OK , such is life! :) aint anything made in the USA anymore?

[GregD]

The thing I don't understand is how a company can move overseas, use inferior materials, drastically reduce labor costs and continue to charge the same prices for an all around inferior product. Woolrich is one company that comes to mind and there are dozens of others that have done the same thing.

[bayoulongbowman]

Greg, I hold heartly agree. I remember when I was kid ,if it said made in Japan, it was junk, well not anymore , they make good trucks, but they still dont have the leg room for big and tall guys!! Japan makes fishing grear , golf, tv's...and they hold up , what Im talkin about is  , I guess the junk, dumming down the products...does quality mean anything...heck I read the other day where drywall being sold here in the US is causing toxic mold...think of all the homes after the hurricanes with that crap in the homes!!!!! That dont cut it with me!!! Where is the quality control, lead paint isssues, oh I could go on and on!!!!!!!!Americans are tried of it ....yes sir Im God fearing redneck American ...are ya with me !!!!!!  

[WESTBROOK]

What Greg said! Alot of them charge a "Made in USA" price for there stuff that aint.

I dont mind paying the extra for "Home Made" stuff. Especialy small businesses, where everyone from the bottom up is making it happen.

Eric

[Shifting Shadow]

A couple of points. We can't assume that everything American made is good quality. Some of it isn't. I've had bows that delaminated and had uneven cut nocks...that were made in America.

2nd point. Many U.S. bowyers use exotic woods from other countries (bacote, cocobolo, bubinga, etc.) We all have seen those threads asking what wood combinations go good together. So no more Blacktail, etc. I guess. What U.S. bowyer doesn't use them? The only one that comes to mind is Great Northern.

[hill boy]

Mark,
I couldn't agree more.What is sad is that our government pushes companys overseas by intervention,over regulation and taxation.Maby another suject but it's true.  

[bayoulongbowman]

Never said anything about everything being good made in the USA!!!!!!never said I want everything American....( as long as I got osage, wal

nut, hickory  and red elm ...Im happy camper!!!LOL Mike what you said about govt. pushing comapanies is true , some what but some is just about pure greed...... Im done lata.......  

[MCNSC]

Its time if at all possible to buy American. All these companies moving production is only greed. Greed from the companys and the consumer. Even in Wally World if you compair products you may find one made in the US. A couple of weeks ago a big catalog had brand name knifes on sale I ordered 3 the one I had was made in USA the new ones are made in China I would not have ordered them if I had known at the time they were not made in the US. Carbon arrows can be found still made in the US.. Once manufactures see that it is important to folks that products be made here more will stay..It may mean we have to spend a few more $$ for a product but it may just mean saveing your own or your neighbors job.
 I have lost 2 jobs one of 28 years because they moved production to China..so yes it is important to me.

[tj69]

I guess there are good bowyer and craftsmen in many countrys. Bad too.
I love scottish bows from Border, don´t want to miss my Black Widow and I look forward to get my Blacktail. In Germany we have great bowyer like Stegmeyer, Kienle, Friedrich and many more.
So I want to say: good money for good work, no matter where it comes from.

[roper]

I am sorry to learn that my favorite glove is now
made overseas!  I have three or four new ones put
up that will last me for a while and then i'll go
to a different glove! I will also contact Alasaka
Bowhunting Supply know that I will not be ordering
anything from him in the future! Maybe it would have been cheaper for him to continue to have them
made in Alasaka!  I would have been glad to pay even a higher price!  Thats how you stop this BS!

[pointystick]

To me "American made" doesn't exclude products using materials that are sourced from other countries. My HH Wesely, for example, uses cocobolo from South America for the riser and bamboo from Japan for the limb cores. Even so, I would consider it a thoroughly American made bow. Craig and his crew did the work that turned the raw materials into the finished product, and that's what counts to me.

[White Oak]

As someone who makes their living in manufacturing,it is great to see some support for products made here.
Buying raw materials that are not available here is necessary and is not the problem.A product made here using these materials is still USA made and someone earns a living by producing the product.
The problem is foreign labor. Even at minimum wage there is no way that Americans can compete with Chinese wages. In our industry we are competing with .19 per hour wages for less skilled labor and $ 1.00 per hour for the most skilled.This is for heavy precision machining.Quality has gone out the window. Most parts coming in require 100% inspection and rework with many being scrapped.
Government regs are also a problem but many are necessary but not observed there. We have safety and EPA regs, and rightfully so, that employers here must comply with. Safety is of no concern there and they continue to spew tons of polutants into the air and water that will someday effect us all.
What few products produced here that are exported to these countries are burdend with heavy taxes. U.S manufacturers who chose to have parts produced overseas are allowed to bring them into this country usually duty free as long as it is not an assemled product. Once again we lose.
Greed is at the heart of it all.
Look at what we have seen recently. Anti freeze in tooth paste, lead paint in childrens toys, tires that suddenly blow due to inferior workmanship,and the list goes on. Any one of these things would shut an American company down but we continue to import all we can.
Call it protectionism if you want but all the American worker wants is a level playing field.
This country must produce to survive.We can't all work in sales or service when there is no one left to buy.Manufacturing is the backbone of this country and more is disappearing daily.
God forbid that we should see another world war but in the past manufacturers of all products tooled up and made necessary war related items. Who will we out source these products to when we can no longer produce them ourselves. China? Korea? South Vietnam? Lets hope they are on our side and the quality of their products are better than what we have seen.
It certainly is time to buy American when possible. As you look around you will find that this can be difficult to do. Insisting on American products when possible is the only way to turn this around. Our government isn't going to change this. Big business isn't going to bury the greed out of patriotism. The only one who can make a difference is the consumer.
For those of you who have lost your jobs to these countries and for those of us who see more of ours go every day this topic hits real close to home.
             Take care,
                       Ed

[MCNSC]

In my last post I did not make my self very clear. I dont have a problem buying Items from outside the US. My problem is with US companies sending jobs out for basicly slave labor wages then import the items back to the US or anywhere for that matter.
Mike

[Harmless]

NAFTA, thanks to Bill Clinton.

[Dave Bulla]

What's really sad is the worlds largest container ships regularly come from china to the US loaded to the gills with foreign goods and guess what's in them on the way back?  Raw materials?  U.S. made goods?.....Try this......NOTHING!!!!!

That's right, container ships bring us everything to use in our daily lives and go back home empty.  There is nothing we make that they want I guess...  Oh, that's right, we don't make anything anymore except debt and China doesn't want to buy that any more either.  And ya know what?  I can't blame them one bit.  I wonder what'll happen if the day ever comes when China says something like "payment is due in full by XX/XX date."  Oh that's right, our government has mortgaged "the house" several times over.  Guess we'll just have to hand over the keys and start to speak Chinese huh?

[Ron LaClair]

Hidden Hunter Blinds...made in the USA!
 http://www.shrewbows.com/hiddenhunterblinds/index.html

[katie]

I only hunt in US made products.  It took me 2 years to find a camo mask for turkey.  The only one I could find came stuck to a bucket hat.  I like it, just not what I was looking for.  For deer I use a wool blend kids size stocking hat with a built in mask.  Slim picks for US made products.  No trouble with finding a US made hunting shirt thanks to Mr. LaClair.  I guess we all just need to look to our Tradgang sponsers for some good hand made American stuff!
Katie

[2fletch]

I started working in textiles when I got out of the service in 1965. For 40+ years I worked hard while watching the industry move overseas. All 4 of the companies that I worked for are now extinct including the biggest textile company in the world.

Now my wife and I are putting all of our efforts into making products for archery. We have had several offers from outside the country offer to make products for us, but we quietly declined. We have also seen the competition here increase with several other companies making bow quiver models to compete with ours. At some point there may be as many different bow quivers as there are bows on the market, and that just gives us more to choose from. However, if anyone goes off shore to try to make them more cheaply, then it will have a harmful effect on the domestic manufacturing.

Especially at this time (when the economy is down) we should try to buy domestic as much as possible. Once an industry is gone it is not apt to ever return. We will always buy materials locally if they are available, and will always manufacture here. Now it's up to the rest of you to buy domestically as long as there is a choice.

[Bob Morrison]

I would like to see a thread with things that are made in the USA, along with things we think are made here but really not.
1. Rocky Boots were made in Ohio... Now China.
2. DB Blinds were I don't believe they are now?
3. Levi jeans,,, not now..
4. Diamond Gusset jeans 100% USA...

Please continue listing USA or not to help educate everyone, I really think it may be a wakeup call.

[MI_Bowhunter]

Originally posted by Bob Morrison:
1. Rocky Boots were made in Ohio... Now China.

I have a cherished pair that still have the "Made in USA" stamp in the soles.    I've had them for over 20 years.   The soles are starting to crumble but the uppers are still going strong.

[Bob Morrison]