The demise of Airgunner (and Airgun Shooter) magazines

[ccdjg]

For those of you who do not know already, the powers-that-be have decided to terminate publication of the Air Gunner magazine after the July issue. This after almost 40 years of continuous publication. The more recent Airgun Shooter magazine has also been dropped. This leaves Airgun World , as the only remaining British airgun magazine, with a monopoly on the genre. For us collectors, the saddest thing is that John Atkins will no longer be available to entertain and inform us from his vast knowledge and experience of all things airgun, always presented in his unique way.

What is the general opinion about the demise of the magazine? is it a symptom of a decline in our hobby, or is it something to be expected from advancing information technology?

It would interesting to know what the collecting fraternity on this forum think, as opposed to those who favor the other forums.

[POLO]

Hi

For me the saddest loss was 'Shooting Sports' magazine which encompassed Rifles, Guns and Airguns edited by Peter Moore. Also many years before 'Target Sports'.
Obviously not enough copies being sold will result in publication being withdrawn.

Ian

[Unframed Dave]

These decisions are driven by sales revenue. All the talking has been done.

Dave

[Muskett]

It is the story of magazines in general. This decline has being going on for decades now.
Most of the information can be had from other media outlets, and at no real cost. Subscriptions to down load magazines is pretty cheap and you can get them all.

When it comes to Shooting Magazines it is a pretty crowded market with a lot of overlapping articles. Read them for a few years and they do get very repetitive. Sure Shooting Sports is a big topic, but do they need quite so many magazines? A good few of the articles are all a bit light weight, and not saying much, nor adding anything that can't be found better on YTube or on a forum such as this.

I hope Airgun World succeeds. It could get a bit bigger and get a bit more detail into its content. I do think it is still important that there is a dedicated Air Rifle Magazine on the shelves if only to catch the eye of those who could be potential new members to the sports.

[Abasmajor]

With magazines costing around £6 per copy these days it’s probably not surprising that some turn to cheaper mediums to indulge their interests.
Given the requirement for air gun magazines to cover all the various disciplines and interests within the sport, the depth of cover must also necessarily be limited given the copy restrictions. Personally I buy these magazines purely for the collector and technical features and as there seems to be a higher coverage to hunting these days, the cost is hard to justify.
Of course it goes without saying that we shall miss the John Atkins content which has provided us with a tremendous library of information and detailed information over the years.
The only thing we might hope for is that after a well earned rest he may have more time to possibly publish a book or two based on the wealth of knowledge and experience he undoubtedly possesses.

Brian

[Garvin]

A vintage airgun world without John Atkins producing his beautifully illustrated articles every month is far poorer than it has been for decades. I have offered him a slot in the gallery' pages whenever he wants it, regularly or occasionally, but I suppose that depends on whatever else he's got cooking.

If more people were willing to sign up to give the gallery US$1 a month (Paypal is denominated in dollars) in donations, I would happily make Mr Atkins an offer he couldn't refuse.

[angrybear]

Hi

For me the saddest loss was 'Shooting Sports' magazine which encompassed Rifles, Guns and Airguns edited by Peter Moore.

Ian

Quite agree, I was a subscriber to Shooting sports, the best of all the shooting magazines.

Airgun shooter was good when it started, but then had a big reshuffle, the first issue after that was rubbish so I stopped buying it.

I never understood how Air Gunner & AGW could exist side by side because they were almost clones, but AGW seemed aimed at a slightly higher class than Air Gunner.

[rapidresponse1]

i stopped buying the mags to much advertising not enough to read about our sport,and the price of them now is mad

[AC99]

I subscribed to the magazine for years but became exasperated at the number of articles which did not interest me and swapped instead to the cheaper digital version where the very few articles of interest could be downloaded and printed off. Digital subscribers also had access to the archived earlier editions going back for years. I am not too surprised at its demise although quite sad to see another mag biting the dust but for me the majority of articles were of little or no interest and many were quite repetitive.

[slug-gun]

This would be a great opportunity to take the two magazines (and Airgun Shooter) and create one truly excellent all encompassing airgun magazine, and at the same time take it up market in terms of its cerebral level - ie for years if not for ever, most or many of the articles and reviews seemed to be aimed at a not very bright 14 year old!


Whether the owners of these magazines will have the nous to do this I somehow doubt given what has been said so far? Hope i'm wrong.

The shining exception of course are those articles by John A, who it would appear has been treated most shabbily ? Why he has not been invited to continue his unique and very high quality articles is beyond me!
Or at the very least to be able to sign off in some significant manner?

Like many on here I only subscribed to A/G for John's articles, all now Stanley knifed from their respective magazines and stored in binders according to subject matter.
What an invaluable library of information they now form.
I consider John's unstinting efforts over decades, month in month out, to be a truly remarkable achievment, and more's the pity his work won't be acknowledged by the publisher of Airgunner as it deserves.

[EricP]

When I received my copy of Airgun Shooter a couple of weeks ago there was no mention of it finishing. Nothing on their Facebook page either

[Mach 1.5]

As we all get older and the younger generation have not much interest in our hobby and the powers of be are trying to destroy it then it's no real surprise. Mach 1.5

[TonyL]

I wasn't aware of the demise of these two magazines and, for me, I think it's sad news.

Hopefully the writers that wish to carry on writing can be accommodated into the sister Airgun World magazine (in the case of Airgunner) to join my favourite writers.

I hope Airgun World continues in magazine format for a very long time. It's the original and we owe much to this magazine in terms of advancement of airgunning Worldwide. I much prefer mine to come in paper copy - more tactile and I agree with the earlier post that the magazine on the shelf might help attract newcomers.

[Phil Russell]

Well, I guess it is official now: AirGunner will cease and AGW will continue.

I just had an email from Field Sports Press telling me that any AG magazine subscription editions due to me will transfer to AGW unless I want a refund. As I take AGW I am quite happy to let the AG copies due to me just add on to the AGW subscription so have no need to do anything.

E mail content:
Dear Subscriber

I’m writing to let you know that Air Gunner magazine will cease publication with the July/Summer 2023 issue.

However, we are pleased to inform you that we have arranged to transfer your subscription to Airgun World magazine, also published by Fieldsports Press. For each issue of Air Gunner that you were due to receive, you will instead receive an issue of Airgun World. If you are already an Airgun World subscriber, Fieldsports Press is happy to extend your subscription by the appropriate number of copies.

If you are a member of the British Airgun Shooters Association, your membership will remain unaffected.

Launched in 1977, Airgun World is considered by many to be ‘The Bible’ as far as airgun magazines are concerned. It has a long-standing history of being the first magazine to review many of the newest airguns to market. Edited by Dave Barham and published 13 times a year, Airgun World includes all the latest launches/innovations, technical knowhow, hunting, FT and HFT competition shooting plus the science behind the sport, and is aimed at all those who love the sport of airgun shooting.

What do you need to do?

If you’re happy to receive Airgun World, then you don’t need to do anything at all. Your first issue will be the August 2023 issue published on 26/07/2023.

If you don’t want your subscription transferred, please contact our dedicated customer service team by 19/05/2023 on 01371 851890 or email orders@fieldsportspress.com who will action a refund for the remaining liability of your subscription. If we do not hear from you, we will assume you are happy with the above arrangements and your subscription will be transferred.

Thank you for subscribing to Air Gunner – we really appreciate your support.

Yours sincerely


All very sad but I guess economics rules the world.
Cheers, Phil

[ptdunk]

I could live without Airgunner in general but think I think the end of John A’s collectible section is a huge loss to the vintage collecting community and knowledge base.
I really like his writing style, he always manages to make it sound like he's telling a story and his depth of knowledge is huge.

Hopefully he can find another outlet for his work in the future.

Cheers,
Matt