Dura Coat came out in 1986. Cerakote came out in 1884. I’m not sure about Brownell’s Aluma-Hyde
, but I think it first hit the market before Cerakote.
Duck and Turkey hunters have be putting cammo on their guns for years. I remember back in the 80s that cammo tape for guns was very popular.
The military does change its cammo pattern based on the major areas of operations. Back in the 70 they were still using OD Green. Some special units did have camouflage , but camouflage on infantry weapons were not the norm.
This photo is from the Vietnam war, most likely taken in the 70s. You can see green tape on the handguards that the soldier on the left is holding.
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Back in the 80s the camouflage film dipping became popular and many of the manufacturers started offering it as a standard finish on many guns.
Marketing plays a big part with all companies and the gun industry is not different. To help increase sales to women, gun companies started adding grips in pink and light blue. Later they started offering guns with finishes that were targeted at women.
Cerakote and Dura Coat had been offering different colors for years as aftermarket colors and it wasn’t that long before gun companies started offering those finishes on their guns.
Before the 90s green camouflage colors were big sellers, but then the fighting in the Middle East started. So after 30 years of soldiers coming home from the sandbox, FDE has become one of the most popular colors.
The gun industry is just offering what people want. If they weren’t making money on colored guns, they would quit making them.
Times change. I remember when wood and blued steel were the majority of the guns on the shelf. Now synthetic and colors are seen everywhere.
The majority of the ARs sold are black, but there’s a huge market for after market for colored parts.
How boring would this photo be if all the guns were black?
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I see nothing wrong with colors on guns, out side of the standard wood and bluer steel. For thos that don’t care for the new colors, most gun companies still offer basic black.
