Most Underrated Firearm Manufacturer(s)?

Lanber O/U shotguns from the Basque region of Spain. So under appreciated they're out of business now(sadly.)

@Ed Ames has probably hit the nail squarely on the head. Brands seem to polarize, rather than just disappear from the radar.
If you build less-good stuff, or busted stuff you won't repair, they don't stick around.
Eagle gets panned, but, really they are the same place as ArmaLite, only without the cache. (Olympic, on the other hand, probably warrants its obscurity.)
Kel Tec might well be another that's under-considered.
"We" in our community can be clannish and operate from word of mouth.
So, perhaps the fault lies not in our start (the factories) but in ourselves. (apologies to old dead Bill)

As far as the US civilian market goes, FN. They make nothing but superb firearms but they are never a top seller. They lack the fanbase CZ and HK have.

MedWheeler said:

Enough have already mentioned Charter Arms, so I won't.

..and someone mentioned the first name that came to me, which is Bersa.

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Yep, Bersa's are another underrated manufacturer. Excellent firearms, reliable, and high quality. I have 2 Bersa Thunder 380. One single stack and just got the Thunder plus double stack. No issues with either.

jeff-10 said:

As far as the US civilian market goes, FN. They make nothing but superb firearms but they are never a top seller. They lack the fanbase CZ and HK have.

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Yeah, didn't even occur to me. Insofar as U.S. sales go, yeah, clearly underrated. I have an FNX-45, an FN-509 and an FN-15, all outstanding. The 509 is a great pistol, I don't know why more folks haven't tried it; it's markedly better than many of the polymer-framed striker-fired pistols that seem to be more popular (you hear me, Springfield Armory?) and I think pushes for the top three (Glock, SIG, HK). (Qualifier: I have little to no experience with Walther's current offerings).

Norinco- only good thing to come out of Communist China, well, ever.

silicosys4 said:

Steyr

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Sauer rifles...................David McKay Brown shotguns

bannockburn said:

Though they're no longer around I think both Star and Astra were two Spanish manufacturers that were somewhat underrated. I sometimes think that way about Bersa and Charter Arms too.

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Astra and Llama both made solid revolvers that were pinned & recessed. I like a number of the later Astra semi-autos as well: A75L in 9mm is my EDC, I have some A80 & A100's as well, plus an Ultrastar in 9mm I haven't yet taken to the range.

Zastava is who I'd add as an underrated firearms manufacturer (with probable exception of shotguns, I've never seen nor fired a Zastava shotgun). I do think attention to detail was probably better in the 1990 and earlier guns, a bit less since Yugoslavia ceased to be (especially WRT bolt action rifles with wood stocks) but plenty good examples out there still.

CZ is just one of them.

Even more surprising, that new retail CZ PCRs (75D) are listed "Buy Now" at Only about $570 during the combined double anxieties resulting from the Chinese Virus and the pockets of anarchy in larger urban centers.

Amazingly modest prices.

Taurus. The PT92 is every bit as good as a Beretta 92 and as far as the safety goes much much better. I have both and if I had to choose it would be the Taurus.

Always thought Tarus put the safety in the right place on my PT99.

Under rated, hhhm
maybe Mossberg.

Like my Citadel (RIA/ARMSOR) 1911, great gun for the price.


Edit: add Miroku

Howa. They're the makers of Weatherby Vanguard along with their own line of rifles. Very reasonably priced and an outstanding value IMHO.

Stay safe.

Riomouse911 said:

Howa. They're the makers of Weatherby Vanguard along with their own line of rifles. Very reasonably priced and an outstanding value IMHO.

Stay safe.

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I would have to say Weatherby overall! to add to Howa.

Safe shooting

I believe the Mark V is made in house. My German Mark V wasn't, but I can't recall who made those for Weatherby. I think a lot of their shotguns are also made elsewhere?

Stay safe.

castile said:

Taurus. The PT92 is every bit as good as a Beretta 92 and as far as the safety goes much much better. I have both and if I had to choose it would be the Taurus.

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Absolutely in terms of the PT-92, but Taurus set a high bar on now not to handle a situation where some of their handguns were shown not to be "drop safe". SIG showed the industry how to deal with it correctly with the P320 "voluntary recall" whereas Taurus took a class action lawsuit where the only winners were the shyster lawyers.

Taurus has an impressive array of models many innovative, others "knock-offs" at good prices, but I'd hardly call them under-rated.

20 years ago I had never heard of CZ. I saw an ad for CZ 82's in 9X18 MM and they were C&R eligible. I bought one and after the light clean up, it was pretty much brand new except for pistol rack marks. I fired it at 25 yards and thought "Who is CZ, must be out of business because this gun is superb and I never heard of them." I did some digging and after a bit of searching bought a CZ P-01 for carry. I was obsessed and couldn't stop buying CZ's for a while. I'm seeing a counselor about it now.

Without looking at any responses at all, I’m just gonna say that a Phoenix HP22 will outperform a lot of guns 3 or 4 times it’s price, SCCY and Keltec are neck and neck on value for subcompact pistols, Taurus owns the compact pistol crown with the g2c. Maverick is as solid of a shotgun as a person will find, and does it at a budget price, and PSA ARs are top of the game for centerfire rifles. Marlin 795 for rimfire is good, but my RIA m14y is a high quality bolt rifle that came from the factory with a threaded barrel and cost about $120 new.

I'd have to disagree on EAA. While the Tanfoglio's they import are pretty decent, they also import a lot of crap such as the Girsan shotguns. The Girsan pistols aren't great either, but at least better than the shotguns. They also have horrible customer service when you do have an issue.

I also another poster mention Ruger and while I agree they make good guns at a reasonable price for pretty much any category you can imagine, I'm not sure I'd say they are underrated since they are well known as offering a good value. They are a great company though with some of the best customer service in the industry. I really love Ruger.

CZ is another company that makes a lot of great firearms. I'd say they are underrated, but they have grown in popularity in the last few years.

Another one that comes to mind for me, which has already been mentioned is Howa. They make some excellent rifles, but are rarely talked about.

One last one which gets a lot of love online, but seems to get trash talked a lot by gun guys I know in person is Savage. They offer extremely well made (if you go with a numbered series, not the Axis) accurate rifles at a great price. They are easy to customize yourself, have great triggers, and they offer exceptional customer service. They really are a great company to deal with. Their reputation online seems to reflect this, but I've seen them get a lot of hate in local gun shops, gun groups, etc. from people that have obviously never used one.

Hi Point is another one. Their pistols are ugly, heavy, etc. However, they work. Their carbines are actually pretty decent guns, but they tend to get drug down by the reputation they have.

I’d add Bergara to the list. You get a lot of rifle for the money.

Actually, I’d say Browning.

So, you’re first reaction is probably “hell no, they’re good, but expensive”. Well, I got an X-Bolt for $699 on sale. Not a whole lot if any more expensive than Remington/Winchester etc. and mine is exceptionally accurate.

But, when the suggestions for new rifles comes up, you almost never hear Browning.

jeff-10 said:

As far as the US civilian market goes, FN. They make nothing but superb firearms but they are never a top seller. They lack the fanbase CZ and HK have.

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FN-Browning had have always a fine line of firearms. However, the selling price never was affordable for any of their products.

czhen said:

However, the selling price never was affordable for any of their products.

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IMO, it’s more a matter of priorities. Guys convince themselves they don’t “have the money” for a nice rifle, but they’ll have a safe full of what I consider marginal firearms. Somehow quantity over rides quality. I have one big game size rifle, because there’s nothing I’m going to hunt where it wouldn’t be appropriate, it’s accurate, high quality. Do I need anything else?

Back years ago when money was a lot harder to come by, I’d pay for my daily purchases with folding money. At the end of the day, put the change out of my pocket into a jar. You’ll end up with get $1.50-$2.50 per day. No big deal. Except after 6-12 months you can get your nice rifle

A lot of it has to do with delayed gratification. If you’re planning on going hunting this fall, are you willing to throw $10 a week into a rifle/shotgun fund, or do you wait until October, then buy something with the jingle you have in your pocket at the time?

The biggest difference between people that have nice things and those that don’t is the willingness to delay gratification. I’m retired and could pay cash for a hundred rifles today. The reason I have the cash is because I don’t have the hundred rifles.

whm1974 said:

Hi-Point Firearms. Granted I didn't have one very long and never had to use costumer service, but the one I hand shot everything I put through it.

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I have never shot a High Point, but most people that have them like them. For the money is there anything that works as well?
High Points work. I may pick you one of their pistols for a truck gun.

redneck2 said:

The biggest difference between people that have nice things and those that don’t is the willingness to delay gratification. I’m retired and could pay cash for a hundred rifles today. The reason I have the cash is because I don’t have the hundred rifles.

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Hahahaha! I agree with you, but that's funny!
I've told the story before on THR - my custom built 308 Norma Magnum was my retirement gift to myself when I turned 62, and I used my first two Social Security payments to pay for it. But talk about "delayed gratification" - I'd wanted a custom built 308 Norma Magnum since I was 16, and my then girlfriend's dad let me shoot his.
I used a few "lesser" big game rifles over the years though, and they all worked just fine. In truth, they worked just as well as my 308 Norma has in the 10 years since I got it, and I still keep a couple of them around due to their sentimental values.
However, I have always had another reason for "delaying gratification" when it comes to guns. That is, I have a wife and kids that like guns and hunting too. Then again, the look on my wife's face was pretty darned "gratifying" to me when, on her birthday one year, I presented her with a brand new Model 70 Winchester "Featherweight" 7mm-08. She's passed that rifle on to our daughter now, who, by the way, used my old Model 94 30-30 to kill her first mule deer when she was 14. Watching that was "gratifying" to me as well.

I'm fairly happy, with what I do have.
I've enjoyed firearms and books about them since my early age. During many years I prioritized, first family, career and house, picking up EVERY extra shift to accomplish my goals.
I've never be attracted for the cool fashion waves of the time, on firearms nor any aspect in life as an example my phones are always what my wife left to use.
Therefore, in order to fetch my attention something got to be useful, RELIABLE, affordable and sort of style ala BHP.