• The AGN App is ready! Search "Airgun Nation" in your App store. To compliment this new tech we've assigned the "Threads" Feed & "Dark" Mode. To revert back click HERE.

Airgun “reviews”

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Yep. It’s like that with more things than just airguns. The smartest most qualified dudes in a lot of things will never be seen on YouTube or Facebook. Many things can motivate a person to do “look at me” things, some good some not. My neighbors kid does Youtube videos about something stupid but it’s popular. He is 16 and just bought a $40k car. His motivation isn’t the stupid thing he makes videos of, it’s the $$$.
 
Upvote 0
If you do nothing but test airguns, it easy to see how you get caught in "the game" and have the financial incentive to be less than forthcoming about the flaws, or else see your opportunities dry up- and who knows someone's situation- maybe they are on hard times. That doesn't excuse it, but makes it me not vilify the people who do it. Don't "hate the player" just ask YouTube to stop recommending those channels and spend your happy bucks well!


 
Upvote 0
Not entirely, check out Southern Gunner who isn't sponsored by anyone who bought his guns with his own hard earned money rather than receiving FREE donated guns to make favorable video reviews on and get to keep them (or scopes) as a thank you payment to sell to cash in and pocket that money for the good review. He also uses the same commercially made pellets from the tins every normal airgunners buys and uses which keeps everything real to get an accurate expectation from his viewers rather than make his own pellets and or slugs most airgunners don't even know about.
 
Upvote 0
 The reality is most reviewers are in fear of giving a bad review. They want a companies continued support, that might be free products or money. The gun might be to heavy, have a bad trigger or falls apart. Lol It's important to figure out the shortcomings I think, this helps create better products. It's nice when you can create and honest review that shows a products shortcomings as well as the positive. The cookie cutter reviews are easy to spot. What bothers me the most is those unwilling to disclose they got sponsored to provide the review, make it seem like they bought the product.
 
Upvote 0
I agree they are easy to spot but not for the late night, bored, fresh credit card, impulse buy guy. Maybe the true target audience. I have watched reviews on guns that I owned and spent time with other very knowledgeable guys trying to fix. The reviewer just glossed over deal breaker issues. Are they that dumb, blinded by excitement, compensating for buyers remorse or just happy they are getting free stuff. I basically quit watching that stuff. I only watch Ernest or Ed. Neither seem thrilled to be standing in front of a camera. I respect that.
 
Upvote 0
I agree they are easy to spot but not for the late night, bored, fresh credit card, impulse buy guy. Maybe the true target audience. I have watched reviews on guns that I owned and spent time with other very knowledgeable guys trying to fix. The reviewer just glossed over deal breaker issues. Are they that dumb, blinded by excitement, compensating for buyers remorse or just happy they are getting free stuff. I basically quit watching that stuff. I only watch Ernest or Ed. Neither seem thrilled to be standing in front of a camera. I respect that.
Click to expand...

I agree, I think most seasoned shooters most likely see through all the bullpoop. I refuse to do bench reviews mainly because I hate filming them. For me it's nice to get a rifle into the field and find things about them over a few days that you just don't discover from a bench. Pull a gun right out of the box and review it before really knowing anything about it's faults. Use them as most end users would and then some. Lol 
 
Upvote 0
You think good reviews are hard to find? Try doing repair videos, restorations, restomods and such where a lot of work is involved. Folks are easily bored these days. Instant gratification types. They all want it done before their eyes in a wink. They don't seem to want to be taught just how time consuming restoration work can be. They want it all right now! They don't seem to understand that the job well done is the gratification. To see that shiny rifle hangin' on the wall, & say, " I did that"! Nope. Not today, boy.

Or when you set up the camera(s), chrono, android connection and all the wires and such to do a test of pellets, etc. Nope again. They wanna see how much of a small animal's head you can blow off! Or how big of an animal that rifle/caliber will kill. At what range too? They want the action...the " money shot" as it were. Hunting, for example, is not about killing. But being out in nature and putting some meat in the pot while enjoying the out-of-doors. The rifle is a device...a means to an end. That's all. Showing how efficient it is can be all well & good.

It's when they get formulaic that the danger comes in. Over and above the obvious snow jobs that are so prevalent out there in video land. I recently had a guy say in response to one of my latest videos that I should take some of the " money I make" off my videos and get a better mic! Canon Power Shots do not have external mics or adjustable sound. Oh, that they did. Here again, those that can't do insist on teaching. I've done it for 10 years this month and have yet to make one penny off any video I've ever made. It can be hard to get 100 views on some that I've put some considerable work into. In the end, you just have to sift through them by experience with various video producers.
 
Upvote 0
Don't put much stock in video reviews. I'd rather come on the forums and find hands on reviews by actual owners who don't sugar coat anything. They get a new gun, take it out of the box, take some pics, clean the barrel and check the screws and start shooting, then come to the forums and do an honest write up of what they found, saw, chrony numbers, pellets they tried.
 
Upvote 0
There are only a handful of airgun YouTube guys that I can stand to watch. Most of the YouTube reviewers barely scratch the surface of the gun, its features, and performance. 

I also do "reviews" but use the forums instead of YouTube videos. My "reviews" are more like reports, with continual additions detailing my thoughts and opinions on the gun, as well as performance. So far, I've spent 4-6 weeks with each gun, and feel like that is a good stretch of time to get to know a gun pretty well. I like to eventually shoot the gun at one of our monthly field target competitions, when the power level is appropriate or can be made so. I report on that in-competition performance as well. 

I make it a point to start and end each gun review with a disclosure of the situation. I don't get paid and don't want to get paid, nor do I get to keep any of the products as an exchange for my opinions. I have a full-time good paying job. Airguns are fun for me and I want to keep it that way. Getting paid for reviews would turn it into a job and I have zero interest in that. And if I want to own a gun (review or otherwise), I buy it. 


 
Upvote 0
Very good posts by Vetmx and Unionrdr as per usual. I generally agree with all of your posts I see on the springer and general forum, your opinions on this matter are no different.

I’ve considered making tuning videos. I’ve watched all of Paul watts’ “boring” videos where he painstakingly tunes airguns or duplicates rifle stocks. I’ve watched many a long boring video on everything I have thought of. 

I notice if someone has decent equipment and films themselves opening a box and then shooting it at a milk jug at 10-20 yards the manufacturers or distributors take note. If someone posts a video like mike ellingsworth making a custom spring guide then you’ll have to specifically search for it on YouTube otherwise it’s unlikely to pop up. Even if you work primarily on one brand of gun, and you show people how to make improvements the manufacturers will ignore it. Without digression, likely do to litigation threats. 
 
Upvote 0
Personally I can't stand watching the video reviews. I don't have the patience to watch all the drivel they use to fill the time. Watching somebody shoot groups makes me hit the stop button real quick. I prefer a well written review preferably with pictures. I can skip over the details I'm not interested in and concentrate on whats important to me. 2 or 3 pics of targets showing the group size accompanied with the pellet details, fps and weather conditions means more to me and wastes none of my time. Actual, real life reviews on the forums such as this have a lot more credibility. Whoever posts the review is more likely to make an effort to be honest in their opinions because they know a lot of other people are going to chime in and call them on any blatant BS.
 
Upvote 0
Two reasons I took my airgun writing to self-published books long before Al Gore invented the internet is 1) To escape an editor lacking sense of humor enough to not edit out the spice and flavor of my admittedly "unique" humor and use of poetic license, and 2) Escape pressure to make my reviews of advertisers' products artificially positive, rather than honest (sometimes brutally so).

I have since (recently) stated, "The opinions of a shooter with many titles and records might be somewhat more valuable than some social-media celebrity-wannabe and his brother-in-law blowing a bunch'a smoke on You Tube". Glad to know others agree. Many.

No, I won't offer a politically-correct disclaimer like, "I realize not all You Tube reviewers and their brothers-in-law blow a bunch'a smoke on You Tube; my statement only applies to them that do". That goes without saying; and anyone that doesn't realize that... or wants to take offense at my lack of disclaimer, is welcome to do so.
 
Upvote 0
Very good posts by Vetmx and Unionrdr as per usual. I generally agree with all of your posts I see on the springer and general forum, your opinions on this matter are no different.

I’ve considered making tuning videos. I’ve watched all of Paul watts’ “boring” videos where he painstakingly tunes airguns or duplicates rifle stocks. I’ve watched many a long boring video on everything I have thought of. 

I notice if someone has decent equipment and films themselves opening a box and then shooting it at a milk jug at 10-20 yards the manufacturers or distributors take note. If someone posts a video like mike ellingsworth making a custom spring guide then you’ll have to specifically search for it on YouTube otherwise it’s unlikely to pop up. Even if you work primarily on one brand of gun, and you show people how to make improvements the manufacturers will ignore it. Without digression, likely do to litigation threats.
Click to expand...

Believe me, I have considered it too. Some of the things I have discovered or how some of my guns turned out I almost feel like there needs to be video proof. But I’m not going down that road. I already let COVID-19 bring me out of my shell and start sharing with you guys. When I seek info on anything in life, I want honesty. Even if it’s brutal and not what I want to hear. Nothing worse than a guy who won’t listen because his mind is made up and all he is seeking is validation about his latest obsession. I believe manufacturers and some reviewers know this and that’s what they play on. Like the guys above me have said, these forums are where it’s at. Spend enough time on here and get to know the guys you can trust. Most people aren’t that patient and find their way here because of a crapper they purchased because of a video.
 
Upvote 0
I think it's like drugs for a lot of these youtube reviewers, airguns or otherwise. They start off innocent enough, and just having some fun, but then money becomes involved if their channels gets popular and vendors start offering them more and more freebies and incentives. Eventually the vendors just start paying them outright for "reviews", and the reviewer is then essentially just working for the vendor(s).

A common question that reviewers (again, airguns or otherwise) publicly get asked in the comments is along the lines of "why are all of your reviews positive???". It's a good question, and the most common answer is "because I never bother making/publishing a video for the gear that is crap, that's why you never see it". Not really sure if I buy that...
 
Upvote 0
My biggest concern, as I have noticed the same, is not so much the promotion of content or the glazing over of issues but the rather matter of fact incorrectly scripted approach taken to provide *incorrect* information that is harmful should someone follow such advice. Oil fill procedures incorrectly demonstrated, oil levels incorrectly demonstrated, safe handling incorrectly demonstrated, etc. It's one thing to be a "social influencer" but another to socially influence with such lack of understanding as to cause material harm to a viewer should they mimic the same instruction. Disappointing because there's a confusing balance, I assume, between followers, altruism, and profiteering.
 
Upvote 0
I think it's like drugs for a lot of these youtube reviewers, airguns or otherwise. They start off innocent enough, and just having some fun, but then money becomes involved if their channels gets popular and vendors start offering them more and more freebies and incentives. Eventually the vendors just start paying them outright for "reviews", and the reviewer is then essentially just working for the vendor(s).

A common question that reviewers (again, airguns or otherwise) publicly get asked in the comments is along the lines of "why are all of your reviews positive???". It's a good question, and the most common answer is "because I never bother making/publishing a video for the gear that is crap, that's why you never see it". Not really sure if I buy that...
Click to expand...

Says the guy reviewing a Umarex or SPA gun. That’s a funny but predictable response from a reviewer. Sadly so. But you nailed it with your first paragraph and that’s what I fear. I don’t want to sell my soul over a stupid airgun.
 
Upvote 0
I use to watch one YouTuber on gun reviews he does until I I saw Joe's review on a particular scope and how Joe really gave the truth on that scope. After the "Fluff" information, I could clearly see this YouTuber was bought and was willing to pitch anything the manufactories gave him. I agree with Crosman999's statement that season shooters can see through the BS but it sucks for the people are just getting in to this sport and taking advice from a bias individual who is bought.
 
Upvote 0
As a reviewer the one thing that can become frustrating is when a ton of people ask us to review a certain gun. Being somewhat known helps but in some cases it's a fat pain in the ass.This to me becomes a huge red flag...it's like, what are you trying to hide? Or they want you to produce a video and then send the gun back? Lol Recently I aquired quite a few guns privately due to the manufacturers giving me the cold shoulder. Many times for a review I'm out in the field for three days filming for it, then have to come home and spend next three days editing. Then the written report that gets published on our MSA website. Yeah sure let's do all that for free and then send the gun back. Haha No way, I put a price on it for my time, fuel cost and experience doing it. The end result is I'm happy, they have something people can watch, read and make a decision on. 
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu