APOD Firearms

Is it just me....STI is gone

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  • TX OMFS

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    What kind of sorcery is this?
    Never even heard of this maker. Boutique 1911 guys are all over.
    I'm sure its a fine gun and all but you gotta get them on the shelves for people to buy.
    Funny thing about Rock Island and Glock. Every mom&pop gun store has them on the shelf. Ready to go. I NEVER saw an STI like that.

    McQueeny Guns between New Braunfels and Seguin had them in stock.
    Guns International
     

    TX OMFS

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    Never been there.
    It's worth the time if you get a chance, at least it was worth the time. I haven't been since coronavirus. They had lots of guns in-stock, indoor range, full auto for rent, and they had/have a 300WM in an AR pattern. I don't think it was the Nemo, I think it was another manufacturer. That weapon is also on my list of wanted guns but it ain't cheap.

    ETA: I bought a Ruger Mark IV there. A guy bought it for his son, they shot it on the range after buying it, didn't like it, and sold it back to the store. I got it as a "used" gun for a decent price.

    My only complaint is they still put your through the NICS even w/ a LTC. At least they did two years ago when I bought that gun.
     

    TexasRedneck

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    What kind of sorcery is this?
    Never even heard of this maker. Boutique 1911 guys are all over.
    I'm sure its a fine gun and all but you gotta get them on the shelves for people to buy.
    Funny thing about Rock Island and Glock. Every mom&pop gun store has them on the shelf. Ready to go. I NEVER saw an STI like that.

    And you won't - I was responding to the "You can build a 1911" comment....my point was - we do. My further point was, despite that I still considered the STI product line to be one of the best for the money you could find. We built that one for me as a BBQ gun on a whim - as with any other one-off custom, there's a lot of things about this pistol that aren't visible to the naked eye, and certainly not for everyone.
     

    Moonpie

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    Gunz are icky.
    STI guns were a good value its just you never saw them for sale around much.
    What you did see was R.I. with an occasional Colt or even S&W.
    Seems like STI was a custom order type place most didn't even know existed.
    You gotta get your stuff out there into the hands of shooters to build recognition.
    This is one area where I think Glock hits it out of the park.
    Everywhere you can buy a gun has Glocks. Oodles of'em. All calibers and models right there on the shelf for a person to handle/buy.
    Very few shooters want to custom order a gun and wait many months to get it. Sure, a few dedicated types but not enough to sustain a business long term.
    Even today you can go to somewhere to look at guns and there are Glocks, and S&W, and whatever, but where the heck are the Colt's or the higher end 1911's?
    Do you know of a shop that inventories a lot of higher end 1911's?
    And I'm not talking about some Ubermensch super secret squirrel 1911 collector hidden away in an oak tree in the middle of a forbidden forest that has JMB's prototype for the 1911.
    A regular shop regular folks can visit.
    I guess what I'm trying to say is your product has to be available.
    STI wasn't.
     

    oldag

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    STI guns were a good value its just you never saw them for sale around much.
    What you did see was R.I. with an occasional Colt or even S&W.
    Seems like STI was a custom order type place most didn't even know existed.
    You gotta get your stuff out there into the hands of shooters to build recognition.
    This is one area where I think Glock hits it out of the park.
    Everywhere you can buy a gun has Glocks. Oodles of'em. All calibers and models right there on the shelf for a person to handle/buy.
    Very few shooters want to custom order a gun and wait many months to get it. Sure, a few dedicated types but not enough to sustain a business long term.
    Even today you can go to somewhere to look at guns and there are Glocks, and S&W, and whatever, but where the heck are the Colt's or the higher end 1911's?
    Do you know of a shop that inventories a lot of higher end 1911's?
    And I'm not talking about some Ubermensch super secret squirrel 1911 collector hidden away in an oak tree in the middle of a forbidden forest that has JMB's prototype for the 1911.
    A regular shop regular folks can visit.
    I guess what I'm trying to say is your product has to be available.
    STI wasn't.
    Not many Bentley dealers around either...

    You have to know your place in the market. IF you want to sell tupperware (e.g., glocks) then market like walmart and have your product in every 7-11.

    If you want to sell a high end product, do not place your product everywhere. Let the reputation and word of mouth bring customers.

    Wilson, Guncrafter, etc. don't want to sell a million 1911's (not even 5,000) a year. They have chosen their niche. And they are quite happy with their businesses.

    STI was not up there with the semi-customs in reputation (although build quality was actually as good as Ed Brown or Nighthawk at a lower price point). They also sold more guns (~6000/year) than the semi-customs. But they never aimed to sell as many as Ruger, Colt, etc.

    Until their quality went down after the company sold, they had steady sales. Just one step down from the semi-customer makers. It was a solid business that made the owner happy, as well as the customers.
     

    TexasRedneck

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    A regular shop regular folks can visit.
    I guess what I'm trying to say is your product has to be available.
    STI wasn't.

    Oldag hit the nail on the head - they didn't want to be everywhere. They understood their place in the market, and they fit in it quite well. Thousands of folks custom-order guns every year, because they want what they want the way THEY want it - and those makers fill that niche. STI was somewhere in between - but you could also get a LOT of gun for the dollar. They did do some work with Cabela's for a while, but I think they quickly figured out that high-volume production wasn't something they wanted to do.

    There's still several STI models I'm looking for - and I'll find, eventually.<G>
     

    TX OMFS

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    Marketing is always tough. You definitely have to know your niche and set-up your business for that model. I wonder what exactly happened w/ STI. It could be as simple as the owner being offered a deal he couldn't refuse.
     

    oldag

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    Marketing is always tough. You definitely have to know your niche and set-up your business for that model. I wonder what exactly happened w/ STI. It could be as simple as the owner being offered a deal he couldn't refuse.
    The owner was ready to cash out. After he saw what the new owners did to his baby, he would have liked to have bought it back.
     

    Pops1955

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    Sad shame. I had an STI Escort I carried for a couple years. LEO Son of mine wanted it so he now carries it off duty. One of the sweetest guns I ever carried. Beautiful weapon.
     

    Gilbertc13

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    STI still makes one of the best 1911/2011 platforms available on the market. 2011 or 9mm double stack 1911s are the in right now. They’re never in stock and people pay for them.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
     

    F350-6

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    I've got a couple of STI's that I've had for years. The link to the new website leaves me with questions.

    Since lightweight, optic ready carry pistols are the new in thing, I clicked on theStaccato C.

    First thing I noticed is they have it pictured with a Romeo Zero optic. Then I read on it it talks about using Dawson Precision sights (which is fine except Dawson sights are too thin for my old eyes, but what about making your own sights?)

    Then it say something about a 2011 single stack carry grip? I thought 2011 was a double stack?

    Oh well. The value of my pistols just went up.
     
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