When is gun review not a real review…

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i own 5 low end air guns newest is crossman shockwave 22 cal i looked at reviews of every one i bought and like to see the features of each gun i buy but in the end the only review i trust is my own im the one paying for it and have to shoot it i would hope when i get into some higher end guns the quliaty control is more consistent i think its kinda a crap shoot when you buy an airgun for 200 or less you get a good one or not i have a couple identical guns that shoot differantly and to stay on the topic some reviews on you tube are ridculious i know how to unbox a gun and shoot a few cans thats not a review
 
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Anything on Youtube always has significant conflicts of interest like Motorhead mentioned, which vary in how much and exactly how. Many get free stuff; discounted guns they can use then sell at a profit or use and sell at same discounted price etc. Many are flat a paid infomercial.

Even members in the forum can have some conflicts of interest but much fewer. They all have some value. What I do is kind of mentally spreadsheet them for consistencies. You notice many or all reviewers say this or that. At some point that particular thing becomes evident to be for all practical purposes based in reality. Overall from a lot of reviews there will be several of these both positive and negative. These I find of value.

I then go on the forum like here and ask specific questions of the members to get clarification on things I have concerns about. You still have to do your homework. 


 
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I got my RTI Priest 2, loved the gun so much I did a video I called review, lol It was the anti review, still getting comments that the gun has too many issues...and I still have that gun. 

There are so many people bought that is really hard to find some truth anywhere... I shared on my video what no one told on any video I saw at that time.
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I had my Priest for a while and somehow I saw your video. I knew my gun in and out so I figured I would see what you had to say. You didn’t really do a review. That word is tainted now. You just simply told the truth. I’ve owned a ton of guns and at one time, because of all the hub bub about reviews, I started watching them on guns that I owned. That’s what made me stop watching. I knew the true issues with the guns and they were either never mentioned or brushed over so lightly that it wouldn’t even register with a starry eyed viewer. A true airgun reviewer would either have to be self funded or he would have a very short expiration date.
 
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There are two reviewers that I trust and admire, one does in the field reviews, the other is very thorough in his breakdown. That said I mostly listen to what actual buyers and users post here on AGN. I value the insight from other non sponsored shooters. Short and long term assessments from actual users means a lot more to me then most reviews. That said, we are lucky to have a wealth of airgun information to filter through so in the end all reviews are legit. It's up to you to decide if you believe the pitch or not, it's your purse/wallet you don't have to be hasty. Due diligence, because the information is out there.
 
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I'd rather read the forums. A real owner with his brand new (insert gun name here) generally covers the bases from opening the box to everything they found, every step of the way and if they do find issues, they don't hesitate to say what and where, minor, major, easily fixed, no so easily, whatever the case may be.

I'd rather have that no punches pulled, real owner's review of a rifle he spent his hard earned cash on.
 
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If you see a new channel pop up where the reviewer is wearing a mask and his voice is changed to hide identity I promise it's not me. Haha The reality is I think the majority of reviews are something more of entertainment. It's difficult to make everyone happy regardless of how hard you try. Airgun channels are very small in the big picture of YouTube and even the biggest names make very little. Those that do make a living are either brand exclusive or charging a nominal fee for production cost. The majority of small channels get products loaned, discounted or given in trade for a review. Nothing wrong with charging for a review, opinions should not be for sale imo.
 
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If you see a new channel pop up where the reviewer is wearing a mask and his voice is changed to hide identity I promise it's not me. Haha The reality is I think the majority of reviews are something more of entertainment. It's difficult to make everyone happy regardless of how hard you try. Airgun channels are very small in the big picture of YouTube and even the biggest names make very little. Those that do make a living are either brand exclusive or charging a nominal fee for production cost. The majority of small channels get products loaned, discounted or given in trade for a review. Nothing wrong with charging for a review, opinions should not be for sale imo.
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I respect a lot what you do. You take the time to use the gun and get to know it before talk about it. Also you point out the good and the bad.

In my channel I typically don't review things unless I own it and I think its a good idea to show others. 

What is sad is that not everyone takes this path and is very hard to trust anything you see posted because almost every time there is some hidden interest behind.

I got really mad when a big YouTuber did a review about something and in the comments I mentioned that he omitted two or three flaws on his video and the response was... I'm sure AirVentury is reading the comments...😳 I was done with the respect I could have had to him, not informing about the negatives is lying by omission.


 
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Okay, the question, “For you when is a review not a review?
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I look at reviews as informational. No gun you buy will be the same as the one that was reviewed. Each one is essentially hand-made..usually by different people. Barrels are all unique, too. We've all heard of "winning the barrel lottery". So, with that in mind, a review only tells you what the gun being reviewed will do..nothing more.


 
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Okay, the question, “For you when is a review not a review?
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I look at reviews as informational. No gun you buy will be the same as the one that was reviewed. Each one is essentially hand-made..usually by different people. Barrels are all unique, too. We've all heard of "winning the barrel lottery". So, with that in mind, a review only tells you what the gun being reviewed will do..nothing more.

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If the only thing you care is accuracy then yes, but there are other aspects that a good review can show about the gun. Anything new added, how to operate certain features, maintenance, accessories, custom fixes and list goes on. 

I think the point goes down as doing a review that's useful vs doing an commercial with the purpose of selling the gun being reviewed. And this applies to everything you see on YT, I follow certain people in the world of filmography that I know do very Honest reviews.... If you want to see the something fun and authentic check Camera Conspiracies channel. Casey is a class act. 

I was thinking about doing something like that ... "All I want is the perfect PCP"


 
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While I do not want to bad mouth any reviewers by name I would like to give credit where credit is due. The airgun channel is a good reviewer. I spoke to him personally and I believe almost every gun he reviews he purchased used here on the classifieds reviews it and sells it again.the rare time that somebody sends him one he mentioned it and I have seen him tell the truth when one isn't accurate. He is also a fair guy to deal with and spent alot of his time teaching me how to get parts or hard to find airguns. I enjoy his videos because he shoots like I do setting up action figures and shooting fun stuff. He might not be the best reviewer for people trying to find every little flaw in a gun because he's mainly just shooting and having fun but he's not a salesman trying to move some product. I wanted to clarify this because someone mentioned him. I believe him to be an honest guy. I love Dana's show too.
 
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In general I would suggest that every review should be taken with a pinch of salt. Every reviewer has their own biases, and probably some level of conflict of interest. The big questions for me are (a) how mig are the biases (b) how big are the conflicts and (c) are they reasonably identified by the reviewer. I don’t see anything wrong with this, its just the reality of life.

Steve on AEAC is pretty open that he gets paid by the airgun manufacturers to do his tuning videos and his reviews. However I have no indication that he is paid for his opinions. I frankly find his reviews extremely thorough and well worth watching, for the information they provide about the gun as well as for a thorough going over the operations. I also agree with Raden1942 that the Airgun Channel is worth a watch. Not the same as AEAC for sure, but useful and interesting nonetheless (regardless of any other mistakes that the individual may or may not have made). Then there are the reviews from users, or others like Crossman999. I watch these as well, since they give insights from actual ownership and use that are not easy to find from the reviewers who make a living from the reviews and thus need to turn guns over at a fair clip.

If we didn’t have manufacturer and dealer support for the YouTube reviewers we would have a much more difficult time finding information and advice than we do now. Even this forum would probably not be what it is today if not for the sponsorship from manufacturers and dealers. While many people on AGN provide excellent information and spend a lot of time helping each other, AGN would probably not really exist in its current high quality form without some financial support from the companies.

So all in all, I am happy that there is this support, that the facility (YouTube, Airgun101, etc.) exists and that so many people are willing to share their experience. Of course, I have a responsibility to filter all of this, and to select those people whose videos I enjoy and whose opinions I trust. If I don’t exercise my judgement then that’s on me, not on the platform, or even the reviewer.

And thanks to all those people, not sponsored, who take the time to post their reviews, opinions, and How-to videos!

Chris
 
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It is difficult to truly believe what is being told in many reviews/opinions. On many of the YouTube opinions, they actually tell you in their opening statement's these are our sponsors. Once I hear those words I already know I will never hear a bad word about that item but instead that the new item is the best they've ever seen and how great it is.

I questioned one such opinion giver the other day and was rewarded with I'm going to buy one myself; I already placed my order. When the opinion giver never has given a bad opinion that should also be a big red flag. I love my FX rifles, own 4, but if I went by the opinion givers I would have burned all my rifles up. I have yet to see one have an issue with their rifles when we on the nation see threads weekly of issues.

Another way to tell if it's real is how the reviewers always have items that aren't available to the masses but telling us the items work perfectly and will increase accuracy, efficiency and/or speed. As has already been stated, a true review isn't the day the item comes out but after one has spent the time and truly went through the items. The reviews of today are just infomercials on what's coming out in the next few weeks.

It's nice that there are YouTube folks that can tell us the features of a rifle or other items. Just as this is my opinion is exactly how I feel when I see most so called reviews. This forum with its members are take no prisoners when it comes to rifles or anything. We read and definitely pay attention to details so if you post a review it better be a review😊.

I wonder how many YouTube contributors have had to send a rifle back because it didn't work? And if they did how come they didn't tell us. They are the most fortunate and lucky people on the planet to have sooo many rifles that always work perfectly. If they do have an issue why wouldn't they come back to say so and tell us how the issue was resolved. Having an issue resolved and the steps taken would go a lot futher than making it seem as though everything is great... 


 
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