Affordable American Arms: Red, White, and Blue for Little Green
Most American gun owners are proud of where they come from, proud of their Second Amendment rights, and proud of the guns they carry - even more so if that gun is made in the United States. Guns are often said to be the great equalizer, but that equality disappears if they’re unaffordable. Unfortunately, inflation has caused the price of everything to go up, and guns are no exception.
As is often the case, obtaining cheaper goods means looking at imported, foreign-made items. In the past, these cheaper, foreign guns were often the poster child for “you get what you pay for.” Most were poorly made from subpar materials. This meant that they were often unreliable and, at times, some were downright dangerous to the person pulling the trigger! Thankfully, you don’t have to look outside of this country to find firearms that are both made with pride in the United States of America and can be had at a price point that won’t leave you with serious sticker shock.
We’re going to take a look at a handful of different gun companies that are offering American-made guns that you can be proud to own and won’t cause you to wince when you look at your next bank statement. Are there higher end options out there? Absolutely, but at the end of the day, the affordable gun that you have on hand is better than the more expensive one that’s still in the gun shop.
Radical Firearms
Located in Texas, Radical Firearms is a textbook case of an American success story. What started out simply as a hobby has grown into a full-blown business that produces AR pistols, AR-style rifles, and suppressors. They make their custom line of ARs in-house and pride themselves on being a true manufacturer and not just an assembly shop.
This is all well and good from a product standpoint, but the rubber really meets the road on the price tag. Most of their guns come in with an MSRP of around $700, but you can find them on sale at DEGuns for as little as $469.99 for an AR pistol and as little as $479.99 for an AR rifle. That’s right: you can buy a complete, American-made AR-15 for less than $500! There are a total of 14 different models from Radical Firearms on our site right now, and nine of them are on sale for those prices. That’s up to $240 off!
Anderson Manufacturing
One of the coolest things about the AR platform is that they’re essentially “plug and play” items, meaning that just about anyone can build one from a pile of parts. They’re LEGOs for adults, if you will. For the gun guy or gal who likes to go the Do-It-Yourself route, Anderson Manufacturing has made it incredibly affordable to do so. The heart of any AR is the lower receiver, and you can buy an Anderson lower for less than $54! At that price, you can buy a few extras and just throw ‘em in your safe until you’re ready to take on another AR build when you have the time. The money you save on the lower receiver can be spent elsewhere, like on your parts kit, upper receiver, barrel, optics, stock, etc.
If you’d prefer a complete gun, you can also buy an assembled AR from Anderson for just $449.99.
Ruger
In the market for an affordable concealed carry handgun that’s made in the USA? Give Ruger’s lineup a look. Celebrating their 75th anniversary in 2024, Ruger is a proud American company with guns made in Arizona, New Hampshire, and North Carolina.
On this site, there are ten different Ruger pistols priced under $300. Two of those are less than $270, and one of them (the Ruger LCP) even comes equipped with a laser! That’s a heck of a deal for a gun that’s got a solid reputation. With models available in 9mm and .380 ACP, as well as in a variety of different models in various sizes, there’s a gun for everyone in every budget in the Ruger lineup.
Heritage Manufacturing
Heritage is a brand that’s held by Taurus, and while Taurus is Brazilian, the Heritage brand is entirely US-made in Bainbridge, Georgia. Their incredibly popular Rough Rider model is a single action revolver chambered primarily in .22 LR, but they also offer a few other versions, one in .22 WMR and another in .357 Magnum. A staggering variety of grip options are available, and barrels can be as long as 16” in honor of the iconic Buntline design. The vast majority of these guns are available for less than $200, with some models costing just a bit more.
They also offer a similar Barkeep revolver and a double action revolver known as the Roscoe that pays tribute to the 1930s to 1950s hard-scrabble detectives.
A couple rifles are even available. Known as the Settler, these lever action rimfire rifles offer up western styling with wood stocks and color case hardened receivers - all for less than $450.
Low Cost Benefits
Spending less on a firearm means that there’s more money left over for “firearm-adjacent” things like ammo, slings, holsters, belts, and training. With more and more American-made firearms on the market that are budget friendly, today’s shooters can feel good knowing that they’re contributing to the American economy all while preserving and participating in the history and heritage of the Second Amendment. What could be better than that?
