why are some gun owners biased against foreign guns?

[Paradigm]

I have a Stoeger Cougar. It is made by Stoeger, which is a Turkish company owned by the Italian company Beretta, which has an American HQ in Maryland. The gun was designed in Italy, but is manufactured in Turkey.

All I know is that it was designed very well, built very well, fires very well, and was priced very well.

I'm cool with that.

[NineseveN]

Rugers.
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Yep, made in America on machines made in ______ with materials made in or imported from ______ being transported by vehicles made in ______ and owned by a company in ______, vehicles where the metal and plastics come from ______ and ______ and the parts manufactured from those raw materials are from ______, ______, and ______ and it all gets assembled in ______.

There's supporting American businesses in principle alone, there's supporting American businesses based on marketing and then there's the rarest bird of all, supporting American based on the totality of where the product and profit comes from and goes to.

My STI was made in Texas, more or less by Texans, but I don’t know who made the little screws, who molded the plastics, where the machines that did those things came from or who owns them or what company transported those parts to STI using what brand of trucks and what % of the parts in those trucks are American made all the way down to the base materials…you see how exhausting this gets? And that’s just for one decidedly “American-Made” gun.

[marinville]

Generally, I check labels and try to buy American, because I am American and I want to support American workers. I do sometimes buy foreign goods and in fact both of my pistols are foreign.

When I bought my Beretta I asked if they had any that were made in America. They only had a used m9, and I wanted a new gun, so I bought the Italian one.

I do feel better about my purchases though, when I buy American.

[FormerUser123]

um, my toyota was made in california by american workers

American workers in California? LOL! Atleast with Ford, the money floats back into the US. Toyota, the pittance gets paid to the workers here, but most goes right back to Japan.

Of course, both of my cars are now Mazdas. And the counter point to that is, at the time my cars were built, Ford owned the controlling stake in Mazda and they still have a large stake in them.

and i've also heard a few people say they chose an XD over a glock because the springfield armory is an american company--never mind the fact that XDs are made in croatia.

Yeah, I'd never make the argument that Springfield Armory, Inc is good because it's American. I don't think there's a single American part on my XD.

However the real Springfield Armory, the one that was actually based in Springfield Mass., owned and operated by the DoD, now THAT was an American gun maker. Shame they were dissolved


Oh yeah, and I buy whatever I like, but I am biased towards American and German guns. Mostly because they make what I want. Colts, S&Ws, Mausers, and H&Ks.

[LittleRedToyota]

American workers in California? LOL! Atleast with Ford, the money floats back into the US. Toyota, the pittance gets paid to the workers here, but most goes right back to Japan.

lol.

toyota pays their workers well...and they are generally quite happy to work at toyota. which is why they generally resist having a union come in.

as to where corporate profits end up...you cannot use a company's "nationality" to figure that out these days either. they all play games and keep/invest money in various countries to avoid taxes, etc. toyota has actually invested quite a bit of money in america.

beyond that, many americans own shares of toyota...so the profits go to americans also. (toyota trades on the NYSE, ya know.)

[etep513]

This is a touchy topic for sure. For me it is simple, I am an American!
I want USA made goods whenever possible. This started when I was 16 or 17 over two items.
At the time I had 2 center fire rifles a Rem BDL 700 30-06 and a Ruger 77 .220 swift. One had a Tasco the other had a Leupold. Guess which one I could actually see through? The other incident was a pair of cheap pac boots from Korea. The felt liner fell apart the fist hour I wore them. This was back in 1985 or 1986 for the record.
I know where the computer, cell phone and other electronics came from. Do any USA made on exist? If I could find them that is what I would have. My binoculars are Leica's, at the time there were no full size USA made to be had.
My work boots are White's and hunting boots are Schnees and Hoffmans. Sadly both companies import their rubber bottoms now. American made clothing can still be found if you use you imported computer to search.
I have always driven Ford pickups that came out of Norfolk or Kentucky ( I know where the parts come from). One exception was a 1978 F250 that came out of Windsor Canada. Was not aware that some F series came out of Mexico, but know a lot Dodge trucks do.
I did own a Springfield M1A, but traded it for a USGI parts kit to build a LRB M14. Maybe I am missing out on some good guns with my narrow minded ways, or maybe not.
I have toyed with the idea of Browning Hi-power, but can't bring myself to do it. I would love to own a Holland & Holland or a Purdey someday but that would be it.
I have to say that for myself it is the mentality that I am an American and this is still the greatest country in the world.

Have you actually taken a college level economics course? If you did, you would know that economies are more efficient if they specialize in the manufacture of certain items. Your idea that economic isolation helps America is false.

Also, why do you think that America is the greatest country in the world? That is an outdated line of thinking that is based on nostalgia, rather than on facts. It all depends on your criteria for the greatest. There are nations with more educated populations, lower abortion rates, more advanced technology, etc. If you consider the most technologically advanced nation to be the best, then it would probably be Japan or South Korea. If you consider it to be the most Christian nation, then it would probably be Italy or Poland (since those nations have large numbers of real, practicing Catholics). If you consider it to be the most environmentally consciencious nation, then it would be one of the European nations, since they have extensive environmental programs. America is not a jack of all trades you know.

[LittleRedToyota]

one other point regarding cars...

detroit is in the mess it is now in large part because they did not respond to the marketplace and make truely competetive cars.

people who would buy anything they produced...even if it was a crappier car for more money...enabled this myopic mismanagement. thus, such people are actually partially responsible for the downfall of detroit.

propping up american companies that make bad decisions/don't bother responding to the marketplace/produce overpriced crap/etc. doesn't really help them (or the people who work for them) in the long run. forcing them to stay competetive, on the other hand, does.

just something to think about.

[NineseveN]

Also, why do you think that America is the greatest country in the world? That is an outdated line of thinking that is based on nostalgia, rather than on facts. It all depends on your criteria for the greatest. There are nations with more educated populations, lower abortion rates, more advanced technology, etc. If you consider the most technologically advanced nation to be the best, then it would probably be Japan or South Korea. If you consider it to be the most Christian nation, then it would probably be Italy or Poland (since those nations have large numbers of real, practicing Catholics). If you consider it to be the most environmentally consciencious nation, then it would be one of the European nations, since they have extensive environmental programs. America is not a jack of all trades you know.

IMHO, it's based on the fact that even as bad as we've allowed it to get, we're still a society of liberty more than anywhere else in the world.

[deafsmithco]

Have you actually taken a college level economics course? If you did, you would know that economies are more efficient if they specialize in the manufacture of certain items. Your idea that economic isolation helps America is false.

Also, why do you think that America is the greatest country in the world? That is an outdated line of thinking that is based on nostalgia, rather than on facts. It all depends on your criteria for the greatest. There are nations with more educated populations, lower abortion rates, more advanced technology, etc. If you consider the most technologically advanced nation to be the best, then it would probably be Japan or South Korea. If you consider it to be the most Christian nation, then it would probably be Italy or Poland (since those nations have large numbers of real, practicing Catholics). If you consider it to be the most environmentally consciencious nation, then it would be one of the European nations, since they have extensive environmental programs. America is not a jack of all trades you know.

Never went to college, maybe I should have. I can't disagree with what you are saying either, but I know I have contributed the least amount I can to the trade deficit.
I believe this country still offers more individual rights and freedoms
than any other and if so that makes it the greatest country imo. Other wise I would move to the country that was.

[etep513]

IMHO, it's based on the fact that even as bad as we've allowed it to get, we're still a society of liberty more than anywhere else in the world.

In what way does America have more liberty? There are many other democratic nations in the world. Some are more bureaucratic, but that is because the citizens in those nations voted for bureaucracy that is there to accomplish a specific purpose.