Quality Control in the firearms Industry

[aippi]

Many of the postings on this site and others are related to operational issues with a new firearm. These postings have been on the increase in the past 1 1/2 years. I am also seeing these same issues in my business with the weapons I build my custom builds on and the accessories I use. I have also noticed it in the ammunition I use. This can be devided into "Pre-Obama Madness" and "Obama Madness". The sad part is we, the buying public caused this because we bought into the marketing by dishonest dealers and even the NRA.

We knew in the Industry in 2008 that there was not enough support in the House to get any of the "Gun bans" on to the floor. Those laws never had a chance, yet the NRA ( I can critize them as I am a Member) was calling all of you and using those bills ( still in committee) as a fear tactics to raise money. Dealers were listing certain firarms for over 100% of the dealer cost and using statement that these weapons would be banned soon. Many of us remember the "Clinton-Brady" mess, saw this as part II. So buyers started buying and paying rediculous prices. Distributors starting screaming for more and the Manufacturers started trying to keep up........the victem was quality control..... I have seen things on new weapon that would not and could not have come from a factory only two years ago. I am still having to send new items back as defective and although I am seeing improvement, there are still major issues with the quality control of weapons, accessories and ammunition.

I recently fired some buckshot of the same brand I have used for years. This ammo was made in the past year and the stuff was all over the place and I was trying to find out what the heck was wrong with my barrel. Nothing wrong with the barrel or weapon. I then went and pulled some boxes of the same stuff from my stash that was bought about three years ago and the stuff patterned perfectly. Shot some more of new stuff and it was crap...... The point of this post is that so many of the issues we are having is due to the fact that they made some junk, sold us some junk and the sad part is we paid way to much for it.... On hand stock is building up and orders from distributors is droping faster then our bank accounts. Distributors and retailers are back to having sales and specials.

We as a buying force need to call the people who made these weapons and this ammunition and complain, then call and complain some more. We need to get them back focused on building quality weapons, accessories and ammunition. If you are having issues with any weapon you have bought in the past year or so demand the issue be corrected. Let them know you are active on multiple blogs and will post this issue. That is a powerfull tool when thousands can hear about a problem and how that maufacturer handled it instead of just a few of your buddies hearing about it. Do let up on them. We work to hard for our money and when we spend it we want quality.

[eccvets]

for your post to be worth anything, you gotta mention specific brands and models of the ammunition and parts you think are bad. Making a blanket statement like that does nobody good really.

[aippi]

The problem is industry wide and the proof is on these web sites. Not just this one but all the ones I go to. I deal in only one brand of shotgun but own other weapons from other manufacturers and there are issues there as most of these weapons are new within the last year. You simply have to read the posting of guys having issues with their weapons and think back two years when those now common issues where very rare.......The industry went into high speed to keep up with demand and threw Quality Control out the window. So anyone who owns a weapon with any issue has to call and raise cain and demand better. And yes there are issues with the Remingtons that I build and the parts and accessories I use. Those companies know me and may even dread my calls but I get action when I call because I will not settle for anything less...that is what all of us have to start doing. And yes, things are getting better but they are not there yet.

[joepamjohn]

You can't blame Obama for everything now.

I bought a new Browning BT-99, a Remington Trap gun, and a Mossberg .410 pump this year. No problems with quaility on any of them. As for shells, I shoot what I can find that is on sale and have pretty much the same outcome with all of them so I don't see the problems you speak of. If there are any real quaility issues, I feel it is more or a sign of the times for a lot of mass produced items (guns included). Any real true quality in guns has not been seen for many years since the days of hand fitting of parts and real pride in the manufacturing process.

Now as for paying too much, if you were one of the ones to jump on the "get em before they are gone" bandwagon then you can only blame yourself for the prices you paid. This was purely marketing to the hysteria (that drove those high prices) that over took so many people and their common sense.

[Geo]

for your post to be worth anything, you gotta mention specific brands and models of the ammunition and parts you think are bad. Making a blanket statement like that does nobody good really.

...and the occasional paragraph indentation would also go a long way towards increasing readability and adding credibility.

[zhyla]

No one person buys enough guns to be able to form a meaningful opinion on production quality or QC. Reading a bunch of posts on the internet complaining about a gun or manufacturer will give you a wildly skewed views of reality since human nature is not to make a lot of noise about a product that performed as expected.

So basically what I'm saying is wow what a waste of a post.

[aippi]

Joe, all one has to do is read these type of blogs and the post about issues with weapons, accessories and ammo that did not exsist 1 1/2 years ago. I did not blame Obama, I used the time he showed up on the scene as a time line for when this started. I blamed us, the gun buyers who caused it by buying into the panic and letting them take advantage of us. I am a dealer and don't pay retail for anyting but yes, I was impacted by the price hikes. Yes, I am sure that you got two fine weapons without any issues. I am not saying that all new weapons have issues, just way to many of them these days are not the quality we expect and pay for.

You have bought two weapons in this time frame and I have bought hundreds. I have seen these issues in my business and I believe that we the gun buyers have to address them with the manufacturers to get them corrected. I would think anyone in the gun business would agree and most buyers out there would as well.

And, yes, the NRA is the major reason these bills had no chance and I am a member. However, when these tele-marketers representing the NRA call they used these bills to sugest that I was going to loos my rights to own certain weapons. Also, when I questioned them they even told me the bills were pending votes on the floor, and that friends was a lie. If the NRA called and stated that they had been sucessful keeping these bills in committee but wanted my help to continue the fight, I would have been OK with that call.

[aippi]

Zyla, I am not basing this on having bought a couple of guns. I have spent approximately $175K on firearms, accessories and parts this year and the year is not over. I do this for a living and I base it on what I have seen. I also talk to many dealers and Distributors each week. These are fellow distributors and many of them have given input into this post and what has caused this in the past 1 1/2 years. The post is not a waste but is a wake up call to gun owners to put their foot down and demand better. I am in this Industry and I am a gun owner and I will not accept the level of quality coming out these days.

Yes, it is getting better as the manufacturers are no longer behind and are paying closer attention to their products, however, if they can cut cost and quality and still get the same money for a product, well you know the rest.

I am somone in this Industry that is pointing out what has gone on, yet, some of you want to discount my statements, even address my lack of writing skills and stick your heads in the sand and ignor what I know to be an issue facing gun owners. Yet I still want to see that even you get a quality weapon that is free of poor workmanship and is a good value for your money. If my post are a waste stop reading them as others agree to this posting and will start standing up and demanding better for their money.

[luckystrike]

I have noticed the quality of remington's 870 declining over the years but especiallly the past 2 or 3 years. same thing with beretta, but maybe just the one I handled.

but the 870 is still solid.

semper