MCgunner said:At least there are first rate guns made in America. That's in contrast to motor vehicles. We've lost any sort of claim to the best motor vehicles in the world. Not sure why, but American companies just don't seem to have the engineering capacity of the Euro or Japanese companies. Heck, they have to use marketing ploys to get sales and even then when gas goes up, SUV and truck sales plummet and since Detroit seems incapable of building a first rate economy car, they lose their shirts. Well, guess what? Gas ain't gettin' any cheaper! It's going to come down to improve or die, I reckon, for some former giants like GM.
But, in firearms we still make some GREAT guns! We still have Ruger and Smith and Wesson! We have some lesser companies cranking out first rate products like Kel Tec, Springfield Armory, Para Ordinance, Kimber, etc. We ain't hurtin' for good guns that are American made. That said, I don't care where it comes from if I want it. I've owned Brazilian stuff, have two Tauri and three Rossis. Other than two SKSs and some war surplus stuff, I think that's the only non-American guns I have, though. I like American rifles, in particular. Howa, a Japanese firm, makes a good rifle, but in no way is it superior. I own American shotguns. You can buy some nice stuff from the likes of Beretta and some of the other European companies, but hands down as working shotguns I like my Mossberg and Winchester 1400 quality for the money.
Funny about the world economy we live in, back in the 80s I read that the most vaunted of Harley Davidson attributes being "made in America", 70 percent of the sportster's parts were Japanese. In 1984 Honda built the first of their production facilities in the US to build Gold Wings. Much of the bike's parts were US sourced and the Wing, from 84, was effectively an American made motorcycle, at least as much so as the Sportster!Go figure.
Which is one reason I ride a 1949 Harley.
Biker
