The unfortunate reality is that long before we officially ceased to be a colony of England (1982 i believe) we've been a de-facto colony of the USA. It's just been far too easy for us to let them do the heavy-lifting (manufacturing for instance) and we were foolish enough to let them do it for us. And here we are today in the situation we are in. Some of the nicest firearms on earth at any rate are British or European so there are plenty of options out there. And then there are the used arms. Any mid 20th Century firearm you pick up in good condition on the used market is going to be of significantly better quality than anything you can get mass-produced today.