how limited the number of guns they produce in any year might be.
Montana and NE400,
I find that I am learning much from this thread even though it is coming in bits and pieces from a lot of replies.
I always thought that the reason that the great names produced such a limited number of guns each year was due to the fact that the majority of the work was done in house, and with so few people willing to go through the process of learning the trade as an occupation, that this was the core reason that each maker's output was so low.
If I am interpreting correctly that many more parts are outsourced than I had envisioned, and these outsourced suppliers specialize in a single, or few, parts or sub-assemblies, it would appear that lead times should not be as long as they are and that outputs should not be as low.
I can understand long lead times on guns with totally custom engraving. Does most output fall into this category as an explanation for this?
Or is the primary reason for the long lead times and small output primarily due to making the end product that much more desireable?
