Why aren't there cheap, widespread US made assault rifles?

D

Dangus

New member
With all the regulations banning imports and requiring certain amount of parts to be made in the US, why aren't there a gazillion US companies springing up all over the place cranking out AK and SKS clones, as well as FAL and Galil, etc.?

I realize it's pricey to get the go-ahead to become a manufacturer, but surely it's no harder overseas where gun control is rampant?

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The Alcove

I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
 
lol, well we do have some badass robotics, surely someone can crank these babies out on a CNC, then the main labour costs would be the heat treating.

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The Alcove

I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
 
Maybe you could if you hired gun nuts and offer to let them keep and guns with surface blemishes... Naw that's still too little money.
 
The concept behind the Stoner 63 rifle was a stamped steel reciever that could be fabricated cheaply in lower tech factories.

The AR 15 requires precise milling on a complex forging - not a cheap gun to manufacture.

Perhaps if a broad market was seen for the Robinson M-96 design, the cost of that gun would drop below the price of an AR.
As it is now, the cheaper to fabricate design costs twice the price of an AR.

It's all about sales volume.

The foreign manufacturers have some nice contracts making full auto rifles for various Governments. We are getting cheap prices on the semi autos because 90 percent of the parts are mass made for the military contracts. Take a look at the Vepr, it is an AK, but made for hunting. It's a niche gun and the price reflects it's sales volume.

I agree that cheap labor makes inexpensive guns but if the sales volume was there couldn't a US made stamped reciever gun be made by Bushmaster for 450 bucks? I doubt it would cut into the AR sales significantly.
I know i would buy a 600 dollar M96
;)

The ARs are sub 1000 dollar guns though because they are constructed from the supply line that feeds a government contract.

To get an M-96 for 500 bucks the US Government would have to buy into the concept too.
If current trend continue though, the gun would be chambered in 5.7 and have LEO/Mil only magazines.
:(

Considering the sales apeal of the HK line, it's surprising that they have not followed Glock accross the Atlantic and set up shop over here. Perhaps they are discouraged from doing so...

dZ
 
KilgorII,
"Maybe you could if you hired gun nuts and offer to let them keep ... guns with surface blemishes... "

Oops! Another blemish. Hey hand me that file! Oops! ... bad day, boss. All these suckers is screwed up ... ;)

I need that job.
 
Its called a mini 14, but don't tell Bill Ruger I said that.

Seriously I've often wondered that too.

The big manufactureres (other than colt) stayed away from these designs for years, and until the Bans started going into effect those kinds of weapons were still a niche market. Springfield produced hk91 and FAL clones briefly but they were priced on par with their M1A.

Then the bans came: Suddenly everone wanted one of these types of rifles and crap like hesse receivers and parts guns are all over the place. Bottom line is that there will no longer BE a US Made "assault rifle" of any kind available to the US Public thanks to Bush and Clinton and the crime bill of 1994.

Your best bet for an inexpensive us made rifle is an M1 carbine, or one imported from israel while you still can.

Vote, get it repealed.

Dr.Rob
 
At the risk of being stuffy, there aren't any "u.s. made assault rifles" for a couple of reasons.
1. Actually, there once was one, it was called the M-2 Carbine, same as the M-1 Carbine except that it had a selective fire switch. Original M-14's had one also, but they did not fire an "intermediate power cartridge.
2. A rifle of this type,(with selective fire capability, which is the DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC OF ASSAULT RIFLES, THE CATERWALLING OF POLITICAL WHORES ASIDE) either u.s. made or imported, would, according to 1934 NFA be subject to the $200 transfer tax, EACH TIME IT WAS SOLD, which would likely remove it from the "cheap" classification. Then there is all the paper work, and time involved, which could also be characterized as a "cost", with the damned thing, by now, having gotten rather pricey. Correct me if I'm wrong.
3. Aw, the hell with it.
 
If you are discusing a semi-automatic military look-alike rifle with a detachable box magazine, the answer lies in the fact that no one wants to risk his money (or that of others) in a market that is as fickle as the U.S. firearms one while dealing with a precarious regulatory environment.

Until the 80s, the AR-15 was a loser for Colt. The AR-180 never caught on. The Mini-14 is popular, but, as Dr. Rob points out, Ruger refuses to market it as anything but an inaccurate sporter.

While the fortunes of the semi-automatic rifle have risen of late, the most since the 1930s and the heyday of the Winchester .351 cartridge, bolt actions remain more popular because they are srong, simple, reliable, and cheaper to produce and customize.

Once a new rifleman gets over the fantasy of a military look-alike and learns what a single marksman can or cannot do, bolt actions make more sense. There are few things more satisfying than pushing a round into the chamber with a turnbolt. It is a sensation that teaches the shooter to make every round count. A semi-auto cannot duplicate this experience.

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We have never been modern.
 
Look no further than Bryco or Lorcin for the answer. Would you own either one of them? Now transpose those products to an AR and you pretty much have your reasons.
 
Mainly because we don't have slave labor in this nation.

But we do have the Marlin and Winchester lever-actions. Not quite the same, I know, but the prices are right, for the most part, and the quality is there.

I'm not a huge fan of the Mini-14 or Mini-30, but Dr.Rob's got a point.

--L.P.
 
Whats the deal with this stupid law that allows you to create one firearm per year. What are the rules on that? Anyone have a link?

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The Alcove

I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
 
(A7) Does the GCA prohibit anyone from making a handgun, shotgun or rifle?
With certain exceptions a firearm may be made by a nonlicensee provided
it is not for sale and the maker is not prohibited from possessing firearms.
However, a person is prohibited from making a semiautomatic assault weapon or
assembling a nonsporting semiautomatic rifle or nonsporting shotgun from
imported parts. In addition, the making of an NFA firearm requires a tax
payment and approval by ATF. An application to make a machinegun will not be
approved unless documentation is submitted showing that the firearm is being
made for a Federal or State agency.
[18 U.S.C. 922(o), (r), (v), and 923, 27 CFR 178.39, 178.40, 178.41 and
179.105]
 
Wow, that "law" basically pisses all over several large portions of the Bill of Rights. Too bad we don't have a gun owners town, where all gun owners live. Imagine the feds trying to do a damn thing about it if we made a bazooka in such a town, where our sheriff was an NRA/JPFO/SAF kinda guy :)

I can dream can't I?

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The Alcove

I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
 
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