TTAG More Widely Read than Guns & Ammo, American Handgunner Magazines

This isn’t another post about how awesome we are. No, seriously. That’s at most a secondary goal. The reason behind my posting this ridiculously awesome graph is to prove a point to a certain small yet vocal minority within the firearms media that believe bloggers aren’t legitimate journalists, get only “a couple thousand hits” and should be treated like second class citizens.

The truth is that blogs are replacing print media, and those that don’t realize it are going to be left behind. Google searches don’t bring up Guns & Ammo’s print reviews, and American Rifleman news stories aren’t typically plastered and discussed all over the internet. It’s a brave new world, and giving away your content for free is the only way to survive. For the full backstory check out Gunmart’s post on GunsAmerica’s lack of respect for the up-and-comers in the industry.

For the curious, that graph shows our current “Unique Visitors Per Month” as reported by Google Analytics versus the reported circulation (via WolframAlpha) for each magazine. And don’t interpret this as us bashing Guns & Ammo — they write some good stuff and I make a point to read it every month — but competition is what drives innovation.