Gunwriting

In certain circles, the term "gunwriter" gets thrown around as an insult.  I can certainly understand this, especially with the influx of "bloggers" and "youtubers" that consider themselves writers (and no, the irony that I've recently started a blog and a youtube channel is not lost on me).  Often the writer is considered inexpert in whatever he is writing about, perceived as having insufficient skill at arms to be allowed to write in the critic's opinion, or is even just viewed as a poor writer.  All of these things are often true.  However, there are certain realities faced by those of us that choose to put ourselves out there are "gunwriters".

First among these realities is the pay.  If you think anyone is getting rich off of writing for gun magazines, you're wrong (or I'm doing it wrong, in which case please share the secret).  What I typically get paid for an article is barely enough to cover the ammo, range fees, and travel expenses I'll put into an article.  Factor in that oftentimes I'm writing about a class, or using a particular piece of gear in a class, and I'm in the hole before I ever even write the first sentence.  Given this, it is certainly easy to see why a writer would choose to fire a minimal number of rounds through the gun and then get to the business of writing, and why he would be most interested in writing about the items that he can get for free, to potentially be sold after the fact to increase the bottom line.  But even in this model, it would be damn tough to make any kind of appreciable living off of writing alone.

Which, then, leads to the second challenge, which is finding the time to do both the shooting and the writing.  Even the writer that fires a minimal number of rounds has to get himself (and possibly a photographer) to the range, do at least that minimal amount of shooting and take pictures of same, edit the photos, and THEN set about doing the actual writing portion.  Strictly in terms of time invested for dollars earned it is a loosing proposition at best when you break down your fee by the amount of hours you have invested.  That time spent reviewing photos and doing the writing is time not spent shooting, performing dryfire practice, reloading, etc.

And for the writer that DOES actually get out and shoot, it means a constantly revolving set of firearms through one's hands.  In this regard I'm lucky, to some extent, to specialize in the AR15 family of weapons such that at least the basic manual of arms stays the same.  But even with that given, rotating handguards, optics, stocks, grips, triggers, etc. is hardly conducive to improving proficiency.  "Beware the man with one gun", they say, "he probably knows how to use it".  If that's the case, what do we say about the man with a different one each week?  And does it really matter if he isn't as good a shooter as the guy next to him on the line at a class?  Does that somehow make him incapable of evaluating a piece of equipment?  If so, how?

It strikes me that what is truly necessary to perform well as a writer is to have an analytical and critical mind, an understanding of machinery and engineering, and the ability to communicate one's findings.  And I have another news flash for you, you don't have to agree with everything someone writes in order for them to be considered a good writer!  I know!  Shocking, right?

If this sounds like I'm bitching, I'm not.  I truly enjoy almost every aspect of writing.  It's cool to check out new guns and gear.  It's nice to get at least a portion of the cost of training offset by my writer's fee.  It's an ego boost to be recognized as an SME to however small a portion of the population.  It's fun to come home and find a package on the doorstep that you didn't order that is full of some new hotness you weren't expecting.  All of these things are what keep me writing and keep me interested.  But some of the perceptions of the public, that this is somehow a full-time gig, that I should be a master-class shooter or a professional face-shooter to be able to evaluate a piece of equipment, are kind of silly when you really think about them.  Which isn't to say that there aren't writers that get themselves fully out of their lane.  Or that there aren't people that think I do it with every stroke of the keyboard.  But not every gunwriter needs to be the bestest, fastest, baddest-ass shooter on the planet just to evaluate gear and write about what he finds.  and in fact, it is highly unlikely that someone is likely to be both.