Made in the USA.... or not.

[xrageofangelsx]

Several of those who are into guns are also into preserving the freedoms we have as citizens of the United States. Also, several people express this by purchasing things "made in America (read: Purchasing "Hecho en Mexico" does not count, hombre)." Do those of you who subsribe to this ideal also stick to Made in the U.S.A. principles when it comes to firearms? Reason being, I am embarrassed to admit that not one of my firearms has been made in the USA with the exception (maybe) of my Remington 870. And if you'd like to see my opinion on that firearm, search for that thread. However, that is neither hear nor there. So, what do you do?

 

[Half-Price Assassin]

I love this country, but own only one gun, out of 8 that is made here in America (bushmaster ar-15). it not that i have anything against american guns, its just that the germans, make a better (more realiable) pistol. and for protecting my family, and myself, i have to pick the best. i am not saying all american guns are unsafe, and will jam when the going gets tough, but HKs, and Glocks, just seem to do better, and look at who else uses them, the guys protecting us (F.B.I., D.E.A., US. MARSHALS). roughly 2/3 of all law enforcement, so that has to tell you something. even the US ARMY uses a beretta. so though it may seem un-american that i dont own an american pistol, I am not alone! trust me i wish i could buy american, for one it would be cheaper (no import taxes, and shipping costs), wouldnt involve the euro, whice right now is worth more then the dollar. and would be going to help a hard working american, just like me. its not guys like me who are at fault for not buying american, its american gun companies that have been producing sub-par junk for the last 50years. american gun companies have been only interested in profit over product, and reputation (not to mention second chance body armor, company knew it was bad but still sold it), we shouldnt be playing catch up with europe when it comes to guns, it should be the other way around. but you can thank the people incharge of our gun companies for that.

 

[Sir William]

There are Norincos that I want.

 

[auto45]

I try and prefer to buy American.

It depends whether an American company is competitive or not. Or, if they choose to compete in that market. For example, none of my O/U's are American because they really never decided to compete. Exception being the Remington 3200 which was dropped 20 years ago. The Italians make better auto shotguns than we do now. Remington is more of a "big box" manufacturer now, IMHO.

All my pistols are USA because I shoot 1911's, 22 autos and one revolver. 22 rifles also. Easy to buy American. Although now with S&W, Kimber using the series II type FPS and external extractors, I'd buy a Springfield in a heartbeat which is made in Brazil. We do need imports to keep everyone making good products at a good price. Plus, USA companies, except for Ruger, are not known for their innovations.

If you shoot double stacked, plastic framed pistols, tough road for USA products. Perhaps the new S&W will take care of that problem...let's hope.

We do well with bolt action rifles too I believe.

 

[ltdave]

ts just that the germans, make a better (more realiable) pistol.

Hogwash. theres no more proof of that than there is of the Toyota/Honda/Nissan autos are better built than US cars and im not going any farther into that...

my 2 Colt's 1911A1 types (ones a commander) have never failed to feed, fire or extract with Whitebox, Yellowbox or Redbox or the poorly built reloads i run thru it. they had some issues when i tried a SWC that wasnt seated deap enough but that wasnt in spec...

my Inglis High-Power runs absolutely fine with what it was designed for (FMJ)...

my Springfield 1911A1 runs just as good as the Colt's. now if its a Brazilian forged pistole then i guess some of the Nazi war criminals (Germans??) are responsible for its reliablity, but it doesnt say anything about Brazil on it...

my Glock runs just fine and it has never failed even with reloads and lack of cleaning...the Glock is Austrian not German...

my only other foreign built firearms (that i know of) are my yugo48, beretta M1 garand and Colt's Cowboy. where are older Rem 1100s built? how about Mossberg 500s? i know my Smiths are US built as are my other Colt revos. all of my other garands are US built as well...

david

 

[Marcus]

I have both foreign and American guns but given a choice between to comparable models I`ll usually take the American one. I`ve been trying more and more to buy American lately and the last 5 made been made in the USA. Marcus

 

[J.D.B.]

I am buying ALL CHINESE from here on out. They need the money to build up their armed services, keep their economy strong, and crush all the freedom-loving people everywhere when they get strong enough. YAYYYY CHINA! WOO-HOO! COMMUNISM REALLY DOES PAY OFF! Thank you Richard Nixon for getting the ball, er, money, rolling into China. Who would've thought, back in '71, that such a gesture on behalf of our American corporations, could have helped the Red Chinese down the road to world economic domination? Maybe I'll just sign my paycheck over to them, too!:barf:
Josh

 

[Ala Dan]

I own firearms made in various different countries; as some examples I offer:

Kimber-Colt-Smith & Wesson = U.S.A.
a) Yonkers, New York
b) Hartford, Conn
c) Springfield, Mass

Springfield Armory
a) Imbel, Brazil

Bersa
a) Argentina

SIG-SAUER
a) West Germany

 

[COK]

I try to by U.S as much as possible in any consumer product, but that will not stop me from considering some of the fine firearms to come out of Germany, Italy, Belgium and a few other countries. I like to sample different makes of firearms, so as long as it’s not junk I am interested no matter where it’s from.

 

[varoadking]

I look for value, and try to buy quality - not junk. Both quality and junk goods are made in ever corner of the world these days - including the USA...

I'm more concerned with where the profits go than whether some foreign company employs a few blue collar workers in some Bible Belt "Union" sweat shop. I have owned 1974 vintage S&W Model 19 for the past 30 years...

That said, HK, SiG and SA, Inc. comprise the lions share of my handgun collection.

 

[cavediver27]

Let's put it this way, I own the following handguns:

Ruger P345
Ruger P95
Ruger Blackhawk
Ruger Bearcat
Colt 1911A1
Colt Peacemaker
Colt Cobra
Smith & Wesson M10
Kel-Tec P32
Kel-Tec P3-AT
H&R 949

All made right here in the good old US of A. Oh yea, all of my long guns are USA made also.

I wouldn't own a weapon made in a socialist country or one from a country that doesn't allow its citizens to own and keep guns.

 

[Mikeyboy]

Now a-days you got to be careful with that whole made in america thing. Ironically most Nissan and Toyota's are "assembled" in the USA, while most parts for Fords and Chryslers are manufactured overseas or in Canada, heck Ford owns a lot of foreign car companies (check their website). Some Beretta's are made in Maryland, and who knows for certain if every part on a gun made in the USA was actually made in the USA. Since a majority of my ethnicity got screwed by the Soviets, I avoid Russian products even though the AK-47 is a fine rifle.

 

[Majic]

With today's manufactoring industry being global it's hard to imagine anything being totally from one country. Parts and especially raw materials could come from anywhere.

 

[Shorts]

I have products all over the house made in other places besides America. I love my country. My husband fights for it and wears a flag on his shoulder to work every single day. But the global market is a positive thing. Pick your battles. On a world-wide scale, being picky about where the products I buy are made is as painful as ever contemplating being a complete vegetarian - it ain't gonna happen. If the product is quality, what's the harm in buying quality? I'm not going to pay my country for a crappy product (not saying the US doesn't produce quality products, but for arguments sake....). Wheres their motivation to make better products if I still pay for crap? No way Jose.

 

[Seraph]

Moreover, if we refuse to buy goods from foreign countries, and perhaps especially socialist/communist countries, how can we expect to ever convince them to join the capitalist free world?

 

[joab]

Since all my guns are bought used it doesn't really matter much where they originated
, but all my guns were marked up by American middlemen

 

[progunner1957]

all my guns were marked up by American middlemen

LOL
+1

 

[yorec]

I buy what I want...

The best guns I own are American made. Pattern there somewhere...

 

[Greg Bell]

I often wonder what the hell happened to American manufacturers. Smith, Colt, Browning, etc. Colt tried with the Double Eagle, pocket nine and the Colt AA2000. truly miserable weapons that are consigned to well deserved obscurity. Smith ignored the trends and allowed Glock, Beretta and SIG to knock them out of American law enforcement dominance. And even if a few agencies still carry third generation Smiths, how many military or foreign police units do? Smith may be trying to fix this with the M&P. Lets hope it is more than a Sigma with a change of clothes. Other than in specialized circumstances, nobody really takes the 1911 seriously as a general issue weapon. Further, while a few 1911s remain in service here and there in the military, even that may be a thing of the past with the coming of the HK45.

Just like in the car arena, America has dropped the ball when it comes to handguns. Now fighter jets, that is where we still kick some serious butt!

 

[Greg Bell]

Sorry, double tap!