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Guns of the Old West


Rye Miles #13621

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In the Spring 2021 issue of GOTOW, there's a review of a Charles Daly .410 sxs shotgun. The author say, "If your SASS persona is a gentleman immigrant or Victorian lady  this slim and elegant side by side might be the gun you've been waiting for"

Really? I guess he didn't read the rules on shotguns, .410 is only allowed in the Buckaroo category!  Geeeesh............

 

 

This issue is pretty good though, it has Jimmy Stewart on the cover and some great info about him. There's some other interesting guns in there also but this just .410 sxs stuck out in my mind.   :wacko:             

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Love when I see the new GOTOW come out... usually disappointed at the contents. Yes, I know you can only write so many articles about Colts and Winchesters (which were probably the most prevalent guns in the "Old West"), but some of the content... IDK about. Once in a while they do get some interesting articles though, I do have ta say.

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Rye,

 

Kinda like when we see a Henry Big Boy in a western movie set in the late 1800s, huh? :D

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1 hour ago, Dantankerous said:

Rye,

 

Kinda like when we see a Henry Big Boy in a western movie set in the late 1800s, huh? :D

Yea or a Hollywood Henry, you know the 92 with the painted receiver and forearm removed!!:lol:

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50 minutes ago, Kansas City Munny said:

Personally, I'm just happy there's a magazine with content that most CAS folks would find interesting and still in PRINT no less. 

 

10 minutes ago, Jackrabbit Joe #414 said:

Guns of the Old West great fantastic magazine.

 

JRJ

I do think the magazine is great but sometimes they just don't do their research on SASS guns. that's what I'm saying. The guy that wrote the artice on the .410 is probably not a SASS shooter or he would have known that it's only legal for Buckaroos!

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La Vista Bill used to write for GOTOW but he hasn't been on this forum for over two years. I shot with him on occasion in an NCOWS posse back in Indiana.

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Yo-Ho Cholla I use to be member NCOWS back in mid 90's #433. But then got into more of SASS. Joined SASS March 1988.

JRJ

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How tough would it be for these morons to actually hire somebody who knows what they’re looking at and what they’re talking about?
 

 It wouldn’t be hard at all!  The point is, they think they are selling the magazine to people who have their heads in their butts, when really and obviously, it’s actually the other way around.

 

I don’t buy, or read those magazines anymore.

 

Cat Brules

 

 

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16 minutes ago, Cat Brules said:

How tough would it be ... to hire somebody who knows what they’re (writing) about

 

Old saying, Those who can  - do it.  Those who can't - write magazine articles.

 

Besides, articles in most magazines are accepted so that advertisers will have a publication to place their ads.  Articles don't have to be right, just eye catching.  Like news broadcasts.

 

Masterson feller was an exception, and could sorta do both.  And that Skelton feller - sure miss my monthly dose of Skeeter stories.

 

good luck, GJ

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Since I write for a gun magazine I will attempt to explain the way I see it.

 

Magazines are limited to what is submitted to them by writers. In most cases they don't go after big names to write an article because they can't afford it.

 

In this electronic age, everyone wants free stuff, including reading material. Many want fame. So now we have countless folks with youtube channels, blogs, websites, and social media platforms offering free articles and videos on any topic they want. Magazines have to compete with that while charging for subscriptions and ad space.

 

Fewer people are wanting to pay for a magazine. Advertisers see that online advertising pays better returns. A magazine provides advertising for one month. An online article is in cyberspace as long as the website keep on providing it.

 

As a result many magazine are paying less-- a lot less. I have sold thousands of columns and article since 1989. I have sold articles decades ago for $1 per word, which was great. Ten to fifteen years ago 10 cents a word was good. As it gets harder and harder to get people to buy magazines and find advertisers, the pay has been dropping.

 

Some of the magazines now offer $5 to $30 per article, including photos. Others don't offer anything but a byline. How many of you want to work for free?

 

For some of the articles I write I need to buy guns, reloading gear, powder, etc. just to do the research. Sometime I make less on the article than I paid for all the stuff I had to buy. Yes, I can sell some of it, but it's never what I paid. 

 

I have roughly $4,000 in camera gear from when I used to write hunting and fishing articles. It takes one heck of a lot of articles to buy a new lens, new batteries, etc.

 

Many of the big name writers are dead or long past being interested in writing for peanuts. The days of making a living at being a free-lance writer is over unless you want to live in a beat up RV. I know an outdoor photographer that used to make $80K a year. He doesn't make that anymore because every person has a cell-phone camera on them at all times. Like the old story of a 1,000 monkeys pounding on typewriters, one is going to pound out the next best novel, the same applies, and they will most likely give it away for their 10 minutes of fame.

 

A top-notch gun magazine just closed its doors a few months ago. It was written by respected members of the gun community and provided valuable content, but it takes a certain level of subscribers to keep a business afloat and they weren't getting them.

 

So, in the end you get people like me writing for gun magazines. I do a ton of research. Talk to experts. Do my best and hope I get it right. Do I make enough writing to live on? Heck no. I might make enough to buy gunpowder and an occasional gun. If I do buy a gun, I usually am biting my fingernails hoping I can sell an article about it within a few months. In some cases the article may take a year to get published. Sometimes it never gets published.

 

My advice is, if you think you can do better than what you are reading, why aren't you? If you know your topic well and have photo support and can write in an engaging manner, do it.

 

If you decide to have a website, you better study up on SWO (and keep up on all the changing rules) otherwise you will not get readers, you will not get advertising, and you'll be writing just to please yourself.

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7 minutes ago, Cholla said:

Since I write for a gun magazine I will attempt to explain the way I see it.

 

Magazines are limited to what is submitted to them by writers. In most cases they don't go after big names to write an article because they can't afford it.

 

In this electronic age, everyone wants free stuff, including reading material. Many want fame. So now we have countless folks with youtube channels, blogs, websites, and social media platforms offering free articles and videos on any topic they want. Magazines have to compete with that while charging for subscriptions and ad space.

 

Fewer people are wanting to pay for magazine. Advertisers see that online advertising pays better returns. A magazine provides advertising for on month. An online article is in cyberspace as long as the website keep on providing it.

 

As a result many magazine are paying less-- a lot less. I have sold thousands of columns and article since 1989. I have sold articles decades ago for $1 per word, which was great. Ten to fifteen years ago 10 cents a word was good. As it gets harder and harder to get people to buy magazines and find advertisers, the pay has been dropping.

 

Some of the magazines now offer $5 to $30 per article, including photos. Others don't offer anything but a byline. How many of you want to work for free?

 

Some of the article I write I need to buy guns, reloading gear, powder, etc. just to do the research for an article. Sometime I make less on the article than I paid for all the stuff I had to buy. Yes, I can sell some of it, but it's never what I paid. 

 

I have roughly $4,000 in camera gear from when I used to write hunting and fishing articles. It takes one heck of a lot of articles to buy a new lens, new batteries, etc.

 

Many of the big name writers are dead or long past being interested in writing for peanuts. The days of making a living at being a free-lance writer is over unless you want to live in a beat up RV. I know an outdoor photographer that used to make $80K a year. He doesn't make that anymore because every person has a cell-phone camera on them at all times. Like the old story of a 1,000 monkeys pounding on typewriters, one is going to pound out the next best novel, the same applies, and they will most likely give it away for their 10 minutes of fame.

 

A top-notch gun magazine just closed its doors a few months ago. It was written by respected members of the gun community and provided valuable content but it takes a certain level of subscribers to keep a business afloat and they weren't getting them.

 

So, in the end you get people like me writing for gun magazines. I do a ton of research. Talk to experts. Do my best and hope I get it right. Do I make enough writing to live on? Heck no. I might make enough to buy gunpowder and an occasional gun. If I do buy a gun, I usually my biting my fingernails hoping I can sell an article about it within a few months. In some cases the article may take a year to get published. Sometimes it never gets published.

 

My advice is, if you think you can do better than what you are reading, why aren't you? If you know your topic well and have photo support and can write in an engaging manner, do it.

 

If you decide to have a website, you better study up on SWO (and keep up on all the changing rules) otherwise you will not get readers, you will not get advertising, and you'll be writing just to please yourself.

Good points Cholla.  And from someone who knows a tad of this from experience, it takes lots of advertisers to pay cost of printing a well accepted magazine, especially one with good photos (which takes up valuable space).  After cost of printing, sure not much left for writers.  As enjoyable space for readers decreases with advertising to finance, then reader does not get money's worth so circulation slows thus advertisers pull out and BINGO, no magazine or very little enjoyable reading for valuable consumers.  Many a magazine investor, be it Editor, Advisor,  and/or Field Editor have lost $$ trying to keep "the print" going.  I suggest many chose to use overseas printing to save, but not a move I favored, and I figure that moves only slows the 1nevitable.

 

I cherish the friendships kindled thru what little writing I did but realize those that really made it,  like L Weishuhn and  J Wilson, are possibly hanging on significantly due to outdoor television shows.

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1 hour ago, Cholla said:

Since I write for a gun magazine I will attempt to explain the way I see it.

 

Magazines are limited to what is submitted to them by writers. In most cases they don't go after big names to write an article because they can't afford it.

 

In this electronic age, everyone wants free stuff, including reading material. Many want fame. So now we have countless folks with youtube channels, blogs, websites, and social media platforms offering free articles and videos on any topic they want. Magazines have to compete with that while charging for subscriptions and ad space.

 

Fewer people are wanting to pay for a magazine. Advertisers see that online advertising pays better returns. A magazine provides advertising for one month. An online article is in cyberspace as long as the website keep on providing it.

 

As a result many magazine are paying less-- a lot less. I have sold thousands of columns and article since 1989. I have sold articles decades ago for $1 per word, which was great. Ten to fifteen years ago 10 cents a word was good. As it gets harder and harder to get people to buy magazines and find advertisers, the pay has been dropping.

 

Some of the magazines now offer $5 to $30 per article, including photos. Others don't offer anything but a byline. How many of you want to work for free?

 

For some of the articles I write I need to buy guns, reloading gear, powder, etc. just to do the research. Sometime I make less on the article than I paid for all the stuff I had to buy. Yes, I can sell some of it, but it's never what I paid. 

 

I have roughly $4,000 in camera gear from when I used to write hunting and fishing articles. It takes one heck of a lot of articles to buy a new lens, new batteries, etc.

 

Many of the big name writers are dead or long past being interested in writing for peanuts. The days of making a living at being a free-lance writer is over unless you want to live in a beat up RV. I know an outdoor photographer that used to make $80K a year. He doesn't make that anymore because every person has a cell-phone camera on them at all times. Like the old story of a 1,000 monkeys pounding on typewriters, one is going to pound out the next best novel, the same applies, and they will most likely give it away for their 10 minutes of fame.

 

A top-notch gun magazine just closed its doors a few months ago. It was written by respected members of the gun community and provided valuable content, but it takes a certain level of subscribers to keep a business afloat and they weren't getting them.

 

So, in the end you get people like me writing for gun magazines. I do a ton of research. Talk to experts. Do my best and hope I get it right. Do I make enough writing to live on? Heck no. I might make enough to buy gunpowder and an occasional gun. If I do buy a gun, I usually am biting my fingernails hoping I can sell an article about it within a few months. In some cases the article may take a year to get published. Sometimes it never gets published.

 

My advice is, if you think you can do better than what you are reading, why aren't you? If you know your topic well and have photo support and can write in an engaging manner, do it.

 

If you decide to have a website, you better study up on SWO (and keep up on all the changing rules) otherwise you will not get readers, you will not get advertising, and you'll be writing just to please yourself.

My only gripe was that the writer of the article said it was okay to use a .410 for SASS! How hard is it to look up the rules?? Geeeesh... gimme a break!

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17 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Heh.    Try writing shot stories of a science fiction/fantasy nature.   There are 2, maybe 3, physical magazines that publish such stuff anymore.   Maybe that many more all electronic ones.   6 cents a word is the going rate, IF they buy your story.

I wrote three stories in the StarTrek Strange New Worlds anthologies. After my third one I thought I had made it and would write StarTrek novels. At the time they were churning them out like romance novels! Suddenly that came to a stop and they went to just one or so a month. With all of the established writers in the ST universe, the new writer market vanished.

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11 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

My only gripe was that the writer of the article said it was okay to use a .410 for SASS! How hard is it to look up the rules?? Geeeesh... gimme a break!

Nope. He should have done his research. He could have come on here and asked. (I do.) Or, and this has happened to me, the editor decided to re-write something and made it wrong. That has happened several times over the years. Normally an editor makes things flow and read better. I have had a few that totally changed the story and screwed things up.

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21 minutes ago, Cholla said:

I wrote three stories in the StarTrek Strange New Worlds anthologies. After my third one I thought I had made it and would write StarTrek novels. At the time they were churning them out like romance novels! Suddenly that came to a stop and they went to just one or so a month. With all of the established writers in the ST universe, the new writer market vanished.

 

Wasn't that about the same time they went to no one without an agent need apply?   That's basically why I had to go the Amazon route for my own novels.  The market for SF/F novels is even smaller than the short story market if you don't have an agent.   And the only way to get an agent is to be referred to one by someone who already has one.  SF/F is, contrary to what it claims, a closed community.

 

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34 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

My only gripe was that the writer of the article said it was okay to use a .410 for SASS! How hard is it to look up the rules?? Geeeesh... gimme a break!

A break?  on the wire?  :rolleyes:

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49 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

Wasn't that about the same time they went to no one without an agent need apply?   That's basically why I had to go the Amazon route for my own novels.  The market for SF/F novels is even smaller than the short story market if you don't have an agent.   And the only way to get an agent is to be referred to one by someone who already has one.  SF/F is, contrary to what it claims, a closed community.

 

My last ST story was published in 2005 or so. I don't know how that fits into the timeline about agents. I was in SNW 4 and 5. By 8 they had a pool of over 200 new writers trying to bust into the ST novel market. If I remember right, there were about 5000 entries for the 32 spots in the anthology for 8. I kept pecking away at the wall to make it inside but when they said they were drastically reducing the novels being published, I turned to non-fiction. I wrote a few children's books, wrote a few movie scripts, and then went to writing non-fiction fishing, hunting, and how-to. (Does fishing count as non-fiction? We lie a lot as fishermen--)

In 2012 I self-published an ebook based on a column I was writing about conservation officers. My friends told me I would sell a million copies! I barely paid my expenses and that took three years. I haven't seen a check from it in a few years!

 

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That issue of GOTOW was the best I've seen since the new owners took over.  I appreciate how they start their reviews with historical information.  It's like they're acknowledging that, "Yeah sure we have to review this gun from this manufacturer to pay our bills, but we're gunna give you some interesting info first." 

 

 

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I agree. It may not be perfect but it’s made for us.  No one else caters to cowboy shooters like this.  My one gripe is often the magazine comes damaged in the mail.  I would gladly pay a little more if they would ship it with a protective cover or sleeve.  They are good about replacing damaged issues but would be nice if they arrived in good shape to start with.  Other magazines I get do this.  

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