I rarely buy mags nowadays, unless they have an article - usually about classic airguns or technical/servicing - that is of direct interest to me.
They have to tread a fine line between telling us the truth & keeping their advertisers happy. Unfortunately they can stray over the line. One article in particular mentioned his clothing manufacturer more often than the rifle he was using. It was along the lines of
'Before my hunting trip I pulled on my xxxx boots blah blah out in the field I was warm & snug in my xxxx made jacket blah the new shooting gloves from xxxx were excellent & so on. 'Think the maker got 5 mentions, the gun maker 2 or 3
Sometimes articles can be factually incorrect. A few years back I wrote to a mag in response to an erroneous piece on a well known 'classic'. Much to my surprise I received an email back from the editor acknowledging the mistakes. Even better, it was made 'Letter of the Month'. For some reason, I never got the freebie scope that was normally awarded, despite reminding the magazine months later.
They are useful to keep up with prices, new products & so on - but take them with a large dose of salt.
My 2p worth
Bruce
Webley Mk3 x2, Falcon & Junior rifles, HW35x2, AirSporter x2, Gold Star, Meteors x2, Diana 25. SMK B19, Webley Senior, Premier, Hurricane x 2, Tempest, Dan Wesson 8", Crosman 3576, Legends PO8.