Our Mission
We carefully choose various aspects of each gun to rate such as Accuracy, Trigger, Ergonomics, Disassembly, Reliability, Durability, and more. These “Impressions” will vary by comparison as we decide which aspects of that type of firearm are most important to consumers.
In rating the different aspects of the firearm our authors and editors rely on a test gun when available as well as other reviews published by respected individuals. For example, we won’t give a firearm high marks in a category if numerous credible reviewers have had problems with that aspect of the firearm, even if our own test gun appears to be fine. By incorporating community input within the rankings our reviews are less anecdotal and more relevant to the average consumer.
Our “Editor’s Rating” is then calculated by averaging the various “Impressions” of aspects of the firearm. This rating is then used to rank the firearms against one another in our comparison. We realize a true ranking of firearms is almost impossible to achieve and that even a firearm we rank in last place will have strong supporters. In fact, it’s getting harder and harder to find a truly “bad” firearm these days and many of us would be happy to own every firearm we review.
Therefore, much like with rankings of vehicles or just about anything else, our recommendations are not the final word on the subject, but instead are provided as one step in the process of making an informed decision.
We make every effort to review new firearms as they enter the market and adjust our rankings accordingly. If you see an outdated model in one of our reviews please email us so we can begin the process of procuring the newer version of that firearm for our comparison.