SkyScrapin

Got my wife a STI 9mm Steel Master and she really likes it.. Loaded to 130-135 PF no recoil and she likes the weight..I used her as excuse to buy it and it shoots extremely well Hehehe... I did the SAME thing. That is a FUN shooting little gun! momentary thread drift: So tell me, how do you get your laddies to shoot with ya? Mine HATES the fact that I spend so much money on guns. If only she was competitive... I think most any competitive people would enjoy this sport if they could afford it, although production isn't to expensive and still fun. I better start planning on getting her out to the range so I can get a new gun (for her of course ). Preston

How does one get about learning a trade like that? Is it boredom? Seriously... Preston

hahaha

I use baby wipes, the kind that come in paper pouches that you can find at your local hooter's (wing joint). Preston

How hard did it hit the pocket book though? We talking pocket change or taking out loans! Preston

Not to be discouraging but patents are pretty much only an expensive piece of paper unless there's a million dollars or more on the line. I've got a dozen through various employers and of those, maybe one or two has paid for itself. If you just want a patent to hang on the wall, there's ways to get one for <$5K or so... You can do a lot of the work yourself these days. Very very true. You can get packets in the mail, fill them out and wait for a response. Like you said, it largely depends on what is being patented. In my case with, I would rather go through an attorney than deal with it myself. It takes one mistake to become a problem (unless you know what your doing). Should have some names for the business here in a few weeks. I was thinking about making a poll to see what you guys thought. It is hard to finalize a name when your stuck with a few that ya like. Preston

Ex: When your barrel melts down, or your money vanishes.

Question... exactly how loud is a primer detonation compared to a gunshot.. Are we comparing it too a .22lr or a 9mm. I have been reloading for a while and have yet to have one go off. I can't wait!!! Preston

Edit: Erased cus I don't wanna break any rules Take it easy, Preston <--- Not greedy

If you really like your CZ, then I suggest you keep it. All guns will more than likely need a little tweaking to get the personal feel on the users behalf, just right. I would say, shoot a few matches and see if you progress during this time. If the gun is holding you back, try another person's pistol. If that doesn't help, have some smith do a little work on your pistol to get what you want out of it. Do you reload your own ammo? Just saying, if your trigger is giving you trouble, it is likely that the higher PF is rubbing it raw. Maybe if you lower the amount of powder by .2 grains, you could end up solving this problem. I am not an expert but this seems like a smart way to come about practicing without investing in another gun unless it is necessary. Preston

$25,000, but completely worth it. Preston

Entirely new platform. The plan is to come up with something unique in style but have the edge when it comes to newer technology. Where other companies skimp, this new company will have the best parts available. Best of all, they will come stock! I haven't any licenses yet buuuuut I have been playing with SolidWorks. Shouldn't be too long before I come up with a picture of the prototype. To long as in, a few months. I will definitely keep the BEnos community up to date. Thanks for all the valuable information. Preston

Well said! I will take all that you have put together into consideration. Seems like lots of valuable data in just one post. Preston

SVI, quality and reliability as far as I am aware of. Problem is, most smiths produce quality and reliability. Maybe not so much a problem but a good thing huh.

LadyinBlue - thanks for the input. I realize I have lots and lots of info I have to sort through before making this a full blown opporation. I am both, a hobbyist and a enthusiast. My goal is to have something that functions flawlessly out of the box and can pretty much compete with the Glock (they set the standards high, which is good right?). Bigpops - I have some names rumbling around in my head (and on paper) but I something extraordinary. When someone thinks Colt, a few things come to mind. They have been around for over a century. They are in plenty of western movies. People know their 1911s as being the first... There ARs are exeptional. Also, glock has one key thing, "reliability." I am trying to create a name that no one will forget. It will need to be simple such as Colt and Glock. Anyhow, it is 3am in dallas and I am tired. Thanks for the help guys, Preston

Your right. My way off thought was to make a badass gun that has a younger person's appeal. I am SERIOUSLY dedicated to make this work. I am sure that there is a huge margin that says I will fail but mistakes are how we learn. I understand that 5-10 years would be a good number even to get my product known. I was shooting more for 15-20. When I said money is no object, what I was referring too was the amount of investers I have that are very very wealthy. Personally, I would like to start off w/ a low number but ofcourse if I hit a big deal, I need to be capable of pumping guns out left and right. Guns (of any sort) are my #1 passion. Sure, I have other hobbies but when it come down to it, guns are more interesting and I can't even begin to explain the number of hours I have been researching. Ex: I used to sit on the computer in my earlier years from 9am until 4am the following day. It's what is most interesting to me and what I want to do for a living. If I end creating a HUGE company, that is only an added bonus. I intend to make it profitable only for the sake of me drawing an average income. When it comes to mechanics and machines. My family has a variety of knowledge and skills that could easily start up a company and make some prototypes. My old lady retired as a sales exec from EDS. My old man runs a truckin company, so moving products wouldn't be difficult. The brother is into logistics and highly qualified. He would easily be able drive costs down and save money in the long run. My uncle and cousins are both highly trained mechanical engineers (nuff said). In the end, when it comes to family, we don't screw each other, we help each other (atleast my family). We sorta have unique relationships with each other due to past health issues and what not. Everyone says not to work for a family member but I don't see how this wouldn't be a great foundation to start from. In you peoples honest opinion, as my family as faculty, would this not be a great foundation? I wanna make sure I am headed in the right path. Thanks to all you guys partisipating in this thread. I have taken notes on just about everyones comments. There is so much to learn and then some. I am in the developmental stages and am just throwing ideas around. In about 7 months I should be applying for the manufacturing FFL. I thought it was kind of cool looking into the lisensing. You can go on the ATF's website and look at the number of pistols STI has produced in I think 2008. They made I think more than 7,000. To me that is impressive. You do the math. That is pretty much where I see myself in about -10 years. Ofcourse I have high hopes but keep the suggestions coming! If you guys/gals would, please tell me what you would like in a pistol that you have yet to see. I have some pretty neat ideas myself but there are so many ways to make a firearm unique, starting with the action. Thanks, Preston

I forgot to say that money wasn't an issue. This is a good point to bring up though due to all the negativity that people have been saying so far. Anyways, good thinking. Appreciate all the great ideas so far. As for the negative ones... disregard this thread. I will get back to you guys here in a few days. I have been drawing up allllll sorts of business plans. My goals is: 1. Make every cops gun that they carry, the gun that I produce. 2. Never fall short of demand. 3. Make the gun society happy and supportive of my venture. Preston

Note taken. I plan on integrating the best of the 700 years it has taken. My first step is to come up with a company name

Starting about 2 weeks ago I had this great idea of building a company. Of course, there are butt loads of permits and licenses you have to acquire before being able to do so. I guess my question is, what do you fellows think about starting a Manufacturing company? I am trying to look at this from every aspect, especially from the eyes of the shooting community here at Brian's forums. Estimated start up costs... whether to import internals and stick to components such as the slide, lower, barrel and magazine... I want to start something more visually appealing such as a new finish that not many have used for mass production. Good/bad?... What machines would be a must?... ........anything else that might be important to talk about........... Please keep responses reasonable. It is important that money is not an object within reason (couple hundred k). Thanks, Preston

Not exactly sure about the differences, but similarly they are both hard to come buy.

Black Cmore here. You guys have me jealous that you have more than one gun to put different optics on.

use the 124JHP. Also have the CMJ in 124. BOTH are completely reliable. I only purchased a thousand of each and wish I would have ordered more.

If you are seriously in trouble and not finding the amount of primers you need, look into Cabela's online. I ordered 20,000. They said they'll be shipping mid July. If you order a smaller amount, say maybe 5 thousand, they'll be shipping mid June. Anyways, I plan on selling majority of mine to fellers in need for the price I will have paid for them. Be looking in the classified section come July for WSR primers. Preston

An old dryer sheet torn into strips with each batch keeps the dust and "gummyness" down - makes the rice last longer. Next batch I get, imma try this out. Is it just regular white rice or ???. Need to know these things before I go digging in the pantry. preston

+1 Residue covers the cmore even with a blast shield but it comes of easy from my experience. The blast isn't bad with three hybrid holes but it is allllll preference. Are you 100% positive that you want popple holes because they aren't reversible. You can however add them later if you feel the need. Also, I haven't shot as many rounds as most of these fellas but so far there hasn't been any maintenance issues. Scirocco38s - About how many rounds did you have down the tube before you had extractor issues? Preston