[BillM]

Well, that's a interesting list. I especially like the P08 for $130. Send
me the first 10, I'll pay cash on delivery.

I guess I really only have one question:

What the heck have you been smoking?

[c3shooter]

What the heck have you been smoking?

and could I have some?


Get a GOOD accountant. Besides the machinery, raw materials, workers and insurance, you will need a license from the BATFE as a manufacturer, and pay Federal Excise Tax on each gun you make.

Failure to pay those taxes put Ithaca out of business.

[Ranger-6]

Ever think about potato cannons?

[Trez]

Ever hear of a guy named Johnathan Phillips? Made a revolver that chambered over 20 different cartridges, without changing cylinders or barrels... Totally original, and nothing else like it, strongest revolver ever made...

He made about 500 before he was outta business... (Thanks Colt!!)

[texaswoodworker]

I think AR-15 stripped lowers might be a decent way to get your foot in the door. There's not too much difference between two quality stripped lowers, so be sure to create a really cool roll mark.

Still, GET A REALLY GOOD LAWYER!!!

[texaswoodworker]

Originally Posted by Trez

Ever hear of a guy named Johnathan Phillips? Made a revolver that chambered over 20 different cartridges, without changing cylinders or barrels... Totally original, and nothing else like it, strongest revolver ever made...

He made about 500 before he was outta business... (Thanks Colt!!)

I'm kimd of interested in his revolvers. How did Colt put him out of business?

[TLuker]

I like your enthusiasm and it's great to think out side of the box, but I can't imagine you ever being able to sell guns at those prices. Most companies really don't make that much per gun (or anything else). They make a little per product and then that adds up to a lot because of the volume.

It really is a competitive market and it's tough to gain any sort of advantage. That's why most of the innovations in the last 50 years have been in regard to making guns cheaper rather than better. Plastic frames weren't an improvement in performance, but rather in cost. The same goes for cast receivers instead of forged, and stamped sheet metal parts instead of machined metal. You could make a gun every bit as good as a pre 64 Winchester model 70, but very few would be able to afford it. Just go and buy a piece of quality walnut for a stock and see what the price is before you even begin to shape and finish it.

And like others, I would also advise against reproducing what has already been made. Think of guns and gun manufacturing as evolution. You might love dinosaurs but they're extinct for a reason. Plastic frames where a brilliant and innovative idea regardless of what you think of plastic frames. They also make producing a gun that performs well much cheaper. Think about it, poor plastic into a mold and a few seconds later there it is a finished frame. No heat treating, no machining, no polishing, and so on.

Good luck on your goal. I think this particular goal has some flaws, but the important thing is that you have a goal. That puts you ahead of the vast majority of people out there! Good luck if you do decide to pursue this goal anyway (you never know it could work?). And if it doesn't, you can take everything you learn from this project and use it to come up with something else?

[cottontop]

How old are you? No offense, but this sounds like an idea a little kid would have. There is no way you could make a SxS shotgun of any quality at all for the price you want to sell it.
cottontop

[clr8ter]

Holy Crap! The poor guy's taking a beating! Tell you what, I'll commit to buying the 1st 4 Gatling guns you make. Does anyone feel like building some motors?

Tluker, that piece of Walnut should run you about $30.

[texaswoodworker]

Originally Posted by clr8ter

Holy Crap! The poor guy's taking a beating! Tell you what, I'll commit to buying the 1st 4 Gatling guns you make. Does anyone feel like building some motors?

Tluker, that piece of Walnut should run you about $30.

Depends on where you get it and the quality of the wood. Gun makers are in a competition with furniture makers over quality walnut, and furniture makers tend to win because they will make more money off of that piece of walnut then a gun maker would, so they are willing to spend more for it.
That's why most guns are either made with laminated, plastic, or plainer walnut/another type of wood. If you look at the walnut stock of a gun made 30-50 years ago, and then look at what the stocks look like on a gun made by the same brand today, there is a HUGE difference.

You wouldn't think something that literally grows on a tree (well, is a tree) would be that expensive, but it is.