Firearms Forum Sites Being Bought Up by Vertical Scope

[capt14k]

Forums large and small have been bought by Vertical Scope in recent weeks. They are a Canadian Media Company owned by TorStar which owns over 100 newspapers in Canada including the anti-gun Toronto Star. Is there something sinister at play? The most recent site to be purchased was gunboards. Is this site in any danger of being sold to them?

Here the most recent list I was able to gather from numerous sites

defensivecarry
airsoftsniper
nationalgunforum
theakforum
sniperforums
marlinowners
68forums
masscops
xdtalk
waltherforums
prepperforums
austinbassfishing
newjerseyhunter
polarisfiles
trapshooters
taurusarmed
coltforum
fnforum
Florida Concealed Carry forum<br />
Sig Talk
M&P Forum
M-14 Firing Line
H&K Pro
Gunboards
Gunhub
Marlin owners
Handgunsandammunition

[wanneroo]

Interesting. Wonder what all that is about. I belong to H&K Pro and had noticed the ownership change but didn't realize this company was gobbling up forums all over.

[Rosco the Iroc]

No way eah, hozers.

[Krichardson]

I have not heard of most of those sites on that list.I wonder if they have changed in any way as a result of being bought.

[c45man]

Putting the buyers politics aside, whatever that may be, if there is a buck to be made in the acquisition, they will not be beyond playing both sides of the fence. If not and the buyers have an agenda, the forums will lose members and be reincarnated in the form of another name. If my memory is correct, there have been gun companies owned by parent corporations that were not exactly waving flags for the second amendment. S&W/Bangor Punta?? Colt Industries in the 90s that considered limiting sales of the Colt product to only government entities. Of course, the latter concept never came to fruition.

[WoollyPullover]

I know defensivecarry has not changed much. I never would have known if VerticalScope hadn't come out and announced themselves as the new overlords. That being said I'd be pretty disappointed if this site were bought out but for all I know PAFOA already belongs to Soros.

Edit: The name VerticalScope alone makes me paranoid. Why not SpyGlass or DataDiggers? Then again what are they gonna do that google hasn't done already?

[knight0334]

I'm a member at 3 of those for sure. Marlinowners, Waltherforum, and Taurusarmed. ..all three had announcements about new ownership.

Something weird for sure. Why would a media corporation be interested in private forums? There really isn't any money in them.. So the reason is more than likely devious.

[Remington788]

I don't think it's a conspiracy.
They own 500 automotive forums including Jeepowners.com.
They market themselves as having the largest audience of outdoor sites.
Their outdoor vertical covers fishing hunting camping and boating. It has 70 sites.
Thier powersports vertical has 150 sites.
Sounds like they are creating another vertical.

Www.verticalscope.com

[Gman106]

vertical.JPG

[capt14k]

Other sites have been decimated after change in ownership. Ads plastered everywhere, selling of info, Sponsor Fees Tripled, up to $50 fee for posting on Classifieds. It can not be a good thing the sale of the sites. It is also never a good thing when information is controlled by Giant Corporations. Look at this country and what happened to News Outlets. Last I checked there are 6 Companies that control 95% of the Print, Radio, and TV news in America. It is also rumored that Soros is a share holder in TorStar.