Wanted: Gun info without politics

March 24, 2011 7:32 AM

What are some informative gun resources without the 2nd amendment politics?

Where can I go to find informative, politics-free, gun (handgun/rifle/shotgun/ammo) news and reviews? I'm talking mostly about blogs and podcasts, but other sources welcome too. If they are geared towards civilian, novice- or intermediate-level gun users, even better.

The most important part of this request is POLITICS FREE!! I don't care who said what about guns or gun owners, or why you need to lobby your politician about gun control laws. I simply want news and reviews with as little politics discussion as possible.

I already follow The Firearm Blog and Guns, Holsters and Gear; but haven't found any politics-free podcasts.

*note: Since I don't want politics in my news/reviews, please know that I hope we keep politics out of this thread.

posted by LouMac to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 answers total)

Chuck Hawks does pretty straightforward reviews, without any politics. Although he mostly does long guns and shotguns.

Wikipedia is also a pretty good resource. Guns, like ham radio and science fiction attract a lot of obsessive nerds that love nothing better to tell you more than you want to know.
posted by electroboy at 8:10 AM on March 24, 2011

This site is pretty good for technical details and history. It is hosted in russia and they seem pretty indifferent to polictical context of firearm uses. Just the facts kinda site.

The firearms blog is also pretty good for gun industry news and new products coming on. It is kinda gee whiz gizmo site without a lot of technical information, and pretty light on the politics. The site owner is not real big on politics and just likes guns.
posted by bartonlong at 11:11 AM on March 24, 2011

I should have read more, you already read the firearms blog
posted by bartonlong at 11:12 AM on March 24, 2011

The Locavore Hunter occasionally has entries on hunting rifles and shotguns, and did a pretty interesting series on sporterizing old Mauser K98s into something more useful.

Surplus Rifle is pretty definitive when it comes to any rifle or handgun used by the military.
posted by electroboy at 11:41 AM on March 24, 2011

Ok. It's got politics in areas, but it's a magazine and you can just not read those articles. It also puts you in touch with various gun communities (hunting, clay targets, whatever). It has a ton of reviews and also interesting articles on the history of various, usually military guns. It's American Rifleman, the official journal of the NRA.
posted by WeekendJen at 11:58 AM on March 24, 2011

Yeah, Rifleman is excellent as long as you rip out the first 5 pages. That's where the editorials and the news roundup about grandmas shooting home invaders are.
posted by electroboy at 12:05 PM on March 24, 2011

Gun reviews:
Hickok45's YouTube channel - he's a Glock fan, but is very fair in his reviews.
The Truth About Guns (category/gun-review) - good reviews for the average shooter. Skip the other posts if want to avoid the politics.

Ammo testing:
The Box O Truth - showing the relative effectiveness of different calibers on jugs of water, a Buick, bulletproof glass, padlocks and more. Good example: the Taurus Judge may look cool but .410 loads are not very effective for personal defense.
posted by sardonista at 12:06 PM on March 24, 2011 [2 favorites]

I kind of like www.glocktalk.com - fairly sane group of guys, and 2nd amendment stuff stays in its own section, mostly. And despite what it says on the tin, a lot of general discussions, and other brands are represented.
posted by randomkeystrike at 1:28 PM on March 24, 2011