What is going to be the next big gun fad/fashion?

[R.W.Dale]

Let's take a break from all the doom and gloom discussions of mass shootings, no 22 ammo and the high cost of everything and discuss something a little more amusing.

GUN FASHIONS


Don't deny that they don't happen? If you so that just means you're still blindly caught up in one. They seem to run for the better part of a decade. The current one is this all ar all the time SBR overload we've been in since the late 00's. Before that the gun media, community and manufacturers were in 100% 1911 overload.

Of course people called me a heretic and worse for starting a similar thread towards the end of the last craze in 07 but IMO they were still new to guns and haven't seen how the various gun o the day "frenzies" ebb and flow.

I posted this back in 2008 with regards to the then waining m1911 fashion.

R.W.Dale
July 5, 2008, 05:48 PM
It's what's currently in fashon. Go back and read gun rags over the decades and you'll see that the publics tastes change.

Back in the 80's before the AWB it was the golden age of the wunder9

Then along came the AWB and the wonder nine was rendered a non competetor at the stroke of a pen in many ways Forcing the popularity of the 1911 platform.

Now with the sunset of the AWB you can literally see before your eyes the marketing machine and public opinion swing from the 1911 platform to little black evil rifles

It's no different in any other hobby tastes change, in the realm of the auto enthusiast you went from muscle cars to custom vans to lowered mini trucks to rice rockets and back to muscle cars

So now that I've laid out that this does happen and we appear to be getting towards the end how long these cycles typically run does anyone care to speculate as to what the NEXT BIG THING is going to be? That thing that every manufacturer will copy and will be on the cover if every gun mag for YEARS?

 

[45_auto]

I posted this back in 2008 with regards to the then waining m1911 fashion.

You think the 1911 has been "waining" (pretty sure you meant "waning") since 2008?

I would say that the fact that even Ruger (not exactly a market pioneer) came out with a 1911 in 2012 should be proof that the 1911 is more popular than ever. Half the pistol cases at the local big box sports stores (Cabelas and Academy) are filled with Ruger, Sig, Remington, Para, RIA, etc, 1911's ranging in price from $379 to $1200, and none of them stay there long.

Maybe Arkansas fashions are a little different than the rest of the US?

My guess is that you're just becoming interested in different things and not noticing them around you until you become aware of them.

 

[Tirod]

I see not only the 1911, but the Hk P7 and others as source material for new "retro" guns. Remington just introduced the R51 as an "homage" at best.

In the day it was said an entire Glock cost the same as the P7 slide. A reengineered P7 could be done. At the very least, make the slide the same way, just look HK. Walther is likely approaching it that way with their new polymer gas delayed gun.

Another trend is the >100% AR lower build. Stumbled onto a post discussing the assembly of AR lowers from - guuesssss what - a flat kit. That was a huge market in the '80s just before the MG market got clamped down, and I can see with the current level of interest where alternative lowers using different fabrication techniques will expand. We already have billet and polymer lowers, and carbon fiber uppers - what we haven't done yet are the less exotic and cheaper flats, stampings, and extrusions. I can see a monolithic upper as a extrusion with minimal third axis machining - it's a natural follow on to what the free float makers are already doing. (You think they CNC those out of a chunk of billet? Nope.)

Along with that, retro - izing the AR action into other guns, sort of like the way the BLR is a morphed AR into a lever action. The AR bolt carrier can easily be cut down to shorten the action length, and it's easy to build with the barrel extension relieving the receiver of all the stress.

And, steampunk. I don't see it going away, I see it as the traditional crowd finding it a way to accept modern materials and mechanisms in a way that expresses a deeply traditional aesthetic. We all love the artwork of a working gun, a steampunk Webley Fosbury blowback revolver would be right up their alley. If the Mateba can sell, then what else can makers come out with?

 

[R.W.Dale]

You think the 1911 has been "waining" (pretty sure you meant "waning") since 2008?

I would say that the fact that even Ruger (not exactly a market pioneer) came out with a 1911 in 2012 should be proof that the 1911 is more popular than ever. Half the pistol cases at the local big box sports stores (Cabelas and Academy) are filled with Ruger, Sig, Remington, Para, RIA, etc, 1911's ranging in price from $379 to $1200, and none of them stay there long.

Maybe Arkansas fashions are a little different than the rest of the US?

My guess is that you're just becoming interested in different things and not noticing them around you until you become aware of them.

Verb
wain (third-person singular simple present wains, present participle waining, simple past and past participle wained)




You're missing the point. The guns don't go away and makers may not suspend production. But that doesn't mean they don't cease to be the big buzz of the day. Just because you see em on shelves doesn't mean that they haven't been supplanted as the "gotta have it, everyone else is doing it too" gun fashion of the time. Granted a LOT if this is media driven but that doesn't change the fact that something else will replace the current hot ticket platform. But what?

If you haven't noticed this change from time to time in what EVERYONE ELSE is excited about you're just not paying attention outside your own collection.

 

[MAKster]

I think ARs will still be the most popular segment for a long time. Adding red dot sights and quad rails have became gotta have accessories. But I think the 22LR shortage put a damper on the trend of making rimfire versions. Maybe AR pistols will become the next hot fad because of the Sig brace.

 

[HexHead]

Slide fire stocks and Tac Com type triggers as people find a way around the NFA nonsense. Suppressors are really getting popular now too. I saw an internally suppressed Daniel Defense AR in .300AAC the other day.

 

[george burns]

Revolvers

 

[R.W.Dale]

Suppressors are really getting popular now too. I saw an internally suppressed Daniel Defense AR in .300AAC the other day.

If peoples forms could get processed faster or suppressors were taken off the NFA I could definately see those becoming THE next big thing. Of course with guns built to take advantage of em. Lots of micro action bolt guns and big bore ar variants in subsonic friendly cartridges

 

[Midwest]

Silencers are getting more popular than ever despite the 36 month wait.


(To some it must feel like 36 months)..


(My 1500th post!)

.

 

[itsa pain]

Let's take a break from all the doom and gloom discussions of mass shootings, no 22 ammo and the high cost of everything and discuss something a little more amusing.

GUN FASHIONS


Don't deny that they don't happen? If you so that just means you're still blindly caught up in one. They seem to run for the better part of a decade. The current one is this all ar all the time SBR overload we've been in since the late 00's. Before that the gun media, community and manufacturers were in 100% 1911 overload.

Of course people called me a heretic and worse for starting a similar thread towards the end of the last craze in 07 but IMO they were still new to guns and haven't seen how the various gun o the day "frenzies" ebb and flow.

I posted this back in 2008 with regards to the then waining m1911 fashion.



So now that I've laid out that this does happen and we appear to be getting towards the end how long these cycles typically run does anyone care to speculate as to what the NEXT BIG THING is going to be? That thing that every manufacturer will copy and will be on the cover if every gun mag for YEARS?

Yea an AR 15 safari version set up for elephant hunting. After all the 5.56 is a do it all round

 

[PapaG]

My prediction is that people will see the light and start asking for carbon steel, blued rifles in such exotics as .308, .270 and 30-06 with 4X scopes and Missouri Walnut stocks. They'll also want blued, six shot revolvers with wood grips, mostly fixed but with a few adjustable sights (accro or micro) in caliber like 38/357, 44 special, 45 acp and 45 colt.
Synthetics will be a glut on the market and will sell for pennies on the dollar. Lead bullets will be premium for rifles and handuns. Shotguns will be doubles with splinter forends, lots of drop in the stock and hunters will wear ties in the field. 16 ga will reign supreme.
Wait and see.

 

[newfalguy101]

I think it has already started, really

High-end guns selling well as people want to "upgrade" and low end guns selling well as people want to get their feet wet.

Sales of middle of the road guns have slowed dramatically the last few months.

 

[Cesiumsponge]

Quad rails are already old news. Key-mod and minimalistic light weight (something I've been advocating for years) is now the "it thing". Before, you were called a pansy if you didn't want a huge 14" quad rail. Now everyone is screaming for smooth keymod rails with rail sections only where you need it.

I'm still waiting for the pseudo HK style hooded BUIS systems to die a painful death. So many people run it because it looks like "the HK system" without understanding that the bladed post on the front sight is fixed in the circular hood. None of the current pseudo-HK sights do that. The front post is still adjustable, which makes circle-in-circle alignment with a rear diopter or peep useless if the front post isn't dead center.

 

[22-rimfire]

With a few pen strokes, I could easily see revolvers coming back in all their glory for casual shooting. Revolvers remain a steady seller.

 

[Mike OTDP]

Hmm...interesting question.

I'd say red-dot equipped pistols. The new generation of mini-dots are small enough to be holsterable.

 

[barnbwt]

I predict a wholesale rejection of military pattern guns, unless we get caught up in another protracted engagement. I base this solely on the current popularity of tactical stuff.

TCB

 

[MistWolf]

Quad rails are already dead. The next wave for AR handguards are free float tubes made of carbon fiber or plastic.

Other AR trends we're seeing-
-Grey is becoming a popular color
-Sig knocked it out of the park when they bought the licensing to the SB15 arm brace
-Suppressors and SBRs are making inroads everywhere
-Lightweight 20" AR builds with the A5 RE are gaining momentum
-AR shooters are discovering the sweet handling characteristics and heat dissipation of sporter weight barrels

Other Trends:
-The long awaited death of the DA/SA trigger mode
-Fewer pistol designs hampered by bureaucratic nonsense
-More striker powered handguns
-Explosion in numbers of women shooters

 

[wally]

Revolvers

Certainly in California where they are exempt from the micro-stamping non-sense that will keep new semi-autos out.

-The long awaited death of the DA/SA trigger mode

Can't happen soon enough for me, but as long as the US military "standard" is DA/SA its going to last

-AR shooters are discovering the sweet handling characteristics and heat dissipation of sporter weight barrels

My vote for the next real fad. Its fundamental that heavier guns shoot better, while lighter guns carry better. People that actually hunt with and AR (in the field, not ambushing from a blind) will love the sporter weight, others who actually shoot more than they hump their rifles will go back to the heavier barrels.

-More striker powered handguns
-Explosion in numbers of women shooters

These trends will continue -- strikers have fewer parts and are cheaper to make. Women will continue to embrace Sam Colt's "equalizer".

-Sig knocked it out of the park when they bought the licensing to the SB15 arm brace

This is my favorite trend. A pistol caliber AR SBR proves the old adage "your pistol is so you can fight your way back to your rifle". Novice shooters with my 9mm SBR or SB-15 pistol blow away the best they can do with any handgun.

 

[huntsman]

Single shot rifles, single action revolvers.

 

[Cesiumsponge]

I'm kind of curious why suppressors and SBRs are getting popular all of a sudden. My state has an excuse because suppressor use was legalized only several years ago and a SBR bill takes effect in several days. What's the impetus for the other states that can already own them?

Red dot equipped pistols seem to be picking up stream after some foot-dragging and FN's pistol. I did this to a G17 early 2011 when there was only two gunsmiths to my knowledge that did that kind of work. Suarez Group heavily endorsed it and it started showing up everywhere after a while. Ran it through classes including a week-long. No hiccups and 90% hits at 100 yards standing unsupported the first time I stretched it that far. The RMR slide is now a pretty popular offering on multiple platforms.

Our state has record number of women getting their concealed permits, enough that the Seattle Times wrote a neutral front page article.

 

[barnbwt]

I'll add one more; "maintenance free" coatings that require no lubrication. I personally think this will be a short fad once people abuse the "maintenance free" aspect and give it an undeserved bad reputation

"No oil; that means I can run sand in it, right?"

I'm kind of curious why suppressors and SBRs are getting popular all of a sudden.

Some enterprising folks discovered legal ways to more easily get a suppressor accessible to a group of owners (the trust schemes) as well as work around uncooperative or ignorant local LEOs who refuse to sign off. That started a market which has been sustaining itself and then some as more people discover how awesome quiet guns are.

TCB

 

[Sam1911]

Mike got it in post 14. Micro holographic red dot sights on service and carry pistols.

Unlike the old laser sights, they actually do all they promise and more. As they catch on, we'll see them everywhere within the next decade.

 

[MistWolf]

The only thing keeping RMRs from being more popular than they are is durability problems when mounted to the slide. Once that problem is licked, they'll be off to the races

 

[Abndoc]

Ar10 platforms.

 

[MistWolf]

Ar10 platforms.

Someone is going to build decks just to shoot Armalites from?

All kidding aside, we are seeing a rise in demand for affordable, quality 308 AR rifles. The M&P10 & DPMS Gen II are becoming very popular