quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
I'm more interested in quality than quantity.

There is a reason Ruger is at the top...I couldn't work there anymore, they cared more about quantity than quality.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve 22X:
The biggest gun maker based on NICs checks?
Really, what a bunch of tripe.

I have purchased 26 firearms since my last NICs check in 2013 (no check required due to CHL since then).
Only one was a Ruger with multiple purchases of other brands
Specific to 2015, I purchased eight firearms (no NICs check) none were Ruger.

While Ruger may indeed be number one, I would wait on the 2015 AFMER report for a more reliable, accurate assessment.

Lesson Learned: Don't use Motley Fool for investing advice.

C'mon, man... This is now the third time I've pointed this out in this thread:

The Motley Fool based their rankings in the article on the manufacturers' production statistics reported by the ATF, NOT on NICS checks!

Steve just misunderstood how they came by their data.

NICS statistics aren't broken down by manufacturer; the FBI doesn't track that. And NICS statistics only differentiate between handguns and long guns; they don't differentiate between pistol/revolver or rifle/shotgun.

quote:

Originally posted by Jester814:
For those of you that don't want to read the whole clickbaity article:

1. Ruger
2. S&W
3. Remington
4. Sig
5. Maverick
6. Savage
7. Henry
8. WM Anderson(?)
9. Glock

Thanks you!

quote:

Steve just misunderstood how they came by their data.

No misunderstanding, just going by what they actually wrote.
I wasn't the one who did the piss poor job of writing the article.
They devote a couple paragraphs mentioning NICs (an industry "barometer") then mention 2013 data but where exactly did they mention using 2015 AFMER data?

BTW: Thanks to this thread I now do have the final 2015 AFMER data (only had the preliminary report before).
I also have all the AFMER reports going back to 1999.

If you want a .22 semi-auto rifle or pistol, where's the logical place to start?

If you want to get into CAS, where's the logical place to start?

If you want a little pocket .380 that is affordable and reliable, where are people going to point?

I wouldn't have thought of them as being the biggest either, but Ruger makes sense for a lot of reasons.

Many of us may think of center fire duty sized semi-auto pistols or rifles, due to the nature of our shooting, but out in retail world, these lower priced entry models sell a lot more units. So yeah, it makes sense now that I think about it.

I'd wager just their rim fire production (10/22, SR22, Mk series) outstrips many manufactures numbers combined.

I am surprised that s&w placed higher than Glock and Sig. There hasnt been a s&w made in the last 17 years that I wanted or would purchase.

I would have thought Glock would be higher on sales to LE alone. Our local Sheriffs department is dumping the m&p 45 and going back to Glocks. Regards 18DAI

quote:

Originally posted by Steve 22X:
They devote a couple paragraphs mentioning NICs (an industry "barometer") then mention 2013 data but where exactly did they mention using 2015 AFMER data?

The article repeatedly refers to 2015 production numbers for individual companies. 2013 is mentioned once, only to point out that overall firearm production spiked dramatically that year. The charts in the article also include 2015 data.

They don't mention the AFMER by name, but they do state three times that their data is sourced from the BATFE. The BATFE doesn't have anything to do with NICS, which is administered by the FBI. In addition, as I mentioned in my earlier post, it couldn't have been pulled from NICS statistics, because NICS doesn't track things like manufacturer, or differentiate between pistol vs. revolver or rifle vs. shotgun.

The recently released 2015 AFMER is the BATFE report where they would be able to access 2015 production data broken down by manufacturer and by pistol/revolver/shotgun/rifle, and the numbers referenced in the article mirror those in the 2015 AFMER.

I'll concede that they could have been a little more explicit about where they got their data, rather than just that it's 2015 production data from the BATFE. However, even without them spelling it out by name, one can easily deduce the AFMER is the source of their data.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
They don't mention the AFMER by name, but they do state three times that their data is sourced from the BATFE.

I'll concede that they could have been a little more explicit about where they got their data, rather than just that it's 2015 production data from the BATFE. However, even without them spelling it out by name, one can easily deduce the AFMER is the source of their data.

I count twice
Once as a footnote to the chart and once after reference to the 2013 date.
And I contend that if I have to "deduce" anything from an article after somewhat contradictory statements then it is written in a piss poor fashion.

Who the heck is "Maverick"? Is this some umbrella holding company for a group of more familiar brands? What am I missing here?

quote:

Originally posted by JoseyWales2:
Who the heck is "Maverick"? Is this some umbrella holding company for a group of more familiar brands? What am I missing here?

Mossberg

quote:

Originally posted by Steve 22X:
I count twice
Once as a footnote to the chart and once after reference to the 2013 date.

The third time is in the fourth paragraph from the top, just above the "Annual Firearms Manufactured" chart.

It reads:

quote:

To keep up with rising demand, the industry's manufacturing capacity has expanded along with it. Each year, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives lists the total number of guns sold in each category -- pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns -- along with how many each manufacturer made.

This also happens to be the exact spot where the article plainly transitions from discussing FBI NICS check stats (demand) in the initial 3 paragraphs to discussing ATF AFMER production stats (manufacturing) in the following 10 paragraphs and corresponding charts.

quote:

Originally posted by ontmark:
If you guessed Smith & Wesson, you were close but wrong. It came in second

I was close but wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

The third time is in the fourth paragraph from the top, just above the "Annual Firearms Manufactured" chart.

It reads:

quote:

To keep up with rising demand, the industry's manufacturing capacity has expanded along with it. Each year, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives lists the total number of guns sold in each category -- pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns -- along with how many each manufacturer made.

This also happens to be the exact spot where the article plainly transitions from discussing FBI NICS check stats (demand) in the initial 3 paragraphs to discussing ATF AFMER production stats (manufacturing) in the following 10 paragraphs and corresponding charts.

OK you got me on the third time since upon going back I only did searches on batfe and atf.

Wow this is surprising. Just my personal anecdotal observations at gun stores - pistols (Glock mostly), wheel guns (SW and Ruger), shotguns (Remington and Mossberg), AR rifles (SW and Bushmaster).

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
Depends on how you measure "biggest".

A company manufacturing 500K guns a year at an average wholesale of $800 is, in my opinion, much more impressive than a company pumping out 1.5M guns a year at $275 per unit.

1.5M at $275 is still bigger.

Doesn't surprise me at all, when I think of Ruger, I instantly think of the 10/22. I can see why numbers have blown up, especially with the introduction of the take-down model. LCP & LCR, American rifles have done well for themselves.

quote:

Can You Guess the Biggest Gunmaker in the U.S.?

I would have guessed Fabrique Nationale because of Military Sales and civilian sales.

Or maybe Glock because of Law Enforcement and civilian sales.

I think using NICs to determine who the "biggest gunmaker in the U.S." is is a flawed way to do it as it only measures civilian sales.

-Tom

quote:

Originally posted by Replacement Tommel:
I think using NICs to determine who the "biggest gunmaker in the U.S." is is a flawed way to do it as it only measures civilian sales.

*sigh*

I give up.

Great article, thanks for sharing it. I had always wondered just how many pistols vs. rifles Sig made each year. I can't believe that Remington is still selling that many rifles. Wonder what their number one seller is, possibly still the 700?

It's curious how FN America only produced ~11,000 rifles in 2015. I'm guessing that's because a majority of their production capacity was going to military contracts versus civilian sales.

And thanks Rogue for all the efforts to clarify the source of the data, even if some aren't paying attention.