I do not know about machining and all but I do know a little about inflation and selling at a cost the market will bear. With that in mind I think we are seeing the bottom of the market right now. Things get much cheaper and some of these manufacturers are going to bail out of the market. My LGS has AR's on his walls that he cannot sell without sacrificing them. CDNN seems to be doing a great business in name brand AR's and I believe they are a liquidator.
How much cheaper can AR parts get?
- Thread starter GDownRange
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Yes, whatever else Gaston Glock is, he was truly a manufacturing design genius and made it look easy. He used a blank slate to create a low cost firearm to produce that required minimal machining and used modern manufacturing techniques when compared with competitors and then ended up with most of the police market by undercutting S&W on price/support (which spilled over into dominating the civilian market for a long time). 3rd Generation pistols could simply not be sold as cheap long term as Glocks to the police. Beretta, Ruger and Sig had the potential to do so but retaining the DA/SA and the P85 fiasco left the opening to Glock as easier training for police transitioning from DA revolvers in the 1980's and 90's. The crack violence epidemic helped speed the transition as well.Now apply that logic to Glocks
Bill Ruger did the same in some respects for example his .22 auto pistol and his use of investment castings but I believer he was more of a traditionalist than Gaston. I do not know, but suspect Gaston is not really a gun guy when compared with Bill Ruger.
I'm not sure that the Ruger American rifle series that has some Glock like innovations would have ever been built under Bill Ruger.
Carl N. Brown
Member
Sneaky conspiracy theory: huge discounts on AR lowers could be offered by vendors with lotsa AR uppers, parts kits in inventory.
They would not be making money on lowers, but on everything else involved in the AR build.
They would not be making money on lowers, but on everything else involved in the AR build.
Mosin Bubba
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For sure not. On the flip side, there is no way in a million years that Gaston would have ever manufactured something like the No 1 or the Single Six. Or even a .22 styled after the M1 Carbine. Being a traditionalist "gun guy" comes with its pluses and minuses.
justice06rr
Member
Here is a first-hand account from a dealer that I buy 2-3 stripped uppers from directly at his shop:
He buys lowers in bulk for about $40 each fr Anderson. The boxes come with about 100 stripped lowers. We opened one and he let me pick the 3 lowers I want with whatever serial number I wanted.
He sells lowers for $50 each (tax included) plus $5 background fee. So in essence, $50 per lower. I wont go into the other AR parts since that varies widely where you buy and what.
In total, a complete rifle is about $400 for the sum of its parts. No optic or sights except A-post if on an upper.
You can go lower to between $350-390 if you nickle and dime each part from whatever cheap vendor you go with.
For comparispn sake, a Smith and Wesson 15-22 rifle (22LR) is $350-400 depending where you buy. It does come with sights and 1 mag if that matters.
So 350 is the bottom line IMO.
GDownRange
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“In total, a complete rifle is about $400 for the sum of it’s parts.”
What amazes me is that $400 get’s you a decent rifle. Normally budget, or entry level products either posses less features, or are a serious compromise in quality. Unless you get into the nitty gritty specs, (the steel composition of the bolt) that you won’t notice under normal use and conditions, a low end AR has everything a rifle twice the price has.
I shot a friends Ruger AR556 and was impressed. The trigger left a little to be desired, but otherwise the rifle seemed to be of high quality. I don’t know the detailed parts specs that Ruger is using, but the rifle works as designed. I think the AR556 might be slightly higher than $400, but the Ruger warranty is probably worth a premium over a small manufacturer that may not be around in 10 years.
I hope that my grandkids are still buying ARs (parts and complete rifles) at rock bottom prices, but I’d guess that we are at the bottom. At some point over the next decade we will probably see prices rise faster than inflation.
What amazes me is that $400 get’s you a decent rifle. Normally budget, or entry level products either posses less features, or are a serious compromise in quality. Unless you get into the nitty gritty specs, (the steel composition of the bolt) that you won’t notice under normal use and conditions, a low end AR has everything a rifle twice the price has.
I shot a friends Ruger AR556 and was impressed. The trigger left a little to be desired, but otherwise the rifle seemed to be of high quality. I don’t know the detailed parts specs that Ruger is using, but the rifle works as designed. I think the AR556 might be slightly higher than $400, but the Ruger warranty is probably worth a premium over a small manufacturer that may not be around in 10 years.
I hope that my grandkids are still buying ARs (parts and complete rifles) at rock bottom prices, but I’d guess that we are at the bottom. At some point over the next decade we will probably see prices rise faster than inflation.
It's a buyer's market. You can literally buy a new Ruger wondernine for the price you paid for an eastern bloc pistol 25 years ago.
AR parts are selling cheap but not are all of the same quality.
AR parts are selling cheap but not are all of the same quality.
justice06rr
Member
Its also worth mentioning that now is a great time to stock up on Stripped lowers and LPK's. Around tax time thats what I'll do
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