Standards for reviewing?

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I do read much of the feedback on the forums for many of the ideas I come up with for videos and just wanted to touch base with a few thoughts. Obviously with the many reviews put out, either videos or written I do see somewhat of a cookie cutter format going on. One thing I've noticed, me being included is no test are really shown for POI changes, to me as an avid hunter this is something I feel is important for a reviewer to show. Here are a few bullet points I figured I would brainstorm, I would enjoy some feedback.


  • Price (did you purchase or was it sent to you?)
  • Claimed performance, stats, features, build quality etc,
  • Sound test with and without moderator (low/high setting when applicable)
  • Trigger Pull
  • Accuracy test (full magazine groups), low powered piston guns, CO2 pistols etc, 15/25 yards depending. High powered PCP's 30fpe minimum 50 yards, over 30 fpe 75/100 yard minimum.
  • POI Test, shoot full magazine group, grab barrel and flex several times then shoot another group to check for POI change. (Obviously some airguns such as pistols may not benefit from this test)
  • Camera angles that cant be manipulated or heavily edited, yes this is a thing!
These are simply just a few ideas I'm throwing out that I hope some may be kind enough to add to, I do feel very strongly about the barrel test and think it's important to show.
 
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A lot of reviewers don't even do actual reviews these days. Its a quick unboxing and first look impressions, followed by 100 shots at various ranges and then immediately sold. Congratulations, you showed what a hand picked gun sent to you for free can do out of the box. Those "reviewers" aren't reviewers. They're part of a marketing team. How does it last after several months of use? Did anything break in for better or for worse?
 
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Sqwirlfugger57 said:
A lot of reviewers don't even do actual reviews these days. Its a quick unboxing and first look impressions, followed by 100 shots at various ranges and then immediately sold. Congratulations, you showed what a hand picked gun sent to you for free can do out of the box. Those "reviewers" aren't reviewers. They're part of a marketing team. How does it last after several months of use? Did anything break in for better or for worse?
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I agree, it's something of a revolving door...one goes out and the next one comes in. I think in some cases for those who make a living it's difficult to sit on the money for very long.
 
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Sqwirlfugger57 said:
A lot of reviewers don't even do actual reviews these days. Its a quick unboxing and first look impressions, followed by 100 shots at various ranges and then immediately sold. Congratulations, you showed what a hand picked gun sent to you for free can do out of the box. Those "reviewers" aren't reviewers. They're part of a marketing team. How does it last after several months of use? Did anything break in for better or for worse?
Click to expand...
Payed advertisment is what these are not reviews.
 
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I don't heed anything a reviewer says, I'm watching for the features and some stats on power, etc.
Perfect example, the Benjamin Gunnar.
I looked hard and when the reviews dropped, they were all glowing, but this gun fizzled. Especially with the price point the came in at.

I do my own research and go from there. Video reviews are just part of that process.
 
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@Crosman999 I’m in agreement with @Sqwirlfugger57 on the aspect of longevity. How long you have owned the gun is important as well as what you’ve been doing with it. As a hunter I’m interested in reliability and ruggedness over at least a year. Although it was extreme, your torture test did a lot to satisfy my curiosity in the area of durability on the three guns that you put to the test.

As for longevity, I don’t know of many reviewers who do longevity reports. And I don’t mean some a safe-queen gun that only makes it from the safe, to a hard-case, to the bench at the range, and back once a week. I want to know how it functions and holds up in outdoor weather during all four seasons: extreme heat, cold/snow, rains (if feasible), dusty/windy conditions, etc. These things interest me. Shots per fill is also an aspect I look at as well as weight distribution (which enough guys seem to cover). I’d to see videos discussing which areas can be modified or improved upon to enhance a gun’s performance. At least somewhat simple mods that the average Joe Thumbs could perform relatively easily. Knowing what type of person the reviewer thinks a gun would be best suited for is also a plus (field target, plinking, hunting, bench rest, etc).
 
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  • Price (did you purchase or was it sent to you?) ~Dana
Dana your right on, anybody can be a pom pom cheer leader, when they paid nothing, nana for the ride.
There are very few middle of the road guys giving true bark on item reviews.
So few that I could count them on one hand and still have fingers to hold a taco if you know what I mean.
Call me old fashion but I do my own research when considering any purchase since it's my own frog skins on the table. :cool:
 
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I like everything you have suggested. I also like how when you are hunting that you often list the distance of the shot in the corner of the video. It gives a better perspective than guessing while watching.

Weight unscoped and scoped

Length of pull maybe important to some

Recommended or moderator used

Whether you have to clean the barrel during testing because of POI shift or losing accuracy

Another topic that could be beneficial is if a company offers multiple expensive models of something then a side by side comparison of features. An example would be Accu-Tac tripods.

Another topic I would enjoy seeing from you is a behind the scenes video. How many days do you spend in the field on average. How many hours of footage do you capture to make a 30 minute video. What drone do you use and what has been your experience including repairs. What camera equipment. How many hours of editing do you put in for each minute produced.

You also do a lot of camping. So, what equipment do you truly love when camping after long-term use with maybe affiliate links.

I really enjoyed your harvesting to table of jackrabbit vs cotton tail.

I could go on and on

Finally, more Marley. I look forward to seeing Marley everytime I watch a video.
 
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yeah, anyone reviewing an airgun they've had for a few days isn't doing customers any favors.
i learn quirks sometimes many hours/days/rounds/etc later.

definitely a lot of cookie-cutter reviews from some popular influencers. but, sadly, i think that's what the masses want.
sound-bites, nice easy formula to follow, not too much thinking, accept the "pro" at his word and be happy we already bought it.

then come into a forum and bash anyone who doesn't own the same.
 
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So Dana (Crosman999)I think the ideas you have put out are pretty good, and all of it is stuff that I would find interesting to know. So far I have been pretty impressed by your videos, and while i will not treat my guns as badly as you did on your torture test, it was good to see how they withstood (or did not as the case may be) the torture.

However I see a common theme from many people here that you can’t test an air rifle unless you’ve owned it for 6 months, or a year, or two years… Similarly, I see folks saying that it’s not a test unless you essentially beat the crap out of the gun, and show us that it still works after you drive a truck over it.

Well, I can certainly say that I don’t beat the crap out of my guns. Further, while there are some things that can only be learned over time, I’m not actually sure that its that much, at least that much that’s relevant to me.

Now, I am not saying that the Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma’am type of test where you open the box, throw on a scope and shoot 50 pellets and call it a day is the answer. In fact I wont even watch those. But I do get good information from a good reviewer who takes some time to walk me through the gun and through their use of it, plus identifying any issues they see, or things they don’t like. I think that Dana (Crosman999) and Steve from AEAC, to name just two, do good reviews, full of information, use cases, tuning information and the like.

The fact that someone gets paid for doing it does nothing to dissuade me from watching the video. I have seen as much crap and fanboy behavior from others who do reviews for free as from any paid reviewer. The good ones care about their credibility and it shows. I also know that to produce a well lit, interesting and thoroughly documented video takes both a lot of time as well as money, and not everyone can, or wants to, do that for free.

As always when we watch something on YouTube or anywhere on the web, it is wise to have a healthy skepticism about what we are seeing. It is always a good idea to cross check with other sources and opinions. It is even more important to seek out those that are contrary to to our beliefs, and think hard about the other positions, because the danger of only listening to one position is well known. But let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water by saying that there are no good or honest reviewers that get paid for the work they do.

That’s just not true in my opinion.

Chris
 
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dizzums said:
if the videos are monetized, theyre just doing it for money and its biased one way or the other and the yt algorithms wont let you see most grass roots stuff .. you want to do a good review then privatize it and only share the link here .. then i might buy some of your horse poopy ...
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Sorry but I'm simply not willing to give up my $10.17 this month just for you.
 
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I benefit from most reviewers content, but not in the way I guess I’m supposed to.
I look for certain things during a review, and for the most part, ignore the hullabaloo that comes with some reviewers content.

Just because a reviewer is paid by a company to make their products shine, doesn’t mean that reviewer is full of poop! It just means you need to do more research before you buy said product. I for one can appreciate Dana’s reviews very much, as I am a hunter/pester myself and spend most of my time out in the field carrying my guns and gear with me.
I also benefit from Steve (AEAC), because he spends a significant amount of time behind a rifle before putting out his content, and is not shy to talk about the bad points.
I still watch videos from the South African boys, Rick shooter1721, Ted, and even Rick Eutsler from time to time. Again, I cherry pick what I want out of the videos, but more importantly, I go into the video knowing that they’re being paid by those brands, and they’re not going to tell you the whole story behind that product, especially the bad.
These guys might be paid by the companies, but there’s no denying they’re extremely talented shooters, and could outshoot me any day of the week with a gun a 10th of the cost of what I’m shooting.
 
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d3vnull said:
I like everything you have suggested. I also like how when you are hunting that you often list the distance of the shot in the corner of the video. It gives a better perspective than guessing while watching.

Weight unscoped and scoped

Length of pull maybe important to some

Recommended or moderator used

Whether you have to clean the barrel during testing because of POI shift or losing accuracy

Another topic that could be beneficial is if a company offers multiple expensive models of something then a side by side comparison of features. An example would be Accu-Tac tripods.

Another topic I would enjoy seeing from you is a behind the scenes video. How many days do you spend in the field on average. How many hours of footage do you capture to make a 30 minute video. What drone do you use and what has been your experience including repairs. What camera equipment. How many hours of editing do you put in for each minute produced.

You also do a lot of camping. So, what equipment do you truly love when camping after long-term use with maybe affiliate links.

I really enjoyed your harvesting to table of jackrabbit vs cotton tail.

I could go on and on

Finally, more Marley. I look forward to seeing Marley everytime I watch a video.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I really enjoyed making those types of videos but have recently had to cut most of the camping out. The majority of viewers have no interest and the channel is primarily Airgun based. I did start another camping channel but it's not something I see going far. The time and money invested in these videos is very difficult but I do enjoy it. For me it's something of a hobby in itself. I'm trying my best to grow but it's difficult to compete with other channels with huge subscriber bases.
 
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