Well, I am buying brands that are admired and trusted, and who continue to improve, rather than cheapen, products.

Which leaves me helping to keep open who?

Suprisingly, Colt, still has done little cheapening and has even reversed course on some moves.

Whereas, most of the others continue to VASTLY cheapen how products made (look at even Ruger .22s, their original gun has ceased to exist).

And am not even going to list the others who also sell only exterior vaguely original product shaped objects, done to increase profit margins even when in an already unparalleled boom market, quick profit taking at expense of buyer.

Buyers now have scads of their cheap toys with casting sprue innards and plywood stocks and plastic shells.

No true lasting quality calls, and how many disposable guns are folk gonna buy, having no belief their new gun will even be working for rest of their lifetime, much less, that of children or grandchildren?

As for Remington...moving in on struggling Marlin, telling them no problem, jobs and factory safe, within the year taking away one assembler buiding each gun, taking away benches and stools and instituting Six Sigma driven cell concepts, half a dozen workers at a table, standing entire shift, passing partially assembled guns to next guy, no bathroom break unless worker arranged his own relief at the table, a rifle every 30 secs or supervisors forced to send home with no pay, or fire, those judged too slow by metrics, ....and then the unannounced closure, packing, and workers with decades offered fast food wages if they relocated to Illion, while Remington was busy improving the machined forgings Marlin by converting to cast and MIM, and sold rifles for YEARS that did not even work.

And them in trouble a suprise, after already butchering their own iconic 870 to the point Mossberg looked like real quality to buyers and they dumped Remington in droves to make Mossberg the number 1 selling shotgun?