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Posted: 11/7/2005 5:23:14 PM EDT
| Can anybody give me an idea of the cost of production for certain rifles adjusted for inflation? For example, how much would it cost to produce an M1 versus an M-16A1 versus an M-16A4 versus an FAMAS? I'm curious about older firearms as well, like how riculously cheap it would be to start building Mosin-Nagants. Any ideas? |
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It's more than you think. For example, SA charges MSRP of, say, 1200 for an M1A with cast receiver and either cheap forged GI parts, or cast commercial equivalents. If one were to offer an all forged M1A, it would be way more than 1200, that's for sure. When you factor in development and tooling costs, the $ amount required skyrockets. LRB is able to stay within the stratosphere because the design/development/blueprints have been done for them. As to re-starting manufacture of M-Ns, who in their right mind would bother? They'll never be cheaper than NIB decades-old milsurp, sold at what has to be giveaway prices. Most of that old stuff used expensive milling procedures which few modern manufacturers would dream of using nowadays. |
| No. I'm talking about how much it cost to produce them while they were still being produced, adjusted for inflation. I know a Mosin-Magant would cost peanuts compared to a much more complicated rifle like an M-16, but how much? I'm wondering the same thing for rifles throughout history like Enfields, AKMs, etc. |
Actual production costs? At this point in time it would be virtually impossible to come up with. Its hard enough just to find the contract cost for say Garand or a Lee Enfield. Determining production costs would entail access to internal financial info of arsenals. Then comparing 1940 currency to 2005. As an added complication you toss in that the Russian Ruble was non convertable so what a MN "costs" in today's dollars would be at best an educated guess. Interesting question. Just don't see where you would get an answer. |
| I would imagine that the old bolt rifles would be extremly expensive compared to a more mdern rifle such as the M16 or even AK. While there were fewer parts, the parts were all highly machined, not just cast/stamped and polished like today. I am not saying that the old rifles were in any way better than modern rifles, just made in a much more labor intensive manner. |
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