Billy,
Just making conversation, so no offense intended to you.
Amazing how differently a person can see such things as the "full length" XR9-S vs the XR9-S.
For me personally I would have absolutely zero interest in the standard sized Boberg pistol because I'm not a large person and the "smaller" the better in a carry weapon for me.
On a belt holster, or IWB (which is how I carry), the extra inch or so of barrel and slide sticking out in front of the leading edge of the trigger guard wouldn't be one whit less concealable. I can't think it would be any different, even for a slightly built individual. I'd rather have the extra velocity, since it comes at zero cost to me in concealability. Perhaps the shorty would be better for pocket carry, and that's what you are thinking of, but I don't pocket carry, so I'd rather have the full length barrel.
I would be willing to say that comparing the AutoMag (in any incarnation) to the XR9-S is a stretch.
If you're talking about guns, yes. If you're talking about business models, not even remotely. I'm talking about business models. In both cases you have a high quality, small production gun, aimed at a limited market (totally different markets, true, but that's irrelevant to the discussion of business model). The trick is offering it at a price high enough to cover your production costs, but low enough that people are still willing to pay it. You have to do this no matter what kind of gun you are selling, and if you can't, you go out of business.
I believe, and it's just personal opinion, that there is a much, much greater market for a relatively tiny 9MM pistol that can easily be carried concealed and used for self defense than the larger AutoMag.
See above. The market may be a bit larger than the one for the Automag, but the principle is exactly the same. (And the $1000 price tag
will price the Boberg out of
most of that market, leaving it restricted to a smaller segment of the market only, where customers are willing to pay the extra cost of the cheaper, more conventional designs out there like the Kahr, Ruger SR9, et al..)
I think there is a possibility that the Boberg XR9-S could well become the 9MM equivalent to Larry Seecamps LWS32's and LWS380's.
Or, it's entirely possible that Arne will sell directly to customers for a time, until he gets a backlog of guns, then sell thru a limited number of gun dealers, such as Larry does.
Larry Seecamp has secured a "nitch" of the concealed carry business by producing a very high quality, very tiny pistol for decades, and apparently he has no desire for "high volume" in the manner of say, Beretta, Glock, or Ruger. Larry has a family business, it apparently provides sufficiently for him, and I'm thinking Arne Boberg might follow in his footsteps, and manner of operation.
I hope he does successfully find his niche. I want a Boberg (the full sized one), and I am willing to pay the grand for it if it proves to be a reliable gun. I'm also pleased to see a firearms designer being genuinely innovative, rather than just copying a 1911 or a Glock, like so many others. But I suspect that Boberg would actually want to increase production as much as he possibly can. Higher production generally means economy of scale works in your favor, and you can lower the price. As long as he can do that and maintain quality, he can make more money, and as I said, I suspect he actually wants that a lot.
All I can judge by is the length of the pre-order line at present (in excess of a thousand), and this is BEFORE the XR9-S starts showing up in the various firearm magazines.
I believe once the XR9-S is tested and reviewed positively in the various gun magazines interest will just continue to rise and more sales will be the result.
I hope it does.
In today's economy, NO ONE can tell with certainty what "will" succeed and what "will" fail, but from all I read interest in firearms in general is at an all time high, and that is not expected to decline in the near future..
I believe Boberg Arms and the XR9-S will be a success. I cannot say if that "success" will be measured in terms of private sales thru the internet (as is now the policy), or if interest is such that he expands thru a line of dealers, but Arne is producing a high quality, very tiny 9MM pistol, and I don't think there will EVER come a time when those are not desirable.
You're probably right, but desirability is only part of the equation. As I said, you have to offer it at a price that will both cover your production costs, and yet not be high enough to make customers take their cash elsewhere. Lots of gun companies failed through the years because they didn't balance that equation quite right.
The price of the Boberg is high, no doubt.. But so is the Rohrbaugh, and Kimber Solo among others, and I don't see either of them going out of business for lack of sales.
There are many, many excellent sub-compact 9MM pistols available on the market (I have several) at a much cheaper price than the XR9-S.. But, as my friends wife told him just prior to asking for a divorce, "the heart wants what the heart wants", and the thousand names on the pre-order list, and that list is growing daily tells me there are enough gun buyers for the XR9-S to keep Arne off the food stamp rolls indefinitely.
Again, I'm old, opinionated, and I ramble, so please, no offense to you intended.
Best Wishes,
Jesse
None taken. But you seem to be under the impression that I am sort of rooting for the company's failure, when that is the farthest thing from the truth. I hope very much it succeeds. I'm simply waiting for the company to offer the product I want, and hoping it lasts long enough to do it.
