Would they sell?

[kal]

I often hear people talking about (including myself) how they wish they could get their hands on a certain rifle but know that they can't because they'll never be made here or imported for what ever reason.

But what if many of these weapons that people lust for so much were capable of being purchased, would people buy them? Most importantly, if they were similarly priced like domestic firearms already available, and yet didn't offer anything better than what we already have, would they STILL sell enough to eventually become a standard, well supported firearm in the US?

I ask because sometimes I wonder what if we were able to buy, for example, an FNC for around ~$800. Given it doesn't have a bolt catch and may tear up domestic STANAG mag followers, doesn't have great logistics, must compete with similar domestic rifles like the XCR or SIG556 because they all operate the same way, would the FNC sell big? I think the price will be the determining factor, but then again people can be swayed in a different direction with the slightest reason that some would find irrelevant.

I'm thinking mostly about those stanag compatible 5.56mm rifles out there. Seeing how they will share the same round and magazine dimensions as our AR15, which is THE STANDARD in our military rifle market, are most of those rifles we can't get worth the same price that similar domestically made rifles share? Or are they something that will being around for bit then disappear into obscurity because of how the market reacts to the new product over time?


I do feel that the US firearms market has everything it'll ever want (save for belt feds, etc). However, "the grass is greener on the other side" is one hell of an urge.

[GlockWRX]

I think it depends on what it is. HK could probably make a mint selling G36's and UMP's. Even some of the older stuff like the HK91, 93, and 94 would sell pretty good even though they are outdated. I'd love to have a semi auto MP5SD. SIG could probably sell a bunch of their 55X series, and AUGs have quite a following. Other stuff might sell to collectors, like the FAMAS, Galil and FNC. But I don't see them getting that much of a following.

And even some of it could be put together here if you have the money. You could build up a G36, or UMP for enough money.

If you look at what we have now and what is coming in the future, it's hard to say we don't have a lot of what we really want:

AR's
Advanced AR's (MRP pistons, HK416s, etc.)
SCAR
XCR
DSA FALs
ACR
AUG clones
Arsenal AKs
SIG 556

Other than for collector purposes, I don't see anything available elsewhere in the world I would select for serious purposes over what I could get here in the states. For me, personally, I think the only real gap in our market is high quality pistol caliber guns. The UMP or HK94 would easily find a way into my collection. But in 5.56 guns, I find some of the foreign stuff less compelling.

That being said, I'd love to make the choice myself.

[kal]

Other than for collector purposes,

That's the issue. Most gun owners are NOT collectors, and if they are to purchase something then it must be everything that potential customer wants.

price
logistics
reliability
simplicity
modularity
cost of parts, accessories
aftermarket
etc,etc,etc

There are many things a person is going to consider before making a purchase. Price is the biggest.

For example AK's are not popular because they're "so damn modern and fulfill all my expectations". They were cheap all throughout their history being imported into the US and the consumer forced a large AK market to develop because of that.

But I agree that we have exactly what we would ever want outside of the collector mentality. I also think that most foreign weapons would have a hard time selling in the US if they were too expensive. I mean, the AR180b is US made by Armalite, and is hardly talked about on the 6+ forums I frequently visit. I haven't heard anything about it in nearly 6 months! Seems like with a $850 price tag, every possible consideration considered, it's fair to say people would rather spend their money on something else. (ar15 perhaps? )