The promise of quality and the reneging in production! The dirty trick and industry secret that no one talks about!

First, I want to start this conversation by saying that the CNC machine tools used today across a broad spectrum of applications and necessities., each have their place and each have an important role to play.   I also want to be clear that a great machinist can do amazing things with machines that are not supposed to be able to hold exceptional tolerances.   A great car driver could probably give most people the scare of the their lives on a racetrack, even if handed the keys to a mini-van.  That said, it would not be the vehicle of choice at that high level of professionalism. If he tried to hoodwink people at shows and events on his vehicle's quality and capabilities (even though he is a great driver) the truth would come out on race day as the fans fill the bleachers and he pulls his mini van onto the track.

I come from exceptional humble beginnings and praise anyone trying to better themselves and using what they have to grow.  There are a lot of great builders out there using world class manual lathes that produce better rifles than almost any major celebrity brand, TV Show or Influencer out there.  But, on the same token, the local smith isn't being deceitful about his shop, tools, professionalism, abilities or what he is going to provide you as a customer.  This is how I started building rifles and my hat goes out to all of those who can take a raw piece of steel and with nothing but a manual lathe turn it into a shooting work of art.  My wish it nothing but the best for you all as you are my brothers.  ​

I just finished the third part of our podcast series, "The Story of the Ace," and it was about making the ACE at volume and at exceptionally high accuracy.  This was no small feat, to say the least, and was as much about the technology as it was about separating ourselves from the accepted machines and machining practices and looking to the aerospace industry.  We believe that if you want to make world class components, you cannot do it on the same equipment that most big and small manufacturers in the gun industry today are using.  Many in the industry hang a sign on the front door that reads "we build the best," but the sign above the entrance to the shop floor reads "we use equipment of bare minimum quality, just good enough to get by with” and to us we find that contradictory.  To customers, we feel that, is in some ways, deceitful.  These tactics are selling nothing but a brand and are marketing strategies to lure the people in while hiding the fact that you actually plan on using the mini van on race day when it comes to building their custom rifle.

These tactics can be compared to Oprah. Oprah has been boasting for years that she loses weight the hard way..."climb that mountain" she said in an interview.   "Do the work and don't take the easy way out," was her war cry.  Then, the truth came out that she really wasn't putting in the hard work necessary to lose weight.  Instead, she was taking Ozempic, a medication designed for diabetic patients that has weight lose effects.  I am not shaming, but the same holds true for our industry in a strange but parallel world of custom "long range" rifles.  Some say one thing in the public eye, then produce a completely different product behind the scenes taking the easiest and cheapest way out.

I am not throwing stones, but we are committed to not just talking the talk.  We believe that if you truly believe what you are saying or in this case selling, shouldn't your actions be mirroring your words?  Commitment means buying equipment that is 3 to 5 times more expensive than the accepted production brand machine in our industry.  You get what you pay for and if you want 3 to 5 times the accuracy and quality out the rife you are building than a machine that can hold 3 to 5 times tighter tolerances is going to cost you.  You cannot make Ferrari's using equipment from the Kia plant, nor should you be selling your customers a Kia when promising Ferrari quality.  If you are going to commit and make that promise of delivering the highest quality to the customer, you cannot renege on your promise of quality when it comes time to writing the checks and putting the machines on the floor that are needed to deliver on your promise.   

Like the race car driver secretly planning on using his mini van to run the race on your behalf or the great and powerful Oz saying don't look behind that curtain.  Wether intentional or not, most customers wouldn't know the differences in the machines if they just merely looked at them.  They all sort of look the same.  And. I would bet pulling back the curtain on the great and powerful Oz to some still looks amazing.  Again, this is not to knock local, talented gunsmiths that have  magic in their abilities to form metal by hand and skill.   This is about the big boys, the magic show on TV and elsewhere selling the hype while you stand outside of the curtain trembling in fear and in awe at the performance being put on in front of you.  Not knowing it's nothing more than a scripted broadway show.  

I don't mean to sound harsh, but the $3000 custom cowboy hat selling you on their commitment to deliver the very best quality to you is deceitful if they then choose to use throw away machines to make the product after you hand over a lot and in some cases even excessive amounts of hard earned cash.  "The most ***urate hunting rifles in the world" or "1*** yards out of the box" are only disingenuous taglines if you choose to use some of the cheapest brand machines on the market or worn our recycled machines from the 90's or even older to build that customers rifle.   

Let me explain in a little more detail...

When it comes to accuracy and machines, the tolerances are like the bullseye of a target.  Except, that as the tolerances get looser, the target moves around on the operator, making it harder to hit dead center once, let alone in a repeatable fashion.   So, a machine that can hold lets say .001 tolerance sounds great on paper, but that is plus or minus .001.   meaning it's doubling the problem because now you can miss on either side of the target.   As machines and their castings heat up or cool, the target moves!  As the spindles warm up or cool down, the target moves.  As even something so miniscule as the coolant in the machine warms up or cools down, you guessed it, the target moves again.  All this in mind, it is the center of the target you are aiming for.  That is not to say that even with all of this working against you that a world class machinist cannot get that machine to hit that mark.  A great one could.  Now, he may need a couple cracks at it, but I believe a great machinist can do spectacular things. But if pressed and asked, even they would agree that this type of effort is exhausting on lesser quality machines and in no way suitable for extremely high accuracy and in a production environment requiring it.

So, now when you start talking about machines that have tolerances of .0001 or .0002 you can just imagine the level of quality it would have to be.   Can you imagine the level of sophistication it would take to build a machine tool that is 5 to 10 times more accurate than the ones I mentioned above?   How expensive they would be to make and the excessive prices you would have to pay for the advancements in machining technology. These machines can not only hold the bullseye perfectly still, but also allows less skilled shooters (machinist) to hit the mark with ease over and over again.  So, are these companies promising the best while using lesser quality machines using the very best machinists in the world to drive them?   Do you think Richard Petty would waste his talent trying to drive a mini van on the race track regardless of how much he was offered to be paid?  I don't think so, as he would be setting himself up for a task where winning over and over again would be impossible.

We knew building the ACE was going to be hard.   We knew holding the tolerances needed to build a rifle as close to perfect as humanly possible was going to be harder.  We also knew that trying to do all of this at scale meant the machines where going to have to be of aerospace quality.  We also knew that this meant it was going to be expensive.  What gave me some of the greatest pleasure while going through this process of selecting the right machine was not once did any of us waiver on our commitment to the quality of machine we needed and we did not talk ourselves out of it or try to find ways to justify anything less.  "That's the machine everyone else is using" was not going to be a good enough sales pitch to change our minds. Names like Okuma, Mazak and DMG Mori, that are common in the Aerospace and Medical Fields, are rarely if ever seen in our industry.  In some ways, I think it is sad that some in our industry promise "the best" and "cutting edge" and often charge for that promise in great excess.  But, then feel that the customer is not worth the investment or will notice the difference in quality when it comes time in choosing the machine in order to keep and deliver on the promise they made.    

The sign that hangs in our entrance reads "Home of the ACE".  Our commitment to the very best is on our lobby wall.  And, our commitment to building the very best is clear regardless of what door you walk through or machine you walk by.  We cannot hit the bullseye every time on behalf of the customer if we buy a machine that can't hold it still.  We are committed to building the best through advancements in technology  including "The ACE" and the machines need to deliver it in both quality and quantity through exceptional repeatable accuracy.  The most exciting part for us is as our production keeps going up, our prices can keep coming down.  Eventually I want to be able to offer to everyone a rifle that is better than a custom and at a price that most can afford.  It's a promise from me and I intend to keep it. We build to a standard, not a price and our products are premised on optimal performance,  engineering excellence and capitalizing on modern production capabilities. 

So would you spend a million dollars to develop the next generation of accuracy driven rifles?  We did and are 100% committed to the cause and to stay the course.  It's the writing on our wall and a promise we made to our customers.  We want to wish a Merry Christmas to everyone and are looking forward to a great new year in 2024! Thanks for all the support!