decline in Gray's Sporting Journal

Dwight Harley

Dwight Harley

Well-known member
I let my subscription to GSJ lapse a few years ago because they had "dumbed it down".....lots of glossy pictures and shorter articles with big font. Same thing happened to National Geographic which is why I let that one go, as well. Remember when both of these mags were full of interesting stories about far off places and it took a whole weekend to get through it? Well, I picked up a GSJ in the book store the other day to see if they had got their shit back together but nope, still publishing big purty pictures with big print. Traditional Bow Hunter, IMHO, is about the only decent outdoor magazine left that is full of good stories that are not shamelessly pimping products.
 
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Funny how perseptions are so different. I had never pick up Gray's Sporting Journal until October or November when a member on the board posted about how much they enjoyed the current issue. I bought a copy at the local book store and really enjoyed it. I asked my wife for a subscription for Christmas this year. Granted I have not read it in the good old days but the issue I read Nov / Dec I believe had great well written stories especially when contrasted against the other waterfowl magazines currently available. Guess I should have seen it back in the day.
 
Brandon,
Yes, I do agree that while GSJ is not what it used to be, it is a step above the majority of the cast and blast mags. Enjoy your subscription....and Merry Christmas!
 
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GSJ does tend to have the best writing and photography of any magazine out there, in my opinion. The exception is their travel issue that they do every year which is basically an advertisement for guides and lodges all around the world, but I guess you have to pay the bills somehow. I do chuckle about the demographic they are going for though, thumb through an issue and count how many times the words "private" and "exclusive" appear in the ads. Still better than the other magazines though which are largely issue-length ads, the "writing" included.
 
I have been a reader of Gray's since the first issue. Granted, back in the day, it had some of the best hunting & fishing writers on the planet. The magazine business is a very tough business, and bills gotta get paid. Without ads to pay the bills it's a hard row to hoe. I'm not that big a fan of all the photo spreads, but the writing is still some of the best you will find anywhere. It's certainly a LOT better then all the other "Outdoor magazines", with a Huge Buck on Every COVER. Plus the art work is always very good, for me it's well worth the price.
 
Gray's has never been the same since Bobby Lee and Hiram left.

Shooting Sportsman hit some anniversary (maybe 50th), and has been reprinting some of the best of their short stories from over that time span. Not many contemporary "hook and bullet" writers can compare to the ones we've lost.
 
Same thing happened to National Geographic which is why I let that one go, as well.
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I haven't subscribed to any magazine in years but:
Have you watched the National Geographic Channel? OMG, some of the stupidest shit I have ever seen. Cant believe they let their name (or the quality that it used to stand for anyway) be associated with that crap. History channel and Discovery have gone in the same direction. Most of these so called "reality shows" simply make me sick.....
 
Hey guys, duck boats.net newbie, but have had a relationship with Gray's for that spans almost two decades. I had let my subscription lapse, just getting it back now.

I think the most recent change that is noticeable is the passing of David Foster, the previous editor. I think James Babb does a fine job... but I think there was an attitude that Foster brought to editing that gave it something a bit more special. I miss his opening commentary.

All things with a "shelf life" go through eras. I think this is likely era 3 or 4 for Gray's. While still the best outdoor writing available, I can understand where some might feel the publication feels "middle aged empty nester".
 
Welcome Rob. I'm kinda new here myself. Mr. Foster, and Mr. Babb, did and do, a very good job at Gray's, as Ed & Rebecca Gray set the bar very high. Times change, but some hunting and fishing traditions run deep in young, and old alike. Could be the way we were brought up and mentored. I have no ties to Gray's, other than being a reader since the get go. As long as I am still able to read the printed word, I'll look forward to seeing it in the mailbox.

I sure do miss reading John Hewitt's stories.......and A.D. Livingston's recipes. That's why I dig out past issues, reread and relive Good Times.
 
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