Reading this thread, I came to conclusion that american rifle industry can be described as "modest", at best.
Or, the average hunter on his forum has different expectations, then the average rifle owner, influenced by latest "tactical frenzy" culture?
@mark-hunter
It is a very sad thing , actually . I first began seriously hunting for recreation in 1972 . While I still get called by the Maulvi Bazaar and Habiganj Forest Departments to sort out the occasional problem animal , most of my true dangerous game hunting experiences were from 1972 to 1982 ( during which time , I was taking every problem animal control assignment which the Forest Guards were offering me because I desperately needed the money ) .
One thing that I noticed about American firearms manufacturers , is that they are more than capable enough of turning out exquisite products . Of that , I am certain . But it later proves to be quite disheartening , when those very same companies which you admire so much ; ends up letting the quality of their products deteriorate . Often for the purposes of reducing manufacturing costs . Some manage to redeem themselves in time . For others , the damage is ever lasting .
To illustrate to you my point , let me name you ( what I personally consider to be ) the finest piece of 20th century American sporting arms craftsmanship- The pre 1964 Winchester Model 70 . Now , initially these rifles ( as critically acclaimed as they are today ) were not perfect . The stocks were prone to splitting ( due to the stocks being unbedded and the use of only one recoil lug ) and you needed to take a file to the feed rails in order to make them reliably feed soft nosed ammunition. Then , in 1963 Winchester finally perfected it . They smoothed out the feed rails and reinforced the stocks with cross bolts and dual recoil lugs . What happens then ? In 1964 , they deliberately make it an inferior design by replacing the long Mauser style claw extractor ( control round feed action ) with a cheaper recessed plunger style extractor ( push feed action ) . Instead of hardening the entire receiver , they only begin to harden certain parts of the action . They do this and the stellar quality of the Winchester Model 70 immediately drops . In the middle , I do not know if anyone else remembers them but Winchester also tried to design a hybrid action Model 70 which they called the “ control round push feed action Model 70 “ . Needless to say , this was unsuccessful as well . Finally , in 1992 Winchester reintroduced the control round feed action on their Model 70 rifles . This was their redemption and continued until 2006 ( when the New Haven manufacturing plant was permanently shut down ) . Now , they are built in Portugal by the same company who owns Fabrique Nationale .
Winchester used to manufacture a really good ( for it’s time ) cup & core soft nosed bullet called the Silvertip . During the 1960s , they were considered to be the most superior factory loaded soft nosed ammunition available on the market ( just ask Major Poton Khan Sir , who still considers them to be unrivaled in design ) . Originally in the 1960s ; their silver colored jacket was constructed from a mixture of zinc , copper and nickel . Then ( during the 1970s ) , Winchester decided to replace the tried and tested jacket material with an aluminum jacket in order to reduce manufacturing costs . The “ improved “ Silvertip soft nosed bullets were now totally unreliable for sorting out dangerous game , because they were no blowing apart on impact .
Winchester used to manufacture the finest one-piece construction shotgun shells during the 1970s and until the mid 1980s . They were so superior in terms of design that hand loaders still hoard them up today , whenever they come across them . Then , Winchester replaces them with a two-piece construction shotgun shell in the early 1990s in order to reduce manufacturing costs . The “ improved “ shotgun shells ( while okay ) are much less durable than the previous one-piece construction design .
During the 1970s and 1980s , both Winchester and Remington used to offer factory loaded 7x57 mm Mauser ( employing 175 grain soft nosed bullets ) and 8x57 mm Mauser ( employing 170 grain soft nosed bullets ) ammunition . The powder charge in these ammunitions was significantly low compared to the 7x57 mm Mauser and 8x57 mm Mauser standard factory loaded ammunition which was being offered by European brands .
At one time , Winchester used to make the best factory loaded 300 grain round nosed steel jacketed solids for the .375 H&H Magnum during the 1950s and 1960s . Suddenly , during the 1970s Winchester shifted to a bluff nosed solid for the .375 H&H Magnum which completely lacked any steel in the jacket . Predictably enough , bullet integrity on dangerous game suffered terribly . Their .458 Winchester Magnum factory loaded round nosed steel jacketed 500 grain solids were originally very strongly constructed during the 1950s . But by the 1970s , these same bullets were blowing apart when used for shoulder shots or frontal brain shots against feral bovines big elephant bulls ( I myself nearly got killed by a charging rogue elephant bull in 1977 , when two of Winchester’s 500 grain “ solids “ blew apart after I used them on frontal brain shots in an attempt to stop the charge . I was forced to break the elephant’s leg and cripple him in order to stop the charge before taking him out with a side brain shot ) . Things got so bad , that Winchester finally began to use Hornady ( and later Nosler ) bullets in their large calibre sporting ammunition from 1981 onwards .
Hornady full metal jacket bullets were once the finest for hand loading in all of the United States . Until 1962 , these round nosed full metal jacket bullets used to be constructed with strong copper clad steel jackets and were an extremely sturdily constructed design . Then in 1962 , Hornady replaced the steel jacket material with a cupronickel jacket material in order to reduce manufacturing costs . The quality of these “ improved “ bullets immediately deteriorated until 1981 , when Hornady began to use copper clad steel jackets on their full metal jacket round nosed solids once again . Sadly , Hornady shifted to a copper jacket on their full metal jacket bullets in 1991 ; once again as a method of cutting down manufacturing costs . It was only during 2001 that they brought back the copper clad steel jacket on their full metal jacket bullets again . But then , Hornady DGS and DGX ( which is what they started getting called from 2004 onwards ) bullets became so flimsily constructed that ( regardless of the steel jacket now being used ) bullets started distorting left and right . In 2010 or 2011 , Hornady made one final attempt to reduce manufacturing costs by replacing the copper clad steel jackets of their full metal jacket bullets with the material used in their brass shell casings . Needless to say ; this little experiment was extremely short lived as well . Finally Hornady appears to have come to their senses and permanently reverted back to using copper clad steel jackets on their full metal jacket bullets and constructing them properly , ever since 2012 ( one can only hope that it permanently stays this way ) . They also bonded the cores of their DGX bullets in 2018 . I am incredibly happy with current Hornady products .
The Remington Model 700 used to one of the finest and most reliable bolt action rifles of the 1970s . The great John Wayne himself ( my childhood hero ) used one in .458 Winchester Magnum to take an elephant bull on his African safari . But then came the mid 1980s and the 1990s . Remington Model 700 rifles suddenly got plagued with various independent reports of discharging on their own ( at least four of which are actually true ) and also extraction issues ( especially in the .375 H&H Magnum and .416 Remington Magnum calibre ) . Again , the sudden rise in problems can be traced back to Remington deciding to cut back manufacturing costs . I also understand that Remington was supposed to release an improved safari version of their Model 700 , recently . Instead , they got bankrupt .
Then , you also have companies like A Square ( the first company to start commercially manufacturing monolithic bullets ) and Montana Rifle Company . Both were exceptionally solid brands , which sadly had to close down business .
Ruger is an example of a company which successfully turned things from bad to very very good . Their Model 77 was originally plagued with disastrous extraction problems during the 1970s . But today, they have successfully managed to turn that around in a most admirable manner . Ruger guide guns are built like tanks .
Dakota rifles are ( for the time being ) the greatest examples of commercially manufactured American sporting rifles , in my view . Whether or not Remington recently going bankrupt will adversely effect Dakota Arms , remains to be seen . But I sincerely hope that it does not .
In my conclusive view ; if one truly wants to experience the finest in American sporting arms craftsmanship ( and American gunmakers are certainly gifted in their work ) , then they need to visit the countless extremely talented scale custom rifle makers who are scattered across the country . Hill Country Rifles , Bayou Advanced Weapons Systems , Hankin Rifles , Butch Searcy and formerly people like Walter Abe , Paul Jaeger and Fred Wells . And if you want the most reliable American made large calibre sporting ammunition ; then look to the boutique ammunition reloading companies such as Hendershots and Superior Ammo .
