Is this what USFA has become?

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In today's market of video game enthusiasts, the younger generation simply doesn't care much about single action revolvers. You can't rely on the older crowds to keep buying guns they already have. Those who are interested in a SAA clone probably already bad one.

This is business 101, your company has to grow and change with the times or become ancient history.

I'd love to get my bands on one. I don't know if I'm willinnto drop $200 bucks on one just yet, considering the price of the BX-25 magazine is, last time I checked, $75.

I see a lot of folks make fun and bad mouth the gun. But people did the same with another lightweight, plastic gun with radically different ergonomics. Just ask Eugene Stoener how people felt about his design.
 
This is business 101, your company has to grow and change with the times or become ancient history.
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What people need to realize is that this is not business 101. Doug is not changing the direction of the company because it's the right business decision. It's what HE wants to do. He has never run it like a proper business. It's basically his personal candy store and he doesn't need the money. If it was a corporation he would've been fired a long time ago.

Gary Grainger and most of the skilled labor are long gone.

I would be surprised if Doug Turnbull didn't pick up where USFA left off.
 
Stoner's designs at least had something to hang onto. :)
The zipper doesn't.
No grip, no pointability to speak of.
If they'd just included a grip of some sort, it could have helped. Ergonomics are terrible.
Denis
 
If their skilled labor is gone, is it any wonder why they shifted their scope? A good single action take skilled craftsman to make. If you no longer have have said craftsman, you either continue to create what you know for, even if the quality takes a severe hit, or you make something that does it require the same skill set.

A plastic striker fired gun dies not take the same lev of skill as a stell SAA clone.

The company I work for started making a specific product. When they could no longer make money by creating, marketing and sell that product, they changed their scope and shifted to a product they could sell. The president of my company made that decision, and thankfully it worked.

I don't know the history of USFA, or the people in charge, but if they could not turn a profit by selling SAA clones because they no lover had the skilled craftsmen to make it properly, should they have just closed their doors and said 'its been a nice run, good luck'? That might have been an option, but instead it seems they chose to revamp and make something they could make a profit on.

The future will tell if it was a the right choice.
 
DPris said:
Stoner's designs at least had something to hang onto. :)
The zipper doesn't.
No grip, no pointability to speak of.
If they'd just included a grip of some sort, it could have helped. Ergonomics are terrible.
Denis
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Funny. People say the same thing about Glock ergonomics.

I'm not arrogant enough to judge something before I have first hand experience with it.
 
If their skilled labor is gone, is it any wonder why they shifted their scope?
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They didn't stop making single actions because the skilled labor left. The skilled labor left because they stopped making single actions.


I don't know the history of USFA...
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Obviously, because you're making assumptions as if this were any other company. It is not and the information presented either comes from Doug or industry folks, not rumors from the local gun shop.


...but if they could not turn a profit by selling SAA clones because they no lover had the skilled craftsmen to make it properly, should they have just closed their doors and said 'its been a nice run, good luck'?
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I've said this three times now, they are not changing direction because they did not make a profit. Your assumptions are all dead wrong.


I'm not arrogant enough to judge something before I have first hand experience with it.
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And I do believe he said he handled one at the show. :rolleyes:
 
I'm a diehard traditionalist, own four USFA single actions and wanted several more but I'm no stick in the mud either. I'm all for new stuff, innovation and new directions. I also hate the turdsuckers who always come out of the woodwork when something new comes out but I just don't understand this one. Forget the single actions for a moment, the Zip just doesn't make sense. If it had a grip and was basically a high quality TEC-22 or something similar, I'd be the first in line.
 
CraigC said:
What people need to realize is that this is not business 101. Doug is not changing the direction of the company because it's the right business decision. It's what HE wants to do. He has never run it like a proper business. It's basically his personal candy store and he doesn't need the money. If it was a corporation he would've been fired a long time ago.
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But in reality.....that too is business 101. It clearly shows the difference between a corporation driven by profits for shareholders and a privately owned company. In the former decisions are made by CEOs and a board of directors for supposedly the better good of all stockholders in the pursuit to create profit and raise the value of their investment. A privately owned business run by someone without a desire to increase their wealth is driven more by emotion and a desire to be known for something. A "Spruce Goose" kinda thing. But regardless of how deep an owners pockets are, at some point of losing money, the doors will close.
 
Vet,
As with the Stoner designs- Glocks have a real HANDLE. :)
On the zipper you just mickey mouse a "hold" on it. No grip. Fits the hand poorly.
All angles, no handle, no curves to fit the palm & wrap fingers around.
Denis
 
But in reality.....that too is business 101. It clearly shows the difference between a corporation driven by profits for shareholders and a privately owned company. In the former decisions are made by CEOs and a board of directors for supposedly the better good of all stockholders in the pursuit to create profit and raise the value of their investment. A privately owned business run by someone without a desire to increase their wealth is driven more by emotion and a desire to be known for something. A "Spruce Goose" kinda thing. But regardless of how deep an owners pockets are, at some point of losing money, the doors will close.
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Sorry guys but you've obviously put zero thought and zero research into this. We've been watching USFA very closely for two years and nothing I've seen supports your assumptions.
 
I would be surprised if Doug Turnbull didn't pick up where USFA left off.
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Quite possible, because he specializes in high quality/small runs. But it would largely dependent on what the tooling cost, and I would expect the MSRP would be higher. To get away with that he’d have to noticeably exceed what Colt is turning out. I think most of the high-end buyers go for Colt’s because in addition to the gun they’re buying the name.
 
There's the novelty, but it remains to be seen how many will sell once people actually get 'em in hand & word spreads.
Denis
 
Quite possible, because he specializes in high quality/small runs. But it would largely dependent on what the tooling cost, and I would expect the MSRP would be higher. To get away with that he’d have to noticeably exceed what Colt is turning out. I think most of the high-end buyers go for Colt’s because in addition to the gun they’re buying the name.
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I would not say that "most" high end buyers go for Colt. You have a few that still think the Colt name means something. You also have a lot of shooters who would rather buy the superior product, rather than a name. What you guys fail to understand is that USFA was very busy building single actions. They were not sitting around waiting for orders to come in.

The MSRP should be higher on a superior product that is closer to the original than Colt's twice cheapened attempt that is more glamor and hype than substance.
 
Dad blast & burnit! I LIKE my Colts, Craig!!!!!!!!!
( :) )
Denis
 
I have a pair of USFA Rodeos that I bought new from Long Hunter (Jim) a few years ago and given the incredible quality I was really hoping that USFA would get into the 1911 market in a serious way. They were offering a GI 1911 for a while and I had high hopes for a 1911 more along the lines of an Ed Brown, Les Baer or Wilson Combat.

As for the ZiP ... I had an email from USFA a couple of months ago announcing this atrocity and I immediately clicked on DELETE!! :barf:
 
Nope, just quite demanding on certain single-actions.
Among others. :)

Neither USFA nor Colt turns out anything comparable to Eddie's artistry, and I'm not talking mere cosmetics.
Denis
 
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