Where are they made? I still care

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Oldncrusty

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I can read gun reviews hour after hour, and not one dam author will tell me the country of origin. I'm finally thinking of getting a "plastic" semiautomatic 9mm pistol. I would like to confirm whether the S&W M&P 2.0 series, and the equivalent offerings from Ruger are made in America, or the percentage thereof if they are a mix of foreign/domestic parts. Any other steers to American pistols would be appreciated as well. Thanks for any assistance.
 
Oldncrusty said:
I can read gun reviews hour after hour, and not one dam author will tell me the country of origin.
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I'm with you in that particular frustration. I don't need them to be made anywhere in particular but there are several nations from whom I will not purchase a firearm and am always looking for point of manufacture immediately upon finding a gun to be intriguing in any way.

For that matter, some U.S. states that I will not buy from as well. Rugers, are most certainly domestically manufactured.

I seem to recall a couple Glock and Sig offerings being U.S. *built* too though I could be wrong on either of those.

Todd.
 
Some other made-in-the-USA "plastic" pistols:

Beretta-USA, Gallatin, TN
Nano, Pico​
FN America, SC and VA
503, 509, FNX, and Five-Seven series​
Glock Inc, Smyrna, GA
G42 exclusively and most other common models​
HK-USA, Columbus, GA
HK45​
SigSauer Inc, Newington, NH
P320, SP2022​
Taurus-USA, Bainbridge, GA
Spectrum, TX22​
 
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I have a Taurus G3 which says Bainbridge, GA on the slide and made in Brazil on the frame. Pretty confusing.
Is Bainbridge, GA a legal headquarters or a manufacturing plant?
 
The Springfield XD and CZ pistols are the only common ones that come to mind that are not currently USA made. Older Glocks were made in Austria, but the bulk of them are USA made now.
 
5-SHOTS said:
I have a Taurus G3 which says Bainbridge, GA on the slide and made in Brazil on the frame. Pretty confusing.
Is Bainbridge, GA a legal headquarters or a manufacturing plant?
Click to expand...

Taurus-USA has a manufacturing plant in Bainbridge, GA, and recently moved Headquarters from Miami to Bainbridge.

Parts of the G3 series are made and assembled in Bainbridge, but I have not seen one that is entirely made in the USA (yet).
 
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Not trying to hi-jack the tread, but I think nothing is entirely made in the US. I try to buy things at least assembled in the US. But, I am sure there are a lot of parts made in other countries. Screws, plastic or rubber molded parts most likely are made in a cheaper country. That's just how it works. To me it's OK for the cheaper, low complexity parts to be made elsewhere, but I want the design, complex parts, and assembly done here. I think any country today can now make perfectly fine quality parts, but I want good jobs right here, so I buy for that reason, not really for the quality reason.
 
Guns are one consumer product where I don't care where they're made. For me, firearms transcend the need for "Made in the USA". Because I figure we're all on the same team and I'm not gonna not buy something I want because of where it's made. If I did that, I'd never buy an other S&W made in Massachusetts.


Speedo66 said:
I assume if gun companies want a US military contract, their end product must be made in the US?
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Yes, though I think it depends on what it is or in what quantity it is ordered. We know that FN and Beretta had to build factories in the US to fulfill their contracts.
 
CraigC: good point.

And for those Other people who might be against guns produced in MA, NY etc—-

—maybe gun companies still in those hostile US states are ——more aggressively saving money—— etc so that they Can move in the near-future to TX, AR etc.

Why would they not want to move, from a corporate perspective ? The primary issue isn’t about spouses and kids’ schools, jogging trails etc
 
gc70 said:
You're correct; I had not realized the HQ had also already been moved.
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They make the vast majority of their products in Brazil. What cannot be imported due to the GCA of 1968, they make that here and that's their little .22LR tilt barrel and now their little striker fired .22LR since neither meet the sporting point for importation.
 
So is it possible that the Taurus G3 frame is made in Brazil and the slide in the USA? Or everything is made in Brazil and assembled in the USA? It's not clear at all, not because I particularly care but I still think would be fair to inform the customer about where the product is made.
I remember the S&W SW99 had the written "frame made in Germany" and the same written on the the Mauser M2 frame. Still not clear where the other parts were made. I assume in the USA but still not explicitly indicated.
 
The 4 most obfuscated statements in the gun business are: made in, manufactured in, assembled in, built in. All firearms manufacturers outsource parts and processes. Just the way business is done in the world today. Don't even get me started on the MSR scene, can you say moungrel!
 
5-SHOTS said:
So is it possible that the Taurus G3 frame is made in Brazil and the slide in the USA? Or everything is made in Brazil and assembled in the USA? It's not clear at all, not because I particularly care but I still think would be fair to inform the customer about where the product is made.
I remember the S&W SW99 had the written "frame made in Germany" and the same written on the the Mauser M2 frame. Still not clear where the other parts were made. I assume in the USA but still not explicitly indicated.
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The G3 is made entirely in Brazil. Part of the requirements of the 1968 GCA is guns must be marked by the importer. Taurus USA and Forjas Taurus S/A (Taurus Brazil) are on paper two separate companies. Taurus USA was established to be the US baded importer of Brazilian made Taurus firearms. Taurus' US HQ is mostly for receiving and shipping, not manufacturing. I've been to their new place. It is out in the middle of nowhere in Bainbridge, GA.

The SW99 was a collaborative project between S&W and Walther. Walther at the time did not have their own importer. S&W was the importer and distributor for Walther products in the US and Walther did the same for S&W in Europe. Walther licensed the P99 to S&W. S&W was even licensed to entirelt manufacture the PPK/S in the US. That partnership ended when Walther established their own import company.

The Mauser M2 was a gun entirely made in Europe, but assembled in the US. Same for a while with a number of SIGs. If the gun was assembled in Germany for example, it'd have proof house stamps on it. If it were assembled in the US. It would not. My P239 has a German made frame, but not proof house stampings. SIG originally was imported by Browning Arms and then they established their own importer, SIG Arms. As time marched forward, SIG Arms changed the name to SIG Sauer and just recently, due to Germany's regulatory laws. SIG Sauer GHmB (the German Company) ceased all manufacturing in Germany. Everything is now being made in the USA.

Springfield Armory does not manufacture their 1911s completely. They're made by IMBEL of Brazil. What SA does is either they import thr gun completely finished, or they import a semi-complete receiver and finish it here in the US. The US "made" guns had a NA prefix on the serial numbers. The completed IMBEL made guns had "MADE IN BRAZIL" usually stamped underneath the dust cover.

The XD line is entirely made in Croatia by HS Produkt. SA is just the sole source North American importer due to their agreement with HS Produkt. Everywhere else, the XD is not SA marked. They're marked as HS Produkt.
 
9x56MS said:
The 4 most obfuscated statements in the gun business are: made in, manufactured in, assembled in, built in. All firearms manufacturers outsource parts and processes. Just the way business is done in the world today. Don't even get me started on the MSR scene, can you say moungrel!
Click to expand...
Ruger's Pine Tree casting facility made/makes a ton of parts for other companies. It is why Ruger got into making 1911s in the first place. They made parts for everyone else. CMMG started off in the AR market due to DMPS being one of the main manufacturers of AR parts.

A lot of what is "in house" isn't. It is contracted and repackaged.
 
gc70 said:
Some other made-in-the-USA "plastic" pistols:

Beretta-USA, Gallatin, TN
Nano, Pico​
FN America, SC and VA
503, 509, FNX, and Five-Seven series​
Glock Inc, Smyrna, GA
G42 exclusively and most other common models​
HK-USA, Columbus, GA
HK45​
SigSauer Inc, Newington, NH
P320, SP2022​
Taurus-USA, Bainbridge, GA
Spectrum, TX22​
Click to expand...
Made in USA but none are US based companies...so...desiring a Made is USA.....or MUSA as a US based company?
 
jmr40 said:
The Springfield XD and CZ pistols are the only common ones that come to mind that are not currently USA made. Older Glocks were made in Austria, but the bulk of them are USA made now.
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Some Glock models are now being produced in the United States, although the majority of Glocks are still made in Austria.
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As of 2019...my G48 I just got was made in Austria.
 
It's a global economy.

I commend the effort to buy American. I also feel the father you chase the details the more you will find that made in USA is more that half assembled in usa with a percentage manufactured in the USA.

The law states the requirement to say made in USA. Same as labeling ingredients on food, cars, trucks, boats, etc.

Examples like when the tsunami hit Japan and an large about of chevy trucks got parked for months due to the inability to get the ecm from Japan which was the only manufacturer at the time. That truck was made in USA, but without Japan it's not able to be driven.

Again, commend the effort and agree with the sentiment. It's just tough to find the deeper you chase the rabbit hole
 
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