A favorite among law enforcement and home defenders alike, the G17 offers a 9mm chambered semi-automatic design with 17+1 capacity. While the company has steadily churned out various models and generations over the years, the Glock G17 has remained one of the best options for many defense scenarios. It’s no surprise that it tops our list of Self-Defense worthy firearms. Glock is synonymous with reliability and ruggedness, proving itself over the years as a worthy contender in the self-defense and personal protection realms. Smith & Wesson executives often tout the company’s “flexible” strategy of absorbing this demand by outsourcing the manufacture of certain gun parts to other companies, allowing the company to avoid expensive and permanent expansions to its factory capacity.The Glock G17 is a notorious self-defense handgun, primed for protection. Smith, in the call with analysts, attributed part of the company’s success to the company’s “flexible” manufacturing model. Ongoing spikes and drop-offs over the years have made gunmakers cautious about expensive expansions in manufacturing capacity. Smith & Wesson has a long history in dealing with the ebb and flow of demand. “It’s not getting any better, but it’s not getting any worse,” said Smith, when asked by an analyst about the inventory shortage. The ammo shortage stems from an international struggle for raw materials including copper, which is used in bullets. Even reloaders, who assemble their own ammo, have trouble getting supplies. Consumers and retailers have complained about bare aisles in gun stores across the country. These companies haven’t been able to manufacture enough ammunition to keep up with the unprecedented demand. The top ammunition makers are Vista Outdoor, which acquired an ammo factory from Remington after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection again last year, and Olin, a maker of industrial chemicals that also owns the Winchester brand. Other top gun makers including Glock, Sig Sauer, Beretta, Daniel Defense, Barrett, HK, Springfield Armory and Savage Arms. Smith & Wesson has plenty of competition, including its top market share rival Sturm, Ruger, which makes the LCP line of semiautomatic pistols and the AR-556 semiautomatic pistol and rifle. Gunmen in multiple mass shootings have used rifles or pistols loaded with magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds, so they don’t have to pause and reload as often.
Biden wants to ban these high-capacity magazines for civilian buyers because they have become the weapon of choice in many mass shootings. Smith & Wesson sells its AR-15s along with 30-round magazines that are restricted in many states including New York, Massachusetts and California, which do not allow magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. Assault weapons have been used in many mass shootings.
223, which is used in military models of AR-15s.Īmericans are also buying AR-15s partly out of fear that President Joseph Biden, a Democrat who owns guns, will make good on his pledge to crack down on assault weapons, which includes AR-15s, which the gun makers prefer to call modern sporting rifles, or MSRs. 22, which is used for target shooting and plinking, and also. These rifles are made for different calibers including. Smith & Wesson makes a line of AR-15s called the M&P 15 Sport Series. People are also buying shotguns and rifles for home defense, including semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15s made for the civilian market. Competitors make similar pistols, like Sturm, Ruger with its MAX-9, a micro-sized semiautomatic pistol. This includes the Smith & Wesson M&P 9 Shield EZ, which is made in various sizes including subcompact and micro compact, which are preferred sizes for concealed carry. Many of the buyers are purchasing compact semiautomatic pistols that are relatively easy to use, and to carry for self-protection. Smith estimated that at least 10 million people have bought guns for the first time since the beginning of 2020.