I just bought the Guns & Ammo 2008 Annual: Buyers Guide. It's a collection of articles from last years Guns and Ammo magazine and a fairly comprehensive list of the various weapons available on the market. It's also the showing of the biggest "donators" to Guns and Ammo and InterMedia Outdoors publications. This can be shown by the inordinate number of Les Baer 1911 models. Browning Buckmark, Kimber 1911's, and Sig 220's, STi 1911's, and Wilson 1911's individually displayed. Someone explain to me why there are 10 separate entries for various Wilson 1911's when they all are identical in action and caliber, 45 acp. It's not like the magazine could not of combined a few of these into one entry with the different sights or finishes listed.
There are 9 STI 1911's listed. Are you telling me all the high capacity ones couldn't be listed as one entry with varying information in the write ups? 11 Springfield 1911's that differ in barrel length, finish, or sights...Longslide, Micro-compact, Milspec, Match, Trophy match, operator, ultra compact... huh? They could not have had just one entry for all those with the description listed "Barrel length 3, 4, 4.5, 5, and 7 inches. Caliber 40 S&W, 45 acp, 38 Super" etc etc etc.
Think of the S&W M&P Series, which was done correctly. There are two entries, standard and compact. The standard series are listed as "Double action, Caliber 9, 357 Sig, 40, and 45 acp. Darrel length 4.25 and 4.5, Weight 24 , 24.25, 25.5 and 29.6 ounces. Mag capacity 15, 19, and price...." Inside the writing it is broken down further based on caliber, finish, sights, etc.
There is no reason that there are 8 separate entries for the Sig 220 all based on finish, color and barrel length. 9 separate entries for Sig's 1911 Revolution series, especially when there is only a 200 dollar difference between the top of the line and the bottom one and the differences are, guess what? barrel length, finish, sights, and grips.
It's the same for the others I listed also. It seems the editors of Guns and Ammo assume we readers are smart enough to deal with the HK USP's being clustered into only 3 entries. Each of those entries has multiple calibers, weights, trigger configurations, finish, sights, magazine capacities, and barrel lengths but we are not smart enough to handle the Browning Buckmark and its myriad of options. 9 separate entries on a 22 pistol.
Well, I buy this annual every year and it's always the same, so, I guess we are that stupid.
