Thread: Drop in firearm quality??

Im gonna say no.

To me it seems as though gun manufacturers are keeping their production at a steady level instead of boosting it, which is why we are seeing back orders in excess.

Just using my own experience as an example, Im on a 12-16 week back order just for parts for my AR-15 Im putting together. Could manufacturers hire more people, get new machines, and pump out twice as many products, absolutely, but I dont see that happening.

I could be totally wrong though...

My guess, and this is just a guess, is many firearm manufactures probably had some excess capacity that they could tap into to increase supply to a point without investing in a new/expanded plants and equipment. As litigious as our society is I dont think quality control is going to suffer to any great degee.

Originally Posted by Mdnitedrftr

To me it seems as though gun manufacturers are keeping their production at a steady level instead of boosting it, which is why we are seeing back orders in excess.

I'm with Mdnite. I think the same can be said of ammo manufacturers, and while both may profit for increasing production short-term, there's the very real possibility demand will level out and then the market would be stuck with surplus.

Any reputable gun maker tests weapons prior to them leaving the factory. So even if they did some big bump in production it still has to be checked out by a person. Most put spent cases in with the bookwork. Some like Sig Sauer will go as far as to give you the test target that was used to check your weapon at the factory.

I'm sure many have increased production. But they are only going to go so far. They know what is involved and if they have guns coming back for rework then they lose money. Most any factory will only go as fast as they can without having too many parts or products coming back for rework.

I'm not concerned and if manufacturers increase their production then I imagine there would be an increase in quality control as well.

I am going to say no as well. Look at springfield they have no idea when orders will be shipped. Around 16 months is their max

Originally Posted by AC_USMC 03

Around 16 months is their max

Wow! I thought 16 WEEKS was bad...

Being a Quality Engineer by trade, I'd be willing to say that demand for a particular brand A or B or C would only be a partial factor. In some cases, the companies have so many other factors such as personnel restructuring, etc etc etc, or supplied material quality issues, tooling issues, that just the production levels/capacity is just a small piece of the pie. In some cases even low production levels can cause issues on lines.. People get lethargic, etc. Just one example.

So I'm voting no for "most" reputable manufacturers having a decrease in initial or long-term reliability or accuracy quality with their product. The small high-end shops will simply operate at capacity and sell all they can make, as usual. The big operations will ramp up to full to fulfill demand and will probably phase out models not selling and concentrate on their bread 'n butter models and just churn them out like hotcakes.

The good ones will remain good, as they must still remain competitive and there's a LOT of competition out there now. The not-so-good ones will just spend more in their PR campaigns, sponsorships etc and attempt to sell the same junk. But the ones with solid reputations know they cannot afford the risk of showing their rear-end during this peak demand time.. When demand slides down again and normalizes, they do NOT want a bunch of not-so-happy owners out there who bought up a bunch of bad product in the market.. Word of mouth is powerful in this industry.

I can bet though we may see some upstart companies starting up to cash in on the craziness, but with little real intention on sticking it out long-term in a particular segment of the firearm market. Here today, gone tomorrow manufacturers with "budget" product should be avoided like socialism anyway.