Pre-internet, how did we really know how good the guns were 'in the good old days'?
Today, a company makes 10,000 of Gun X and we hear of all the horror stories of QC on the internet. Poor fit, poor customer service, poor accuracy, poor function, etc.
Gun forums are ablaze with these stories and soon Gun X is on the "do not buy" list from our community grapevine.
50 years ago, a company makes 10,000 of Gun Y and there are issues like mentioned above. No internet. No 6:00 news. No daily newspaper stories unless a recall is initiated and that news was in back, near the classifieds. Word of mouth at the LGS gets the story out to the local regulars. Perhaps a shop-to-shop discussion gets the word around county wise. The Shotgun news has only so many inches to spare and they won't bite the hand that feeds them unless there is a public safety issue. How do we know that Gun Y is a risky purchase? We find out by buying one and complaining to our family and buddies.
We hear about how well made the guns were made in the good old days. How do we know? The better made guns that were well taken care of and are still around show how nice they were but how about the lemons we didn't hear about and were disposed of years ago? Just because we have some wonderful examples of guns made years ago doesn't mean all of the ones made were equally wonderful. The only way we knew about the quality is when dad told us to stay away from Gun Y because it was crap (he had a buddy with a lemon) or how your uncle told you he had a POS Gun Z and he swore off that company forever because they didn't help him with it. We see and read about present gun makers who were vilified for (fill in the blank) years ago for something they did or were perceived to have done. Ruger, S&W, Taurus, Colt, the list goes on and on yet they are still around today pumping out guns for our pleasure.
The glory years of gun making are just that, memories of the good old days. I'd be willing to bet that the percentage of lemons was greater 'back then' than today because of the advancements we've made since then. As time goes on we tend to remember the good stuff and forget or dismiss the bad stuff. The same applies to our glorifying the good old days of guns and their perceived quality.
Yeah, technology has allowed us to cut costs. So? You make it sound like a bad thing when the reality is it is a good thing. I believe the guns made today are as good or better than any mass produced guns ever made when we consider reliability and accuracy. In the gun word, that's what matters most. It may not have that beautiful deep blue finish but I'd put the Glock finish up against any finish from the past in regards to keeping the guns rust free. I thought that was what the finish is for.