Broken promises and half-truths are nothing new to the firearms industry, I would bet that if we go back a few centuries even Bartolomeo Beretta himself made a few promises that he couldn’t make good on. The firearms market has always been an ultra-competitive one where companies and personalities are constantly jockeying for position, influence and market share. It’s not hard to comprehend that in the interest of the almighty dollar (or Euro) that companies are inclined to fudge the truth and misrepresent facts.
Since I began my career evaluating and writing about firearms and outdoor gear I’ve tried to protect myself from the hype of certain firearms and accessories, most of the time with good results. But being only human I have recently found myself on the receiving end of a 2 year list of broken promises and missed deadlines about a particular pistol. This pistol was supposed to be the next polymer super pistol and was going to take the market by storm. That was the hype that we were hearing at the end of 2015. Since I am fresh off this failed pistol launch I decided to share my store and list a few warning signs that I have picked up the hard way over the last nearly 4 years.
Warning Signs
In the list of over hyped guns and accessories that happened to fail in the not so recent past there seems to be a short list of common denominators that stood out to us here at the web site during our internal discussions. Some of the issues we listed could be obvious to industry insiders but might be harder to spot for people who either don’t pay attention to industry trends, or are new to the world of firearms. We decided to list a few of the bigger red flags and address them in a way that is brutally honest. In no particular order here is our list
Warning Sign #1: Small Company with Big Ideas
This is one of the biggest red flags that seemed to be prevalent during our research for this article. We know that innovation and ideas don’t always come from the largest most powerful firearms manufacturers and that’s fine. The problem to be honest is that small startup companies often times don’t have the financial capital to have full production facilities or staff. This quickly translates into longer than expected production times and large backlogs of work and orders that often suffer from less than perfect quality control.
Warning Sign #2: Sexy Advertising with No Facts
Many times with these new “Wonder Guns” or accessories the advertising is full of fantastic photos and statements with little if any technical specifics to the product. While I understand the need for these companies to protect their corporate secrets and manufacturing processes it’s largely smoke and mirrors at this point. Almost any engineer with a history of firearms manufacturing can disassemble any new gun on the market and analyze how it was built. The idea of “trade secrets” as far as manufacturing of a firearm goes out the window the moment it’s released for sale.
Warning Sign #3: Delays and the Blame Game
The oldest part of any manufacturing process is to blame your distributors and suppliers when at all possible for delays. The interesting thing in this is that most of the times the sub-contractors are oblivious to being blamed. The other favorite recipient of the delay blame game is the supposedly nameless and faceless BATFE or United States Custom Service. We hear stories of BATFE holding thousands of guns in warehouses waiting on paperwork and customs officials, I’m sorry I might just be a bitter middle-aged man, but I don’t believe those stories and honestly it’s a huge signal that ineffective management is at the helm of the company.
Failures and Successes
We aren’t trying to say that all small startup firearms related companies are liars or doomed to fail, in fact there are several examples of companies that we have highlighted that are professional and don’t over promise their goods or services. I would be easy to wade into a mud-slinging competition with the list of companies that have burned the firearms community but instead we would rather bring to light a few of the companies that could be considered smaller companies and still don’t suffer form any of the warning signs we previously listed. Another way to put it is they grew at a rate that allows expansion of their products and market share without compromising who they are. They have done it right
#1.) Dakota Tactical– The Michigan based builder of Heckler & Koch patterned rifles has grown at a modest rate, expanded slowly and added staff at a good rate. The company tells you right up front of the long expected time from order to receiving your gun. The result is a loyal fan base and an outstanding commitment to customer service and quality
#2.) Lionheart Industries- Housed in a 70,000 sq ft facility the company has been able to produce their flagship LH9 family of pistols that are tough as nails at an affordable price. If you don’t believe that statement just check out the update on the LH9 after its 10,000 round test. One of the best things about the company is when you call them you actually speak to a human who is willing to help and listen to the concerns of customers. Lionheart excels and knowing their market and their customer’s needs.
#3 Valkyrie Dynamics- Here is a company I knew nothing about less than a year ago but I would say expect big things from them. As I spoke about in my introduction article about the company, they are the American Dream playing out in front of us. A self made team who worked hard and went from a dream and a garage with a few tools to a modern facility with CNC machines and an expanding product line. They have done this while obeying one of the rules of the free market economy, know you target audience and give them what they want. The key here is Valkyrie has done it on a conservative pace and kept its fans informed and involved, other companies should make note of this.
Pull up promo and article on them.
#4.Primary Arms- The Texas-based company has worked from a small fan base and expanded each year and has moved into a massive new facility. The folks at Primary Arms have made a killing at providing shooters great optics and parts to fit all price ranges and done it with amazing class and customer service. They are also willing to lend a hand and interact with both professionals in the industry and gun enthusiasts of all abilities and skill sets. admittedly they
Now it’s YOUR turn
This is where things get interesting, we want to hear from our readers on what are some of the biggest failures or over hyped guns or products you have seen lately. I know there are readers who are just jumping at a chance to let out your rage and frustration, so we give you this chance to tell us your biggest broken promise or overhyped gun. We are all ears, let your hate flow…..
