Tips on writing gun reviews?

[CodyGT46]

A co-worker and friend of mine has been wanting the both of us to start doing firearm reviews on his youtube channel since he likes guns and wants to get into them more and has been learning quite a bit since I've been taking him to the range with me. Now myself I have plenty of things to review, just no idea how the heck to write a review, so I'm hoping my fellow calgunners could spare some tips and ideas to me on what would be good points to touch on in a review and what personally you would like to hear from a review.

[Sunday]

Be precise, concise and exact. I click off when there is too much of the look at me I am on the internet and want to be a movie star.

[Citadelgrad87]

Outline what you think a good review should tell you about a firearm accessory.

Cost, availability, caliber, finish, usefulness, etc. Maybe compare it to a similar weapon that is more familiar. Maybe not.

Then the good stuff, how does it shoot, sights, recoil, accuracy, controls, reliability, and ease of disassembly for cleaning.

Then, once you get a format you want to hit, do a more in depth approach, memorize your opening and your close, but don't over prepare the middle of the presentation, it will sound canned. Don't over rehearse.

Then shoot it and show it to someone who isn't afraid to tell you what's not working. After a try or two, it will be second nature. I think if you approach it the opposite of the taktifool stains in their bdus and their wannabe drill instructor know it all attitude, people will like it.

[jay_cue]

keep it short to the point and on topic. ie: nutnfancy goes off on tangents and take 45 mins to review a gun.

[Squidward]

The A,B,Cs of writing:

Accuracy
Brevity
Clarity

And a link;

https://support.google.com/plus/answer/2519605?hl=en

Good luck!

[KahrGuy9]

A good deal of experience with handguns,

[barrage]

GOOD gun review:




BAD gun review:

[thenodnarb]

Don't mention the box! People who mention how the gun came packaged have no idea what they are talking about, and are just filling the air with words.

Also, don't go all safety nazi and spend 30 seconds showing us the gun is unloaded. If I was to do a review, I would check it was clear at the beginning of the video without saying a word. It takes about 1 second.

Don't bother reviewing a gun you haven't personally put thousands of rounds through. Otherwise you have no personal experience with the guns reliability or durability, and therefore have nothing to say.

Don't bother reviewing a gun unless you have something new to say, or some new insight. There are thousands of videos on youtube that cover every modern gun. So unless you are some kind of genius, or have some more credibility than those other idiots, there is no need to add to the sea of useless reviews. Now if you have some rare gun that hasn't been reviewed on youtube, then go for it, even if you aren't an expert.

[as_rocketman]

The things I want to know about a new firearm:

1. How does it perform objectively? That means real data. Don't tell me it groups "pretty good" or that "stoppages were rare," put some numbers to it. Compare to a common baseline firearm where possible.

The Box o' Truth provides a good example. His data are not encompassing, but they are repeatable and valid.

2. Am I going to have to do anything to the firearm to make it serviceable? And how easy is that to do? There are any number of rifles being sold without sling swivels, properly combed stocks, or adjustable sights... pistols that need throat sanding out of the box... drives me nuts. You don't need to get all operator on me, just tell me if the manufacturer cut a corner or two that he shouldn't have. Most of them do.

3. What is distinctive about this firearm? Why did they choose to build it? What market segment or niche is it intended for?

Get all that out in five minutes and you'll have a winner.

[SuperSet]

1. Analogies. Lots of analogies.
2. Be Russian.
3. Be a hot girl.

[Bansh88]

Don't take anything for free. the first second you're found out to review something you've been given, your honest opinion is null and void. Whether you're being honest or not.

Magazine "reviews" sound like an advertisement by the manufacturer

[omgwtfbbq]

1. Have an idea outlined of how you want to proceed with the review before you film it. Know which topics you want to talk about and how long you can/want to speak on each topic. Nutnfancy has a good idea with the outlines he makes for his videos but falls apart on how much time he spends on each topic and how off topic he gets. I am yet to finish a single video of his because they all seem to be 40+ mins long.

2. Understand that your audience does not have the attention span to watch a 25 minute review of a firearm. Shoot for under 10 minutes (even that's pretty long) or if you can't make in concise enough, split the review into multiple videos, but don't just have the second video be a direct continuation of the first. Have them be distinct, for instance, a table top review in the first vid and a range review/report in the second.

That's my $.02