doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Smith & Wesson Double Guns

Building it in America would have meant that the execs would have ahd to (gasp) make less profit. This in turn would mean they would deliver less (gasp) shareholder value. Which would mean all those involved people who actually know nothing about guns would have to order a (gasp) 88 foot yacht instead of the 96 foot yacht. The horror.

Does anyone recall when the president of a company drove a nicer car and lived in a nicer house - but he still only owned one car and one house, and the house was located in the same town as the factory?

Geoff, sorry but I don't get it, "retail at twice what it is supposed to..." ?

How do you figure it could sell at 4 grand against a gun like the RBL with, in my humble opinion, a lot more value to it?

JC(AL)

The representative from Smith & Wesson spent an hour on the radio show with me this afternoon. In a couple of hours (figure it to be about 7:00pm Eastern) we should have the show archived on the web site.

http://www.guntalk.com and click on LISTEN

You can download the first hour of the show and hear what he had to say. Some interesting information about the commitment Smith has made to this project.

The executive's job is to make profit? Probably so, in today's world. The entire business world has been ruined by the computer industry and other high-flying firms who post 20%+ returns. People look at them and think EVERY industry must be growing at a brisk rate or it is a failure of some sort.

In truth, it is the executive's job to make a profit, but not at all costs. Making a 35% return today is great, but not when you sell the future of your company and country. I'd rather see S&W make 15% on an American made gun than 25% on a Turkey gun. Why? It's healthier for them in the long run and better for our country in the short, and long, run. Any jamoke can source a gun made offshore. An exec with guts would do it here.

Of course, who is going to make that happen? Not the government, that's for sure.

A S&W shotgun made in the US would really raise some eyebrows....a S&W shotgun made in Turkey is just another imported gun. Period. It's been that way for 100 years now.

S&W is hardly to blame for the sad state of US manufacturing, but they sure ain't helping it, either. They're just another pig at the trough.

I tried to listen, Tom, but the I'm really out of range of the station (1570 in Alton) There was just too much static. I've downloaded and will try to find the time...

Did you get to the subject of barrel verbage?

As I'm writting this, I'm also listening to the mp3 file from the GunTalk website. The S&W rep tells Tom that if these guns were made in the U.S., with their hand checkering and rust blueing process, S&W would have to price them at....
(I had to listen to it again - I must have missed something) *gag*cough*sputter* "$30,000 to $40,000"

"Not sure where to start there...Of course it's the Exec's responsibility to make money....and there's no way they are making 25%, much less 35% and I'd be really surprised if after all is said and done that they are making 15%. With all the costs out of control here in the US (insurance. health care and labor to name a few) it'd be quite a bit less than that."

I will assure you, having been in manufacturing my entire career, that the imprters make a killing in terms of profit. Regardless of what profit they make, is it worth the price they pay? To the individual execs I am sure it is - to S&W and the USA I am sure it is not.

"I sure as hell hope it's not the government. They are into way too much stuff now, the last thing we need is their fouled up thinking making a mess of private business. If you want an example of how well that works check out anything made behind the Iron Curtain before that went Tango Uniform."

You're missing my point. You can't name a government who does less than ours to ensure its own business and economy stays healthy. People love to talk about free trade but do you really think the other guys (Japan, France, Germany, China) just let things run their course? Hell no.

"What trough? If it's the one where you try to make the best product you can, and sell it customers that wnat it while making some money, you're right."

First, S&W is not MAKING anything. That's the whole point. The trough is the USA, and execs who try to maximize their profits and return as little as possible - they're the pigs at the trough. Line their pockets as long as they can, and get a $45 million severance package when the company finally goes belly up.