For the IBS is there a suitable alternative to Precision Shooting Magazine?

JerrySharrett

JerrySharrett

Senile Member
The cover of my newest issue of Precision Shooting, the official publication of the IBS, on the front cover the usual title "Precision Shooting dealing exclusively with extreme rifle accuracy". Then the cover picture is a checkered stocked 223 Remington.

Remembering that this magazine is the official publication of The International Benchrest Shooters I really can't remember a cover photo of any benchrest rifle being on the cover. No, F-class is not benchrest in the classical sense since it is not shot from a bench.

For many years many the articles were about some part of the benchrest sport. Even the editor used to shoot benchrest and write about the sport his self.

Now??? At least change the line under the magazine name that reads "Dealing exclusively with extreme rifle accuracy" so I will not open the pages with the expectations of seeing something, anything, about extreme rifle accuracy. The 338/06-dressed up....,field shooting using the rifle....,improving the 17 mach 2...,trying to figure out the 7mm Weatherby...,Lone Star stock maker...???
 
I hear your rant jerry. I feel the same way at times But.... Brennen being the owner has a lot of say , not to mention being
the editor. Its his ball game.
 
Well jerry it could get worse ,Accurate Casting for Large Mouth perhaps . T.R.
 
Years ago, editing the magazine was a part time job. I believe that when it was decided that the position should become a full time, the decision was made to broaden the subject material, with an eye toward increasing circulation, to better support a full time staff. Even if that were not the case, coming up with enough well written articles to fill a magazine with solely benchrest related material would be a practical impossibility, and so we are left with the current magazine. Given the size or the sport, I think that we are lucky to have what we have.
 
I know what you feel also. If I want to learn any thing in a hurry I go to this forum where I have gotten help a lot of times. One thing is it is a far cry better than what the NBRSA offers for the same money.
 
Take a look at The American Rifleman and the NRA. That's the future for IBS/NBRSA. Learn to love it.

JMHO

Ray
 
Not to put down the NRAor the riflemen. That too has become more of a lobbying magazine then shooting related.
The riflemen use to be great. As the NRA goes i doubt it would be interested in Benchrest, It had a chance long ago
To be a voice in the Benchrest game. They weren't interested.
 
Gerry

I guess you misunderstood my post. I didn't mean that the NRA or The American Rifleman would be interested in BR. I meant that AR no longer has much to do with shooting. That is the way that PS and BR are headed. Benchrest is small potatoes compared with most other shooting/guns interests. Any magazine depends on advertisement revenue to stay viable and PS will cater to whatever it takes to make money. That certainly is not BR. If it were not for the subscriptions that IBS brings to PR, there would not be any BR type coverage.

Ray
 
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Ray i read it one way and then the other way. Your absolutely right "'
We are so busy protecting our rights that we have let a lot of things slip.
Even though I support the NRA I was very disapointed in some of the ways they supported a
Second ammendemt Foe. Lapiere defended him but I don't buy into it. Harry Reid is at it again.
Yet the NRA let him have $5000 of our moneys for re Election last time.
 
Cheechako said:
Take a look at The American Rifleman and the NRA. That's the future for IBS/NBRSA. Learn to love it.

JMHO

Ray
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Ray, I have been a member of the NRA since 1955, not a life member but an annual member. Had I joined the Life membership program then, the NRA would have gotten $100 of my money and it would have been spent many years ago. This way they get $35 from me every year.

If we had a publication headed by someone like Joe Graham, who heads the NRA publications, he could put together a real Precision shooting magazine. Joe is the genius that developed the double cover for the American Rifleman. That outer cover has four pages higher priced ads that brings in extra money.
 
Jerry

I seldom read the AR from cover to cover like I used to when it and the NRA were devoted to shooting. A couple of years ago I wrote them a long letter expressing my disgust with the advertisements. You know the ones - those advertising clocks with naked ladies on them, 18" engraved bowie knives, chuka sticks, 12 gauge street sweepers, etc. Their answer, as I expected, was that they badly needed the revenue to support their 2nd Amendment fights, and to publish the magazine.

It's a shame that we have to sacrafice things like AR and PS to advertising but I suppose we don't have a choice.

Ray
 
Cheechako said:
Jerry

I seldom read the AR from cover to cover like I used to when it and the NRA were devoted to shooting. A couple of years ago I wrote them a long letter expressing my disgust with the advertisements. You know the ones - those advertising clocks with naked ladies on them, 18" engraved bowie knives, chuka sticks, 12 gauge street sweepers, etc. Their answer, as I expected, was that they badly needed the revenue to support their 2nd Amendment fights, and to publish the magazine.

It's a shame that we have to sacrafice things like AR and PS to advertising but I suppose we don't have a choice.

Ray
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Ray,I started to order one of those clocks but I was already on probation!

At least AR is not heavy into the love potion/Viagra ads like OL, SA, and some of the other shooting/outdoor magazines. I mean how's our wiffey-mates going to let us out of the house with a gun and a bottle of suspicious pills?
 
Rifle Magazine use to do a pretty good job for the NBRSA and then something happened.
Later there was Shooters news until that floped, I think all that,s need to be done is Brennen have a change of Heart, Maybe a Rethink. I know he has partners.
 
Jerry fwiw, I have tried several times over the years to make myself get a subscription to Precision Shooting. However every time I go to the site and look at the articles available online, they are just like has been stated. Nothing to do with BR and most of the time nothing to do with precision shooting. So I just close out the site and give up the idea.
 
Bad Business

I have been around long enough to see many of the woes that plague publications, especially those dedicated to one particular niche.

The truth is, there are not enough Benchrest Shooters to support a full time publication. Even when you add in Live Varmint Shooters, (whose equipment list is surprisingly similiar), the adverisers simply do not see enough exposure to warrant the expenditure.

Sure, they all start out with the best intentions. Shooters News, we must admitt, tried, but after you read the umpteenth article on moly coating, it got old quick.

That, and some of the articles were just plain stupid. Can anybody remember that article about about "switch chamber barrels". Heck, I am in the machine shop business, and my eyes glazed over.

And, do keep in mind. All major paper publications are suffering. It's the internet. Aside from "getting your picture on the cover of the rolling stone", is there ANYTHING" that you can not find out about extreme accuracy shooting on sites such as this and others such as 6mmbr.com.

I take Precision Shooting because it comes with my IBS Memebership. Aside from that, I see no reason to make the purchase.........jackie
 
I guess i could complain quite a bit about PS magazine also. It just won't do here on the site.
It intentions were really good, I remember when they use to put shooters on the covers,'
Richie Morehead did a great job as editor back when . He moved to Varmint hunters magazine.
A few of the owners are Jim Borden Allie Euber and Dick Maretzo as I recall.
Maybe they could have a chat with Brennen. The magazine use to have product updates and tech articles.
Boyd mace use to write about shooting along with Mike Walker and Rick Hornbeck.
Articles use to cover Bedding Sleeving {now long gone} Barrel chambering , New gadgets for better handloading.
New gunsmiths, New actions etc etc. The last tech article I read was by Jim Borden bushing a fireing pin.
It seems that Brennen is more interested about writing about Dead people and American History. I won't go farther on this as to being too negative though I could.
It could tun into a giant Rant.
As membership goes it,s pretty large. Well over 1500 plus being untra consevative.
I think both the IBS and NBRSA numbers are about 3000 or so. The Numbers are guess.
Joan Borden would know the exact count in IBS.
 
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I'd bet that the reason that Precision Shooting doesn't print more benchrest articles is that he doesn't get them submitted for publication. You can't print what you don't have. I tend to forget to renew my IBS membership as I don't shoot IBS matches so haven't read PS in awhile. The articles that James Mock wrote were very good and I enjoyed them. Some of the others, I'd scan, but didn't read. Some I read the title and went on to the next one. I've never had an article that I sent to Dave Brennan rejected for publication. However, how many times can you write something new on the 6 PPC or on chambering a benchrest barrel. If you want good articles printed in PS, write them and send them to him for consideration. I'd bet he'll print them and maybe even pay you a little for your time.
 
Mike Bryant said:
I'd bet that the reason that Precision Shooting doesn't print more benchrest articles is that he doesn't get them submitted for publication. You can't print what you don't have. I tend to forget to renew my IBS membership as I don't shoot IBS matches so haven't read PS in awhile. The articles that James Mock wrote were very good and I enjoyed them. Some of the others, I'd scan, but didn't read. Some I read the title and went on to the next one. I've never had an article that I sent to Dave Brennan rejected for publication. However, how many times can you write something new on the 6 PPC or on chambering a benchrest barrel. If you want good articles printed in PS, write them and send them to him for consideration. I'd bet he'll print them and maybe even pay you a little for your time.
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Mike,
True enough! And, the IBS gets something like 11 pages for announcements, match reports, records, etc. The fact is that precision shooting means different things to different folks. It IS NOT ALL ABOUT BENCHREST. It's about F-class, across the course, .22 rimfire, buffalo gun matches. Different rifles used in different disciplins are all trying for precision, but the level of precision may differ by particular shooting sport. Sure there have been may articles not related to precision shooting at all, but the magazine is better than any out there including the American Rifleman in my opinion. AR is not much more that a dumbed down Shooting Times with way too many ads...which of course help pay for the magazine or generate more revenue for NRA. Compare todays AR with that of the 40's, 50's and you'll see what I mean. Tks --Greg
 
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PS today and PS twenty-five years ago

I suscribed to PS for over twenty years. About 6 years ago I even tried to get Dave to publish and article on the Micrometer Adjustable Reamer Stop. Offered to provide the article with picture and pay for an add in his magazine. He was so arrogant and obnoxious that I deciced the issue was not worth pursuing. If one looks at things economically a magazine article is a poor investment in comparison to a web site add or website dedicated to the subject. I beleive all paper printed media is struggling today.

I did not renew my last PS subscription and with BRCentral, 6mmBR, Long Range Target Shooting, and Long Range Hunting web sites I have not missed a thing.

Dave RIP

Nat Lambeth
 
Looking at pg. 6, I count only 4 Regular benchrest Shooters as PS Columnists, but on the other side of the Page I see Moretzo, Borden, and Euber as the BOD. You'ld think with a board stacked like that Brennan could be swayed to have more BR related Columnists, and Articles.

Paul
 
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