For decades, NRA members have relied on their association’s magazines not only for firearm news and training content, but as a tangible connection to the organization itself. Recent changes to magazine distribution have raised questions among members, particularly longtime supporters who value printed publications. In the following letter, National Rifle Association President Bill Bachenberg explains the financial realities behind the decision, citing inflation, rising production and postage costs, and the challenge of balancing member dues with the NRA’s core mission of defending the Second Amendment and funding essential programs.
What follows is the full letter as provided to NRA members.
For decades, NRA members have relied on their association’s magazines not only for firearm news and training content, but as a tangible connection to the organization itself. Recent changes to magazine distribution have raised questions among members, particularly longtime supporters who value printed publications. In the following letter, National Rifle Association President Bill Bachenberg explains the financial realities behind the decision, citing inflation, rising production and postage costs, and the challenge of balancing member dues with the NRA’s core mission of defending the Second Amendment and funding essential programs.
What follows is the full letter as provided to NRA members.
Dear NRA Member:
Many members are asking why the changes in magazine circulation, here is a little background of what got us here today.
In the early 1990s an annual NRA membership was $25, just to keep up with inflation an annual membership would be around $62, today an annual membership is available for as low as $35 a year. Similarly, a Life membership was $1,500 back then. Today, with inflation, a Life membership would be $3,700 dollars. Today a Life membership is still $1,500.
For around 10 cents a day, your annual member dues help defend your God-given Second Amendment rights and provide great programs in Education & Training, Women & Youth programs, Edie Eagle®, Refuse to be a Victim® and Women-On-Target® to name a few, plus a great magazine.
NRA has been producing a magazine starting in 1885 called The Rifle that continues today as the American Rifleman. American Hunter was first published in October of 1973. During the 1980s and ’90s the NRA published additional targeted magazines. Back then, paper and postage was relatively cheap, and gas was 36 cents a gallon. Today paper is about six to seven times more expensive, and a first-class stamp went from 6 cents to 78 cents, a 13 times increase. NRA has been subsidizing the cost of production for the magazines for many years, it has now gotten to a point that we cannot in good conscious continue funding the magazines instead of fully funding our programs that members are demanding.
This was not an easy choice on how to cover publishing costs without significantly increase membership dues or charging 20 plus dollars for a magazine subscription. Leadership has a responsibility to our members to be efficient and effective with your dues and donations. Our older members (like me) want paper and the younger generations want a digital experience. We endeavored to meet each demographic need, four physical magazines and 12 digital magazines for all members. What is exciting about digital magazines is that we can include video and sound in the articles. Your digital experience can now contain more current news, not news that is two months old due to publishing deadlines. Our advertisers can now advertise like on TV instead of one-dimensional paper ads.
As we have publicized, the publication group at NRA will be moving content from the discontinued magazines to the American Rifleman or the American Hunter and to the digital delivery format, so not all is lost. We knew for some this would not be popular, but we had to make the hard decisions so we could still publish a paper magazine, maybe not on the frequency you were used to, but you are getting a paper magazine four times a year when most organizations have discontinued their magazine.
Again, while this was a gut wrenching decision, we believe it was made in the best interest of the members. Please give the digital format a try on your computer or mobile device.
Thank you,
Bill Bachenberg
NRA President
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