Why so slow?

[Unobtanium]

Why does innovation happen at such a snail pace in the firearm industry?

-qpq barrels and bcg...qpq has been used for over half a century on similar wear parts in other industries.

That is a materials example. An execution example is the mid and rifle length gas system on shorter than 20" barrels.

Anyone could see that a shorter gas system was more violent when it was introduced decades ago. Why has the 14.5" midlength taken so long to "figure out"? I remember when every experienced person on the forums pooppoed it. And now almost all of them love it. Why?

You have two variables...gas port diameter...system integrity. KAC figured out integrity a long time ago with press fit gas blocks, and many other manufacturers use thermal fit currently. It's again not that hard...then all you do is slow motion videography and drill...film and drill...film and drilll, until appropriate cyclic rate is achieved. Then you freeze the system to whatever temp is deemed cold enough to cover operating parameters...and do it again. It's maybe a week long process to dial in flawlessly including tons of beer and bs time. Yet it to on YEARS, and still some manufacturers don't seem capable of it.

Meanwhile, we have gone from carburetors to engines that shoot fuel directly onto the piston at nearly 3000psi and run at 13:1 compression on 87 octane....yet a hole in a pressurized tube can't get cut right? Why?

[Saur]

I don't know.

Why did it take so long to put wheels on luggage?

[Unobtanium]

I don't know.

Why did it take so long to put wheels on luggage?

Well, when they finally did it, has it taken over a decade and a half to figure out how to make them reliably turn/roll? Because that's about the level of fail we are seeing with the firearm industry, as a whole, when it comes to making simple new concepts with only 2 variables work...

[Chuck Whitlock]

"This is the way we've always done it."?

[Drang]

Why does innovation happen at such a snail pace in the firearm industry?

Sunk costs, no incentive to innovate, profit margins, and (depending on what area you're stumping for innovation in) .gov regulation.

[ST911]

Why does innovation happen at such a snail pace in the firearm industry?

Not unique to long guns...

Because so little of what is perceived as innovation, actually is.
Because most consumers and true practitioners define "innovation" in vastly different ways.
Because what we have available now works so well, and so much of what is or would be new is for naught.

[Surf]

If we use the AR/M4 as a singular example, the major manufacturers under contract have been building towards "Milspec" standards. US LE will also tend to adopt rifles built by these same companies building under mil contract. It is an easy decision by LE admin to follow this guideline. This tends to drive the civilian market as people tend to believe that if it is good for the military and LE than it is good for them also, so "Milspec" becomes the gold standard to purchase. Therefore traditionally other builders have built towards this standard. Military standards don't progress, big manufacturers have no drive to change, perception in the consumer market is slow to progress and things don't move quickly. Does Milspec automatically mean "the best"? Not necessarily, but it is highly successful standard with a known recipe for excellent results and great success to bet on a rifle for duty or defensive purposes. Kind of the, "if it ain't broke" concept ST911 speaks of.

[1slow]

Another factor, the experiments of the type John Browning did etc.... cannot be duplicated without much expensive licensing etc... now. This reduces innovation.

[ReverendMeat]

Why does innovation happen at such a snail pace in the firearm industry?

Well, to quote Tam: "If you sold chocolate lollipops for $2 and dog shit on a stick for $1.75, the American gun-buying public would suck a turd every time."

It's really hard to market and sell the kind of improvements you're talking about given we live in a world where people are still complaining about $800 Colt 6920s being overpriced.

Perfect example, I think: Couple weeks ago a lady was looking at revolvers, comparing a Taurus 85 and a S&W 642. There's maybe $100 difference between the two but she already had told me she wasn't concerned about price. She asked which one I'd buy, told her the 642. "Why?" "Because it's better." Was not a good enough answer so I explained about Taurus' reputation in general, differences in CS between companies, personal experiences, etc. Guess which one she bought.

[Sensei]

I'm not sure that I agree with the OP's premise that the firearms industry has been significantly slower than other industries. I'd say that modern polymer and electronic technologies have revolutionized long guns and optics over the past 25 years. Modern ammunition is also light years ahead of what was available 25 years ago.

Perhaps it is hard to appreciate the innovation when you are sitting in the middle of the industry?