New Firearms Manufacturer

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Welcome to TFL!

I would say you have had many great suggestions.
I would love to be there during design and testing, Would be awesome to watch a new gun go together that no one has seen before. Oh and shoot it too!:D

Grip feel like an M&P that allows a high purchase, Trigger needs to not be too long with minimal slack & break crisp with a short reset. A safety that never has to be used but easy and not bulky/protrusive/simple (for those that don't want one they need to forget it's there), Back straps adjustable for small hands or big hands.

Stainless matte slides could be a good option, maybe as a two tone. People do like rails for flash lights and such on mid to full size guns more so than compacts. I would consider that option.
 
Great thread.
I think it's a great idea to draw ideas directly from (potential)consumers. But maybe that's just me.

As for your design here's what I'd like to see in a new 9mm.

Finish, I don't mind to much. Blued is good.

Sights, smooth low profiled white dot front, fixed rear.

Rail, a small rail under the barrel just in front of the trigger guard would be nice. Just big enough for a flashlight. But again, low profile.

Lever placement, like that of a 1911 or Browning Hi-Power.

Field strip/dissasembly similar to, or as easy as Browning hi-power.

Grip feel/angle, and natural pointing/aim of Hi-power as well. Though, preferably slightly smaller/more compact.

And good heavens, please no trigger safety. I won't buy anything if the safety is on the trigger.

Just my thoughts.
Best of luck to you and your design. I hope to see it in stores soon.

-Jakobs.
 
Would be a very difficult market to break into when a consumer can already buy well-established semi-autos with proven track records for as little as $400, with average handguns in the $500 or so range. Ads are filled with top quality handguns for $400-600 every day.

It would be difficult to imagine as high quality product, with the costs of licensing, FFL, overhead, innovation, R&D, tooling, advertising, and production and sponsorship and still offer a product even 10-20% beneath current offerings from a dozen tried and true manufacturers.

I applaud your willingness to take this on.

Here's what I would want in an innovative/new gun.

1. P7 style cock/decock on squeeze mechanism. Very cool. And not offered on current production guns. I would be very interested in this.
2. Few levers for a sleek look.
3. Drop safe is mandatory.
4. Quality trigger. Everybody wants a smooth DA/SA trigger in the 7 pound and 4 pound range. It's not rocket science. Make it work right from the factory.
5. Great ergonomics. CZ seems to really have it right when it comes to that, and they are heavily copied for that reason.
6. Generous chamber = reliability.
7. You must have a lifetime warranty to be competitive.
8. Ship it with FOUR, yes FOUR magazines! Drives me nuts to only get 1 or 2 mags with a gun.
9. Adjustable backstraps seem to be the wave of the future, and you could market several types for accessories like wood or other materials so people can personalize their guns.


Bottom line the gun MUST be dead-nuts reliable and at least decent accuracy. Poor reliability will kill your business model because of bad publicity and the cost of fixing returned guns on warranty work.

Again, with all of the offerings out there, I would be hard pressed to gamble on a new gun unless it's got something really enticing, and is priced at or below your competition, which is very hard to do.

Alternately, you could go the other route and try to break into the TOP end and make super exclusive guns for the uber snob shooter with custom triggers and finishes and this and that, but that market is probably so small as to not be profitable for a startup company.

Good luck.
 
You are a manufacturing engineer, your first product is still in engineering and you are still asking for what features it should have (in April) and you expect to roll-out your first all-new design product in December of this year? As an engineer with experience in development and industrialization of new products (in other industries) I think you are grossly under estimated the development timeline.

That being said, I wish you luck.

For me, right now, I think the market has an opportunity for a single stack 9 maybe just slightly larger than a P938, good trigger feel hammer fired SA/DA, with safety and de-cocker, SS with a darker durable coating and night sights. Controls should have high consideration for ergonomics, you might want to consult an ergonomics expert, not just rely on what fits your hands.

Reliability is very important, which means LOTS of testing in all environmental conditions (again, that timeline thing)
 
I myself would be more interested in an all metal gun since there are so many polymer guns out there.
What I think you should post is the type of gun your first one will be. Compact, full sized, single double stack, single or double action.
Then I think members could help you more with ideas.
My only concern is with your time frame. From paper to market in a year and a couple of months. I have never designed a gun but I have worked in engineering doing design test and verification for over 35 years and have read a great deal about the great gun designers of the world.
Granted they didn’t have CNC machines or CAD in their design tools but many of them were geniuses in their fields and some guns took decades to perfect. And if you look at some of the large companies in business today with millions of dollars behind their design staff, a year is a very short time.
I’m not trying to put a negative into your plans, small business are what made this country but I do think you need to look a little harder at your time estimates.
Welcome to TFL and I do wish you luck in your endeavor.
 
I like the feel of the cZ75 pistol but would like a longer slide stop lever. When you say "all metal" do you mean a steel frame, an aluminum frame or a stainless steel frame? Assuming a steel frame, I prefer blue finish. Best of luck on your endevour.
 
Are you guys 100% dedicated to making autos, or have you considered a revolver?
If you might do revolvers I might suggest re-introducing the shooting world to a top-break revolver. With modern steels and machining techniques a STRONG top break should not be a problem and I believe you could sell them as fast as you could make them as long as the quality was there.
 
I'll play.

What type of Finishes do you guys and gals like? Hard chrome or two tone with a hard chrome frame and black slide. Cerakote would be a good alternative as well.

Sights? Low profile adjustable night sights, something like the Kensight DAS. With a front night sight as well, of course.

Picatinny rail? Yes, provides more flexibility and you will severely limit your buying audience if you don't have this. Not having a rail would be like not having adjustable chokes in a shotgun. That fact is that most people will never use it, but people will avoid your product if you don't have it simply because it doesn't provide the flexibility to add lights/lasers in the future.

Lever Placement? Frame mounted unit that functions as both a manual safety and decocker (like the Taurus PT-92).

Any insight would be wonderful.

Thankyou
 
Design it to use a reliable, existing, and readily-available magazine design.

Perhaps the Beretta 92 mag.

.
 
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It should have the feel, weight distribution and ergonomics of a Browning Hi Power but be double action/single action. Should have an aluminum lower for lighter weight. It should come in a full, compact and sub compact sizes and use existing hi cap mag (CZ 75 mags would be great). It should be able to handle +P ammo and should take down as easily as a M-9. It should have adjustable sights and it should retail for less than $500.
 
Fishbed77 NAILED it!

I have never understood why ever manufacturer has to make their own proprietary mag design, when many of them are SOOOO similar it's crazy.

Yes, use a widely available mag design already on the market. Beretta 92fs or CZ-75b would be great ones to use. Stay away from Sig or HK; those mags are expensive.

Why re-invent the wheel? Many rifles out there are made to use AR mags; no reason this same interchangability can't overflow to handguns.
 
STEEL- NO Zamak, NO aluminum, NO plastic.

NO RAIL

And for God's sake, NO stupid recurved finger grip trigger guard.

I hope your gun is a SA/DA, too. DAO has been done to death.

Make something that looks like a pistol and not some angular Lego-looking thing.

Good luck.
 
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I have never understood why ever manufacturer has to make their own proprietary mag design, when many of them are SOOOO similar it's crazy.
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Simple. They do it to make money on accessory sales.

For example, the Beretta 92 mag and Walther P99 mag are practically identical. Both are made by Mec-Gar (at least some "factory" 92 mags), both have a similar section and feed ramp design, and the only significant difference is the mag catch hole location and baseplate design. But Beretta mags sold for $10-15 back in the day, and Walther wanted to charge $60 for proprietary P99 mags. Fortunately new MR-branded P99 mags (identical to factory P99 mags and also made by Mec-Gar) can be found for $25 or less these days.

However, with the constant threat of unconstitutional legislation these days, manufacturers really need to stand by shooters and gun-owners by making mags non-proprietary, inexpensive, and easily-acquired.

That simple move would generate a lot of goodwill from the buying public.
 
For me, right now, I think the market has an opportunity for a single stack 9 maybe just slightly larger than a P938, good trigger feel hammer fired SA/DA, with safety and de-cocker, SS with a darker durable coating and night sights. Controls should have high consideration for ergonomics, you might want to consult an ergonomics expert, not just rely on what fits your hands.
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all that and a 1911 trigger.:D
 
I also think it is awful late to be making major decisions on gun design for next year, but while we are at it:

An all metal 9mm.
Stainless. That way you do not have to set up for bluing or painting or get hung up with an outside source for plating or rocket science finish.

Selective DA/SA - SA with a decocker but NOT like H&K or Taurus which can give you a surprise hammer down if you disengage the safety to vigorously. On one lever, it ought to be up for safe, down to fire like 1911 but then way up past safe to decock, NOT down below fire.

Can the magic of modern CNC give us a good factory trigger pull? Jeff Cooper talked about it for the Bren Ten but they did not deliver. I don't need gunzine writers telling me how a 6 lb trigger is safer and more combative and more lawyer proof. Give me 3 lbs and let Massad Ayoob increase his for a change. Wilson claims 8 lbs DA on a Beretta, you can, too.

I don't need a rail but it is hard to sell a pistol without one these days.

Common magazine with some well established make would be convenient. Beretta is ok, but not Browning.

Common sight dovetails with some well established make, too.

Is it going to be relatively slim? A BHP is not a big gun in spite of a 13 round magazine and a CZ75 is not bad. You should do better from a fresh start.
 
Dump the rail on carry guns. Adds unwanted bulk and weight and nobody carries lights on their carry gun rails anyway. Don't like or need rails on any of my guns, except the full sized HD guns.

I second the idea of using the best/most affordable compatible magazines. I would pick Glock personally. They are rugged, reliable, and simply work and are very distinguishable.

Whatever you do, make sure that your magazines are stamped with the gun maker and model.

It drives me NUTS sorting through PILES of magazines that look similar and not knowing what magazine goes to what gun. I mean, really, it didn't occur to dozens of companies to stamp their name and the gun model and caliber on the magazine??? :mad::confused:
 
If there's anything the market doesn't need it's another 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Especially with the very low prices on many models - brand new polymer CZ clones, well made by reputable firms, are well under $300, steel pistols from RIA and several others may be had for under $400. Every kind of action and finish is already available, and aside from electronic baubles which nobody wants, there's not much left that can be done.

What we don't have, and we badly need, is a semi-automatic carbine chambered in rimmed handgun calibers. There are lots of carbines and AR uppers for rimless rounds, but the only companion longarms we wheelgun shooters can have are lever guns. For a change, we'd like something a little more tactical - something we can have fun customizing and accessorizing. Something not at all Cowboy. I'd love an autoloader chambered in .22 Magnum, in .327 Fedeeral, in .357 Magnum, in .44 Magnum, and in .45 Colt. While you're at it, design a high capacity drum magazine as well. An autoloading .357 Magnum/.38 Special carbine with a 50 round drum under it would be a most formidable configuration.

You would have no real competition. Instead of trying to beat the existing gun makers at their own game, which you will not do no matter how hard you try, occupy an unfulfilled niche - and OWN IT. In a few years, if you're successful, you'll be visited by a vice president from Freedom Group who will make you an offer you can't resist. Take it, and retire to your own private island. Good luck.
 
I second the idea of using the best/most affordable compatible magazines. I would pick Glock personally. They are rugged, reliable, and simply work and are very distinguishable.
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The only problem with Glock mags is that they force you into a less-than-optimal grip angle.
 
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