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Title: The Gaston Glock Story: Why Americans Love European Guns (American capitalism is not as innovative as European socialism)
Source:
theatlantic.com
URL Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/technolo ... med-the-us-gun-industry/69386/
Published: Jan 12, 2011
Author: Edward Tenner
Post Date: 2011-01-22 16:50:28 by Godwinson
Keywords: None
Views: 16069
Comments: 20
Edward Tenner The Gaston Glock Story: Why Americans Love European Guns Jan 12 2011, 2:11 PM ET < SNIP > Writing in the National Rifle Association's American Rifleman in 2009, Industry Insider columnist Cameron Hopkins provides background: The most significant innovations of the past 30 years, have all come from European gun companies. Even Ruger, the most innovative American gun manufacturer since World War II, has been playing catch up to the likes of Glock, HK, Beretta, Blaser, Sauer, and SIG. In the early 80s, the U.S. Armed Forces conducted a trial to replace the venerable 1911 pistol. An Italian gun came in first (Beretta) and a Swiss-designed, German-made gun was second (SIG). In the mid 80s, some 90 percent of U.S. law enforcement officers carried Smith & Wesson revolvers, but a change came about with the introduction of a "point gun, pull trigger" semi-automatic pistol from Austria. Glock never looked back and now controls an estimated 60 percent of the police market today with SIG and Beretta taking sizeable chunks from Smith's pie. Glock falls into a pattern of the Central European independent engineer-inventor-entrepreneur. I've written about a few of them (Anton Lorenz [reclining chairs] and Kurt Lorber [triangular paper clips) here. But the Glock saga also shows that "only in America" doesn't happen only in America, and our unique traits good and bad are the result not of a bygone frontier but of the contemporary globe.
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#1. To: All (#0)
I guess American capitalism is not as innovative as European socialism even in making the guns we love so well.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Europe seeks to control the means of its production. It is not surprising to me that you constantly post articles that applaud fascism. You do Bri Bri S proud. {{{{snicker}}}}
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
Does America still produce anything? LOL!
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Not so deftly done skirting of the topic and the observation. You are a fascist and a fool. Government control spells the end of industry. Goobye Brian S.
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
I don't know who Brian S is (I am not he if that is what that implies). But with that said,how can anyone but the insane argue Europe is "fascist"? They are not even true "socialists" though that is what you call them. They have a mixed economy and Glock and the other gun manufacturers are not owned by their govts and operate in the market via market principals. Now you have to explain why gun restricting, "socialized" medicine practicing Europe can produce more innovative weapons than Americans?
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
I think it can be explained by Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
What it does show is that this brain washed so called conservatives have these proconcived narratives of the world. They actually think America has better everything as if this was still the 50s or 60s. Their minds can't wrap around the idea that European, gun hating socialist, nazi, commies (as they would see those people of course) are producing better firearms than Americans who have the 2nd amendment.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
The unit in this table are so-called trend indicator values expressed in millions of US dollars at 1990s prices. These values do not represent real financial flows but are a crude instrument to estimate volumes of arms transfers, regardless of the contracted prices, which can be as low as zero in the case of military aid. Ordered by descending 2000-2009 values. The information is from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.[10] US arms are selling better than the socialists, or communists.
They will keep telling themselves that until we're drowned in mediocrity.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
So like the late USSR, the USA only makes useless weapons it can sell overseas but not anything for the civilian consumers.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
American citizens are allowed to own tanks and bombers as long as their weapons are disabled.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
Look at hondo68 trying to make himself feel better about finding out that Europeans own the handgun market by thinking that compares to weapons exports overseas. All it proves is that like the late USSR, the USA only makes useless weapons it can sell overseas to other govts (and those are made in a "socialist" way funded by taxpayers) but not anything for the civilian consumers. I see he can't refute how "socialist" gun restricting Europeans can produce better firearms than Americans.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
What Uncle Milt proved with the help of Pinochet is that freedom for money (Capitalism) is not the same as freedom for people.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
Yet your socialist brothers keep buying them. Wassup wi dat?
America's weapons are sold to poorer non industrialized countries. Westerb Europeans (who you on the right call 'socialist') make their own fighters, tanks and rifles and naval vessels.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
The best rifle I've found, for out-of-the-box accuracy, is made by... SAVAGE. Check out the BAS-K, if you want a Law-Enforcement version, or the any of the "10"-series bolt-action rifles. I prefer .308. My last Savage- 12FV in .308, I put on a Choate stock, and bedded it to the stock. Accuracy was 0.34 MOA, with Federal Gold-Medal Match ammo, 168-gr BTHP. I could cover my 4-round group with a dime, at 100 yards. The best pistols I've shot, have ALL been made by Kimber (in NJ, of all places). Absolutely superb accuracy and a silky trigger. Interestingly, the Kimber .45ACP is the preferred weapon of most SWAT teams and quite a few Special Forces people I've met. For my wife, she prefers the Ruger P9 series, as the accuracy is reasonably good, they're quite reliable, easy to disassemble and clean, and the cost is relatively low for the quality. We're also partial to the Springfield XD model- while they have a very strong recoil spring (making chambering a round more difficult), the trigger-safety and ultimate in reliability make them an attractive package. The catch with the XD lineup, of course, is that the stiff recoil spring means they will not fire cheapie, low-power ammo. You get the GOOD stuff, though, and you never have FTE or FTF. Glock, Sig, and the rest... they're a fad for the wannabe' group, for the most part... I've yet to find a Sig OR a Glock that could combine the smooth trigger and pin-point accuracy of the Kimber full-sized .45.
ME: Thanks for admitting that you ARE trying to spin this (AZ shooting, and terrorism) onto Palin, and conservatives in general. "There will be no more money when the U.S. dollar has no value, until that time we can keep printing more." -- go65, LF's resident mental giant --
Oh, BTW, thanks for confirming that you are, indeed, a socialist. I rather enjoy watching everyone kick the shit out of your sorry ass. Only thing missing is popcorn.
ME: Thanks for admitting that you ARE trying to spin this (AZ shooting, and terrorism) onto Palin, and conservatives in general. "There will be no more money when the U.S. dollar has no value, until that time we can keep printing more." -- go65, LF's resident mental giant --
Shooting with 1911 origin technology, eh? LOL! Can't trust American businessmen in the post Reagan "greed is good" world.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Social Market advocating European style Christian democrat!
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
I've got an old Savage .22 semi-auto (50's vintage) with box magazines. One of the first guns I ever shot as a young child, and still as accurate as ever. For US made pistols I like the Kahr's.
#2. To: Godwinson (#1)
#3. To: Rudgear (#2)
Europe seeks to control the means of its production.
#4. To: Godwinson (#3)
#5. To: Rudgear (#4)
Not so deftly done skirting of the topic and the observation. You are a fascist and a fool. Government control spells the end of industry. Goobye Brian S.
#6. To: Godwinson (#5)
Now you have to explain why gun restricting, "socialized" medicine practicing Europe can produce more innovative weapons than Americans?
#7. To: lucysmom (#6)
(Edited)
#8. To: Godwinson (#0)
[edit] World's largest arms exporters
Current Rank Supplier 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 1 
United States7220 5694 5091 5596 6750 6600 7394 7658 6090 6795 2 
Russia3985 6011 5773 5202 6260 5321 6156 5243 6026 4469 3 
Germany1603 821 892 1697 1067 1875 2510 3002 2499 2473 4 
France1055 1270 1308 1288 2194 1633 1577 2342 1831 1851 5 
United Kingdom1484 1257 915 617 1180 915 808 987 1027 1024 6 
Spain46 7 120 156 56 108 757 565 603 925 7 
China272 496 515 632 282 306 599 412 544 870 8 
Israel354 360 414 358 612 315 282 379 271 760 9 
Netherlands280 203 243 342 208 583 1221 1322 554 608 10 
Italy189 217 400 312 214 743 525 706 424 588 11 
Sweden46 830 185 515 305 537 417 367 457 353 12 
Switzerland176 193 157 174 250 267 306 324 467 270 13 
Ukraine288 661 244 430 202 281 557 799 269 214 14 
Canada110 129 170 255 268 235 231 343 236 177 15 
South Korea8 165 N/A 104 29 48 94 228 80 163 
#9. To: Godwinson (#7)
What it does show is that this brain washed so called conservatives have these proconcived narratives of the world. They actually think America has better everything as if this was still the 50s or 60s.
#10. To: hondo68 (#8)
World's largest arms exporters
#11. To: Godwinson (#10)
#12. To: lucysmom, hondo68 (#9)
(Edited)
They will keep telling themselves that until we're drowned in mediocrity.
#13. To: Godwinson (#12)
#14. To: Godwinson (#10)
the USA only makes useless weapons
#15. To: hondo68 (#14)
Yet your socialist brothers keep buying them. Wassup wi dat?
#16. To: hondo68 (#14)
Godwinson: the USA only makes useless weapons
Brian S(ocialist): I have never hidden that fact...
#17. To: Godwinson (#0)
Brian S(ocialist): I have never hidden that fact...
#18. To: Capitalist Eric (#16)
(Edited)
The best pistols I've shot, have ALL been made by Kimber (in NJ, of all places). Absolutely superb accuracy and a silky trigger.
#19. To: Capitalist Eric (#17)
Oh, BTW, thanks for confirming that you are, indeed, a socialist.
#20. To: Capitalist Eric (#16)
The best rifle I've found, for out-of-the-box accuracy, is made by... SAVAGE
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