D-gin
07-30-2007, 12:45 AM
This is part of an article "The Eye of the Beholder", written by me and published in the April 2007 issue of SWAT Magazine.
The Eye of the Beholder
Pat Rogers (c) 2007SWAT Magazine
Individuals seeking to buy a carbine (or most any other gun) will seek advice from others. Some will go to local gun stores, where the advice may be excellent or may be based on nothing more then what that dealer stocks and has available. Others will go on the errornet, where a great many people will – based on their frame of reference of owning one article- sing its praises or roll it under the bus. Caveat Emptor rings loud here- the buyer must be cautious. One- or even one hundred- may not be a good statistical sample. Performance over the long haul by a large number of like weapons will give you a better idea as to overall usefulness.
That data is not easily forthcoming. Periodicals do not have the budget to do the sophisticated testing necessary, and there is not the large volume of public sales that require such testing (consider baby seats, refrigerators and the like).
Every maker is capable of turning out a poor article. The Quality Control/ Quality Assurance procedures set in place will determine the volume of poor guns. Understand that those selling to the government must perform to a standard, and that inspector’s can- and do- enforce those standards. Also understand that while Low Bidder was a common way for agencies to choose an item, Best Value is now a standard for those smart enough to understand the implications. And best value means exactly that- a higher initial price that is offset by higher standards for quality. Lower cost is often a clue that short cuts are being implemented. These may be more efficient manufacturing or something more insidious, and the only way you may ever find out is when your bolt cracks, when the gas carrier keys aren’t staked, when the 5.56 chamber you spec’d is actually a 223 “match” chamber or when the gun flat doesn’t run. And, the military/ LE sales guy is on vacation and can’t be bothered to deconflict the problems that his crappy little company foisted upon your team.
by Pat Rogers (c) 2007 SWAT Magazine
I ran across this on another forum ( Source (http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=6604)) and thought some here would enjoy the read, Click on the link for the whole post.
The Eye of the Beholder
Pat Rogers (c) 2007SWAT Magazine
Individuals seeking to buy a carbine (or most any other gun) will seek advice from others. Some will go to local gun stores, where the advice may be excellent or may be based on nothing more then what that dealer stocks and has available. Others will go on the errornet, where a great many people will – based on their frame of reference of owning one article- sing its praises or roll it under the bus. Caveat Emptor rings loud here- the buyer must be cautious. One- or even one hundred- may not be a good statistical sample. Performance over the long haul by a large number of like weapons will give you a better idea as to overall usefulness.
That data is not easily forthcoming. Periodicals do not have the budget to do the sophisticated testing necessary, and there is not the large volume of public sales that require such testing (consider baby seats, refrigerators and the like).
Every maker is capable of turning out a poor article. The Quality Control/ Quality Assurance procedures set in place will determine the volume of poor guns. Understand that those selling to the government must perform to a standard, and that inspector’s can- and do- enforce those standards. Also understand that while Low Bidder was a common way for agencies to choose an item, Best Value is now a standard for those smart enough to understand the implications. And best value means exactly that- a higher initial price that is offset by higher standards for quality. Lower cost is often a clue that short cuts are being implemented. These may be more efficient manufacturing or something more insidious, and the only way you may ever find out is when your bolt cracks, when the gas carrier keys aren’t staked, when the 5.56 chamber you spec’d is actually a 223 “match” chamber or when the gun flat doesn’t run. And, the military/ LE sales guy is on vacation and can’t be bothered to deconflict the problems that his crappy little company foisted upon your team.
by Pat Rogers (c) 2007 SWAT Magazine
I ran across this on another forum ( Source (http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=6604)) and thought some here would enjoy the read, Click on the link for the whole post.