One of the things to keep in mind about the price of this weapon is production cost per unit. The gun has a molded Polymer lower. The cost to produce a mold to generate the lower is very costly. Especially so if it is a multi cavity design. Also, there are numerous jigs and fixtures that had to be machined prior to actual production. These are costly to produce as well.
I believe one of the main reasons this weapon was kicked around by Mag-Pul for so many years was they couldn't find a company to produce it cheap enough to sell it at a profit. Most every shooter bases every new EBR price on the AR-15, a rifle that has been in production for almost 50 years. There are so many different vendors supplying AR-15 parts in this country, the average gun enthusiast with a little mechanical aptitude can buy the parts and assemble one on his kitchen table cheaper than he can purchase one new from a gun store.
Tooling costs for a completely new design rifle can be off the chart expensive. And it takes a lot of time, as well as sales to recoup all of these costs and start to turn a profit. Bushmaster took on production of this rifle based on many things. Production costs, market acceptability, (demographics from most every region showed a lot of shooters were chomping at the bit for the opportunity to buy one of these rifles.) It had a lot of pre production anticipation. And most important, what they could sell it for.
Other weapons in this price range are selling well. LWRC and LMT sell their piston weapons for close to the same price, and they are selling them literally as fast as they can make them. Much the same with Springfield Armory with their SOCOM 16, and SOCOM II. Both are allocated, and many smaller gun shops can't stock them without agreeing to take on additional inventory from Springfield that is harder to move.
If Bushmaster will or won't have a problem moving this gun will be based on timing. The economy stinks on ice right now, with zero sign of improvement in the near future. Especially if Hussein continues down his current economic road to ruin. It's an expensive gamble to take. It is one of the reasons you don't see too many guns like this come out. It's easier to introduce old designs in different clothes. Much like Savage has done with a lot of their short and long action bolt weapons. Their new BA and BA-T "Sniper" styled weapons sell for about the same as the Bushmaster ACR, and are nothing but a Savage 110 with a gussied up stock design. Much cheaper to produce than an entirely new weapon system built from the ground up on new tooling.
I wouldn't expect to see much of a price reduction on these guns in the immediate future. A lot of guns are in this price range, and many, as I said, are dressed up old designs. This gun will be one to watch. If it succeeds, and I hope it does, it will give a lot of hope to other manufacturers not to be afraid of experimenting with new designs. If it tanks, expect more of the same old stuff in different wrappings. Bill T.
MBTV
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