Starting a rifle company...?
 

What would it take?

FFL?

If you wanted to build and sell rifles to the public etc... to the masses?

Legally to incorporate etc... not asking about maching etc...

These days? With an anti-business, anti-gun administration in control of things? Enjoy the nest you made for yourself but be smart and invest your time and money in something else.

I mean would legally would all it take is an FFL? or a special FFL?

wonder if there would be any money in manufacturing actions.... to start at least,

although people probably would prefer complete rifles to just an action....?

perhaps manufacturing and selling to one of the big boys would make more sense? although I'm sure they don't want to pay a premium for anything.

Just curious/getting some ideas as to what it takes to build rifles. Maybe just call a custom rifle maker and ask them some questions.

IIRC, there is a separate license required of manufacturers

Can't say, though you must be licensed as a manufacturer if you're building receivers or actions.

They probably won't pay a premium for anything they don't HAVE to. Have any patents? Have a reputation you're willing to put a price on? If Remington suddenly started using your bolt actions in their precision rifle line, would the precision community bite? Not a chance. If Surgeon were to do the same thing? Given that many precision rifles are built on Surgeon actions already? You do the math.

Good luck there. Hope you find one who's amenable to a little more competition in a market segment that's fairly narrow and includes more than its share of fly-by-nights.

You can get a license from the ATF to buy or build guns.

If your going to try to get in the market you would be better off starting with building rifles with your main focus on guys that shoot competition, they are willing to pay $1k on a action, and can give you the word of mouth about your product. Guys that want a accurized hunting aren't going to buy a $800- $1k action unless they figure out that by the time they buy a donor action then have it accurized it's the same money spent.

The machine work to develop your own action is expensive and time consuming, you need a clientèle to support your business while you develop your action.

Quite. And you'd better have a bulletproof advantage over proven custom products on the market. If I have $1000 that I could use to spring for one of the actions from "Sal's Custom Guns," all-around great Demokratik Kameraden he is and all, I'm going to scrounge up the extra $400 it'd take to buy another Surgeon 1086 - a product I KNOW meets my expectations, and for others has a good reputation in competitive circles.

It's not as simple as "build it and they will come." If you're not the uber-competitor yourself, you need to find one and make them part of the R&D team or you have ZERO credibility in that market segment.

I have the paperwork for a FFL sitting on my desk. You check a different box for "manufacturing"...But you also must get your local Sheriff/Chief to sign off on the FFL, plus a multitude of other things that pretty much make it more of a headache then its worth...

i call bs on the whole thing.

A crap load of money that you are willing to throw down the toilet and a whole lot of time.