Dear Santa,
I haven’t asked for anything from you in a long time, mainly because my life is pretty good and I don’t really need anything. This year, though, I’d really like for my wish to come true.
Please prevent new AR-15 manufacturers from starting up.
I know it’s a terribly anti-free-market thing to wish for, but I’m getting really tired of all the new AR-15 companies out there. It was hard enough when we only had a few dozen to choose from – now, everyone with an LLC and a buddy who works in a machine shop can make “world class tactical rifles.” None of them have any imagination when it comes to names, either – it’s almost a requirement to have the word “Black” in the name, because black equals tactical, and tactical equals money in today’s firearms market.
The names of the rifles aren’t any more imaginative. They most likely include the numbers 4 or 16 (or 4 and 16), or are somehow related to Greek mythology. Hey, the Zulus were pretty hardcore warriors, why can’t we get some rifles named after them?
Of course, everyone is “mil-spec.” Why? Because their carbine model generally resembles an M4. Never mind what the word means. In fact, some AR-15 manufacturers don’t have a clue what mil-spec actually means.
I don’t care what operating system they use, either. Windows 8? Short stroke gas piston? Doesn’t matter, make it stop, please. Whether I’m a couch potato or an SF type who fast ropes out of bed in the morning, there are about a million things more important than whether my rifle can fire 10,000 rounds at the cyclic rate before the barrel melts, or whether it’s “sub-MOA.”
The ACR was a joke wrapped in a fat suit inside an enigma. The SCAR was a viable alternative, if you feed your purebred dogs caviar. No one is really sure if the XCR-M exists. The Sig 556 – no, forget that one. But the others were at least different. The companies put their best into the design. They didn’t just say “hey, we could probably do that too” and proceed to confuse the hell out of innocent bloggers with their infuriatingly similar names and business plans.
I know that some of these budding AR-15 manufacturers are probably run by good people, but please, leave them prints for some other firearm under the tree this year.
Thanks,
Andrew Tuohy
PS. I am still waiting on that thing I asked for in 1989.
X2 ++++!
IF we see one more LAV, DD, HqK, MFDF, D3_It^, or what ever- I’ll puke in my mouth.
Hope whatever you wanted in 1989 looked like Farrah!
I’ve mirrored the same comments on a forum I visit. Like you, I am also tired of being tired of reading ads from every-other company claiming to be the “solution” to some imaginary problem. I’m tired of their claims of producing a product that’s “revolutionary” or “used by special forces across the world”.
I don’t know if these claims are true, but there are hundreds of special forces and for all I know it could be.
Then there are companies like JP that make real “solutions” and “revolutionary” concepts that don’t spam me with their purported tacticoolness.
You write with an educated and shooters-POV. Perspectives that are important to knowing why things work as a firearm, not just why it looks cool or shoots “sub-MOA”.
A fellow CMP and USPSA/IDPA shooter,
Jonathan
JP is pretty cool. They are definitely one of the more forward-thinking AR companies. I don’t think their stuff would work for me, but I do recommend them to anyone looking for that kind of rifle.
Thanks, I wouldn’t do this if I thought I wasn’t helping people make the right decisions for them.
Hey did you hear? Kel-tec is releasing a AR-15 Clone for 2012!!!
I think it’s going to be released on April First, right after they release the RFB in .223 Remington!
I agree 100%, It’s such a cop out to release yet another $1,000+ AR-15 clone, the AWB ban is over but it seems like we have less original designs today than in the past.
Or a blond in a Ferrari! And stop laughing at my ACR! I hurts me :’-(…
As long as you like it, dude, that’s all that matters.
Hater. I like my Sig.
A cold and lonely burden to carry…
Maybe everyone can start pumping out G3 clones for a change. Since true innovation alludes us, how about everyone just starts making bat-shit insane stuff. How about an 1887 lever action clone in 10 gauge? How about a double barreled pump action shotgun? A revolver chambered in .50 BMG. A semi automatic bullpup in .45-70. How about HK puts the G11 into production? Not that it matters, in semi-automatic you would never be able to fire faster than the damn thing cycles.
It was interesting trying to tell my girlfriend what I was laughing at here. Semi automatic bullpup in .45-70, indeed
Small Arms Review ran a brief article several years ago regarding an outfit that converted a Dragunov to .50-110. A .45-70 conversion should be even easier. Find a suitable bull-pup conversion kit, and Bob’s your uncle.
Yeah, that would be a problem. Most people just go cross eyed when I talk about this stuff.
Funny my wife asked a few days ago how many companies make the 1911. I would hate to even get started on a list for the AR. Despite the rush of choices to hit the market, I haven’t noticed anything revolutionary. The high prices on some models like the ACR is a joke for what they bring to the table. I had high hopes for the SCAR, but even that has been a let down. Most of the ARs on the market seem to work ok, but there really is only a few companies I want to buy from.
The funny thing about most of the reviews is that they take a new gun, run a few hundred rounds through it, and act surprised when everything goes well. That’s one thing I like about your reports your talking about what’s happened after 6000 rounds.
Thanks man…I do find it amusing to read how some writers spin the 400th new 1911 to come out in the last decade…
As usual, your opinion mirrors that of anyone with a lick of sense. I’d like to see more variety in the black rifle market. There are an absolute boatload of military rifles that need to be cloned (and built properly so they actually work for more than weekend range trips). I would love to get my hands on a semi-auto FAMAS that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Dear Santa,
Tavor?
-George
Rather than innovation, I’d like to see some of these companies take what they have, say in the basic M4ish variant, and push the cost down without pushing manufacturing overseas. I don’t know if it can be done, I don’t know what the markups are currently, but I do know the volumes for things like barrels and bolt carriers, etc has to be pretty high. How about a $600 Colt 6920? How about some $7 PMAGs? I don’t care about some cat shit coating that makes it easier to clean, I’ll just dump some lube on it and run it.
Mike,
Amen brother! I think the $600 mark is definitely reachable, but they would have to make up the difference in sheer volume, which at this point in the madness, probably isn’t possible, seems everybody already has an ar. I do know that the $600 mark is right near what the DOD pays for a new in the box M4, so it is doable.
Government Agencies and Military sales don’t have 11% Federal Excise Tax on them. That tax is paid by manufacturers on whatever the gun is sold for normally.
Palmetto State Armory makes a rock solid M-4gery (flat top upper/no rear sight) for $600. I have thousands of rounds through mine, including Wolf, without a single hitch. An excellent, straight forward, “no frills” rifle.
With the bazillion ar-15/m4 clone makers out there, why can’t i pick up a pretty decent one new for $500? Surely some want to make a boat load of cash….
So Vulcan doesn’t make the machine gun of the special forces!? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
They do for the very special forces….you know the one’s that ride the short bus to the hot zone.
Same goes for 1911 clones.
Hey if you want different, take a look at this http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2011/12/05/new-russian-tskib-ash-12-50-cal-12-7x55mm-bullpup-rifle/
What if I have a better name for my company? Can I play in the AR market? Na, I am just kidding. How many different (not really different) ways can you make the same thing? My favorite are the companies with the non-mil spec stuff that is all proprietary…
Why do you say “The Sig 556 – no, forget that one.”?
I’ve looked over your blog and couldn’t find a review on it. What’s your beef with it? From what I can tell, (having not yet handled one, though I’d like that to change) it’s the perfect answer to your post. It’s a modern carbine that isn’t an AR and doesn’t break the bank like the SCAR or ACR do. I get that the original version was ugly as sin, but the newest version (more closely resembling the 551, same stock and similar handguards but retaining the AR magwell) looks alright to me.
Dunno bout Andrew’s opinion, but I owned a 556 SWAT model a while back. It was significantly nose heavy and had a few things I didn’t care for like the mag release feeling a tad farther to reach vs. an AR (the one on mine actually would get stuck if you depressed it too far). Also, depending on how optics mounted, they could stick out to the sides far enough to interfere with manipulating the charging handle (my EOTech did). Also, mine at least seemed to have a pretty stubborn selector switch. I know these things are all addressable and the weapon is indeed reliable, but I don’t regret ditching it for a high-end AR15.
The Sig 556 is not made to the same standards as the “true” Sig 55X series of rifles. It is too low quality to sell in Europe and should not be considered as a serious use rifle in the United States either.
I think 90% of the new manufacturers bring nothing new to the table. But it’s the 10% that make the platform better, or give the market options they didn’t have before. So as painful as it might be as a blogger trying to understand the differences between these 90%, stay focused on the 10% that can’t exist without the other. Hell, as a blogger focus on them all. The ar-15 content is endless.
What if Santa made your wish come true before the time of BCM or Spikes? I’ve seen in the last year a new device that simplifies the bolt hold open process. Who knows what’s around the corner especially on the ar-10 platform.
It also seems everyone is talking about innovation like it is some benchmark of a good product. BCM didn’t innovate anything. I do wish companies would stop selling to armchair commandos and realize we don’t need FAs, or grenade launcher cuts, etc. The ar-15 platform is stuck on whether it should be a non-auto mil alternative, or recreational tool. But at least there are tons a people making options for either crowd.
BCM and Spikes have both been around for about 10 years, if I remember correctly. Before that point in time, there were only a few – perhaps just one – truly high quality AR manufacturer(s). It would have been silly to wish for it then.
Now there are at least 10 such manufacturers. Is that too many? Not really. But I think the AR-15 market became over-saturated several years ago – not ten years ago.
What would be interesting to me, to find out, is how many of these manufacturers actually manufacture something from the ground up, basically. Versus finding out if there are just 3 major lower receiver manufacturers, and they sell their almost completed uppers and lowers to these other companies which are basically just assemblers.
Andrew,
I agree with you on this for the most part, but there are several fairly new companies that are actually doing a very good job at at least trying to adhere to the TDP (or what they have of the TDP, since the actual TDP is not available outside of Colt and FN.)
Noveske, Bravo Company and Daniel Defense are fairly new companies, but they sell very high quality products, that are certainly worthy of consideration if you are looking for a good rifle, whether for a patrol rifle, or a weapon that will be used for home defense.
Let us not forget Lewis Machine & Tool, as they have been in business since the early 1980s, but have only recently begun to get the attention they deserve.
Colt, obviously, is the gold standard, by which all other carbines are measured against.
The issue that most people don’t understand is that the above mentioned companies either machine many of their own parts, or have them machined to their exacting specifications by a third party. While there are only a few companies that make the raw forgings of the upper and lower receivers, it is actually important to know which company completed the finish machine work, as that can make the difference between an in-spec lower, and a lower that won’t function properly. As an example, a Daniel Defense lower receiver (of which some of the raw forgings are sourced from Cerro Forge) will be of much higher quality than a third party milling of the same forging, due to the quality control in place at Daniel Defense.
Don’t get caught up in thinking that just because the parts look the same, that they are actually the same, because in most cases they are not. There is a very good reason to stick only with high quality companies, rather than DPMS, Bushmaster, Yankee Hill Machine, and the likes.
To Will litten: there are actually one or two pump action double barrels out there, mostly custom jobs though. I think the firearm blog did one on the Moe syzlack special.