American Made Products And Patriotism

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Right on!

" I buy strickly American whenever possible. From my experence at this, I can purchase @905% American made products with a little shopping. There are a few things like eletronics, foods and a few others that are strickly foreign made. Dont let anyone lie to you that American made products are poorer quality than foreign. True some companies build products that are shoddy, but that is simply because you buy them. You quit buying the low dollar Remingtons and buy only the upper quality Remingtons, then their quality will improve. I study economics as a hobby, definately not close to an expert, but far more knowledgable than the average Joe. Buy American? Hell yes it matters alot. I have seen five companies go broke because our liberal tarrif policies allow foreign countries to dump like kind products into our economy for less money. I drive American made autos and can get well over 300,000 miles on them with few repair, and they are still great vechiles when I sell them. Dont let anyone tell you that it doesnt matter, because it does. If you want a glock, buy a glock, but dont tell me its better than mine. When you pass the next foreclosed house and pass the unemployment line, while driving your foreign car, with foreign tires, while wearing Chinese clothes and looking at your Japanese watch, think what those purchases would have meant to those standing on the unemployment line. Sure foreign countries build good stuff but they also produce some of the poorest quality crap in the world. I choose to be a part of the solution instead of being part of the problem."

I agree 100%
I shop around and ALWAYS look at the label. Some things are pretty much impossible to buy USA made but if there is a USA made product,the quality looks to be at least as good and the price isn't prohibative then I'll spend a bit more on the USA made product. It matters to me and it matters to the people who build the product. I avoid Chinese products as much as I can and prefer products made anywhere but China.
 
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Its called freedom of choice. Most guns are made in the states. Are you referring to Glock, XD's?? Beretta, S&W, Ruger, Taurus, Kimber, and the smaller 1911 manufacturers just to name a few are made state side. Kel-Tec, Skyy.
 
My questions are how does one balance patriotism and also making sure their limited funds buy them the best quality firearm available?

What if that particular American product is less quality or does not meet your preference, do we buy them anyway for the sake of patriotism?

At what price range difference are you willing to pay for the American made firearm if they both meet your needs.?
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1 - best quality available does not mean US made, no problem

2 - No, absolutely not, they are free to compete or not

3 - $0
 
I always put forth my best effort to buy American, and all my guns were made here in 'Merica. It's not because I bleed red, white, and blue. It's a matter of economics. My purchasing dollars are going to a company based in the States. They'll take that money and distribute it to their American workers. Those American workers use that money to pay their bills, taxes, support local businesses, etc. So the money stays here.

If I buy something made in Narnia then part of my purchasing money is sent overseas, never to be seen again.
 
I find it interesting to hear American workers complaining about the quality of American products.
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To be fair, I don't think anyone said American products are of inherently low quality. Some American goods are indeed of poor quality (but many are not). I think the point being made is, those manufacturers that do make lesser goods, especially if it at a high price, should not be rewarded for doing so simply on account of producing their guns here in the States.

For instance, SIG-USA's 556R rifle costs around 1200 dollars, can only use plastic AK mags (anything else causes damage to the receiver), and seems to run on only expensive, hard-to-find varieties of 7.62x39 ammo. The materials on these rifles are cheap, and the workmanship isn't praiseworthy either. So is it really rational to pay 2, 3 or even 4 times the price for something that's (IMO) a decidedly inferior product, just because it's made here?
 
Were it only so simple to be patriotic and "Buy American". However, those days are long gone. We exist as one country in a literal, global economy.

Even in American-made products, there is imported steel, imported oil (plastics), and some foreign labor costs. When one buys a Ford, Chevrolet, or Chrysler product, some of the components, engines, transmissions, etc., come from outside the U.S. However, the profit on the end product remains in the U.S. Whether Toyota builds cars in Kentucky, or Honda in Ohio, the profits go home to that country. So, if one wants to be profitably patriotic, just remember where the profits go home.

It's not treasonous to be frugal with one's money. In the case of shotguns, say higher-end trap and skeet guns, very few are made in the U.S. Kolar is about the only one. Yet, relatively few buy Kolar. Look at any trap line, and see how many Perazzi's, Beretta's, Browning's, or Krieghoff's there are. I wouldn't call anyone who shoots the foregoing to be unpatriotic.

However, the U.S. government has an obligation to protect its citizens from harm by foreign powers. That the U.S. government doesn't demand equal access to foreign markets is where some of the real damage is done.

There's also the question of wages. An American worker rightly should not expect to be paid the same wage as a counterpart in China or Korea would. However, since labor is generally a large part of the price of products, how else does the U.S stay involved in world trade, yet protect the American way of life, and its economy?

I wish I had the answer.
 
One should judge a product on its own merits but there's a lot more involved. If foreign products were less expensive, then logically, why don't we import everything? However, at least someone here recognizes the greater problem, which in a nutshell, is our trade deficit, or at least that's the way I see it. It means we buy more from overseas than we sell overseas.

Do not imagine that it is a simple thing. Even though we may buy way more from China than we sell them, the money does not necessarily go overseas. The money stays here in American banks. They loan the government most of it, apparently, and use the rest to spend as they wish. We quit shipping gold overseas a long time ago. They can use dollars to buy things elsewhere buy that doesn't do us much good.

We could tax imports enough to eliminate the national debt but there would be an outcry that's never been heard in living memory, although it's been done before. After all, the price of everything would go up. Personally, we'd be better off if interest rates were higher. Where is the incentive to save money?

In a small way, it happens locally, too. There are no cars made in the state where I live. They may as well come from The Netherlands as Tennessee as far as we're concerned. Unfortunately I think it has been a while since guns were manufactured in Virginia. Was the Virginia Dragoon manufactured in Virginia>
 
raftman said:
For instance, SIG-USA's 556R rifle costs around 1200 dollars, can only use plastic AK mags (anything else causes damage to the receiver), and seems to run on only expensive, hard-to-find varieties of 7.62x39 ammo. The materials on these rifles are cheap, and the workmanship isn't praiseworthy either. So is it really rational to pay 2, 3 or even 4 times the price for something that's (IMO) a decidedly inferior product, just because it's made here?
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I experienced this personally. It has really soured my image of SIG in general. As to "buy American" - we all have realized that this is all but impossible to do. Like most, I wish that were not the case.
 
Is "American made" important to you?

I guess this really only applies to Americans, but-

How important is it to you that you buy American guns? Do you prefer it, or is it just an added benefit?

I don't really use it as a deciding factor, but it is a pretty big benefit to me. I still love Sigs, H&Ks, CZs and other nations' weapons, but I share a special bond with my American firearms! I think more than half of my guns are American made, which is a fairly big number, even though (I believe) the States have a larger number of huge manufacturers than other nations.

What about you?

(By American I mean companies that have their roots, headquarters, manufacturing and beginnings in America. Guns manufactured in the US, I would consider foreign, if their company is foreign like Walther etc.)
 
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I prefer to support American companies when I can, but I won't refuse a product because of foreign origins if it is a quality piece of merchandise.

The real problem is buying from American companies that use foreign labor and parts and slap an American flag on it because it was assembled here. I don't care for that.
 
^Agreed. I have more trouble buying from a company that uses foreign labor and assembles here passing it on as American than I do buying from foreign companies.
 
The real problem is buying from American companies that use foreign labor and parts and slap an American flag on it because it was assembled here. I don't care for that.
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Like InterOrdnance (I.O.) and their AK's! Many times in gun forums, I've seen someone looking for a suggestion on which AK to buy, often someone will respond with "buy I.O. they're 100% American-made!" They are not. In reality, they're no more American than Century's Polish Tantal, Yugo M70, Romanian WASR, Bulgarian AK-74, etc. Both Century and I.O. make extensive use of foreign surplus parts and simply add enough US-made parts to render it U.S.-made by virtue of 922R compliance.
 
Important & Impossible

The made in ______ assembled in USA was quite common for the past few years. Especially in the Automobile Industry.
I have made major purchases thinking that just because the brand is an icon in the USA it would be made by workers in in the USA. HA!, jokes are on me. I should have known better, since I worked at a major electronics factory that bought fully assembled relays from Japan, that were made in Korea. Workers in the plant removed the cover and replaced the cover with ones molded in the factory. Assembled with pride in the USA engraved into the molds.
When was this? Over 30 years ago.
:confused:
 
My Dell was made in America. However it only transfers data through the dial up modem so posting would be a problem.
 
While in theory I prefer American made products, I want first class quality. American products have not always been the best, and so I buy what seems to be the best overall for me.

I have not bought an American auto for decades, and if the gun manufacturers farm out some of their products I don't really care if I get the quality I desire.
I would rather have a H&H double than anything made in the US.

Jerry
 
You should definitely 'buy American' when the item you are buying supports you just as much as you buy it. I realized in the 70s and 80s that this was not the case with American made vehicles. I was chastized by my 'patriotic' friends for not buying a car that didn't work as well as the Japanese car I purchased and hence I wasn't supporting a whole industry of people who were all making wages that were in multiples of what I was making an then paying the local mechanic to keep it running, also at a rate that was multiples of what I was making. It dawned on me at the time that I was expected to overpay for an item to do the same task and require more upkeep as part of the status quo and that such a notion is stupid economics. Why should I buy a product that supports the people who made it when the product they made does not support me?

There is nothing wrong with buying a quality product. There is a lot wrong with stupidily buying a product for reasons other than those for which it was designed.
 
Colvin said:
(By American I mean companies that have their roots, headquarters and beginnings in America. Guns manufactured in the US, I would consider foreign, if their company is foreign like Walther etc.)
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So according to your logic, a Springfield Armory GI 1911 that's made entirely in Brazil, using Brazilian materials and labor, is "American," but a SIG 1911 that's made entirely in New Hampshire, using American materials and American labor, is "foreign."

I can't even begin to address that ...
 
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