Stuff like this doesn't help the "one Chinese factory" rumors.
https://www.griffinarmament.com/grif...cro-footprint/
https://chpws.com/product/duty/
Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
The bit about vertical integration was certainly educational. But I don't think it really addresses IM's point. You're essentially buying buttons from Factory X, housings from Factory Y, etc. All from an unknown level of QC, etc.Originally Posted by Tokarev
So if I buy a Vortex RDS, I have no bloody idea what I'm getting. Meanwhile if I buy something like an Aimpoint I do. Nothing, of course, is guaranteed. Aimpoints and Trijicons aren't immortal or bulletproof. But at least you go in knowing that the likelihood of failure is much, much lower.
Whereas these seemingly fly-by-night RDS companies cropping up all over the place are all sourcing from the same 30 or so sub-contractors with varying agreements on QC. So maybe their $1000 sight is priced at $1000 because they're manufactured and tested to Nightforce levels of quality. Or maybe they're priced at $1000 because memes or whatever. You don't know, and likely never will.
Holosun seems to be the fly in the ointment. They appear to be building a consistent brand reputation, not "oh yeah our $100 sights are shit but if you buy in at the $300 tier they'll actually hold up to prolonged use."
The same thing has happened with rifle scopes.
Leupold scopes for instance.
Used to be they were all 100% made in the US. Their lower line isn't anymore. The parts are out sourced to off shore manufactures and assembled in the US. They still have the lifetime warrantee but you aren't getting a 100% made in the US product. You're getting an assembled in the US product.
When you talk about optics that involve electronics it's just a natural evolution to off shore production. They just build that stuff cheaper than anyone in the US can. The first transistor radios were built in the US in the 50's but the Japanese soon had several cheap models on the market in the 60's. About $117 in todays dollars. Sharp and Toshiba made them affordable. I had one around 1964 that I won in a raffle. I thought I had won the lottery.
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
I think SIG’s optics model for their newer products (as I understand it) probably is the most viable for quality mass market RDOs - components sourced offshore and in the US, and assembled in OR. I’ve seen numerous mentions that none of their assemblies are PRC, component level items may be by necessity.
Of course, for every US assembled optic they probably sell 50 Romeo5s.
Ken
BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”
Holosun is definitely doing something unique and is almost an outlier.
I think if we ever want affordable US made anything with electronics, a very steep uphill battle needs to be fought in Washington D.C. It'll be hard to rally the population to vote that way, but I like to keep some sort of optimism that eventually everyone will be fed up.
I dislike Sig, but the way they are doing their red dot business seems to be a good compromise in minimizing money that goes the Chinese government directly and ensuring quality. American companies like Vortex and Athlon are good about holding their Chinese OEMs to a higher standard, but most of those benefits are seen in their rifle scopes and other optics. Athlon's red dot lineup is a joke, and Vortex seems to have finally decided to try a little bit.
Even with my newly acquired "buy once cry once" philosophy I finally came around to, I still gravitate to Holosun red dots because the price to performance ratio is just in a category by itself.
I'm not interested in any of the red dots offered by Gideon, Swampfox, CHPWS, or the gazillion other versions of the same thing because they simply don't come close to Holosun offerings, and Holosun's best stuff is affordable.
Aimpoint, Steiner, and Trijicon of course are never a bad choice.
I know some of the guys at Sig Electro Optics, and they are good dudes. And one of the lead engineers is a top USPSA PCC shooter. They put in a ton of time at the range testing their optics on real guns.
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
I need to make the separation in my mind between Sig Optics and the 320 platform I think. I am a fan of the Romeo 5 and if I ever buy another primary red dot for an AR I may look hard at their higher end offerings in that category. I'm sort of all-in on the LPVO + offset RDS combo and have a bunch of Holosuns filling that spot, and for pistols I just love the EPS.
The Romeo-X line has completely replaced my EPSes and EPS Carry, plus have ended up on a few new installations. They wouldn’t be my first choice for uniform duty use since they aren’t fully enclosed, but I ain’t that.
Ken
BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”
Is that purely for "country of origin" issues, or other criteria?
Reply With Quote