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STATEMENT FROM SIM

Source Interlink Media (SIM) today announced it had accepted the resignation of Recoil editor Jerry Tsai. Mr. Tsai will leave Recoil effective immediately.

SIM, a leading men’s interest media company, will continue to publish Recoil, a gun lifestyle magazine that has to date proven to be a highly popular new title in the firearms sector.

“SIM gives its editors a lot of freedom in terms of how they run their brands,” said Chris Argentieri, President of Source Interlink Media. “In this particular case, however, mistakes have been made, and Mr. Tsai is stepping down.

“There should be absolutely no misunderstanding that Recoil is fully supportive of, and committed to, Second Amendment rights,” Mr. Argentieri added.

Mr. Argentieri also announced Joe Galloway, Associate Publisher, 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords, Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords, has been suspended until further notice.

SIM is actively seeking a new editor for Recoil, and looks forward to improving its approach to responsibly delivering engaging gun enthusiast content with the next issue and beyond.

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20 responses to “STATEMENT FROM SIM”

  1. Chris says:

    Perhaps if you led a charge to have the Hughes Amendment repealed you might get back your advertisers…Show them just how much you are for the Second Amendment

  2. Dan Kidder says:

    I am currently the managing editor of Sportsman’s News Magazine and would like information on how to submit a resume for this position.

  3. EU says:

    Seems like the best move financially. Now get those investors back and keep on making a cool freaking gun magazine!

  4. Michael says:

    Where can I submit my resume? 🙂

  5. Todd Tolhurst says:

    I hope you don’t think that Mr. Tsai’s resignation wipes the slate clean. Your magazine continues to deflect responsibility, and your overall response to this matter has been a textbook example of what not to do. You have brought your nascent brand to, and very likely over, the edge of ruin.

    You’re in a deep, deep hole. Stop digging. Start groveling. Maybe there is still a chance you might possibly survive. Probably not, though, as you still don’t seem to comprehend the nature of your problem.

  6. Brandon says:

    I am a digital subscriber to Recoil and was a few seconds away from dropping my subscription when I decided to check your site. When I saw that ya’ll had the bozo resign I decided to give your mag one more issue. Please don’t disappoint me.

  7. Joseph says:

    Just to advise I am currently deployed to Afghanistan and each time Recoil was published up to this point I had 10 copies of your magazine shipped by my wife to our APO for placement into the MWR. I will no longer be purchasing your magazine and all copies have been removed and properly disposed of due to your ex editors comments relating to the MP7A1 and your stance on allowing it to stand.
    The stance Source Interlink Media took on the issue sickens me and I feel that my money will be better spent on Pringles than supporting your backstabbing company.
    Have a wonderful day and thanks for your limited 2nd Amendement support.
    3ID Afghanistan

    • james d says:

      are you kidding me. the guy stepped down,got fired,and is no longer with the recoil mag. and your going to cancel buying the magizine becouse of something he said. thats bullshit!
      your in the military and and you have to listen to bullshit commands from officers. does that mean your going to quit the military,being a american,and hate all military officers becouse a officer maid a bad command. no you are not ,so back off the guy,live your life, and stop being so petty about someone’s opinion!

  8. STH says:

    You guys need to get a hardcore champion of the 2A that gun people recognize as being on their side as an editor. That’s the only way you’re going to repair the damage that’s been done. Good luck.

  9. Eric in Sacramento says:

    I never fail to be amazed by those who would use the First Amendment to bash the Second Amendment. If I “shouldn’t be allowed to own that gun,” you shouldn’t be allowed to make many of the statements you find inoffensive. It’s a double edged sword; the first is worthless without the second.

  10. James says:

    Frankly I’m more interested in the companies that have pulled all support of your magazine because of this. Maybe a full apology to them along with those readers would be more appropriate? I see this as a half hearted measure which is why this got so bad to start with by the way. I’m an leo who does not support Recoil because of the way this has been handled. I will support with my dollars all the advertisers that pulled support during this.

  11. Mike Carver says:

    This affair is a real shame as the format and quality of the magazine up to this point has been refreshing. It’s a huge change from the endless trudge of recycled writers and articles from most of the other firearms related press.

    Jerry was stupid the first time around then a complete idiot for trying to justify his stance thereafter. This issue is even more stupid given the article, elsewhere in the same issue, which explored the topic of select fire and civilian ownership.

    All that is certain is that Jerry had an opinion that he shouldn’t have expressed and that he isn’t fit to be the editor of the magazine, it doesn’t change everything else about the publication and I for one hope it continues. I sincerely hope the advertisers come back as it would be a shame for what has until now been a promising read, and a very user friendly format be destroyed by such shortsightedness.

  12. John Gampetro says:

    I will begin by stating that I have loyally purchased and read every issue of Recoil Magazine from cover to cover. However, Mr. Tsai’s comments were a betrayal to all law abiding firearms owners. These poorly chosen words will likely be used by the enemies of the Second Amendment, who can now quote the editor of a popular firearms magazine in support of their views. That being said, the fact that Mr. Tsai was only reiterating the official position of Heckler and Koch must not be overlooked. Source Interlink Media has already apologized, but they could begin earning back their patrons trust be ceasing to feature firearms from Heckler and Koch, whose anti-freedom policies should earn them a boycott by the US civilian firearms market.

  13. Mman says:

    Hear that? “Recoil is fully supportive of, and committed to, Second Amendment rights.” That’s all the apology they are ever going to make.

    Are they sorry for essentially saying they believe their subscribers are of insufficient morality to be trusted with the items that they review?

    Does RECOIL respect its readers at all?

    It’s like a car magazine saying that it believes its subscribers should not be able to own a sports car they are reviewing.

    Or a knife magazine saying that a knife they are reviewing should not be owned by its subscribers.

    An unambiguous apology is owed to the readers, and it has not yet been made.

    If a magazine doesn’t respect its subscribers to safely and responsibly own the items that the magazine reviews, then why should anyone read it?

    Only buy gun magazines that clearly and unambiguously stand for your right to bear arms in defense. There are plenty of them and they don’t mince words and voice platitudes about it in their editorials.

    None of the responses from RECOIL magazine come even close to making the real apology that they owe to their readers.

    Whoever becomes the next editor better be unambiguous in his respect for the magazine’s readers if this magazine hopes to continue.

  14. MDH says:

    SIM, Mr. Argentieri
    There’s a lesson here if you are interested in learning it. The Firearms Enthusiast community is not a forgiving group of people, we’ve been under siege for too long, most of us, myself included have a pretty simple approach to this sort of thing. If you want our money, you better toe the line with regards to RKBA. Jerry Tsai made a stupid mistake, and then proceeded to compound it. He paid for that mistake with his job, so be it. Others have made similar mistakes, and paid a heavy financial price, and Smith and Wesson in the 90s for instance. For me personally the jury is still out on Recoil Magazine, however I think that Recoil does have the potential to appeal to a new and younger crowd, and perhaps draw some new blood into the community, that’s a laudable purpose and Recoil is probably going to do it better than a lengthy comparison of. 308 to 30-06 ballistics in some of the other publications out there. Just remember, the Second Amendment is not about deer hunting. So, Jerry is gone, that’s all to the good, I just hope you do a better job choosing the next editor.

  15. Mike says:

    I love the magazine, but will probably refrain from getting the subscription I wanted until the smoke clears and it becomes a little more obvious that the staff understands the damage that has been done to the 2nd Amendment cause. While drastic, a good first step is accepting the resignation of Jerry. This has been unfortunate for him and I wish him well. Now please get back to the business of creating a world class magazine.

  16. Anakin says:

    Alright readers, time to move on, Mr. Tsai made a mistake he is gone, get over it. I am a veteran and I am still working on the South West border protecting America. As for Recoil, get up dust your self up and start kicking some ass with better articles and more guns!!! And don’t ever, ever, ever,ever, mess with the Second Amendment!!!

  17. Sean says:

    A little bit of irony regarding this whole issue over Mr. Tsai’s comments about the H&K MP7A1 is that the reality regarding the purported devastating “technology” that the weapon possesses, in which he stated, “no civvies should ever get to lay their hands on” isn’t in the firearm per say, but the ammunition. Mr. Tsai alluded to this point in his own article, but for whatever reason was too nearsighted to realize this fact. In his opening salvo for the review of the weapon, he offers a back story regarding the late 1980s NATO request for development of a personal defense weapon (PDW) capable of defeating a CRISAT target. FN Herstal participated in that same research requirement as a competitor to H&K and their efforts brought about the development of the FN P90 PDW and FN Five-Seven pistol, both chambered in 5.7x28mm .
    The FN Five-Seven pistol has been commercially available to the civilian market for some time now; however, only two variants of the 5.7x28mm cartridge, the SS195LF and SS197SR, are available to civilian shooters. The other variants of the cartridge are manufactured for military and LE use only (for penetration and special purpose) and are restricted for sale to “civvies”. And this is the point with regards to the H&K MP7A1. If H&K wanted to produce a commercially available version of the weapons system they could; however, the ammunition that would be made available for use with the weapon by civilians would in all likelihood not have the same terminal ballistics as the military / LE round. [Interestingly, NATO’s test results of comparison between FN’s 5.7 and H&K’s 4.6 found the FN round to be superior].
    Mr. Tsai compounds the problem of his assertion by further stating that H&K’s 4.6x30mm cartridge performance falls short of the 5.56 NATO round (referring specifically in the article to effective range). I would be willing to bet that just about every one of us possesses a firearm chambered in 5.56mm. Now, is that to say that we are all in possession of a weapon that no civilian should ever get to lay their hands on? No.
    We know that with his words, Mr. Tsai fired a shot that he would like to take back but cannot; it’s down range (pun intended). In my opinion, the statements attributed to the weapon being “purpose built” and having “no sporting applications to speak of” come from a manufacturer’s spokesperson – in possible reference to the fully automatic fire capability and the armor penetration / ballistics of the designed cartridge. How unfortunate for Mr. Tsai that he put those words into print, for they contributed nothing to his article and resulted in his resignation from a publication which he helped create. RECOIL aimed their production at a gun enthusiast niche within the video gamer generation (reference the style of publication, size, texture and layout – straight off a videogame guidebook). It is slick and attractive and was read by gun owners of all generations who understand the implications of the words “no sporting applications” in reference to firearms and the Second Amendment. I can’t help but thinking that this sh*t storm of controversy could have been avoided if someone had proofread Mr. Tsai’s article. Someone say, like an editor. Oh, that’s right; Mr. Tsai was the editor, damn.

  18. Daniel says:

    Here is my two cents the statement was bad and the after stat ent was worse regarding it however I will still purchase the magazine I enjoy a mag that diverts from the normal will not mention magazines that have the typical AR-15 on the cover and typical review here are my likes it is a larger magazine,love the paperback style, love the DYI sections the photography, the free target, love the vehicle portion and so on people get over it you act like it you have neer made a mistake he’s gone I would like to continue to see this magazine get a pro firearm editor who is well educated on the second ammendment and stands behind I no matter what and drive on I think it will be a good magazine like I said I’m sick of the typical firearm magazines and so are a lot of the newer firearm generation enthusiasts

  19. Daniel says:

    Oh and I’m not that young I served a sixteen month tour in Afghanistan with the 10th MTN. DIV. LI /1-32nd INF BATT. In 2006-2007 and was medically retired after returning do to injuries sustained over there so save the friggin bashing couch commanders

View Comments

  • Perhaps if you led a charge to have the Hughes Amendment repealed you might get back your advertisers...Show them just how much you are for the Second Amendment

  • I am currently the managing editor of Sportsman's News Magazine and would like information on how to submit a resume for this position.

  • Seems like the best move financially. Now get those investors back and keep on making a cool freaking gun magazine!

  • I hope you don't think that Mr. Tsai's resignation wipes the slate clean. Your magazine continues to deflect responsibility, and your overall response to this matter has been a textbook example of what not to do. You have brought your nascent brand to, and very likely over, the edge of ruin.

    You're in a deep, deep hole. Stop digging. Start groveling. Maybe there is still a chance you might possibly survive. Probably not, though, as you still don't seem to comprehend the nature of your problem.

  • I am a digital subscriber to Recoil and was a few seconds away from dropping my subscription when I decided to check your site. When I saw that ya'll had the bozo resign I decided to give your mag one more issue. Please don't disappoint me.

  • Just to advise I am currently deployed to Afghanistan and each time Recoil was published up to this point I had 10 copies of your magazine shipped by my wife to our APO for placement into the MWR. I will no longer be purchasing your magazine and all copies have been removed and properly disposed of due to your ex editors comments relating to the MP7A1 and your stance on allowing it to stand.
    The stance Source Interlink Media took on the issue sickens me and I feel that my money will be better spent on Pringles than supporting your backstabbing company.
    Have a wonderful day and thanks for your limited 2nd Amendement support.
    3ID Afghanistan

    • are you kidding me. the guy stepped down,got fired,and is no longer with the recoil mag. and your going to cancel buying the magizine becouse of something he said. thats bullshit!
      your in the military and and you have to listen to bullshit commands from officers. does that mean your going to quit the military,being a american,and hate all military officers becouse a officer maid a bad command. no you are not ,so back off the guy,live your life, and stop being so petty about someone's opinion!

  • You guys need to get a hardcore champion of the 2A that gun people recognize as being on their side as an editor. That's the only way you're going to repair the damage that's been done. Good luck.

  • I never fail to be amazed by those who would use the First Amendment to bash the Second Amendment. If I "shouldn't be allowed to own that gun," you shouldn't be allowed to make many of the statements you find inoffensive. It's a double edged sword; the first is worthless without the second.

  • Frankly I'm more interested in the companies that have pulled all support of your magazine because of this. Maybe a full apology to them along with those readers would be more appropriate? I see this as a half hearted measure which is why this got so bad to start with by the way. I'm an leo who does not support Recoil because of the way this has been handled. I will support with my dollars all the advertisers that pulled support during this.

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