“The last few years have been a very challenging time for the firearms industry…”
Not saying it is wrong but I see posts all the time on THR of people buying from PSA and BCA, not many from Windham anymore.Doesn’t surprise me. The increase in demand over the last 10 years caused a boom in the number of manufacturers. It’s inevitable some would get squeezed when that demand flattened out.
A lot of members buy from Wal Mart as well......Not saying it is wrong but I see posts all the time on THR of people buying from PSA and BCA, not many from Windham anymore.
I never consider them much of a player anymore, although I recently purchased one of their liteweight barrels from CDNN on sale.
And yet Bushmaster (Franklin) is still churning out Patrolman. The AR market is rather bizarre and finicky.Doesn’t surprise me. The increase in demand over the last 10 years caused a boom in the number of manufacturers. It’s inevitable some would get squeezed when that demand flattened out.
The pandemic business environment was very difficult for many companies with a huge increase in wages needed in rural areas to compete with unemployment checks for lower skilled employees. Companies who have debt and run on credit (which is a lot of them) are getting greatly squeezed by the rapid interest rate increases and tightening bank credit requirements. Throw in some inflation and companies running close to the margins are unfortunately failing in many industries.I hate to see any firearms company go out of business, but this made me go “Huh?”:
The last three years saw record-breaking sales and empty shelves because manufacturers couldn’t keep up. Granted, things have slowed now but the pandemic and the Democrats sent sales through the roof. Sounds more like fundamental financial soundness issues than hard times for the firearms industry.
It will be interesting to see the impact what you describe has on the AR market. I've felt for a long time that the low prices we've seen for ARs the last decade are an abnormality. I could never put my finger on the exact reasons, but it just didn't match up with other prices I could see.Companies who have debt and run on credit (which is a lot of them) are getting greatly squeezed by the rapid interest rate increases and tightening bank credit requirements. Throw in some inflation and companies running close to the margins are unfortunately failing in many inindustries.
Shortly after the AWB expired, everyone had an AK when they could be had for $300-$500 all day long and AR's were closer to $800 and up.People nowadays default to the AR due to price. What happens if that's no longer the case? If an AR costs the same as a Mini-14, Bren 2, AK, or something else?
Exactly, and in the 1980s, you bought a Mini-14 if you wanted a scoped .223 autoloader for similar reasons.Shortly after the AWB expired, everyone had an AK when they could be had for $300-$500 all day long and AR's were closer to $800 and up.
People nowadays default to the AR due to price. What happens if that's no longer the case? If an AR costs the same as a Mini-14, Bren 2, AK, or something else?
They became mainstream popular, though still not ubiquitous, around the time politicians started wanting to ban them.The AR became popular when it cost more than mini’s and AK’s.
I just received and email from Windham Weaponry stating that they are going out of business.