Phaedrus/69
Member
Okay, this is kind of the flip side to the discussion of the adoption of the "Sig Spear" by the US Army. For the time being it seems this is a done-deal, perhaps not a total replacement but widespread adoption and broad issuing to troops. So for the sake of argument I'll assume no 11th hour change of heart or reprieve for the M4-family of carbines and rifles. If this comes to pass will be see a broad dropoff in the civilian sales and popularity of the AR platform?
It's no secret that adoption by the US military leads to broad civilian popularity. People want what the military has, or at least as close as they can get. Broad use of the 1911 helped to make it a civilian hit and many people who'd never owned a Beretta picked up a 92f after the Army adopted it. Certainly once the patents expired and the AR family of rifles began to be cloned we saw it explode in popularity with the civilians, perhaps fueled by veterans returning from the sandbox. People want what the US Army has.
Certainly there's a large "installed base" of AR shooters and a huge aftermarket. It happens to be an extraordinarily flexible and adaptable system, chambered in dozens of rounds in calibers from .22 up to .50 and from 5.56 to .300 Win Mag to .50 Beowulf. And like HDTV sets we're at commodity pricing on ARs.
Still, I expect folks that have never owned a Sig before will be looking at the MCX line now. Right now you're stuck with Sig if you want "the real deal" and ammo is limited, but of course 40 years ago Colt was about the only game in town for an AR.
There are some questions as to how widely issued the "Spear" will be but assuming it gains wide acceptance, will it and it's "new" round supplant the common AR in 5.56 among civilian gun enthusiasts?
It's no secret that adoption by the US military leads to broad civilian popularity. People want what the military has, or at least as close as they can get. Broad use of the 1911 helped to make it a civilian hit and many people who'd never owned a Beretta picked up a 92f after the Army adopted it. Certainly once the patents expired and the AR family of rifles began to be cloned we saw it explode in popularity with the civilians, perhaps fueled by veterans returning from the sandbox. People want what the US Army has.
Certainly there's a large "installed base" of AR shooters and a huge aftermarket. It happens to be an extraordinarily flexible and adaptable system, chambered in dozens of rounds in calibers from .22 up to .50 and from 5.56 to .300 Win Mag to .50 Beowulf. And like HDTV sets we're at commodity pricing on ARs.
Still, I expect folks that have never owned a Sig before will be looking at the MCX line now. Right now you're stuck with Sig if you want "the real deal" and ammo is limited, but of course 40 years ago Colt was about the only game in town for an AR.
There are some questions as to how widely issued the "Spear" will be but assuming it gains wide acceptance, will it and it's "new" round supplant the common AR in 5.56 among civilian gun enthusiasts?