Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
OK, Ardent. I see what you're saying and it makes a lot of sense.
Most of my guns are more than an appliance to me. My uncle (an old friend of my Dad's) has recently given me a Liege O/U Browning that will never, but never be sold. It means too much to me. It's a beautiful thing, hand built and much used by a fellow I have a great deal of respect and love for.
But then there are my bangin' around guns - my M305, my Norinco 1911, my $99.00 Chinese Tokarev in 9mm, and as soon as UPS gets here, my ugly semi-functional 780. These guns are for my amusement, education, and (given proper preparation and debugging) defense.
Your issue with the sale and purchase of these firearms appears to come from two different angles. The first issue you have has to do with Chinese goods underpricing and stealing market share from North American manufacturers, as well as making inexpensive knock offs of NA made items. You appear to resent the use of NA brainpower to sell less expensive copies to a gullible public. I can't argue with you about this, as I tend to agree. However, I would remind you that had I chosen to buy a NA made M14 (Springfield M1A), 1911A1 Colt (and not a Phillipino, Turkish, or Italian copy) and a NA made 9mm pistol, I would be out nearly $3000 rather that the far more modest c. $1000 I have invested in the Chinese articles I bought.
I don't make a lot of money, bud. I cannot justify spending $3K on guns. I can, however, save enough here and there to cover the anount I've paid. If I made more money, I'd happily buy more expensive guns. And if I don't have the funds necessary to do this, is my only option to not buy any guns at all until I can afford NA made firearms? That's pretty limiting.
What if I scrimiped, saved, skipped lunch every day for a month, made multiple trips to the bottle depot, sold some blood and a kindney and finally got the cash together for a brand new M1A and a Colt 1911. Would I get superior quality to the Chinese product?
The M1A has been reported as having QC issues, both here on CGN and in a number of other places on the web. I believe Colt ain't what it used to be. I could spend another $2K, but if it gets me a product that isn't demonstrably superior in materials, fit and finsh and QC, what have I gained beyond a sense of having supported a company staffed by fellow capitalists? Norincos have come a long way on their QC. The newest 1911s are by all reports a very servicable handgun, and the M305s have a very good reputation.
As for invoking our grandfathers and their unwillingness to buy crap guns, have you ever owned one of these?
I have. They're serviceable, but crude and inexpensive. I bought mine for $20.00. It was probably a POS from the factory, but it served a purpose, and our grandfathers and grandmothers bought them by the bucketload. Same goes for trade guns (horrid bloody things with extremely indifferent QC) and a lot of very crude, very inexpensive, but very functional Cooeys, Savages, and a great many others.
Had our grandparents had access to sturdily built firearms at prices half of what NA manufacturers wanted, they would have bought them. They were pragmatic men who needed functional tools. I'm a pragmatic guy who wants a gun that goes bang. How am I different?
Most of my guns are more than an appliance to me. My uncle (an old friend of my Dad's) has recently given me a Liege O/U Browning that will never, but never be sold. It means too much to me. It's a beautiful thing, hand built and much used by a fellow I have a great deal of respect and love for.
But then there are my bangin' around guns - my M305, my Norinco 1911, my $99.00 Chinese Tokarev in 9mm, and as soon as UPS gets here, my ugly semi-functional 780. These guns are for my amusement, education, and (given proper preparation and debugging) defense.
Your issue with the sale and purchase of these firearms appears to come from two different angles. The first issue you have has to do with Chinese goods underpricing and stealing market share from North American manufacturers, as well as making inexpensive knock offs of NA made items. You appear to resent the use of NA brainpower to sell less expensive copies to a gullible public. I can't argue with you about this, as I tend to agree. However, I would remind you that had I chosen to buy a NA made M14 (Springfield M1A), 1911A1 Colt (and not a Phillipino, Turkish, or Italian copy) and a NA made 9mm pistol, I would be out nearly $3000 rather that the far more modest c. $1000 I have invested in the Chinese articles I bought.
I don't make a lot of money, bud. I cannot justify spending $3K on guns. I can, however, save enough here and there to cover the anount I've paid. If I made more money, I'd happily buy more expensive guns. And if I don't have the funds necessary to do this, is my only option to not buy any guns at all until I can afford NA made firearms? That's pretty limiting.
What if I scrimiped, saved, skipped lunch every day for a month, made multiple trips to the bottle depot, sold some blood and a kindney and finally got the cash together for a brand new M1A and a Colt 1911. Would I get superior quality to the Chinese product?
The M1A has been reported as having QC issues, both here on CGN and in a number of other places on the web. I believe Colt ain't what it used to be. I could spend another $2K, but if it gets me a product that isn't demonstrably superior in materials, fit and finsh and QC, what have I gained beyond a sense of having supported a company staffed by fellow capitalists? Norincos have come a long way on their QC. The newest 1911s are by all reports a very servicable handgun, and the M305s have a very good reputation.
As for invoking our grandfathers and their unwillingness to buy crap guns, have you ever owned one of these?
I have. They're serviceable, but crude and inexpensive. I bought mine for $20.00. It was probably a POS from the factory, but it served a purpose, and our grandfathers and grandmothers bought them by the bucketload. Same goes for trade guns (horrid bloody things with extremely indifferent QC) and a lot of very crude, very inexpensive, but very functional Cooeys, Savages, and a great many others.
Had our grandparents had access to sturdily built firearms at prices half of what NA manufacturers wanted, they would have bought them. They were pragmatic men who needed functional tools. I'm a pragmatic guy who wants a gun that goes bang. How am I different?
