It's hard to find a gun mag that isnt' filled with gun whores who point out all the attributes and don't state the problem areas. Why would they, they get the rifles in to test for free, it's advertising for the companies.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi-basher Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Great shame. I dont know whether i can be bothered with sporting rifle...there are only so many dead foxes/rabbits/deer, you can look at before getting extremely bored....and seeing which writer has the biggest ######/car/mortgage.target sports was a traceable/reliable/proven source of info, and data, with targets, groups etc to back up the articles, written by trusted writers. Somehow i dont think people hold the sporting mags in the same trust...i certainly dont. Look forward to the online articles though, at least it all hasn,t gone. I have to agree even as a stalker I found TS the best mag' out there. I have seen some unbelievable b****cks in Sporting Rifle. They could do a lot worse than take on the writers from TS as they do know what they are talking about. Best rgds B-b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC275 Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Sporting Rifle is very much the 'News of the World' of the sporting press, I too have seen many dodgy things in it, deer clearly shot out of season (with no explanation), very poor hygiene practises demonstrated etc. The strange and unexplainable thing is, I still buy it if I see it in the garage!! I look at the Stalking Directory website forum for the same, strange reason, most of whats written is complete rubbish by people who clearly have very little experience or are out to just wind each other up but I still find it fasinating!! Help! JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finman Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Hi Chaps, I have to agree with most people with regard the demise of TS, but I see little mention of Shooting Sports... Naming no names, it seems to be the platform of self-congratulatory articles for a certain ego, ambiguous information which usually reads like an advertising brochure from the companies that are involved in the featured product. I had been a subscriber for 4-5 years but no more! Sporting Rifle at least does not limit itself to reviewing a product, always concluding that we should buy it, and has a few articles that are a bit more in-depth than Shooting Sports. For really reliable information I read the Varmint Hunter, Precision Shooting, and used to get Small Calibre News, which unfortunately has also met its demise... What saddens me is that we do not seem to have learned from what the yanks do and produce a similar quality publication in the UK... best wishes, Finman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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