Recoil Issue 3: It's out and it's good.

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I received my copy of Recoil on Tuesday, and I have to say I'm relieved. Like many readers, I thought the premiere issue released at SHOT promised a lot, but privately I wondered if they could consistently deliver. Obviously only time will tell (we'll see how they look a year from now) but to be honest I think #3 is the best one yet...and that's saying something.

Topics inside include a wide array of things that will appeal to what the Recoil editorial staff dubs the "gun culture", and so we're clear this isn't a professional "tactical" magazine. There have been and will continue to be Recoil detractors who compare it to Maxim or FHM and question its accuracy or authenticity. I take issue with this view as a negative (I think it's an apt comparison) largely because Recoil never claims to be anything its not. It isn't The Tactical Edge or Command and never claims to be. Let's give them credit for what they're not though, either. Recoil isn't just another gun porn mag that runs multi-page advertisements with slick pictures claiming they're unbiased reviews. You guys know the ones I'm talking about...they have a newest, greatest battle rifle every issue and love the use of exclamation points. If Recoil appeals as much to metrotacticals, CCW carriers and hobbyists as it does to gunfighting professionals, what's the harm in that?

Writing content aside, let's also give them credit for the actual print magazine quality. This is no slapdash rag. It's very well put together, and there's a lot inside it (122 pages).

Among the topics in this issue: a feature on the Kriss sub gun, another on LaRue Tactical's Costa Ludus Predatobr Hybrid, a guest column featuring shooting advice from Taran Butler and one of my favorite articles, a look at "action cameras for the shooting world".

Other articles included pieces about the Institute of Military Technology, one regarding a family preparation for a home invasion (by John Chapman), a guide to big blades as well as a life-size pictorial display of some suggestions for EDC knives. If the article on preparing your 12-gauge is a little bit of a stale subject, they manage to do it in an engaging way: and at least there's nothing addressing that repeating .45 vs. 9mm vs. shotgun vs. patrol rifle crap that seems to appear at least every other month in most publications. The "Tactical Travel Tips" section might contain material considered by some to be common sense, but it's going to be new to some readers (and, coming from Travis Hale, Larry Vickers, Barry Eisler and Robert Young Pelton, it's coming from reputable sources).

Final opinion: a good issue, well worth reading, possibly as good as or better than the debut issue and superior to #2 (which doesn't mean you shouldn't read #2, you should). There will be sections that don't appeal to each individual reader but the overall cross-section is so thorough that really shouldn't matter. If you were debating about it, err on the side of reading RECOIL, on Facebook here.

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