Seriously people, why would you not want to hear about a rifle just because you can't afford it? Did I refuse to take my kids to the Air and Space Museum because we couldn't afford to buy the SR-71 parked there? Hell no. Because as every kid knows, the SR-71 Blackbird is too damn cool not to go see! It's okay to learn about something just because it's interesting.

And, if I'm remembering correctly, DEP declared the lowly Marlin XL7 to be the gun of the decade. In the print magazine no less.

Hey let us not disparage dump rat shooting. It is becoming a lost art with the closing of old fashion dumps. Now there is probably only a limited season with size limitations and sex determination. I began ratting at a young age with a scarily battered Stevens 22, and shot my last one with a spiffy Kimber 22. Only if it was a certified rogue did I step up to my grand old 416 Rigby.

I have had the honor of hosting Dave Petzal on more than one occasion in Alaska. He always paid full dollar and shot / fished very well. In nearly fifty years of guiding in AK I know a lot of magazine and gun writers. He is one of two for whom I have a lot of respect for their field knowledge, as a real hunter, plus their dedication to advancing the shooting sports we all love. God knows, he must have a shoulder of steel to have shot the thousands of rounds he has sent down more barrels than most of us have ever owned.
onward, Dave

Satire, folks...it was satire.

To misquote Col. Whelen, only interesting rifles are interesting. To me, at least. I solid 30-06bolt is a wonderful tool, and truth be told, few of us will ever need anything other that one of these in our lifetime.

But that's just boring.

I can hunt deer in the back forty any old year. I want to hear about places I haven't been, shooting rifles I haven't seen.

PS: New ropes are the pits; they just aren't broken in yet.

I like to read about items that I can't afford such as $5000 rifles and $30,000 red stag hunts. Keep up the good work DP.

He has to keep the stuff Hillbilly, he can't give you any guns.

DP: I agreed with AJMcC, that it'd be nice to know what the Seals use to cleanse the world, but I really disagree about the photo. Why do we need to see some perforated stiff? B.F. deal. I saw Che Guevara, looking like a sieve, and it didn't do a lot for me. Given the danger and complexity of these operations, I think the gov't has already told us a hell of a lot more than we (and our enemies) should know about this one. We found him, we got him, now on to al-Zawahri and al-Awlaki.

Hey Dave: What about running a comparison of the current
Double Rifles available...like Merkel, Chapuis, Krieghoff,
Searcy, etc. (You can omit the more expensive Hollands &
Wesley Richards...they may not be easy to have loaned).
That would be fun for you & us who like the Doubles.
I've NEVER seen any gun writer do a side by side (pun not
intended) comparison.
Now..THAT would be interesting!
Best Regards, Tom

Dave, Your honesty has dashed my hopes of one day becoming an outdoor writer. I thought it was all about freebies and booth babes. I feel bad for you now. Where do I send my check?

I was always curious but it really wouldn't effect my view of your guys reviews I haven't had one fail me yet and if I did I think theres a place on the site to post on the product. Keep the good work I think the reviews have saved me a good deal of time and money. I also love window shopping.

Dave, I don't want him to show the picture, not for YouTube anyway. I know he's dead but if member countries of the United Nations don't believe it let them see it behind closed doors.
I'd like to see it myself though.

Mr Petzal.
Has long as you write honestly and well, good luck on a few freebies.

Many moons ago I wrote an outdoor column for my hometown weekly newspaper. You don't get many freebies at that lowly level, but I did receive the occasional new fish hooks or plastic worms from some manufacturer looking to drum up a few new customers. On the rare occasions I mentioned them in print I always made a point to add that I had been sent free samples. Most of the people who read my stuff back then knew me anyway and they knew I wasn't shy about expressing an opinion, but they also knew me well enough to know it would be honest, even if it was half-baked. I think disclosure is the main thing. Later, when I was a so-called working member of the "legitimate" press, the places I worked for would simply write a check to cover the cost of any "free" meal provided to the media at coverage of various events. Given the amounts involved, it was really kind of silly, but the point was to avoid even the appearance of being compromised.
Lord knows the media deserves plenty of criticism, but I think people on the outside would be surprised at how few "freebies" are ever directed anyone's way, and how little they influence anyone covering a story. Certainly, DP's opinions seem hard-boiled enough.
Speaking of whom, I am curious about one thing, for the sake of disclosure. What in the world did O'Connor say or do to you way back when that still has you so steamed after all these years? From everything I've read about him he could be acerbic as hell and as blunt as a river rock, but he also seemed to have his share of loyal friends, including plenty of people who worked in close proximity to him over a long period of time. As far as "getting free guns by the armload," assuming the reference was to J.O., I always heard that O'Connor was dead set against taking freebies; something that sounds right enough given his journalistic background. I know Outdoor Life picked up the tab for his first African Safari, but there's nothing wrong with that since he was on the staff. His writings certainly don't indicate any reluctance to share negative opinions about major brands and nothing he ever wrote gave me any reason to believe that the opinions he penned were anything but honest appraisals of the equipment he used. So what gives?

Dave, ignore that crybaby. He's just another ultraliberal Democrat whining because he didn't get another handout that he didn't earn.

Well, OK, if you dont want the rifle, can I have it?

DEP,
We don't begrudge you any fringe benefits you derive from your job because everybody gets a little something besides a paycheck. I do like the part about keeping some items "on indefinite consignment," and wonder if that applies to automotive products like pickup trucks:)

I think about the STM-80 HD spotting scope every time I take a short hike to see where I hit a target, I lie to myself thinking that it is useful time letting the barrel cool, but really I want and will buy one when the time is right and I get AES off my back. In the meantime I may pony up to some Shoot n C
http://www.amazon.com/50-Birchwood-Casey%C2%AE-Adhesive-Variety/dp/B0002...
but they want let you know if an elk is work hiking over and up a valley for. I actually wrote Swarovski a letter auf Deutsche to Swarovski back in 2004 to do an extensive field review and I didn't even get a hat.

Dave,
I heard that the MP5 was replaced by the MK 18 (short barrel M4).

+1's for everyone today, whether I liked what you wrote or not, because in honor of this post it's freebie day! And that's all I've got to give away for free today.

DP = I would be genuinely pleased for you to get lots of free stuff whether you wanted it or not. And the magazine should see to it that you do more than just 3 trips in a typical year -- you would have more to write about! And if I was manufacturing bullets that I believed were the best I could make, I'd be shoving them in your hands as fast as you could shoot them. If you wrote that they didn't pass muster, I'd figure out how to make them better. I could go on. For such a big industry, the shooting world is not very generous.

About OBL and the picture... God bless the boys in blue that do what needs doin'. The rest is boloney.

PS: what ever happened to Bella? Just askin'.

As a general rule, when I read gun reviews I always wonder if I am getting an unbiased review. This isn't directed at you, David, just the gun media as a whole. I don't suspect bias because of the writers getting freebies, I suspect a bias because the gun manufacturers (and optic and ammo manufacturers etc) advertise in the magazine or on the website for which those writers produce content. For the most part the bias is not extreme but I do suspect that due to a reluctance to bite the hand that feeds you, most writers produce slightly more positive reviews of products than they would if their employer did not depend on advertising dollars from the manufacturers. And I will continue to take my gun and gear reviews with a grain of salt.

DEP, as long as you've been around, being qualifed to write first hand about David's sling being an example, I think you've paid your dues and deserve a few perks from time to time. Having said that, if you do happen to get more stuff than you can handle, I'll be happy to help you out with the surplus on your next trip to WV. Keep up the good work.

Dear Mr. Petzal,

Please do not lower yourself to the level of hacks who would take free guns or equipment in exchange for reviews. There are enough of us hacks out here trying to scrounge up some free stuff, and you would be cutting into an already depleted supply of goods.

I enjoy pieces about the newest variant of 870 or 700, but if I am really that curious, I can go to a local retailer and see it for myself. It's likely I can borrow a friend's and try it if I want. I only get to fondle the high-end stuff at shows or auctions, so I like to read reviews of firearms requiring a separate insurance rider.

Still desperately seeking an opportunity to sell out to the gun industry,

Armchair

Some of us have about as much chance of becoming an "outdoor" writer as 5 foot 7 inch, 145 pound Elmo Milksop has of becoming the next All Pro Defensive Tackle for the Dallas Cowboys or Rosie O'Donnell of becoming Playmate of the Year! (Egads! That makes me want to poke out MY OWN eyes!)
Fortunately, for Dave and Phil, physique and physical stature are not requisites for success (apparently!) in the field of outdoor writing. Apparently, (again?) while the rest of us were out chasing squirrels with sticks and homemade bows or frying ants with a magnifying glass, Phil and Dave's mothers had them sitting at home, doing their English homework, studying how to conjugate verbs and avoid dangling participles!
We all have the "ability" to be "freebie" recieveing "Outdoor Writers". Just not very many of us "honed" those skills!
For me it was chasing wood ducks, squealers where I grew up, along the bends of Keechi Creek in deep E. Texas!
There are not "that" many Troy Aikman, Drew Bledsoe, Jack O'Connor, Elmer Keith's out there.
It is with greatest gratitude that we have DEP and PB to put words together for us into a recognizable form that at least "MOST" of us can comprehend without a Doctorate from MIT!

Dave and Phil: You both do a wonderful job. We know you try hard to make us understand, but look what you have to work with! LOL!!!

Enjoy the "freebies"! You've earned them!

Bubba
P.S. This close to Mother's Day, how about a big round of applause for Mrs. Petzal and Mrs. Bourjaily!!

Dr. Ralph

Give someone in the thread above a "ghost post" of yours that does not appear a +1 and they will all reload. You can go back and reverse the +/- after the thread loads all posts if you want. Just sayin'

The problem I had with freebies, there was always a catch and limitations what I can or can't do with it. Another problem is when you do something fantastic with it, either some weasel tries to get credit or make enemies formally known as professional jealousy. As for my Birth Certificate, it’s guarded by Military Police

There is a certain contingent on this blog that leans toward the cheaper and vanilla side of things...

I still have that 1990's Field & Stream issue where David Petzal, G. Sitton, Finn Aagard and Layne Simpson formed a panel and reviewed deer rifles and ammunition. All factory guns. Praise was duly given, as was criticism. Although marks were given to fit and finish, more attention was given to reliable function and accuracy. You knew if a gun sample had a horrendous trigger. Some were returned, and were replaced by the manufacturers.

And it was curious that all the testing of slug shotguns was done by Finn. Maybe he was the one with the shoulder of iron.

WOW this "Freebie" topic really generated a lot of comments. I am still dubious as to what some writers due infact get as "free"..normally nothing is free without some strings attached.

Del - how much does that thing weigh? .300 Wby. kicks worse than a .375 or .338 if you ask me, and as far as I know, Vanguards are pretty light regardless of chambering.

Also look at the Barnes MRX (Maximum Range X bullet) for your purposes.

I like the scope. Plenty of upper end magnification and dials down low for any closer shots you may encounter - like ones at bears.

There's one thing I see as a positive of Mr. Bourjaily and Mr. Petzal reviewing all of the expensive and unusualy rifles and shotguns on the market. That is, how often would you read the blog if they reviews Remington 700s and BARs all the time? I know i wouldn't want to read about the different features of those rifles that come on the different models.

If they didn't write about the new and innovative designs from different companies, then we wouldn't be left to drool over something that we might never be able to afford. I am amazed at what some gun manufacturers are able to do these days with most rifle calibers that are essentially a hundred years old. Think about how many people have a 45-70 rifle just because here in MS they added rules that allowed those "primitive" rifles to be used during the primitive weapon seasons.

Also, if these writers weren't provided some of what they review, then they wouldn't have a job. It gives the manufacturer free advertising as well. While they pay thousands or millions a year in ad and such, the good word of a respected journalist can be a far reaching tool of the marketing arm of a company.

I say well done to both of the writers of this blog, and I admire the fact that they take the time to work at providing us information about what is going on in the gun market.

Dear Dave,
How does one go about getting a rifle manufacturer to send them a freebie to test? I would have no problem being on that committee.

I once heard the story about how some senior employees at one of the major gun manufacturers played a cruel practical joke on a junior employee. They instructed the poor young dude to go to the home of Col. Charles Askins and request the return of the many guns given to him for testing and evaluation over the years.
I believe they mercifully called it off before it went too far.

DEP :To hell with the negative soothsayers, It's none of their business what you get for writing about a product or whether or not it is given to you. I'm sure that you would have no problem returning a piece of crap equipment to a manufacturer and writing a fair review. Furthermore, if you ever write a review on something as dull and mundane as a m700 Remington and Nikon scope, I'll assure you that neither I nor a great lot of your readers would waste their time reading. After all, what are you gonna say that is not common knowledge. Stay after it, your doing a good job!

Dave please do us a favor, keep writing honestly and most of all, please make the gun nut issue of YOUR favorite guns because i honestly consider buying the guns you like, because well, i find you as someone with more experience than me

Shane I have looked at a used MOA Vanguard in Cabelas. Liked the gun just fine but they wanted 800 bucks which I feel is too high for a used gun. That gun did not seem too light besides that big scope will add some weight. I have owned a Mdl 70 Winchester in 300 Roy but traded the gun off years ago. Did not notice any recoil when I used it on a bull caribou in AK back in 1986 or so. He went down like the DOW after Obama's election. The distance was estimated to be 275-300yd across the tundra. IMO The only real advantage the MRX has over the TTSX is the bullet is somewhat shorter yielding slightly more powder space. Also I suspect a slightly slower twist rifling will likely stabilize the shorter bullet. Not worth the huge price increase.