The Cost of Manufacturing

So the reader goes to their local gun dealer's shop and decides to purchase a firearm. Say, this dealer's shop has a brand new firearm with a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of $1000. So what is the cost of manufacturing such a firearm and what justifies such a high price, the reader asks?

Here's how the cost breakdown is in the firearms industry. The MSRP is typically around 40% above what the local dealer got it for, therefore it means that the price that the dealer must have purchased it for works out to about $715.

Instead of selling it to the customer for the MSRP price of $1000 though, the dealer may sell it at a "street price", which is around 15-20% of what he paid for it. So the customer may only pay something between $820-860 or so, instead of paying $1000. However, the dealer still makes a profit of 15-20% here. The profit that the dealer makes goes to pay the rent, employees, electricity, gas etc. + a little profit for the owner. Gun dealers also make money from selling used firearms (where the margins are around 30-35%), ammunition, extra magazines, accessories, cleaning supplies etc. (which may sell at 50% margins or so), so that's how they manage to stay in business.

Now, we've figured out the dealer purchased the firearm for around $715 from a wholesale distributor. The wholesaler in turn, purchases the firearm from the manufacturer and sells it to your local dealer at 25-35% margin. Therefore, working backwards from $715, we calculate that the wholesaler purchased them from the firearm manufacturer for about $530-$570 each. Some of the profit they make goes into paying for warehouses, shipping to local dealers, advertising in trade shows, paying employees etc.

So, the wholesaler gets the firearms for $530-$570 each, but the firearms manufacturer sells them to the dealer with around 2x the cost for them. Again, working the math backwards, this means that it costs the firearms manufacturer about $265-$285 to manufacture the firearm. This cost includes not only the cost of the raw materials, but also cost of tools, research and development costs, factory cost, employee pay etc. Some of the profits go into advertising, paying lawyers, rent, future research and development, paying stockholders etc. If we count just the cost of raw materials and components, it is typically around 50% of the manufacturing cost, which works out to about $130-$145 for just the raw materials alone.

So, we calculate that for a cost of around $265-$285 to manufacture, the MSRP is $1000, which means the manufacturing cost is around 1/4th to 1/3rd of the MSRP. This ratio is also about the same as that of many other manufacturing industries as well.

Of course, these are just rough guesses, so what does the price look like for a real manufacturer. From a 2003 article in Forbes magazine, we find that a Glock pistol that retailed for about $500 then cost Glock GmBH only about $75 to manufacture. Which means that the sell price was over 6x the manufacturer cost! Remember though that Glock was actually wanting to retail for cheaper, except that a marketing guy persuaded the company to sell for higher margins, otherwise the gun would appear too cheap and not be taken seriously! Also, they sell very large volumes of products, so the unit cost is significantly reduced because of this.

Custom Fitting a Stock

In our last post, we studied how a high end custom shotgun was made. In there, we noted that the shooter was measured for a gun. So what is the need for all this? We will study that in this post.

When a firearms manufacturer makes a shotgun (or any other type of firearm, for that matter), the general rule of thumb is to make it so that it fits a large percentage of the customer population. In the case of shotguns, they assume that the buyer is male, right-handed, about 5 foot 9 inches tall, weighs between 160-170 lbs. or so, is right-eye dominant etc. (i.e.) the ergonomics of an average male human in the particular country that the firearm manufacturer is based in. So what happens if the buyer does not meet this standard -- for instance, the buyer could be left handed or above 6 feet tall or below 5 foot 5 inches and weigh more than the average weight, have a shorter neck etc. Female shooters are usually shorter, have longer necks, shorter arms, breasts, higher cheekbones etc. In such cases, the shotgun doesn't fit the customer so well.

We already studied some of the basics of stock design many months ago in this post. The reader is advised to read that first, to get familiar with some of the terminology of the various parts of a stock.

Some of the many factors that make a shotgun comfortable are balance, weight, cast-off (e.g. if a person has fat shoulders, the stock may be angled to one side to allow them to aim properly), length of the person's neck, eye dominance (right or left eye) etc.

In the 19th century, most firearm stocks were made of wood, so unless the stock was custom made to fit a certain individual, anyone who was not of average dimensions had to make do with a firearm that didn't handle so well. In the latter part of the 20th century, firearms manufacturers did make some improvements to help people who did not meet the average dimensions. One way they did this was by making stocks of different sizes to satisfy more of the population (such as guns made for women and youth models). Another way was by making adjustable stocks.

Click on images to enlarge

The first stock we see in the picture above is made by a German company called J.G. Anschutz, and the second one is made by an American company called McMillan. The stocks are made of different materials (laminated wood vs. fiberglass). However, they both feature adjustable combs and butt pads, that can be adjusted for different shooter preferences. Many shotguns also feature adjustable triggers that can be moved forward or backward.

In extreme cases, one may replace the adjustable stock with a precision fit stock, such as the one shown below:

Click on image to enlarge

With a stock like this, the user can adjust the comb angle (not just the height) to adjust for any face, adjust the recoil pad angle and distance to fit any shoulder, adjust for any cast-on or cast-off etc.

Another way is to visit a good gun-smith for a custom stock fitting. Any good stock maker usually has what is known as a "try gun" in the trade.

Click on image to enlarge. Image taken from W.W. Greener's The Gun and its Development 9th edition, which is now in the public domain.

This is a gun-maker's tool, that allows the maker to adjust the stock to any length, bend, cast-off and butt shape. This can be used to fit anyone who needs a custom built stock. The try-gun is adjusted until it fits the customer properly and then the measurements and positions of the various movable parts are noted and given to the stock maker to carve a custom stock to these measurements. Famous high-end gun makers from the 19th century, such as Purdey, Greener, Westley Richards etc. used such tools to make custom stocks for rich customers and still do so to this day.

Making a Custom Shotgun

We studied the overall process of gun making a couple of posts ago and studied the specifics of manufacturing replica Colt revolvers in our last post. In this post, we will look into the process involved in making a custom shotgun.

James Purdey & Sons is a well-known British custom manufacturer of firearms and has been in business since 1814 (the year before the Battle of Waterloo). The name "Purdey" is practically synonymous with high-end shotguns and rifles and the prices of their products start at about $100,000 or so. This London-based company counts many members of British, European and Indian royal families as some of its customers and is one of the most prestigious manufacturers of rifle and shotguns in the world.

In the video, we can see that they use some of the finest materials to manufacture the weapon: walnut wood from Turkey for the stock, electric discharge machining (EDM) to machine some of the components, skilled craftsmen to engrave some of the rifle components, unbelievably high precision fitting of the parts etc. The customer is measured for the weapon and the gun stock is custom-made to his requirements. This is not only a work of art, but is also a very precise and well made weapon, which accounts for its high price.

Enjoy the video!

Making a Revolver

In our last post, we looked at the overall process of gun manufacturing. Now we'll look at a specific factory that makes replicas of revolvers used in the 1800s, except with some modern tools involved. The company is an Italian firm named Uberti and they make replicas of Colt revolvers.

As you can see, the process starts off by using forging machines to shape the gun's major components and then machining them to the final size. Then, a milling machine is used to carve out the cylinder and a technician hand files some of the parts to fit properly. Then he does a little bit of assembly and stamps the model # and serial # to the frame. Another artist adds engraving. Then they do some metal treatment to the parts, a process called case hardening that we studied a while ago. Then, assembly of all the parts proceeds, as the barrel, cylinder, frame and trigger assembly are all put together into a working revolver. Finally, the revolver is sent to a Government facility to perform proof testing.

Enjoy the movie!

The Overall Process of Gunmaking

In many of our posts in the last three years, we've studied processes of manufacturing different components of a firearm. It is time to now look at how the entire process works from start to finish.

There are a few basic processes that are essential to making firearms:

1. Forging - This is used to make the majority of iron and steel parts.
2. Casting - This process is often used to make small parts, especially those of complicated shapes. 
3. Machining - This is a process that uses machine tools to finish parts that were made using forging and casting processes. Rifling is also made by machining processes.
4. Stamping - This is a more modern technology and is used to make parts out of sheet metal, e.g. trigger guards, parts of sights etc.
5. Woodworking - Used to shape stocks for firearms from raw wooden blanks. In modern days, stocks are also built of other materials, so this is no longer as important as some of the other processes above.
6. Metal treatments - There are many types of metal treatments. Applying protective coatings to various components, rust proofing, heat treatment hardening of certain components etc. all fall under this category.
7. Assembly - Taking all the components and putting them together to build the firearm.
8. Testing - All reputable manufacturers perform testing of their products to make sure that they are reliable and can withstand normal usage. In some countries, proof testing is mandatory by law.

Forging

This is one of the older iron working processes known to man. It was used by ancient blacksmiths and the same principles apply to the present day, even if the tools used are different. Iron and steel pieces are heated to red-hot temperatures, at which point they become soft and easier to shape. The red-hot pieces are then hammered into the shape of the finished components and then cooled down. In many cases, a specially shaped die is used and the red-hot pieces are placed into the die and hammered to their final shape. One of the advantages of the forging process is that it compacts the metal and makes it stronger.

These days, we have large forging machines that can hammer out larger components, such as receivers and barrels of rifles easily.

Casting

Casting is a process where a mold of a desired shape is initially prepared, then molten metal is poured into the mold and allowed to solidify. Casting is also an ancient metalworking processes and has been used in history to make intricate shapes as well as large objects. While a cast metal part is not as strong as its forged equivalent, it is often used to make complicated shapes which would be uneconomical to make with any other technique. One more advantage of casting is that many parts may be cast at the same time.

On the flip side, cast parts may have microscopic cracks and flaws due to factors such as uneven cooling, lack of proper venting etc.

Machining

After a part is forged or cast, it is usually close to the required dimensions, but not precisely so. It may also have tiny burrs and surface imperfections on it. This is where the task of machining comes in: to size the part to the proper dimensions and polish it as needed. Machining the parts to greater precision also makes parts interchangeable. Machining is also needed to cut rifling in the barrel.

There are various machining operations: cutting, turning, drilling, polishing, grinding etc. and there are specialized machines to perform each task. 

Stamping

Stamping is the process of cutting and shaping parts out of sheet metal. Unlike forging, stamping is usually done to cold metal. Stamping is typically used for parts that don't take as much heavy load, for instance, a trigger guard or a magazine. With modern technological improvements, stampings can be used to also manufacture upper and lower receiver parts for some submachine guns and battle rifles.

Stamping is also used to put serial numbers on various parts of a rifle.

Woodworking

Back in the days when stocks were made of woods such as walnut, beech, ash, myrtle etc., the art of woodworking was used heavily in the gun trade. A skilled woodworker would take a block of wood and using various tools such as lathes, chisels, planers etc., would carve out gun stocks, to which the barrel and firing action were fitted. On more expensive models, craftsmen would engrave patterns, cross-hatches, inlay precious metals etc. into the stocks.

These days, stocks are made of other materials as well (e.g.) plastic, fiberglass composite, metal etc., where woodworking skills are not as important. However, some of the finest shotguns and rifles still feature wooden stocks carved by very skilled craftsmen.

Metal Treatments

The various metal parts of the firearm may be treated via chemical processes, to add a thin coating that prevents rust and also may be wear-resistant. Some parts may also be hardened after machining, so that they can bear the stresses of normal usage better. We studied many of these treatments earlier e.g. case hardening, bluing, parkerizing, tenifer, melonite etc.

Assembly

After the parts of the firearm are manufactured, they still need to be put together to make a functional firearm. The process of putting the parts together may involve tasks such as riveting, welding, gluing, tightening screw threads, lubricating etc.

Testing

After the parts are put together, the firearm needs to be tested to make sure that it is functioning accurately and reliably. In some countries, there are standard tests that are enforced by the Government and any firearm marketed in these countries is required to pass the standard tests before it can be sold. All reputable manufacturers also run various tests during various stages of the manufacturing process, to catch any problems as soon as possible.

Handgun Shooting Positions: Bad Stances - 4

We've looked at some of the most common bad stances with handguns in the last few posts. In this post, we will look at some miscellaneous bad stances and grips.

Click on image to enlarge

The first image we have here features actress Ann Margret. Note how she uses her weaker arm as a support for the stronger hand. However, note that the weaker arm isn't really resting on anything. So, in effect, she is really firing one handed, because the weak hand is not doing anything to really support the strong hand. This position shows up in some cowboy movies.

The next bad habit we will look at is a bad grip technique. Notice where the thumb of the weak hand is placed. That's right, it is placed behind the slide. Why is this a bad way to hold a pistol? Because when the user pulls the trigger, the cartridge will fire and then the slide will move backwards at a very high speed to eject the spent cartridge. If the thumb is placed in the path of the slide, it will cause a painful cut or a broken thumb. Both thumbs should be placed so that they do not interfere with the backward movement of the slide.

Another bad habit is to lean backwards when firing. This is especially seen when the person cannot really handle the recoil of the handgun.

As you see here, the young woman is leaning backwards instead of forwards.

Finally, there is this infamous video floating around, of a young woman trying to shoot a .50 caliber Desert Eagle:

Her biggest mistake here is attempting to fire a weapon that is much too powerful for her to handle. The bigger idiot here is her boyfriend though, for talking her into firing something that she's clearly not used to. She's lucky that she or someone else wasn't seriously hurt.

Handgun Shooting Positions: Bad Stances - 3

Continuing our series on bad shooting positions, we will now study a bad method of holding a handgun, which has become very popular due to Hollywood gangster films and numerous rap videos. Yes, it is none other than the infamous "sideways grip", otherwise known as the "gangsta grip" or the "sideways gangsta grip".

A couple of examples of the "gangsta grip". Click on images to enlarge.

In the above two images, we see two people demonstrating the infamous sideways gangsta grip style. Some people think that this style of holding a handgun originated in the 1990s, but it has actually been seen in movies made in the 1960s as well. For example:

Marlon Brando as "Rio" in the movie One-Eyed Jacks released in 1961

Eli Wallach as "Tuco", the ugly guy in the 1966 classic cowboy movie, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood

While these movies did briefly show characters using the sideways grip, it was the Hughes brothers 1993 movie "Menace II Society", that really popularized it. It was after Menace II Society was released to theaters that it started to appear in a lot of other Hollywood movies, TV shows and rap music videos.

Russell Crowe demonstrating the sideways grip, from the movie No Way Back.

One theory on why this shows up a lot on film and videos is because it allows the director to show a dramatic view of the actor's face as well as the firearm, all in the same scene, as can be seen in the picture of the movie poster above. If the actor was holding the pistol vertically, a larger portion of his face would be blocked by his hand and the firearm. Another theory is that movie actors and stuntmen don't wear protective eye-wear during shooting scenes and many got tired of getting hit in the face by a hot cartridge and so they started shooting sideways, so that the empty cartridges would drop to the ground.

So why is this grip such a bad idea. Well, if a user holds his handgun like this, then he cannot use the sights of the weapon. There is a very good reason that firearms have sights and they are there to help the user aim the firearm properly. Accuracy suffers a lot, as demonstrated by the Mythbusters TV show here:



As you can see, it may look cool in the movies, but in real life, the sideways gangsta grip is pretty darn useless unless the user is very close to the target.