Mega Rad Gun Thread

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The S&W move alone is going to cost hundreds of millions. It's not easy to relocate a foundry.
While that is true the gun laws were part of it the biggest reason I think they moved was HR. They can pay the same employee in TN 2/3 of what they make in CT and that employee will still have more buying power. Plus TN is a right to work state and rabidly anti union. Winchester Ammunition did the same thing 10 years ago when they took most of the IL plant and moved it to MS.
 
I don't know how the hell Springfield is selling those new Hi-Power clones for only $700. I'd like to be pleasantly surprised but they have to be importing Turkish frame forgings or something and then finishing them up.
 
I don't know how the hell Springfield is selling those new Hi-Power clones for only $700. I'd like to be pleasantly surprised but they have to be importing Turkish frame forgings or something and then finishing them up.
Turkish, Brazilian or a former combloc state most likely. Just do some final finishing work in the US and you can stamp 'Made in USA' on it.
 
I don't know how the hell Springfield is selling those new Hi-Power clones for only $700. I'd like to be pleasantly surprised but they have to be importing Turkish frame forgings or something and then finishing them up.
the frame and slide are forged steel overseas and finished machined in the US (which itself is the majority of work for a frame or receiver, so that's fairly reasonable considering the cost of labor is the biggest portion of that sub assembly vs materials/shipping). the small parts are Turkish (some are Tisas but i think the majority are Girsan) with the exception of some screws and pins which seem to be Cox made, which makes sense since SA contracts Cox for their 1911 small parts.

i could believe that the imported small parts are just for the first few batches until local manufacturing agreements are in place to lower costs down once the market can support the weight of enough production to make overseas manufacturing and import more trouble/expensive than what it's worth - maybe Milwaukee Precision since it's pretty local and has really good machining for it's castings, which are themselves very high quality (they were OEM for Ruger during the 90's when Ruger expanded their plant in AZ... no idea on the springs, but SA has a relationship with J&P which makes springs for a lot of people from plants in the US and Mexico and supplies springs for SA's rifles with the exception of the Saint line.
 
the frame and slide are forged steel overseas and finished machined in the US (which itself is the majority of work for a frame or receiver, so that's fairly reasonable considering the cost of labor is the biggest portion of that sub assembly vs materials/shipping). the small parts are Turkish (some are Tisas but i think the majority are Girsan) with the exception of some screws and pins which seem to be Cox made, which makes sense since SA contracts Cox for their 1911 small parts.

i could believe that the imported small parts are just for the first few batches until local manufacturing agreements are in place to lower costs down once the market can support the weight of enough production to make overseas manufacturing and import more trouble/expensive than what it's worth - maybe Milwaukee Precision since it's pretty local and has really good machining for it's castings, which are themselves very high quality (they were OEM for Ruger during the 90's when Ruger expanded their plant in AZ... no idea on the springs, but SA has a relationship with J&P which makes springs for a lot of people from plants in the US and Mexico and supplies springs for SA's rifles with the exception of the Saint line.
My understanding is that the only true American 100% made on US soil rifle is the Colt LE6920 of the Bush and Obama eras in recent years.
 
only true American 100% made on US soil rifle is the Colt LE6920 of the Bush and Obama eras
i mean, i make bespoke hunting rifles from steel, wood, and aluminum sourced from within the US. there are plenty of 100% US made weapons (that have zero foreign made components) if that's your thing. many people are unwilling to pay the costs involved for supporting that sort of manufacturing. and it's not like the premium is massive either. the Ruger American rifle is 100% made in the US and has zero foreign parts of any kind. same for the LaRue OBR or the Kimber Hunter or the S&W 629 (fancy wood might be foreign sourced, Hogue rubber material is usually from South America but molded, textured, and assembled with the grip frame and eschutcheon in the US). Marlin (owned by Ruger) still makes most of it's firearms 100% in the US although i think they source wood and raw brass from overseas, came goes for the Mossberg SPX, which is 100% made in the US (Texas, IIRC) other than the plastic which comes from Connecticut.

however you'll notice that these are not the cheapest options for a bolt action hunting rifle or a revolver. so people (and companies) that have a very strong budget pressure for selecting a firearm will often find a less expensive option which is usually a combination of foreign and domestic manufacturing or purely foreign import from a country where the currency exchange and cost of labor is so low that it's not really possible to compete in the same way.

another way to measure it is determining if the raw material source is important for you (steel, wood, rubber) or if something like finished components are ok if they are noncritical (plastic grips, phosphorescent paint on sights, the packaging itself like cardboard or plastic, blow molded cases, et c). so there are "degrees" of Made in USA.
 
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Speaking of Girsan, check out this sexy beast. Perfect if you're an Albanian pimp on the streets of Kosovo. Italians would probably consider this an affront, like pineapple on pizza.

5e3aa78902fa1-298.png
 
Speaking of Girsan, check out this sexy beast. Perfect if you're an Albanian pimp on the streets of Kosovo. Italians would probably consider this an affront, like pineapple on pizza.

5e3aa78902fa1-298.png
Where do I find those gold plated Springfield 1911s from the movie known as Face/Off.
 
Langdom custom slides
LTT is like Wilson Combat - they've worked with Beretta for years and do good work. however unlike the WC slide, the LTT slide is both lower and has a few more options for what micro red dot you want. the downside is that LTT uses a unique firing pin and FP block so replacements must come from LTT.
Where do I find those gold plated Springfield 1911s from the movie known as Face/Off.
depends on your budget and time frame. for the film, they were done by a prop specialist specifically (the pistols were a Springfield Armory model i can't remember exactly), however there are many options for similar grips off ebay, etsy, gripsamerica, et c.

if you want a precise duplicate in fine materials and workmanship, i would recommend talking Rowan Custom Grips or Texas Grips and discussing options for ebony grips with gold inlay to match with a titanium nitride plated 1911.
 
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Where do I find those gold plated Springfield 1911s from the movie known as Face/Off.

if you want a precise duplicate in fine materials and workmanship, i would recommend talking Rowan Custom Grips or Texas Grips and discussing options for ebony grips with gold inlay to match with a titanium nitride plated 1911.
Yeah titanium nitride is the cheaper "gold" plating, though I understand it's very smooth/low friction (less than gold?) and I assume more durable?
 
the frame and slide are forged steel overseas and finished machined in the US (which itself is the majority of work for a frame or receiver, so that's fairly reasonable considering the cost of labor is the biggest portion of that sub assembly vs materials/shipping). the small parts are Turkish (some are Tisas but i think the majority are Girsan) with the exception of some screws and pins which seem to be Cox made, which makes sense since SA contracts Cox for their 1911 small parts.

i could believe that the imported small parts are just for the first few batches until local manufacturing agreements are in place to lower costs down once the market can support the weight of enough production to make overseas manufacturing and import more trouble/expensive than what it's worth - maybe Milwaukee Precision since it's pretty local and has really good machining for it's castings, which are themselves very high quality (they were OEM for Ruger during the 90's when Ruger expanded their plant in AZ... no idea on the springs, but SA has a relationship with J&P which makes springs for a lot of people from plants in the US and Mexico and supplies springs for SA's rifles with the exception of the Saint line.
That's more or less what I figured, I know Springfield Armory used to get their 1911 frames from Imbel in Brazil and still get their XDs from Croatia as far as I know. I wonder if the barrels at least are US-made from start to finish.
 
That's more or less what I figured, I know Springfield Armory used to get their 1911 frames from Imbel in Brazil and still get their XDs from Croatia as far as I know. I wonder if the barrels at least are US-made from start to finish.
Its usually the firing pin is the issues I have heard about from their ARs however Colin Noir likes their ARs line as good enough on a budget.


Also he spoke out on Alec Baldwin today as well.

 
Let's talk 10/22 builds. Is there any point in getting a receiver with an integrated rail instead of the stock one? Looks aside, I can't really think of any major benefits. I can drill a hole in the stock receiver for a cleaning rod, that's a non-issue.
 
Let's talk 10/22 builds. Is there any point in getting a receiver with an integrated rail instead of the stock one? Looks aside, I can't really think of any major benefits. I can drill a hole in the stock receiver for a cleaning rod, that's a non-issue.
I use the Hogue stock for mine, feels like an upgrade over the stock plastic shit that it comes in and a Leopold 10/22 scope rail is much better than the stock weaver provided as it has a gap that lines up the front and back sights in the middle of the rail.
 
I use the Hogue stock for mine, feels like an upgrade over the stock plastic shit that it comes in and a Leopold 10/22 scope rail is much better than the stock weaver provided as it has a gap that lines up the front and back sights in the middle of the rail.
Sorry, wasn't clear, meant "stock receiver" as in the factory 10/22 receiver, as opposed to a receiver with an integrated rail like the BRN-22. I'll get the Magpul X-22 Hunter stock for this build, should work well with a .920" barrel.
 
Sorry, wasn't clear, meant "stock receiver" as in the factory 10/22 receiver, as opposed to a receiver with an integrated rail like the BRN-22. I'll get the Magpul X-22 Hunter stock for this build, should work well with a .920" barrel.
If you're building an optic-only rifle, I'd say go for it - the price seems to be about the same as buying a standard stripped receiver plus a decent rail.
 
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