So, I spent some time with my 'smith today and thought you guys might like to hear a little industry news. Or maybe not and I am merely taking up space here, but I'll let you be the judge of that.
As of Thursday June 19th this information was accurate:
DPMS has stopped selling anything but full, complete rifle builds. They aren't selling spare lowers or uppers because none are to be had at the moment. What hasn't been published is the fact that they are currently holding
13,000 orders for rifles on the books to be manufactured as soon as possible.
Rock River Arms - Same deal, but there backlog is a little lower at around 7,500 to 8,000
MidwayUSA was unable to fill an order request for AR parts in "packaged" form, meaning a "complete lower rebuild kit", etc. because of recent demand.
Brownell's was able to fill half an order for packaged AR parts.
The rest of the shop order had to be filled by piece meal by both sources, meaning higher individual part prices and more shipping charges coming from different sources.
It would appear a large portion of the gun buying public is a tad bit worried about the change in leadership that is coming up.
Of special note to
CpTango30 and other Remington fans:
Remington's new .338 Uber Rifle made a visit to the shop. Alas, I was not there to see it.
The local rep needed a favor, and Brett wanted to see the new model, so a compromise was had.
First off, the only knock my 'Smith had on the new Remington design was that they should have been producing it for the past 20 years. LOL
He said it's an awesome piece of engineering. The story goes like this, from the rep to my 'smith, to me and to you guys, so cut me a little slack here if there is an official announcement in the coming weeks and it doesn't quite match.
Remington got bought by Cerebus back in April of last year. Apparently at some point the US Military made an official announcement about their new rifle trials with certain criteria, boltgun, .338 caliber, etc. I guess a few people took a run at it, including Remington with their Standard 700. All comers were denied by the Military honchos. Remington management and Cerebus heads sat down and the result was "
We will win this contract". Which is pretty impressive. I guess they threw everything, including the kitchen sink, out the window and started over on this design.
First off the bolt is a 3 lug, not the traditional 2 lug. On something like a .338 having a three lug design is a great safety feature in my opinion. So, you have three beefy lugs offset by 120 degrees each.
The bolt head is a floating style, like the Savage. This could go either way, for me personally, but my 'Smith likes the design, and who am I to argue with him?!
The new extractor is the AR style. Much beefier and way more solid than the old Remington crescent shaped spring steel. A definite plus in anyone's book.
The recoil lug is now part of the action itself, so there is no longer a separate recoil washer that you have to mess with....
BECAUSE....
The new barrel attachment system is just like the AR platforms, so rebarrelling in the field is now a possibility should the need ever arise. That's a pretty cool feature actually. The possibilities for this platform are really exciting!
Don't tell anyone - but if the production model is as good as what I have been told, I might need to get one....
Now, I know the whole "Post pictures or it didn't happen" crap in the forum word. I can't give you any, because I didn't get to see the rifle myself, and even if I had, I couldn't have posted any pictures because it's still in black out status. But, as soon as I can get you guys some more info on it, I will do what I can to let you know the good stuff first....
JD
Notes From Around The Shop
Linear Mode
