Are we getting our monies worth?

Recently exposed to me heat treating bids.
I was surprised at the cost. How many pieces in a firearm are heat treated and how accurate does it need to be? Probably far more than the gears I was looking at.
 
Perhaps we can look at things from a different point of view and compare guns with guns.

If a Glock costs $550, then lets compare it to some rifles. I don't know US prices but I seem to recall that $550 can get you a chunk of Savage for example.

In fact, just looking at the Cabelas website I can see $500 getting me a Browning Bolt, a Ruger bolt, a Remington bolt, a Weatherby bolt, a Tikka bolt. Some models are cheap enough that I could get almost two for the price of that Glock. There are even some semi auto rifles priced at $650.

In my case, my almost new CZ550 cost less than my new SP-01. It was 60% of the price. That is a significant difference. I could buy two CZ 858 (VZ58) rifles for the price of my SP-01.

In that respect I think rifles are far better value in terms of materials and power. They just lack the size.
 
I don't think it is a fair comparison to compare a gun with a power washer or other mass produced machine. A gun is more like a telescope, medical equipment or something similar that is made with precision with little room for error. When you compare the prices of guns to other things made with precision, they are cheap. Even the most mass produced guns have a good amount of hand building done in producing them even with the automation available.

I also think the difference in a cheap gun and a top of the line gun is like the difference in an average race car and the winning race car. The cost the extra 5% in performance to win will cost several times the cost of running well.
 
Gun prices seem fair to me. $550 for the Glock? It should outlast you and your kids. How long is the $25K car going to last?
Overall I believe that if guns were overpriced, the free market would correct in hurry.
 
I think with firearms we are probably getting a decent price, all things considered. As mentioned already the extra tax on a new complete firearm, plus the additional overhead to cover liability suits, lawyers, lobbying efforts, and in the case of some manufacturers, factory relocation costs.

I don't think its right to compare firearms with a car/truck though, because new firearms can be purchased by a retailer through a distributor or wholesaler, where in the auto industry to buy new as far as I know its through a franchised, branded dealer, so that limits competition greatly.

20 years ago one could go buy a basic pickup, vinyl mat/seat, manual windows/locks, no A/C just the basics. I don't know if that's even possible today with all the integrated stuff in them now, but I can still go buy a basic firearm. Sure if I want all the high end stuff I could pay someone like Ted Yost or similar several grand for the extras, but a local FFL will still sell me a basic firearm. The couple of salesmen I spoke to about a price on a pickup weren't even interested in selling me a basic one, just the high end stuff sitting on the lot. Im still driving a basic one 20 years old (bought it 19 years ago).

Even more so with firearms, we have some good lower priced stuff now that I don't remember 20 years ago, like a savage edge for around 275-300 bucks. So hopefully that part of the market will continue to improve over time.
 
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