4 ms·

I think most of the firearms industry serves police and military and I don't think that part has trouble getting finance of whatever sort it might need. Retail

I think most of the firearms industry serves police and military and I don't think that part has trouble getting finance of whatever sort it might need. Retail gun sales are a somewhat exceptional little piece of the overall arms industry. Many nations that control access to arms for their citizens still maintain and support an arms industry, including small firearms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arms_industry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arms_industry

jack_h 7y ago
This is true for major manufacturers that have been around for decades or even centuries. Small start-ups have a much harder time finding funding.
- beat 7y ago
  Small startups doing expensive manufacturing in the face of existing industrial-grade competition will always have a hard time finding funding, because the risk/reward ratio sucks.
  - jack_h 7y ago
    True, and the general consensus is if you want to make a start-up in this industry just don't. It's more likely you'll end up on a future episode of Forgotten Weapons. I can definitely understand not wanting to invest in these sorts of start-ups purely from an ROI perspective.
ARandomerDude 7y ago
The "firearms industry" is a subset of the "arms industry." "Firearms" are rifles, pistols, and shotguns. "Arms" include those, plus tanks, fighter jets, artillery, nuclear weapons, etc.
- nyolfen 7y ago
  there is crossover but you might as well lump together stealth bombers and SUVs. the vast, vast majority of firearms produced by US companies are for civilians.
  - ARandomerDude 7y ago
    Completely agree, that was my point. The parent comment lumped them together, including a Wikipedia link to an article on "the arms industry." But the arms industry is so vast that high-level conclusions about government purchasing have almost nothing to do with the grandparent comment about credit card fees at local gun stores.
  - manfredo 7y ago
    Again, the vast majority of "firearms" but not the vast majority of "arms". People aren't buying F-35s at their local gun store.
  - catalogia 7y ago
    > "there is crossover but you might as well lump together stealth bombers and SUVs." Saab comes to mind.

jack_h 7y ago

This is true for major manufacturers that have been around for decades or even centuries. Small start-ups have a much harder time finding funding.

beat 7y ago
Small startups doing expensive manufacturing in the face of existing industrial-grade competition will always have a hard time finding funding, because the risk/reward ratio sucks.
- jack_h 7y ago
  True, and the general consensus is if you want to make a start-up in this industry just don't. It's more likely you'll end up on a future episode of Forgotten Weapons. I can definitely understand not wanting to invest in these sorts of start-ups purely from an ROI perspective.

ARandomerDude 7y ago

The "firearms industry" is a subset of the "arms industry." "Firearms" are rifles, pistols, and shotguns. "Arms" include those, plus tanks, fighter jets, artillery, nuclear weapons, etc.

nyolfen 7y ago
there is crossover but you might as well lump together stealth bombers and SUVs. the vast, vast majority of firearms produced by US companies are for civilians.
- ARandomerDude 7y ago
  Completely agree, that was my point. The parent comment lumped them together, including a Wikipedia link to an article on "the arms industry." But the arms industry is so vast that high-level conclusions about government purchasing have almost nothing to do with the grandparent comment about credit card fees at local gun stores.
- manfredo 7y ago
  Again, the vast majority of "firearms" but not the vast majority of "arms". People aren't buying F-35s at their local gun store.
- catalogia 7y ago
  > "there is crossover but you might as well lump together stealth bombers and SUVs." Saab comes to mind.