American Made vs American Owned

[13th Legion]

I know this thread is old but I am in the market for a few new firearms and have been doing a great deal of research. I prefer 1. American Assembled, 2. American Parts, 3. American Owned.

It isn't my intention to upset anyone, but many of the manufacturers mentioned in these posts truly don't make their firearms in the USA. Many of you assume because they are owned in the U.S. or used to be U.S. made, that they still are. Even if they are assembled here, many use a high percentage of foreign parts. Is final assembly the most important aspect?

What is most important American Made or American Owned? As an example, Winchester make very few models in the U.S. Only the Model 70 is made in the U.S. The X3 and 101 is made in Belgium by FN, the Super X Pump in Turkey, and everything else is made in Japan. (source: Winchester site)

I think most are not bothered by European made or owned companies such as Sig Sauer, Beretta, or H&K. Partly because they at least have similar labor laws, thus making production cost equitable and a fair competition for the consumer. Some of those actually assemble firearm models in the U.S.

I'll take a FN USA that is assembled here with mostly U.S. parts as opposed to a Winchester from Japan. Just sayin' - RIF Reading/Research Is Fundamental.

 

[9mmepiphany]

You revived a 3 year old thread to ask a question rather than start a new one?

I'm making this a stand alone thread so folks won't have to read through the 3 pages of old post unless they want to

 

[Russian Hammer]

For me it greatly depends on the specific firearm. The primary focus of my gun collection is com bloc guns and Russian made AKs specifically, so for those firearms the only US parts I want are for 922r.

For hunting rifles on the other hand I prefer European made, either Belgian or German but also own several American made rifles, typically not new ones though and the few new American guns I do own are rugers.

Revolvers on the other hand I prefer to be American made over any of the new European ones and most of the revolvers I currently own are also rugers. So really it depends on the specific type of firearm and generally I avoid new guns due to a lot of the reasons you mention, questionable origin of parts and cutting corners to save money mostly.

 

[Sam1911]

If the features, ergonomics, and shooting characteristics of a firearm are what I want, I'll buy it. If not, I won't. If several companies make exactly the same thing (at roughly the same cost) I'd certainly take the American option, but that seems rarely the case.

I don't usually just want "A" gun. (i.e.: Any gun'll do.) I want a specific gun and DON'T want other specific guns for very exacting reasons.

Generally that gets in the way of country-of-origin/assembly favoritism.

 

[beatledog7]

I do not shop country of origin. It's a global economy, and where a thing was made has made little if any difference for many years.

 

[Redlg155]

Not all FNs are US....my SCAR 17 is made in Belgium.

As for US owned/made it doesn't matter to me. The more the merrier. Overseas competition will only make our products better.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Winchester is owned by FN, therefore it is not American owned

 

[Lex Luthier]

It is 2013, not 1953, so my money is on the best product from wherever it happens to originate. Knowing the difference in quality is first, and second is accepting that certain (usually lower priced and Chinese) commodities simply will not last as long as they used to.

 

[bannockburn]

Number One is quality.
Number Two is reliability.
Number Three is accuracy.
Number Four is durabilty.

Somewhere down on the list is whether it was U.S. made or by a U.S. owned company.

 

[Rembrandt]

I owe no allegiance to any country or their workers as to where I spend my hard earned cash.....who ever makes the best product for my needs gets the $$$.

 

[mljdeckard]

Oh, what a bummer to have to own a Belgian made FN shotgun.

I think a lot of the patriotism devoted to American made/owned is misplaced. Even most of the cars that are 'imports' are actually made in America in non-union factories across the country, bring commerce and income to Americans.

I like guns that WORK. I have a Kimber that is U.S. made by a U.S. owned company, and I have a Para that has been problematic, I have an XD that is fantastic. Where it was made, and who pocketed the last $12.50 of profit on it concerns me very little.

 

[Dnaltrop]

I prefer to buy locally or at least US made items, but to do so in firearms would close off a wealth of C&R firearms, Bersa .. my "only assembled in the US" Range Officer, and more.

if Ruger and S&W made every model of gun ever, i'd be happy to stick with them. but until they do, my "preference" won't rule my tastes entirely.

 

[Mitlov]

All other things equal, I'll buy American-made over foreign-made, but I won't buy a product I don't want just to get American-made.

As for who OWNS it? I don't see that that makes much of a difference in the American economy (it could be a dozen wealthy people in the USA, in China, or in Saudi Arabia...it doesn't have much of an impact in terms of getting more jobs in America), so it's not even a tie-breaker factor for me. I simply don't care.

 

[lpsharp88]

When I'm buying a gun, I don't think/care about if it's American made, assembled, parts, etc. I worry about price, how it feels in my hands, reliability, accuracy, all that. If I'm dropping that kind of money on something, I'm not going to let country of origin get in the way of the practical aspects of the firearm. The only time I ever took the time to look up where a weapon I bought came from was when I brought my Mosin home.

 

[Agsalaska]

I normally could care less where an item is made and made in USA usually does nothing for me. Neither does US owned. I own interests in foreign businesses as do a lot of you thru pensions and 401k's. It is a global economy.

That mostly applies to guns except for deer rifles. For some reason I have an affinity for American made deer rifles. I cannot explain it. I know the CZ is a good rifle. But I cannot do it. I need a mid eighties Winchester or Ruger, or an American Weatherby, etc. I don't know why I care. The two guns currently loaded in my house were made in Brazil and Austria. I love Benelli Shotguns. I wish I could get over this. I know I am missing out on some great European and even Japanese rifles. But so far I cant do it.

 

[GLI45]

I'm more concerned that I'm getting a quality firearm that meets my needs although I would probably avoid anything from China. It is nice when a U.S. made product fills the bill. I bought my first STI pistol without knowing much about the company. What I did know was that it was the finest 1911 I'd ever shot. After buying it I went online and found out that STI makes their pistols from start to finish in Georgetown, TX. That was a nice bonus. Keeping all the money here at home is a plus, but I've continued to by STI pistols primarily because of their quality and outstanding service.

 

[Ignition Override]

HOOfan_1:
Unless Congress changed the law, my impression was that a US company can not have a majority (51%) controlled by any foreign corporation, or government. DHL had a chunk controlled by Deutsche Post. Being partly owned by the German govt., that had to be changed.

As for guns, price/quality/reliability, imagine what we would now pay if an M-1 Garand (CMP), Enfield #4/Mk. 1, Yugo Mauser or Chinese SKS had been recently manufactured in the US, although new of them are new, for the most part.

The fact that an imported semi-auto rifle (922r) must have ten or so US-made parts is a commercial protection by the ATF.

 

[Texshooter]

Won't buy pistols made in NY, MD, Ct. .... well you know. And will not buy S/A because do not want my $ going to the tax cofers of Ill. (appropriate abbreviation, don't you think?)

 

[Twiki357]

I’ll buy American whenever I can. But now days, it’s not all that easy to figure out if it is actually American made or owned. And even if it is, how many of the parts are American made or foreign imports.

 

[herrwalther]

I will buy the best firearm while keeping budget in mind. I have several Rugers, but I do not buy them solely because they are American made, but it helps. They are solid firearms with very reasonable prices. By the same token if I can afford a Sig, Walther, or HK I will not pass on them merely because they are not made here.

 

[JohnBT]

Suppose I want to buy a firearm from a publicly traded company based in the U.S. that makes its guns in the U.S., but the majority of the stock is owned by non-American individual investors and/or corporate investment funds. What do I do then?

What if the foreigners only own 49% of the company? Can I still call it an American company?

My head hurts from all the figuring and now I feel the need to hire a detective agency to approve my purchases.

I won't buy mediocre junk just because it was made in America.

John

 

[mnrivrat]

I do not shop country of origin. It's a global economy, and where a thing was made has made little if any difference for many years.

I owe no allegiance to any country or their workers as to where I spend my hard earned cash.....who ever makes the best product for my needs gets the $$$.

Welcome to the new world order . Not sure why I feel sad to see the country I grew up in, and fought for, scattering to the winds of the dollar always comes first. I guess I'm just too old to change my thinking and face reality.

As to the question asked, I would always prefer to keep my neighbor and my fellow countryman employed. That said , I can't change the way business is run and will let future generations figure out how to deal with the new world order.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Welcome to the new world order . Not sure why I feel sad to see the country I grew up in, and fought for, scattering to the winds of the dollar always comes first..

When hasn't it????

Ever heard of the Tariff of Abominations?

The US Government created a tariff on imported goods in order to protect industry in the North...ended up hurting the South. The countries buying cotton from the South, dropped their purchasing, because of the cost of importing goods to the Country. South Carolina nearly seceded in 1832...basically got the ball rolling toward the Civil War.

It was a protectionist tariff, and it certainly was about money....

 

[TonyDedo]

I shop by quality and price.

"American Made" is just a marketing gimmick/political propaganda. In today's economic environment, it's rare if not impossible to find something that's truly 100% American.

As has been pointed out, foreign companies own "American" brands. "American manufacturers" will manufacture overseas. Parts are made overseas and assembled in the US. Materials are almost always sourced from abroad.

Even a product line that seems 100% American isn't necessarily: Smith & Wesson revolvers are made in Springfield MA by an American company using American Union workers working with American steel (so they tell us). But who actually owns Smith & Wesson? It's a publicly traded company with millions of investors, many of whom, I assure you, are not American.

'Made In The USA' is just branding (at least' for manufactured goods).

 

[Arkansas Paul]

^ I do the same.
It isn't always what it seems to be. I drive a Toyota Tacoma truck and my brother drives a Ram. My truck has more American parts on it than his does, and it was assembled in Texas.

I suspect guns are the same way.