weapons designer looking for user input

[lbrtm1]

I am looking for input from personal experiences that might shed light on what will make a better weapon. Can I make it more ergonomic? user friendly? intergrated systems? simpler aesthetics?

sorry if i'm on the wrong forum, but i am new to calguns and guns in general.

[Blue]

I am looking for input from personal experiences that might shed light on what will make a better weapon. Can I make it more ergonomic? user friendly? intergrated systems? simpler aesthetics?

sorry if i'm on the wrong forum, but i am new to calguns and guns in general.

I suggest you and a friend go to Reeds or Targetmasters and rent some guns and shoot them yourselves to get some ideas. Your survey isn't detailed enough for anything as far as the gun world is concerned.

[xxsleepyxx]

lbrtm1, you aren't going to impact the gun industry at all and if you need input from us everyday citizens then you definetely aren't gonna create something phenomenal that the world will adhere to

[lbrtm1]

Marlin 795 .22lr
bushnell sportsmen scope
winchester bipod

[Blue]

Marlin 795 .22lr
bushnell sportsmen scope
winchester bipod

Looks legit to me!

[grammaton76]

Marlin 795 .22lr
bushnell sportsmen scope
winchester bipod

*grin* Dunno if you noticed, but the sign is backwards, like mirror image flipped.

I think you'd benefit from redesigning your FAQ a bit to address some specific areas. As it is, it's almost like saying, "Hey, tell me something to develop" - which would make it a bit hard for folks to just come up with something on the spot.

Now, something more specific like "What do you like or dislike about 22lr's" or "What would make a 22lr pistol more useful for X purpose", might get you some useful data.

[lbrtm1]

thanks to all that are answering the questionaire. the more input I get the more i can learn what is important to gun owners. if your are or are planning to answer the survey please feel free to be as discriptive as you like.

What do you want to see changed about your current setup? What do you wish disigners would have done in the first place, so you don't have to modify anything?

I choose open ended questions so that people can be honest about what they want.

[freonr22]

I would like a silenced .45 that attaches to my forearm on a sliding rack with poisoned and exploding projectiles that are guided by a headsup display on my eyeglasses with the capability to upgrade to display in my mind if I ever get lasik eye surgury. Is tha specific enough?

[renderfarmer]

For what it's worth, I'm an industrial designer. I can tell you right away that this will not be a good project for you to do in school. It might get you a good grade if it's well presented and researched, but It WILL alienate potential employers at consultancies and non defense oriented corporations and it WON'T be good enough to impress defense industry people. I mean no offense by that - you could be Jonathan Ive and Mark Newson rolled into one and fail at this task.

Firearms are incredibly task specific. There is no ONE perfect solution. Firearms have also been around for a very, very long time, and knowing little about their long history or operational use puts you at a major disadvantage.

Finally, what people like and dislike about certain firearms is often dictated as much by emotion as empirical data. What one person finds to be a disadvantage of one firearm, someone else will consider to be the #1 reason to use said firearm...

This isn't to say that everything to be done with guns has been done. Far from it. What I am saying is that this is such a daunting topic to broach that going in not being an expert on existing firearms puts you at an almost insurmountable disadvantage.

If you do go ahead with this project, chose a very, very, focused area to improve on. I mean hyper specific.

Best of luck.

[Ford8N]

I don't want a firearm with batteries, rails, optics, lasers, flashlights, bolt hold opens. I want it to be able to be built by third world craftsmen in caves. It can be dropped in the mud, sloshed off with dirty water and still work. It must rarely need to be cleaned to work and all the parts have loose tolerances and be able to switch parts between rifles. I must work in heat, humidity and arctic cold. It should still work even if it is totally rusted out from a marine environment. Simplicity and reliability is the number one design guideline.

That would be a perfect design.

[grammaton76]

I want a gun designed to be wheeled around like a cannon, on a two-wheeled cart. But reasonably accurate, like a portable benchrest gun. Why? Just because it sounds novel. Bonus points if I can fire it by tugging on a lanyard. Extra bonus points if it's got some kind of electronic optics system (i.e. borecam type setup).

I should mention that I actually DO want something like this some day, just as a "why?!?" gun.

[sevensix2x51]

YES!!! WIN!!!

i applaud you, sir. (OP, that is. not a troll!)

[lbrtm1]

you make a very good point. the reason i choose this project was because i felt that is would be a good challenge to develop something that will improve upon current designs using new materials and processes. I don't want to alienated from potential employers, but I also don't want to turn away a good oppurtunity. Do you have any recommendations on specific areas to work on?

BTW do you mind if I ask you who you work for (company)?

[CSACANNONEER]

While this may not be the best choice of projects for you, if you are interested in firearms, please stick around. If you are truely shopping for a firearm, there is a lot of good info here. I applaud your willingness to go the extra mile and post that picture when your were called out! Anyways, if you were closer to me, I'd offer to meet you and let you get the feel of a few different types of firearms. The offer is there if you ever get down my way. But, I'll bet that you can find a few local Calgunners who would be willing to meet you at a range sometime.

[nagorb]

Welcome to calguns! I'm working on a BS in Industrial Technology, emphasis in product design, at SFSU. I'm planning on doing something like this for my final project.