Been considering getting an FFL in order to manufacture weapons for sale or to sell to gunshops. Been thinking about doing AK's with only buying the wood and forged pieces and manufacturing everything else. Could I be competitive with this idea? I figure I'd be able to sell far cheaper than something like a wasr-10 and could even just pump out parts like 80% receivers for other people to buy. Could also branch out by making custom parts and rifles, doing shit like making an AK with Egyptian markings on it (while avoiding copyright) or furniture like buttstocks like a side folder or some shit. Could even make more niche products like proper RPK or PSL clones that don't cost 3,000 fucking dollars.
Would this (one man garage tier firearm manufacturing) be viable or at least serve as a starting point that can expand with profit? What markets or access points could I use, LGS? Online weapon distributors, etc? I just have a dream PrepHole and I want to be realistic but I also don't want to work a 9-5 my entire life doing something that I hate.
As someone in the firearms industry.
No.
>only buying the wood and forged pieces
So, everything except for the receiver.
Trunnions would be a must, but I could buy uncompleted barrels and finish them myself to cut the cost down.
Being gay isn't one either, so stop doing that.
>I wanna do something cool
Is not a business plan. Come up with one first.
you need to be 18 or older to post here
I'm 26 with 12k saved up and willing to invest. Thanks for the based r*ddit reply though.
No you're not and no you don't, kid.
What do you do?
Oh that guy? Most likely sales rep for a shotgun company.
Friends & I have a machine shop, we make car & gun parts and work on contracts as well.
,
your AK idea won't work, if you do it garage gunsmith style you will lose money in the long run and will never be able to turn a profit unless you are capable of performing artisanal, boutique gunsmithing work like 1911 boomers or Jim Fuller.
If you absolutely, positively wanted to make AKs for money, you are looking at about a million dollars in startup capital you would need to buy all the tools, machines, and facilities to make AKs profitably. This is why there are hundreds of companies making ARs, and only a couple making AKs.
this would basically be the least effective way to make money from your machines. How most gun companies start out, which happens to be the most effective way to run a machining business, is starting small, leasing a CNC mill or lathe, taking tiny parts subcontracting bids for larger manufacturers (construction, automotive, aerospace, defense) to be able to build a revenue stream to keep your lights on. Between these contracts, you design, test & engineer your own parts for whatever application you want. Maybe you can make a better lower control arm for the 93-95 Civic, and people want to buy that. Maybe you make better Aimpoint mounts than what the market currently provides. These, you make much higher profit margin on, and you use that to build your business and expand it into something larger. Replace your old machines with faster, bigger, and better ones. Purchase facilities that allow you to do certain services like parkerizing or chroming in-house.
But if you don't have any of the following:
>Machinist's knowledge working as a tradesman
>Mechanical engineering knowledge
>Business & finance acumen
>Connections within the industry
You should rethink your options. Just because you like guns, doesn't mean you need to make guns for a living. Make enough money doing some profession you are good at to be able to afford cool hobbies.
Also, this is HARD fucking work. Like this is probably one of the hardest ways to build a fortune. It is one of the few jobs that is both physically and mentally exhausting.
Invest in a retirement fund, not an industry with awful margins and established competition
>The goal of life is to be comfortable and watch TV
Fuck you
My questions were not pertaining to any of that and just wanted to focus on the actual end products but thanks for bringing up shit no one asked for. If I'm a gay, then I guess I'm no longer alone thanks to you.
I'm not saying don't take risks and don't live life
I'm saying this specific endeavor is doomed to fail without experienced peers, someone with a legal background on your team, and a lot of external funding
It's just not realistic to do this solo and have any kind of return on investment
Ok sounds good OP, I'm sure you'll do fabulous. I'm sure mom will enjoy parking her Hyundai in the driveway so her failure to launch disappointment can play business owner in the garage.
>MOM are the tendies ready? If I ever get a gf shes totally gonna be hot like the JMAC girl
Is it a fair take to say that most of the competition is either literal fudd tier or are large manufacturing companies with high markups due to large labor forces?
>12k
What other assets do you have? Do you have a shop, machine tools, any inventory? I ask because 12k is about 12 PSAK-47s on palmetto state armory right now.
You're going to need a market, preferably something niche. What can you offer that I can't get anywhere else? Why do I want _your_ AK?
>gay op asks a stupid question and is surprised by the reaction
see
Either focus on making unique accessories or targeting platforms that don’t have a huge selection. Margins will be near non-existent. Either save your money or put it towards tools that will allow for profitable work, but will still allow you to have fun projects.
That's why I figure the AK market is a good one to get into. You can't just by an 80% and bunch a few holes with a power tool and then assemble like a lego set. Even just making receivers for others to buy I feel would be profitable. Combined with the fact that I'm a one man show (at least for the start) the labor cost would be nothing. I'm just not sure what kind of distribution I could use that would be better for me. Online shit or going to LGS's direct. Especially if I make customs that you would have to go out of your way to first purchase a firearm, and then the parts to get a desired outcome, whether that be cosmetic like certain markings or even different build types (different countries slightly tweaking the design of the base AKM for their own use can be copied), etc.
It isn’t. That’s not meant to discourage you but I can already name two competitors. All I can say is don’t use it as your primary source of income and build some cool stuff.
>Could I be competitive with this idea?
No. your idea already exists and is called the secondary tier/semi-custom market and is populated by enthusiasts and SMBs running 5-25 man small machine shops. You cannot gear up cost effectively to be able to price compete on delivery or quality as a 1-man band. Don't let that stop you from fielding the possibilies abd taking on comissions, you are simply not going to beat the market, it will be a side hustle for a long time(5-15 years) until you grow out of it.
>making an AK with Egyptian markings on it
What you can do is identify a niche area that you can serve well and target it directly or semi-direct through LGS/rod&gun clubs/etc. Charge what your time is worth and you can do OK, again the main problem is getting enough business to pay your bills, until your item gets hot or you get well known, there aren't enough buyers for cloned Egyptian AKs to fill your workweek
I figured it would be a side hustle as a start, honestly as long as I hit breakeven or even a slight profit so I can slowly expand or help with bills so I can rely less and less on my job would be fine. I do feel like there is a market not just for the secondary tier or semi-custom to custom market, but a market for simply having US manufactured AK parts that aren't pure dogshit or are price hiked due to import tax and companies having a monopoly on the market and setting the price themselves. Even basic shit like buttstocks or uppers or any sort of part that guys would want that are expensive simply due to the problems listed above.
>a side hustle as a start, honestly as long as I hit breakeven or even a slight profit
Make a shitload of single or double barrel shotguns. Do you guys use Drilling rifles in the US? Never saw one on PrepHole.
No, they're pretty rare here and usually pretty old German guns IIRC. You sometimes see a .223/.222 over 12ga or a .22lr/.22wmr over 12ga/20ga but that's as close as you get.
sounds like a market to me.
found an article in english about them
https://shootingsportsman.com/do-it-all-drillings/
>side hustle
As long as you have a competent outlook on life, you should give it a whirl. Don't think like a startup, think like a person and aim to run in the black
FOR EXAMPLE most custom knife makers and I mean even the famous ones you have heard of, spent 10+ years doing it as a hobby/garage business
>industry with awful margins
dis nyucka out here having no idea how good the margins are for firearms in general. motherfucker it ain't like selling soap in a laundrymat, shit is profitable as fuck but you need to drop $30-60K in machinery to even get in the game
I'm just curious what sort of niche to fall into. Whether that be manufacturing practically every part of the rifle or just doing pretty much part kit jobs. I'm sure both would net a profit and would be entertaining to do. I wonder what kind of market exists for more uncommon rifles that could be somewhat repro'd relatively cheaply.
Posters are right, you need something more than pie eyed dreams of doing cool shit like your favorite insta gays making queer as fuck AK accessories. Start at the beginning, is your dad's house zoned for manufacturing? If not, no 07 FFL. Have you looked into sustainable supply lines? Insurance? Distribution? tl;dr - you're a gay and your shits all retarded
What you do is import. I've always wanted to target Vietnamese imports but I don't have the capital to spend importing cut receivers. Vietnam has a lot of cool slavshit.
you're either retarded or this is bait. this is PrepHole so you tell me
I'll tell you if you tell me what skills or experience you base that claim on.
i work in the gun industry
How do I become drinking buddies with foreign nationals who would be willing to sell me a shit ton of foreign firearms and firearms parts?
>How do I become drinking buddies with foreign nationals who would be willing to sell me a shit ton of foreign firearms and firearms parts?
Networking is something you either get or you don't. I can't teach you how to have charisma. But if you mean where to FIND these people...
The internet is a great source, think of who are you looking for and where would they hang out. Looking for fucked up slavshit? Hang around telegram and VK groups. Make friends with as many people as possible, and utilize their social network. Go to events, be it SHOT show, industry events like kalash bash, etc and shoot the shit with interesting people. Keep contact with them and sauce them up for their connections. Every now and then, opportunity will strike.
Honestly, yeah. This is basically a high end boutique gun manufacturing company. You absolutely could become an AK manufacturer. And doing custom woodworking and engraving for people might be really cool. Don't expect to make a lot right off the bat though. You will probably have to build up some reputation. But, I mean, this is what Brandon Herrera did.
Addendum : My honest recommendation is to just get good at building AKs and then start selling them. You could make money if you sold good stuff, but you are definitely not going to make money selling garbage unless you are a huge company. That's just how manufacturing works.
there is a reason so many companies in the industry just make firearms accessories and not full guns. its a lot easier startup and a lot legally safer. if you are actually serious about it, start with accessories and if that goes well (big if) then you can start moving into actual weapons once you have some kind of reputation. people are very hesitant to buy full guns from new startup literallywhos. you could make the best AKs on the planet and nobody would give a shit because they have never heard the name.
Do you actually have funds to invest in a business? Do you have any experience in business or machining?