We are seeing some serious innovation in the firearms market, which is a nice change. The emerging trends I see are as follows:
Year of the PRS
There is a whole gaggle of precision rifles in the PRS (Precision Rifle Series) world that are hitting the market, which for once are mostly affordable. We are also seeing them in the new calibers. This year will be a big showdown between 6.5 Creedmoor, .260 Remington, 6mm Creedmoor, and the old standby .308 Win. Look for some analysis as we sort out the relative strengths of these newer calibers.
Pistols
The pistol game is changing for the first time in many years. Manufacturers know they will now have to compete for your dollar, fear current buying trends won’t keep them alive alone. As this takes hold, all of us as consumers win. I am particularly looking forward to the Hudson H9, the SIG P320X, and the SIG 210.
Tactical goes the way of the Zombie
Finally, we can stop competing about who has the better looking multi-cam thong, or the most exposed Velcro. With a President in office we aren’t scared is actively trying to destroy the nation (or maybe know isn’t actively trying), the industry is free to focus on innovation. Some AR manufacturers are going to feel the pain on this one, but hopefully it will drive some innovation. I see the market as much more CCW-, precision rifle-, and fun-focused for the next four to eight years. And it is long overdue.
Darn cute baby, when she starts dating many years from now, take the lad aside and show him one of your favorite rifle rounds you like to shoot, then tell him if you treat my baby girl wrongly or hurt her in anyway, he wont see the next round coming!
That’s good! I toss the date a large rifle round., when he catches it, I let em know if my daughter does not get back on time and is not happy the next round will be coming a whole lot faster! It works never had a problem, she married a Marine…
The best thing to keep people excited about shooting would be a decrease in ammo costs.
Ammo is a fine example of “What goes up must come down” being an erroneous statement. The ammo manufacturers say it’s the retailers, the retailers say its the manufacturers. All I know is I saw a 500 round brick of .22 LR Thunderbolt for $29.99 and almost crapped myself. I got some of the same manufacture / quantity the Xmas before last for $19.99, and thought that was ridiculous. What happened to the $5-$7 we used to pay not very long ago? I fear we will never see cheaper ammo. I now pay more for reloading components than I used to pay for loaded ammo.
Want to see prices come down? Quit hording the damn stuff!
Is that pack tactical,and what caliber is the baby using?
Since I see you are not adverse to dropping names for firearms company’s I would like to ask you or others what your/their opinions are about SWAT companies AR-15’s. My local gunsmith swears by them and I’m particularly interested in their Tastanium Devil build. Will it do anything my Colt, Sig, or Bushmaster can’t? No, probably not I just love AR’s. Thanks!
never heard of them, so no idea on that one. But an AR isn’t exactly rocket science to make, there are a lot of good options out there.
Clay, I appreciate your service and enjoy your articles and school of thought as it parallels mine, since I am a few years older. However I have a beef with you. My 9 year old nephew wants his t-shirt back, now.
You beat me to it, although I was going to say ” my wife’s shirt…”
Noticed your Sidekick, you should have gave a intro. Gun People are Real People and Families are a big part of our lives.
Your on target regarding the smaller general purpose AR manufactures longevity, tough road ahead when the big name brands are doing deep discounts.
The .308s will not be displaced due to its overall popularity, general utility, ammo considerations, and special applications for those that wish to fine tune and maximize potential.