Gaps in the Firearms Market

[dogtown tom]

Problem 3: This "starter kit" is singular in purpose.
Discussion: True, this is more of a self-defense kit. But it includes the items that are generally considered standard-issue for self-defense weapons. This is the "I just heard crime went up 20% in my town and I want to get something to protect myself" kit. However, you could design similar kits for other purposes.

Again, manufacturers and retailers have already been doing this for decades.

Problem 2: Ammo in the same box is illegal.
Solution: Have a package deal, where it's included in the price, but not physically in the same box.

Again, retailers have been using "free box of ammo with any gun purchase" since the first firearm was ever sold.

Problem 3: Cheap stuff is cheap for a reason.
Discussion: New shooters would be buying that cheap stuff anyway. What's the difference if new shooters get it in the form of a $20 order to Amazon or if they get it in the kit? At least this gives them an idea of what is considered standard. Also notice I did not say a red dot for the pistol.

Not all new shooters buy cheap stuff. The red dots you see on Amazon or at WalMart aren't stocked by reputable gun stores. Gun stores know they can't match the price on Chinesium that WalMart stocks. Selling a customer crap means you've lost that customer as soon as they realize the dealer sold them junk.

Buyers can help guide customers. But new customers might not be sure if these suggestions are legitimate, or if these are the kind of suggestions you get from a skeevy mechanic that's going to "find" $2000 worth of repairs that you need right now.

Skeevy is selling a customer a $20 red dot.

I don't know what you mean when you say a light without training is dangerous.

Wow.

If anything, it's less dangerous, because it encourages you to be able to see what you're shooting.

Double wow.

Even if it were, education is part of the package I suggested.

A DVD? This ain't 1998. Owners manuals are not education.
Buyers almost never read any of the materials in the box. Tell me who learned to shoot from reading an owners manual?

 

[earlthegoat2]

Some of the funny stuff folks come up with around here as “filling a gap”. Well, the manufacturers also come up with funny stuff. That funny stuff usually is based in market research and economics. At least initially.

I keep hearing folks begging for lever actions in 9mm or 45. 9mm bolt actions. Or nearly any other PCC configuration. Scaled frame revolvers for 32 S&W and any number of other niche and/or obsolete cartridges and non standard designs. Of course, everyone should like what they like for any reason but these are not market gaps.

Of course some of these things are being made. Some only custom but there is no significant market for these items and unless you already have 300 guns and every niche already covered, why not make up a new one for the sake of buying yet another firearm.

 

[Capybara]

What are some of the gaps that you observe in the firearms market? For instance, is there a certain gun in a certain caliber, or of a certain type that can be feasibly made but either doesn’t exist or is made by only one or two manufacturers?

I cannot name a single double stacked metal-framed optics-ready 10mm handgun. RIA has their double stacked 10mm 1911 handguns, but they are not optics-ready. SIG, Glock, Springfield, S&W, and others have optics-ready double stacked 10mm handguns, but they have polymer frames. Other manufacturers have 10mm 1911 optics-ready handguns, but they are single stacks. As such, if a company were to manufacture a double stacked metal-framed optics-ready 10mm handgun, they would have a monopoly.

Im curious if you know of other gaps. Perhaps a manufacturer scrolling through this forum will see an opportunity.

IMHO 10mm's recent popularity is a fad, it's nowhere near a mainstream cartridge. It's already came and gone multiple times since the 80s. Great caliber, but ammo is expensive and hard to get, a metal framed double stacked 10mm with a 15 round mag would be particularly heavy for a lot of mainstream shooters. I think you are seeing reticence from the manufacturers because they think the same way. They'll sell some 10mm pistols and carbines but it's not bread and butter 9mm and .45 ACP, it's a boutique cartridge for enthusiasts, not for the average firearms buyer. It's a trend and trends often disappear overnight.

 

[Capybara]

7.62x25

What's the gap? Not enough ammo availability? You want more guns chambered in it?

If so, I agree, it's a fun, interesting cartridge. I have a Romanian TTC and two CZ 52s, it would be cool to see something the Ruger PC Carbine or the new Smith & Wesson FPC in 7.62x25. Low recoil, VERY high velocity, It's max PSI in 36,259 versus 34,000 for 9mm so you don't need major structural improvements to adapt exist 9mm engineering, unlike 5.7 which runs at over 50,000 PSI. I think 7.62x25 should be a more popular caliber than it is and it would be really fun to see some new guns coming out. Gun designers seem to always want to design some lame new cartridge like .30 Super Carry that we knew was destined to bomb from the first time we saw it. Why not utilize an older cartridge that has been proven to work well and there are millions of older guns already out there chambered in it and a decent amount of ammo manufacturers already have ammo on the shelves?

People are always whinging about why the newest PCCs aren't chambered in 10mm and taking something like the Ruger to really work well with 10mm requires a complete overhaul and re-engineering/design to work with the larger physically larger and heavier cartridge and it's greater recoil energy. I've never shot the Hi Point PCC in 10mm but I'd be curious of what the recoil impulse is like. It's not going to bruise your shoulder obviously but does the recoil take you so far off target that rapid follow ups and strings become a chore? Especially in the lighter weight PCCs like the Ruger and the FPC, the Hi point is heavier and beefier but doesn't fold or take down.

 

[Capybara]

The 9mm bolt-action carbine. Blued and a wood stock.

Look, it’s chambered for the cheapest center fire cartridge with an action that’s legal everywhere. Give it a 6-rd magazine. Size it no bigger than the Spanish Destroyer.
Market in as a multi-purpose gun. Make it somewhat affordable. It’ll sell like hotcakes.

I love bolt actions but when I can buy a reliable, reasonably accurate, takedown semi auto 9mm Ruger PC Carbine that takes Glock Magazines for $579, why would I buy a bolt action?

 

[Capybara]

I was selling guns when that Ruger came out and from what I can tell the biggest flaw was that Ruger didn't also start pumping out ammunition for it. It was an affordable gun and a good alternative to the FN but it's failure ultimately lay in ammo availability. I think in the future if companies are going to want to revive or make popular, rounds that are less popular they need to do more than just chamber guns in them they need to produce enough ammo to make it worth buying a gun chambered in that caliber.

For what it's worth, my IA will let you carry most calibers on your CCW but specifically will not let you carry 5.7. I was surprised.

 

[Skribs]

Again, manufacturers and retailers have already been doing this for decades.

I haven't seen a weapon and light in the same package before.

Again, retailers have been using "free box of ammo with any gun purchase" since the first firearm was ever sold.

I've never seen this before in my life. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's not as ubiquitous as you're making it out to be.

Not all new shooters buy cheap stuff. The red dots you see on Amazon or at WalMart aren't stocked by reputable gun stores. Gun stores know they can't match the price on Chinesium that WalMart stocks. Selling a customer crap means you've lost that customer as soon as they realize the dealer sold them junk.

Not all shooters buy expensive stuff. Not all shooters can afford it.

I've purchased lemons before and never blamed the dealer. Sure, some customers will leave. But others will stay. And if the package was $700 for what otherwise would have been a $500 rifle, and most of the accessories work at least for a short time, it's not like you're out $700. You're just out the $20 for the cheap piece that didn't work.

If the gun works, the ammo works, the sling and foregrip work (even if they're not 100% ergonomic), the only complaints then are about the red dot and the light.

Wow.

Double wow.

Since I'm apparently in the dark, can you enlighten me? (Pun intended). This is the absolute first time in my life that I have ever heard that a flashlight on a gun is a bad idea.

A DVD? This ain't 1998. Owners manuals are not education.
Buyers almost never read any of the materials in the box. Tell me who learned to shoot from reading an owners manual?

Helped me get started. So did discussions on here and reading blogs like The Cornered Cat (even though it was written for women, the concepts are universal).

 

[Capybara]

Some of the funny stuff folks come up with around here as “filling a gap”. Well, the manufacturers also come up with funny stuff. That funny stuff usually is based in market research and economics. At least initially.

I keep hearing folks begging for lever actions in 9mm or 45. 9mm bolt actions. Or nearly any other PCC configuration. Scaled frame revolvers for 32 S&W and any number of other niche and/or obsolete cartridges and non standard designs. Of course, everyone should like what they like for any reason but these are not market gaps.

Of course some of these things are being made. Some only custom but there is no significant market for these items and unless you already have 300 guns and every niche already covered, why not make up a new one for the sake of buying yet another firearm.

I just read through all five pages of this thread and I agree, I didn't see more than possibly one or two ideas that would be commercially viable. What I saw was a lot of us want some obscure caliber, or gun that maybe 50 other people in the country would want. None of those are commercially viable market gaps. The recent ones I've seen that the manufacturers have discovered were:

1. Long range precision rifles for less than $2,000 and often even under $1,000, always chambered in at least 6.5 CM and .308. I just got the latest Turners Outdoorsman flyer and there are pages of choices.
2. Bullpump shotguns. I bought the Smith & Wesson M&P 12 last year, I use it for home defense. There are the KelTec KS7, KSG, Black Aces, etc. I see the Bullpump and even the semi auto bullpup shotgun market with the Tavor TS12 and a few others as moving a lot of units. Perfect for states that forbid SBRs, you can get SBR OAL with a full length barrel and it's not an SBR.
3. Semi Auto Tactical Shotguns - Between the Mossberg 930/940 Variants, the Beretta A300 Tactical and 1301 Tactical as well as the increased popularity of the Benellis lately, the HD semi auto shotgun market is on fire and just a few years ago, it was pretty dead.
4. Double stack 1911 Market is through the roof
5. .380 concealed with more modern features, lines and increased mag capacity
6. Easy to charge CCW pistols are huge now for old people with Arthritis and no hand strength. Shield EZ, Equalizer, I just saw an ad for a tip up barrel high capacity that I think is an RIA product. You can jam in a mag, tilt up the barrel to load a single DA round and then it kicks over the SA for the magazine, once again for people with little to no hand strength/the aging of Boomers. A gun you can shoot without racking the slide, at all.
7. 10mm semi auto F/S pistols in general are on an upswing - IMHO fad.
8. Folding or take down PCCs are one of the hottest trends of the past five years.

Did you ever see the episode of the Simpsons when a car manufacturer decides to let Homer design a car? The end result reminds me of what a lot of the ideas to "fill the gap" would be
if left to consumers, my own ideas included. If you've worked in business, marketing and manufacturing, you realize that the gun manufacturers already leave very few gaps, because they have to
innovate to survive. Going into my local gun store that has so many guns in stock they cannot display them all, looking around the shop, in the cases, there are very few gaps and almost none of the gaps are
commercially viable, they are tiny niches, not mainstream American shooting consumer. Black powder, what percentage of American firearm owners own and shoot black powder guns? Maybe 1 or 2%, if that?
I love black powder guns but they are super niche, not a big market. This is an interesting thread but 99% of the ideas are for the poster, not the market.

 

[Mosin77]

I just read through all five pages of this thread and I agree, I didn't see more than possibly one or two ideas that would be commercially viable. What I saw was a lot of us want some obscure caliber, or gun that maybe 50 other people in the country would want. None of those are commercially viable market gaps. The recent ones I've seen that the manufacturers have discovered were:

1. Long range precision rifles for less than $2,000 and often even under $1,000, always chambered in at least 6.5 CM and .308. I just got the latest Turners Outdoorsman flyer and there are pages of choices.
2. Bullpump shotguns. I bought the Smith & Wesson M&P 12 last year, I use it for home defense. There are the KelTec KS7, KSG, Black Aces, etc. I see the Bullpump and even the semi auto bullpup shotgun market with the Tavor TS12 and a few others as moving a lot of units. Perfect for states that forbid SBRs, you can get SBR OAL with a full length barrel and it's not an SBR.
3. Semi Auto Tactical Shotguns - Between the Mossberg 930/940 Variants, the Beretta A300 Tactical and 1301 Tactical as well as the increased popularity of the Benellis lately, the HD semi auto shotgun market is on fire and just a few years ago, it was pretty dead.
4. Double stack 1911 Market is through the roof
5. .380 concealed with more modern features, lines and increased mag capacity
6. Easy to charge CCW pistols are huge now for old people with Arthritis and no hand strength. Shield EZ, Equalizer, I just saw an ad for a tip up barrel high capacity that I think is an RIA product. You can jam in a mag, tilt up the barrel to load a single DA round and then it kicks over the SA for the magazine, once again for people with little to no hand strength/the aging of Boomers. A gun you can shoot without racking the slide, at all.
7. 10mm semi auto F/S pistols in general are on an upswing - IMHO fad.
8. Folding or take down PCCs are one of the hottest trends of the past five years.

Did you ever see the episode of the Simpsons when a car manufacturer decides to let Homer design a car? The end result reminds me of what a lot of the ideas to "fill the gap" would be
if left to consumers, my own ideas included. If you've worked in business, marketing and manufacturing, you realize that the gun manufacturers already leave very few gaps, because they have to
innovate to survive. Going into my local gun store that has so many guns in stock they cannot display them all, looking around the shop, in the cases, there are very few gaps and almost none of the gaps are
commercially viable, they are tiny niches, not mainstream American shooting consumer. Black powder, what percentage of American firearm owners own and shoot black powder guns? Maybe 1 or 2%, if that?
I love black powder guns but they are super niche, not a big market. This is an interesting thread but 99% of the ideas are for the poster, not the market.

I’m not gonna disagree completely because yes, ultimately the manufacturers make what sells and they’re pretty good at that part of their jobs. I can speak with some authority on the black powder side of things though because we’re talking relatively small things that would take manufacturers from “probably ought to skip them” to “wouldn’t recommend anything but.”

I also think that almost anything will be sold -or not sold- depending on how well it’s marketed, and marketing these days involves getting the guns into the hands of the right sort of semi-amateur YouTube reviewer, not so much glossy magazine ads. This is not a strong suit of the firearms companies.

 

[Capybara]

I’m not gonna disagree completely because yes, ultimately the manufacturers make what sells and they’re pretty good at that part of their jobs. I can speak with some authority on the black powder side of things though because we’re talking relatively small things that would take manufacturers from “probably ought to skip them” to “wouldn’t recommend anything but.”

I also think that almost anything will be sold -or not sold- depending on how well it’s marketed, and marketing these days involves getting the guns into the hands of the right sort of semi-amateur YouTube reviewer, not so much glossy magazine ads. This is not a strong suit of the firearms companies.

I agree about how most firearms owners discover new guns and marketing these days, sadly via influencers and Gun Tubers primarily. I'm old school and learn about most the new stuff via Firearms News, in print, reading it cover to cover but I will check some of the GunTubers too see what they show and say on a new gun. I'm kind of a long thinker though. I noticed the Ruger PC Carbine when it first came out but never looked into it. My thoughts were more along pistols at the time, and then it shifted to HD shotguns. But lately, many years after the PC Carbine hit the market, I am starting to see value in it for me since ammo costs are still high and I can reload 9mm for about .10 a round from my supply of components I bought when they were cheap. Shooting .223 with my ARs and .30-06 now with my Garand makes me wince with each shot at how much money I am spending so going back to shoot .22 and 9mm but in different and interesting guns seems like my post Pandemic shooting strategy so the PC Carbine has become very interesting to me now, years after it was marketed and came out.

But I'm not a typical newer firearm buyer, I already have pretty much everything I want to or need gun-wise. If I was starting out from no guns, I would find the choices dizzying. When I go into my LGS, their racks are stacked six layers deep from floor to ceiling and their pistol cases are overflowing. So much choice, even here in anti-gun California. So marketing these days to newer buyers must be challenging.

 

[dogtown tom]

I haven't seen a weapon and light in the same package before.

I have.
I 've seen pistol w/light, pistol w/laser, pistol w/red dot, pistol w/holster, pistol w/knife, pistol w/holster notebook, pistol w/ballcap, pistol w/ten extra mags, pistol w/lockbox, pistol w/range bag, even a revolver w/waterproof case, survival knife, survival chain saw, compass, whistle, signal mirror, fire starter, emergency blankets, and Bear Attacks book.
If there is an accessory add on, someone has done it.

I've never seen this before in my life. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's not as ubiquitous as you're making it out to be.

I've seen "Buy gun, get free ammo" in the Sunday newspaper ads in the three states where I've lived. I've seen it at nearly every gun show in Texas. One Texas dealer does a free LTC class for his customers once a month.

Not all shooters buy expensive stuff. Not all shooters can afford it.

I've purchased lemons before and never blamed the dealer. Sure, some customers will leave. But others will stay. And if the package was $700 for what otherwise would have been a $500 rifle, and most of the accessories work at least for a short time, it's not like you're out $700. You're just out the $20 for the cheap piece that didn't work.

Wait a minute....a $500 rifle that you want the dealer to sell as an "AR starter kit" for $700? Thats $200 worth of cheap Chineseium, not $20.

If the gun works, the ammo works, the sling and foregrip work (even if they're not 100% ergonomic), the only complaints then are about the red dot and the light.

Why do you think a foregrip is needed?
Save buying all the Chinesium. Buy a $500 rifle and spend $200 on ammunition and learn to shoot. $200 worth of ammunition beats $200 worth of useless, cheap stuff everytime.

Since I'm apparently in the dark, can you enlighten me? (Pun intended). This is the absolute first time in my life that I have ever heard that a flashlight on a gun is a bad idea.

Well, you didn't hear it from me either, I didn't write that.
I wrote "a light without training is dangerous". If you are going to use a weapon light you damn well better know how and when to use it as well as the dangers of pointing a gun at that bump in the night. If it's your teenager sneaking back in the house and you light him up with your weapon light, you should know that you are also pointing the pistol right at him. Unintended, whether negligent or accidental, discharges of pistols with a light are not unheard of. This happened to an officer in my city: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/c...for-fatal-plano-police-shooting/287-336734775

A person who is not experienced with firearms is not someone I would trust to operate a WML safely.

Helped me get started. So did discussions on here and reading blogs like The Cornered Cat (even though it was written for women, the concepts are universal).

Every new firearm I've transferred over the last fourteen and a half years has had an owners manual. Absolutely chock full of safety information and everything a new gun owner needs to know about the operation of that gun. Several manufacturers even engrave the gun with "READ THE MANUAL". But those manuals are just the beginning and are not a substitute for a real firearms training class.

The thread is about "Gaps in the firearms market", everything you mention has been done for decades and isn't really a gap or anything not already addressed by many retailers and manufacturers.

 

[SterlingBullet]

I would like to see a few more DA .45Colt offerings.

.
Based on what I know, there seems to have been less than a dozen or so modern 45 Colt DA revolvers over the years, S&W 25s, Anacondas, RedHawks, Judges; really not much at all.

I found a Taurus 450 in 45 Colt that fit the bill for me, but they only show up on Gunbroker every three to six months. And recent prices have been rather high.

45 Colt is a booming caliber to carry, but the recoil on the Taurus is extremely mild.

More options would be nice.

 

[herrwalther]

Some of the funny stuff folks come up with around here as “filling a gap”. Well, the manufacturers also come up with funny stuff. That funny stuff usually is based in market research and economics. At least initially.

Explains Hi-Points "Yeet Cannon." At least I hope they had some market research.
https://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/hi-point-handguns/9mm-OGYC.php

 

[Skribs]

Wait a minute....a $500 rifle that you want the dealer to sell as an "AR starter kit" for $700? Thats $200 worth of cheap Chineseium, not $20.

Maybe you should re-read the list of things I included. 100 rounds of ammo is a good chunk of that extra $200. A cheap sling and cheap foregrip are also part of it, and those are ones that are probably going to be fine regardless.

Why do you think a foregrip is needed?

I don't think it's needed, but they're not that much, and a lot of people like to have something other than the horizontal handguard. It also will tell them if they like a foregrip or not.

Well, you didn't hear it from me either, I didn't write that.
I wrote "a light without training is dangerous". If you are going to use a weapon light you damn well better know how and when to use it as well as the dangers of pointing a gun at that bump in the night. If it's your teenager sneaking back in the house and you light him up with your weapon light, you should know that you are also pointing the pistol right at him. Unintended, whether negligent or accidental, discharges of pistols with a light are not unheard of. This happened to an officer in my city: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/c...for-fatal-plano-police-shooting/287-336734775

A person who is not experienced with firearms is not someone I would trust to operate a WML safely.

Same scenario without a weapon light and they point their weapon at the dark shape and shoot. Hence why the light makes sense.

Every new firearm I've transferred over the last fourteen and a half years has had an owners manual. Absolutely chock full of safety information and everything a new gun owner needs to know about the operation of that gun. Several manufacturers even engrave the gun with "READ THE MANUAL". But those manuals are just the beginning and are not a substitute for a real firearms training class.

So what was my experience then, a hallucination?

The thread is about "Gaps in the firearms market", everything you mention has been done for decades and isn't really a gap or anything not already addressed by many retailers and manufacturers.

You say this, but you also say that there are things on my list that no retailer or manufacturer would do, because they'd lose customers. Please pick one side, I'm getting whiplash.

 

[Necessary_Nutrient]

The 10mm is indeed a fad. People spend all this time describing

IMHO 10mm's recent popularity is a fad, it's nowhere near a mainstream cartridge. It's already came and gone multiple times since the 80s. Great caliber, but ammo is expensive and hard to get, a metal framed double stacked 10mm with a 15 round mag would be particularly heavy for a lot of mainstream shooters. I think you are seeing reticence from the manufacturers because they think the same way. They'll sell some 10mm pistols and carbines but it's not bread and butter 9mm and .45 ACP, it's a boutique cartridge for enthusiasts, not for the average firearms buyer. It's a trend and trends often disappear overnight.

mostly agreed. People buy 10mm getting just over 600 ft/Lbs of energy unless handloading or buying certain rounds a high prices. This is incrementally better than .40 which kicks less and has much better bullet selection.

In a world where everyone buys slightly lower performing 9mm because it’s easier to shoot and ignores .40 and .45, 10mm makes little sense- unless you think that 20% bump in “energy dump” over 40 with o bullet diameter increase- is a big deal.

 

[dogtown tom]

Maybe you should re-read the list of things I included. 100 rounds of ammo is a good chunk of that extra $200. A cheap sling and cheap foregrip are also part of it, and those are ones that are probably going to be fine regardless.

I give up. You know more than any manufacturer.

Same scenario without a weapon light and they point their weapon at the dark shape and shoot. Hence why the light makes sense.

Yet they don't. Handheld flashlights are a thing nowadays. No one said you had to shoot at something in the dark.

So what was my experience then, a hallucination?

Probably.

You say this, but you also say that there are things on my list that no retailer or manufacturer would do, because they'd lose customers. Please pick one side, I'm getting whiplash.

You should get your FFL.

 

[Skribs]

I give up. You know more than any manufacturer.

You're the one who made claims about what I said, and criticizing me for including cheap stuff instead of ammo. I was just setting the record straight on both counts.

Yet they don't. Handheld flashlights are a thing nowadays. No one said you had to shoot at something in the dark.

You mean to tell me the average person who just purchased a weapon for home defense, who thinks there's a home defense situation, isn't going to grab that weapon they just purchased?

 

[dogtown tom]

You're the one who made claims about what I said, and criticizing me for including cheap stuff instead of ammo. I was just setting the record straight on both counts.

I dont think WML's are for newbies.
All your other ideas aren't new.

You mean to tell me the average person who just purchased a weapon for home defense, who thinks there's a home defense situation, isn't going to grab that weapon they just purchased?

Good grief man. Believe it or not, but for the past hundred years people were fully capable of holding a handgun and a flashlight at the same time using both hands.

 

[Skribs]

Good grief man. Believe it or not, but for the past hundred years people were fully capable of holding a handgun and a flashlight at the same time using both hands.

And a beginner is probably going to point both at the same time, just like they saw in every law enforcement TV show.

 

[Rubone]

I find the concept of "gaps" to be rather humorous, whether it be guns, refrigerators, lawn mowers, etc. Why do people think they are so important as an individual that the world is responsible for providing everything they want! Get a life!!

 

[roscoe]

A Winchester lever-action rifle that isn't made for the 1%. It was the working-man's choice for 100 years, and should be again.

 

[giggitygiggity]

I love bolt actions but when I can buy a reliable, reasonably accurate, takedown semi auto 9mm Ruger PC Carbine that takes Glock Magazines for $579, why would I buy a bolt action?

There are at least three reasons why a bolt action would make more sense than something like the Ruger PC Carbine:
1) If you want to suppress the firearm, a bolt action will be quieter as there will not be the sound generated from the cycling of the action.
2) Some states/jurisdictions have laws prohibiting semi-auto firearms. As such, a bolt action is beneficial to firearm enthusiasts in those jurisdictions.
3) Some states’ game laws restrict the types of firearms that can be used, either generally or for particular game species and/or season. Generally, a bolt-action firearm incurs the least amount of scrutiny.

 

[giggitygiggity]

My impression is that 10mm is no longer a fad. I concur that 10mm will likely not be as popular as 9mm, .40, and .45, but I do not see its popularity declining. The caliber is not difficult to find as some claim in this thread. Go to a store that sells pistol ammo and I’m confident that you will find 10mm. If not, you can easily order some online. Is it as cheap or as popular as the other aforementioned calibers? No, but that does not mean it is unpopular or difficult to source as others in this thread misleadingly claim.

Over the past few years, we have seen the guns offered in 10mm increase. For instance, we now have the M&P 10mm, the SIG X10, the B&T APC10, and even the Hi Point 10mm pistol.

Some calibers were fads (.357SIG, .45GAP, etc.). In those cases, we observed very few manufacturers making guns in those calibers and for a very brief period of time. For example, Glock and SIG made .357SIG guns while Glock and Springfield made .45GAP guns. We did not see manufacturers make guns for those calibers like we are seeing with the 10mm as of late. Moreover, my experience is that those fad calibers are difficult to source. For example, go to stores that sells pistol ammo and see how many stock .45GAP or .357SIG.

I think firearms and chamberings are cyclical. What I mean by this is that as more guns from more manufacturers are produced in a certain caliber, more people are likely to find a gun that appeals to them. With more people finding a gun in that particular chambering, there are more guns in circulation in that given caliber. People who bought those guns now buy more ammo in that caliber. Now that more ammo is being bought in that caliber, there is a demand signal for that caliber and other manufacturers produce guns in that caliber or expand their existing lineups. And the cycle continues.

Is it a fad or something here to stay? Only time will tell.

 

[gobsauce]

This isn't much of a gap, but I would like to see more guns come with a paper target. My Savage M64 came with 2 targets inside the manual, and was dotted so that it could be torn out easier.

Dunno, i think it would be neat.

 

[45/30-06OKIE]

There is definitely a niche to be filled in the wide gap between 6mm and 6.5mm. I think a 6.3mm would be just right.

I’m waiting for the PRC/Creedmoor-ization of 25 Cal. It’s coming sooner or later.

Lol I have a 6.5 PRC and a 25-06 so I have the best of both worlds!