more manufacturers giving the option of short-barreled guns.
i own a couple 16.5" barreled .308s and im still waiting for the 'horrifying 5-foot flamethrower muzzle flash', 'shoulder-fracturing recoil', loss of several hundred FPS and piss-poor accuracy that everyone assumes is associated with them.
both are sub-MOA guns that you would never be able to tell had short barrels from firing them or looking at their groups. this isnt the 1800s, why the hell are 24-26" barreled rifles still the only choice in many guns? and 28-30" barreled shotguns? these are completely unneccessary, and only a few calibres NEED over 20" barrels. the only reason they still sell IMO is people assume that longer barrels lead to better accuracy and everyone is so concerned about squeezing that extra 30-60 FPS out of their gun as if somehow thats going to make their deer any deader.
id like to see more manufacturers striking a balance between accuracy/function and presentation & fit/finish. unlike many people who think guns like the Tikka are the 'ultimate evolution in firearms'... im unwilling to sacrifice everything in a firearm for accuracy.
more takedown and switchbarrel guns.
the browning BLR takedown is a nice step. but i want to see more bolt action takedowns and switchbarrels. it can be done - the BLR is basically a modern bolt action rifle, not a 'true' lever. you just operate the bolt with a lever. the barrel locks into the receiver and the bolt locks into the barrel.
already we have several guns where - like a pump shotgun - the bolt cams into the barrel to achieve lockup, like the 870 based 7600, BLR takedown, etc. why arent more rifles like this? the main drawback that used to plague suck designs - the accuracy issue - can easily be solved with cantilever or scout mounts attached to the barrel.
also, i am sick of paying $400-800 to switch a barrel on one of my rifles. really in this day and age we shouldnt have to be taking every gun into a gunsmith to have a new barrel fitted and headspaced - someone should come up with a solution. savage is on the right track but it still needs to be even simpler - something that can be done in the field.
manufacturers for the most part have been riding on the coattails of John Moses Browning, Paul and Wilhelm von Mauser, Fedor Tokarev, John C. Garand, Eugene Stoner, etc. id like to see some actual damned innovation rather than regurgitations and refinements of designs that have pretty much been unchanged for up to a century.
i am not saying that there is anything wrong with Mauser designs - but where is all this new technology and innovation we were expecting in the new milennium? its 2008 FFS and all we have to show for firearms innovation is tupperware stocks on almost everything and more plastic in our guns to make them even cheaper to produce. i wasnt expecting us to be flying around in jet cars or anything, but i would like to see a bit of innovation in the firearm industry. theyve been damned lazy for too long, its time for the consumer to demand more from them.
