Originally Posted by
Stevebot-7
Well, these are my considerations:
-Nonrestricted, this is quite possibly the most important. This alone would have people buying it even if it's chambered in some weird proprietary 6.3x42mm caliber that you only make ten of a month. Being able to take it outside of ranges would probably increase your chances of selling it by at least a third, especially since many ranges have been switching to members only policy.
-Common intermediate caliber such as 7.62x51/.308. Reason being, if you pick a caliber new and fancy or old and surplus you run the risk of the ammo supply becoming very rare. Sure we have buckets of surplus 39 or 54r now, what about in five years, ten years? Giving it affordable ammo, in a caliber that's in current production and going strong on a worldwide basis, will make a high pricetag a lot more palatable for many people. If we need to spend three bucks for a single cartridge, we're not going to use it very often and you risk turning it into something only sponsored shooters or the seriously wealthy can shoot. 308 is widely accepted and supported for all aspects of shooting.
-Standardized for use with existing optics and accessories. If people can use the scopes and rail accessories they already have they are much more likely to buy the rifle.
-Cost:Value ratio that is worth it. Though it sounds like this is already one of your core principles. I don't want something that I'm afraid to use because it's expensive. I want to know that's it's worth it, and can roll with the punches. I'd say about $2000-$2500 would be my max for the commercial version. Special versions might merit increased pricetags. However, the higher the initial cost the fewer aftermarket mods it should "need" to achieve a specific function such as left handed use, or scopes, or PDW CQB, or long range, or custom threading for brakes and other muzzle devices.
-Ambidextrous and/or configurable controls. It seems like the first question I heard about the Tavor was "how to get a left handed version?". Maybe it's just me, but I kind of dislike the base AR platform for having the bolt stop set up in such a way that it's the only control I cannot use with my right hand on the grip where it belongs without having to insert an empty mag and yank the charging handle. Being able to swap mag releases and ejection ports from one side to another, or having them set up in such a way as to be accessed from both sides, would gain you major points with some people. Of course, extra parts like duplicated mag releases and bolt stops and what have you will add weight, and there are people who will dislike the idea of "useless" junk. I've got a Walther PPQ pistol, it's fully ambi out of the box, and I'm in love with the idea of not being stuck with only a single way of doing something, even if only one way is the most efficient in most cases. I've got a major chub for options. In your case, maybe make it easy for the user to swap out parts for right or left handed operation, or use both for ambidextrous. That way you can allow some control over weight and set up. In short, think of how it's going to be used, in all cases and all functions and not just doing the 1,2,3 on the bench. Since you're going to be developing the rifle from the ground up, plan it all the way to the roof. If you're going to set it up a certain way, at least plan for aftermarket modification such as the B.A.D.A.S.S and other things.
-User serviceable without requiring specialized tools. By this I mean that we're going to have to clean it eventually, so make it vaguely easy to access the barrel and internals. If it's a pain in the ass to clean, people aren't going to be out using it and giving you publicity.
-Wieldly. That's a word I use to mean how easy it is to wield the rifle. A 12 pound benchrest rifle is heavy and unwieldly. A custom four pound large bore rifle is also unwieldly, but for the opposite reason. I think 6-7 pounds would be your magic weight to make it heavy enough that recoil does not seem obnoxious, but light enough to consider as a field rifle for people who are not paid to carry it. However, to do this and retain a primarily metal constriction you might have to carefully allocate rail real estate. Perhaps even by designing rail slots, and then allowing us to purchase and position rail segments to bolt on. In fact, Mr. Potato rails would be pretty damn cool in general.
There, that's my thoughts for now. I can't wait to see what you come up with.
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