In the video below, TheGunCollective collects their 16 favorite “up and coming” firearms-oriented You Tube channels. That’s a lot of channels. I don’t know about you, but I hardly have time to write a million-plus words per year on TTAG, raise a 14-year-old daughter and look for love (in all the wrong places) — never mind spend ten minutes or more watching a dozen or more guntubers.

So help a brother out. Which gun channels are worth your and my time, and why? (Links welcome!)

 

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98 COMMENTS

    • I used to like Nutn too, but then his attitude got annoying and all of his vids for like half a year weren’t interesting enough to click. MrGunsNGear and John Lovell are better.

    • Maybe I am wrong on this but aren’t they demonetizing these channels?
      For an old gun guy like me watching youtube channels (of all the ones listed below) had become one of my pastimes. I gave up on NFL and any other outlet that has been taken over by the lefties.

      • InRange TV is entirely viewer funded. Forgotten Weapons, I’m sure, has some alternate sources as well. The reality is that YouTube has always been a better platform than a revenue source. I, for one, have no problem splitting $20 per month between a few channels whose content I support. With large enough viewer participation, you can make far more money that way than through addsense. It also makes the creator beholden to his ultimate customer, his audience, rather than the commie trolls at Gulag. Ironically, they have made exactly no money from adds to me since I figured out how their system works and took steps.

    • Those are the only two I watch. Ian for obscure firearms info and Karl for technique demos. Karl is a bit better shot, but also has lots more experience and doesn’t have the added disadvantage of being a southpaw…
      Don’t make me out to be a lefty hater, I’m just noting that most guns are designed for righty’s and so it IS a disadvantage.

  3. Another Forgotten Weapons and InRange TV supporter. Also Scholagladiatoria. I am happy to see them all support their habits with my Patreon contributions.

  7. Many have been covered in posts above this one, but I’d also include C&Rsenal and the Anvil segments. The MidwayUSA videos are great, too.

  8. used to watch all the ones people have listed on here so far but the last year i just kinda quit watching youtube all together.

  9. I sub to three channels. John Lovell, MrGunsNGear and Active Self Protection. Lovell rocks and is my favorite. #AndYayForThat

    • I like Lovell because he’s super chill, honest, funny and pretty succinct. He does reviews and tactics. His thing is being a warrior-poet.

      MrGunsNGear is good because of the volume he puts out and his quality. Also he lets his dogs look at his stuff. (JK)

      ASP is awesome because you get a breakdown every single day of a self-defense situation — what went wrong and what went right.

  10. Ummm…none. I usually look at YouTube for a specific gun-no matter who puts it up. Oh and I’m on my phone the vast % of time. YT gobbles up vast amonts of highspeed data. Trying to get off social media too. Just got out of Fakebook jail.

    • Reid’s too busy training to do very many videos. Previously, to setting up Valor Ridge he was the only thing I liked about Jeager’s channel.

      • Really like the stuff Reid puts out, mostly because of his thorough understanding of American history. Plan to get up his way for some training in a few months. Most of the others mentioned here I watch at least some of their content. It sucks that YouTube is screwing them (and nearly anyone else that isn’t a leftist) with this demonetization thing they have going. I suspect eventually YouTube is going to make itself as valuable as MySpace (if you said who is that, you made my point).

  12. Paul Harrell has some really informative and down to earth training tips and gun review videos. His videos appear to be 1980s quality at first but the content is top notch. His straightforward delivery and dry humor make his videos easy to watch. And his experiance in the Marines, Army and real world defensive gun uses aid to his credibility.

    • Another vote for Paul Harrell. He has quite a few mythbusting videos that I enjoy.

      I also like InRangeTV, Hickok45, and TNP. Limited dosage on that last one. Overdose may result in excessive discussion of POU and SAWC.

      • I don’t really like TNP any more, but I think it was good for me to have POU and SAWC hammered into me.

      • I find that he spends an awful lot of time “testing” (going out and having fun shooting guns, with limited investigative value) things that are either obvious on their face or inconsequential (Like that silly 10mm Auto vs. .45ACP thing he did, or “Is .410 birdshot a reliable self defense choice”).

    • Demolition ranch is great. Matt might not be the most informative of all channels but he is definitely one of the funniest.
      For information Forgotten Weapons.
      For fun rants Yankee Marshall.
      For awe and envy Jerry Miculek.

    • I don’t mean to be coarse here, but don’t you find Sootch00’s videos to be a bit too much like infomercials. The way the camera pans lovingly over and over the product in from different angles while inspiring music plays, etc.

  18. The only time I see anything on a YouBoob channel is when I am searching for information and a vid comes up in the search results. To be fair, I treat FeceBook with complete disdain and never go there.

    • Same here. YT is good for specific information like reviews and how-to’s, but the more generalized stuff tends to focus on the presenters themselves, whom I don’t care about.

      FB, I couldn’t tell you. Never had an account; never was interested even one bit.

  22. https://www.youtube.com/user/LoneWolfUSMC (8541 Tactical)

    Precision rifle focused channel by a professional precision rifle user. Every product that I’ve owned and seen him review has quite accurately talked about both the strengths and weaknesses of the product, and there’s a distinct lack of BS and post-recording editing- he just tells it as he sees it. I have mentioned his channel here before, though. He builds rifles, reviews guns, talks about reloading load development and bullet choices, pros and cons of various calibers- His weekly videos are 45 minutes of information, not fluff.

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClq1dvO44aNovUUy0SiSDOQ (C&Rsenal)

    I like ForgottenWeapons as much as the next guy, but I prefer C&Rsenal’s organization method by way of talking about all of the politics surrounding a particular military weapon and any revisions to it, as well as the specific ways that it has been used strategically from the field. Unlike the previous channel, there’s a fair bit of “fluff” (He brings his attractive girlfriend on to shoot each gun, presumably for more views) and he does a bit of post-recording editing (largely functional- things like pictures of the people involved in provisioning and animations of the mechanism of the gun in question), but it’s still interesting to watch.

    https://www.youtube.com/user/MultigunVideo (Patrick E. Kelley)

    He has a series called “Out of the Box to the Match Review”, wherein he grabs a pistol from his FFL and brings it to his Steel Challenge match to show off how it functions with minimal familiarization. This leads to videos that I, at least, find interesting. Unfortunately, he is a sponsored shooter (Savage signed him up in April), which puts some shade on his “conclusions” at the end of any video, but if you keep that in mind you can still get a lot of value from watching his videos.

    • Finally, somebody spelled Hickok45 correctly. Thank you, sir.

      For what it’s worth, I am a fan of MAC, Hickok45, Forgotten Weapons, InRange, and C&Rsenal. Honorable mentions to Sootch00, Noir, 22plinkster, and an offbeat channel in Mixup98. Occasional views on IV8888, Reid, Late Boy Scout, Shooting the Bull (when he made videos), and the occasional video on Full30.com. I’m sorta losing interest in DemoMatt, but he had a good parody/roast video a few years back.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-wuhtyHzz0

    • I have been watching SAR for awhile now. I also attended his AR Armor’s course in Jun. Very thorough, took an USAF IT guy and taught me how to fix, repair,and upgrade the AR platform Below is a video he did w/my Deawoo K1A1 I loaned him to review. His post are really technical and get into the details. About once or twice a month depending on hurricanes… His wife Heather will host a live chat Q&A. Very interactive w/his audience and tries answer all the questions that are posted. He is out of Houston and is a Texan by choice…

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfQYwO35V5g

  25. Polenar Tactical
    Military Arms Channel
    Yankee Marshall
    IV8888
    Demo Ranch
    Tactical Shit (Ruanchy at times but funny)

  27. I’ll apparently be the only Yeager fan here. Which is fine. Hibernianson is a guy I love listening to.

    Yankee Marshall is dying, way too much hippy BS going on.

    IV8888, Demcad, MAC, VSO, Active Self Protection is a good channel too.

    Cokeman, as much as everyone hates him, is awesome.

      • Cokeman is actually really informative when he’s not playing the “I’m a douchebag redneck” bit. I can’t really watch his full moron shooting vids, but everything else is pretty funny. I like information vids, stories, and philosophy type videos, which is why Hickock does nothing for me.

      • It’s not up yet and I haven’t selected a final name.

        I’m not launching it until I have a significant amount of finalized content. I’m in the process of editing a ton of video now and setting up some other stuff to compliment the channel. Should be up and running in about a week.

        • The vids will have Mrs.Strych, I hope?

          (I’d like to see the woman who you fear could maim you for life, if she lets you live after you piss her off…)

          😉

        • Keep me posted. Looking forward to it. Especially since you’re right up the road from me.(70miles or so).

  30. GarandThumb, John Lovell (barring the Christianity stuff, though all power to him to do what he wants,) Paul Harrell, and MrGunsnGear are my main go-tos. I really love Hickock and ForgottenWeapons/InRange, but I’d hardly call them up and coming.

    The only YouTuber I sincerely dislike is that stroke-addled idiot Nutnfancy.

  32. I host a new YouTube show called Take Aim TV. We feature fast pace shooting videos, training videos and product reviews. Please check us out on facebook and Instagram too. @TakeAimTV

  37. More votes for Hickok 45, Active self defense and military arms channel
    Full 30 is a good site, but their search function is terrible
    Everyone’s search should be like YouTube where you scroll down the results and don’t have to click on “next” pages

  38. MAC
    IV8888
    C&Rsenal
    Anvil
    Forgotten Weapons
    AKOU4774
    Sootchoo
    MrGuns n Gear
    Garand Thumb
    Alabama Arsenal

    I cut the cord three years ago. Gun channels made that possible.

  39. I know Hickok45 does a lot of full30 stuff now, but he’s always been my favorite.

    When I can’t hang out and shoot guns, I can pretend to hang out and shoot guns with Hickok45 online.

  44. Check out Funker Tactical, as well as the channels mentioned by other commenters are all great. Thunder Ranch is top-notch too.

    Different channels, different purposes: tnoutdoors9, shootingthebull, scubaoz, … tons of great channels out there!

  45. Most of the few I watch have been mentioned. Not up and coming but tLife sized potato while not being the best presenter has an amazing collection of some pretty obscure guns. Lucky gunner has put out a few good videos. Lastly a guy on the calguns forum called misin virus started building 1911’s and some sigs from 80% frames starting with some hand files and has chronicled his progress and his builds. The guy has some amazing talent and covers a lot of detail in fine tuning 1911s if that aspect interests you.

  49. MAC, Yeager, Valor Ridge, Lovell, and some others I cannot think of right now.

    I used to like IraqVet, but got bored with the redneck antics. Also, used to like Yankees Marshal, but he looks at guns too much like artwork for my liking.

    And, I miss Maine Prepper.

  52. I’ll watch just about anybody’s channel, as long as they can clearly show me how to disassemble/reassemble the gun I’m currently working on. Gun channels on YouTube have helped me with all sorts of sticky wickets.

    I miss CarnikCon.

  53. is “Hitch”cock 45 some sort of inside joke or are you people really not able to properly read and spell his name (stereotypical gun owner?)?

  54. Best:

    Mrgunsngear
    Chris bartocci
    Mishaco
    Forgottenweapons
    Vickers tactical
    Alabama arsenal
    John lovell
    Garand thumb

    Worst:

    Yankee marshall
    Weaponseducation
    Tmhonfire
    James yeager
    Thearmorychannel

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