I blogged the other day about how we are starting to see a movement by major gun manufacturers towards putting out "budget" ARs... ones that can be found online or in store with a price tag between $500 - $700.
So what's my opinion on this new class of ARs? Well, I honestly think that this is a great thing. I really like the idea of entry level ARs that come at a much lower price point. While cutting corners to reduce manufacturing costs doesn't sound too good on the surface to most gun buyers, we have yet to really see it result in inferior guns or major performance problems. These guns run, and despite the lack of some familiar features that can be found on Mil-Spec ARs many of these new budget models get good overall reviews from those who have run them extensively.
So why is a cheaper AR good? Well, first and foremost it makes AR ownership more appealing to the casual and/or new gun owner. Simply put, lower price points are going to open up the barriers to AR ownership. A gun owner who is only going to go to the shooting range once a year or so is not going to even consider plunking down $1,000 for a play thing that they are rarely going to use. Change that price tag to $600 and now you have their attention. Now they are starting to think about getting into the game. With a $500 price tag, you might just see them impulse buy one of these rifles just on a whim... or maybe because all of their shooting buddies might have one.
This is great for our culture (read country). More guns in the hands of more Americans means more people on our side of the political debate. This would result in more people having a stake in the "evil assault rifle/high capacity 30 round clips" debate. It also will just plain and simple bring more gun owners into the fold. Lowering the cost to play always, repeat always results in increasing the number of players. Even if these guns just sit in the back of closets, it shifts the overall culture of this country. The other big possibility is that this might get the casual gun owner out shooting more. It might convert more casual owners in enthusiasts... and in turn might just shift us back to being a nation of riflemen once again.
Finally, this is going to be very good for the gun and ammo industry... both in the short term and in the long term. In the short term this will produce instant revenue streams and even more profit. Make no mistake about it, these guns are going to sell like proverbial hotcakes. In the long term this new class of ARs will potentially increase their target market (number of gun owners). The more people that are brought into the fold, the bigger the industry numbers get, and the more people there will be that the gun and ammo manufacturers have to potentially buy their products. This will have a significant impact on the long term success of individual companies as well as the industry as a whole. This could very well be the biggest game changer with regard to long guns that we have seen in a very long time.
I like that.
