I am sad to report that Precision Shooting has closed their doors. I was a little worried last month when their normally reliable delivery was 10 days late and today I found this notice:

http://www.precisionshooting.com/

on their website. The October issue was the last. Although the content quality had slipped a bit in recent years, except for Michael's articles of course, it was still the best shooting publication and the only one I regularly read.

A sad event. I started with a subscription to "The Tactical Rifle" in 1998, then it was discontinued and I got the "The Accurate Rifle" in it's place, and finally for the last ten years or so "Precision Shooting".

The market is just too small I suppose.

Shoot

As a life member of NBRSA since the 1960's, I have not paid for my subscription to Precision Shooting for years. Had I known of the problem, I would have been glad to become a paying subscriber, rather than a freeloader.

The same does not hold true to with my life membership in NRA, which similarly excuses me from paying for the American Rifleman, a publication I seldom glance at when it arrives.

I think the internet, esp. forums like this one, are a bigger part of the problem. And not just PS. Just about every magazine is seeing the same thing. Advertiser dollars are pulling out as a result and because they have other, maybe better, places to be put.

It is progress I guess. I don't like it but this forum (and others) have advantages that magazines do not. And those advantages extend well beyond just the price of admission.

Seems like it was only yesterday that Dave Brennan ask me to write an article about Griffin & Howe. I turned him down, said there was a lot more to American custom gunmakers than G&H. I explained that the there were a lot of good people before and after G&H and to tell the story that I wanted to tell I needed to start at the beginning. We went back and fourth for a while and I think more out of frustration than anything he said write what you want and if it's not too far out I'll print it. From then on that is how it worked, I wrote them and he published them ;-).

Hard to believe that was sixteen years ago. As you all know, I'm not a very prolific writer. Good thing I'm not doing this for a living. Writing takes place when the search for a rifle and the research on the maker is over.

I have enough material for volume-two of my book, PS has two articles that did not get published so those will be included.

I have a lot on my plate right now but in a few weeks I'll start talking to book publishers and do the next volume myself.

I'm still searching, researching and writing although I'm not sure where they will go now. Volume-three is not out of the question.

Heck I publish everything here first anyway. I use this place as a sounding board and iron out a few of the wrinkles.



"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." Frank Clark

Michael I will be one of your first customers. Whitey

I've learned a lot from PS over the years....sorry to see it gone.

When I first subscribed, PS was little more than a pamphlet, more like a newsletter, with few articles, mostly match results. The only article of any note that I can remember was a three part discussion, written by Gary Anderson, of three position free rifle shooting.

Then it suddenly took off and became the full fledged magazine it was until its demise, what the American Rifleman used to be, dedicated solely to shooting. I can only hope that it might find away to continue to exist on line, where magazines are increasingly finding a home.

As an occasional writer, I'm glad I am running out of energy as the written word is slowly dying.

AMEN and double!

Too bad the NRA doesn't have enough sense to hire Dave to replace their current boring, verrryyyy borriinngg, Editorial Idiot. One issue of PS contains more valuable info than an entire year's worth of The Rifleman.

We are truly diminished.
Regards, Joe

So when can we order MP's second book?

Craig

I can't imagine a world that does not have paper and print to peruse and enjoy. I subscribe to magazines and have issues I have had for 50 years and still like to take out and read. Somehow,the computer is a poor substitute for a good book or magazine article.

When I know all you here will know as well ;-).

I agree with the comments about the American Rifleman. I have every year from 1932 until about 1992. I have been a life NRA member since sometime in the 1970's. IMO the articles and information in the current issues are not worth keeping.
IMO the NRA's role as a lobby group for gun owners is well done.

[quote=Ken Nelson]I've learned a lot from PS over the years....sorry to see it gone.

I'll second that emotion!!!

Good shooting.

Mr. Petrov, do you care to post a complete bibliography of your contributions to Precision Shooting? I think I have most of them but I'm sure I don't have them all. Bill Murphy

I'll try, the ones in red were not published. A little mix of others as well. The one in Green is my favorit ;-).


June-87 American Single Shot Rifle News Identifying That Niedner Rifle
April-89 American Single Shot Rifle News The Leopold-Mann-Niedner Maynard
August-90 Rifle Niedner Rimless Magnum Rifle
December-93 American Single Shot Rifle News Niedner Varmint Rifle 1911
October-94 Rifle The Mann-Niedner Base-Band Bullet
February-96 American Single Shot Rifle News Niedner False-Barrel Rifle
June-96 Precision Shooting An Introduction
November-96 Precision Shooting Ludwig Wundhammer
January-97 Gun Digest A Maynard Talks
April-97 Precision Shooting A.O. Niedner Malden
November-97 Precision Shooting Griffin & Howe
February-98 Precision Shooting Hoffman Arms Company
March-98 Precision Shooting Niedner Rifle Corporation
June-98 Precision Shooting Not Well Known
January-99 Precision Shooting Alvin Linden
March-99 Precision Shooting R.G. Owen
June-99 Precision Shooting R.F. Sedgley
October-99 Precision Shooting Adolph Minar
June-00 Single Shot Rifle Journal Dear Robert (H.M. Pope Rifle)
August-00 Precision Shooting More Unknown
November-00 Precision Shooting 400 Niedner
January-01 Precision Shooting New Information and Corrections (a)
February-01 Precision Shooting 400 Whelen
June-01 Precision Shooting New Information and Corrections (b)
November-01 The Accurate Rifle Understanding the Paper-Patched Bullet
September-02 Precision Shooting Fred Adolph
November-02 Precision Shooting The Niedner-Springfield .22LR
June-03 Precision Shooting More Not Well Known & Unknown
August-03 Precision Shooting Owen-Sheldon Remington 12-C
December-03 Precision Shooting .400 Whelen Part 2
February-04 Precision Shooting George Gibbs
March-04 Precision Shooting Harvey W. Rodgers
August-04 Precision Shooting German Connection (a)
December-04 Precision Shooting German Connection (b)
March-05 Precision Shooting F. Surkamer & E. Johnson
April-05 Precision Shooting Shooting Mr. Niedner's Schuetzen rifle
August-05 Precision Shooting Niedner's False-Barrel Rifle
February-06 Precision Shooting Owen & Worthen Revisited
July, 06 Precision Shooting Whelen's Wundhammer
Feb, 2007 Precision Shooting Niedner's Underhammer
March, 2007 Precision Shooting Depression Era Sporters
January, 2008 Precision Shooting Stewart Edward White's Wundhammer
June, 2008 Precision Shooting Niedner's 1924 Rifle
December, 2008 Precision Shooting Fred Adolph Revisited
February, 2009 Precision Shooting When Was It Made
March, 2009 Precision Shooting Wundhammer & King
December, 2009 Precision Shooting S.R. Griffin
July, 2010 Precision Shooting John Dubiel
March, 2011 Precision Shooting Hoffman Falling Block
August, 2011 Precision Shooting Paul Jaeger Sent 5/21/11
January, 2012 Precision Shooting A Collection of Sporters (a) Sent 9/10/11
March, 2012 Precision Shooting A Collection of Sporters (b) Sent 9/10/11
Precision Shooting James V. Howe Sent 8/31/11
August, 2012 Precision Shooting Pachmayr Sent 4/10/12
Precision Shooting John Hutton Sent 10/26/12


Articles in varying amount of completion (in the works).

The Men from Hoffmans
Bob Owen by the Numbers
Ned Moran
John Oberlies
Jules La Bantchni
"S" Man
The 25-HP The story of Mann & Niedner (three-part)
Tobias