Submitting Gun Concept

[Vuk]

Say if someone was to come up with a revolutionary concept for a military assault rifle and they wanted to submit the idea to the US military, how would they go about that? Would it be better to submit it to a manufacturing company like FN? If so, how would you contact them?

[Secura]

Have you drawn up some sketches of this 'revolutionary concept'? An explanation of how it works? A working model?

I get the feeling that the weapons manufacturers won't give their time to just anyone who says they have a new idea; you'd need some evidence to show them... so I guess your first step would be to speak to someone who could help you get such material together.

[Vuk]

Have you drawn up some sketches of this 'revolutionary concept'? An explanation of how it works? A working model?

I get the feeling that the weapons manufacturers won't give their time to just anyone who says they have a new idea; you'd need some evidence to show them... so I guess your first step would be to speak to someone who could help you get such material together.

lol, not me, my bro. Yes, he has created scale models of several variants in Auto-CAD, refitted two of his guns test his design, and I have been helping him write up a presentation of it. We don't have a complete working model (nor the money or equipment to build one or have one built), but he has two guns modified to test some of the concepts.
Write now we just don't know who to contact. :P

[Secura]

Ahhh, that's excellent; you're already on your way there, then!

A quick look on Wikipedia provides you with pages for the various firearm manufacturers across the United States; I randomly clicked one of these and found their website, has a list of possible telephone numbers and email addresses you can contact for customer support and enquiries.

That's just one place I looked at in the last few minutes, I guess with a little more diligence you could easily locate one in your local county (or at least, your state) that you could discuss your concepts with and perhaps arrange a meeting.

[Vuk]

Ahhh, that's excellent; you're already on your way there, then!

A quick look on Wikipedia provides you with pages for the various firearm manufacturers across the United States; I randomly clicked one of these and found their website, has a list of possible telephone numbers and email addresses you can contact for customer support and enquiries.

That's just one place I looked at in the last few minutes, I guess with a little more diligence you could easily locate one in your local county (or at least, your state) that you could discuss your concepts with and perhaps arrange a meeting.

Thanks Secura. I was hoping to submit it to one of the larger companies (H&K, FN, etc). (FN would be my main choice)
The problem is that while I saw contact info for sales, etc, I saw nothing for R&D, or something else that I think would apply. I contacted customer service at FN and asked them about it, but I was hoping that maybe someone here knew the best way to go about it. (so it does not come off as any more amateur than necessary :P)
I just hope that they do not need a working prototype, because neither of us could afford that. :P We could probably work with a gunsmith to make a working design with someone of the workings of existing guns, but it would not be the best proof of concept, and my guess is that it would cost many hundreds of dollars. :P

[Secura]

If the concept is really good, a manufacturer may be willing to spend the money on a prototype to test how it works and so on, no?

[Crazed Rabbit]

lol, not me, my bro. Yes, he has created scale models of several variants in Auto-CAD, refitted two of his guns test his design, and I have been helping him write up a presentation of it. We don't have a complete working model (nor the money or equipment to build one or have one built), but he has two guns modified to test some of the concepts.
Write now we just don't know who to contact. :P

You likely know this, but be careful making functional firearms. Weapons that can fire fully automatically lead quickly to prison time without extensive permits. That's aside from the more mundane dangers from explosions.

Per Secura, you're best bet is a smaller manufacturer of rifles. Magpul, I believe, just makes accessories. But there are a lot of smaller manufacturers who might pay attention to a good idea and presentation - though I'd imagine they get lots of stupid ideas from lots of foolish people, meaning they have screening systems anyone with a good idea would have to get through.

CR

[Vuk]

You likely know this, but be careful making functional firearms. Weapons that can fire fully automatically lead quickly to prison time without extensive permits. That's aside from the more mundane dangers from explosions.

Per Secura, you're best bet is a smaller manufacturer of rifles. Magpul, I believe, just makes accessories. But there are a lot of smaller manufacturers who might pay attention to a good idea and presentation - though I'd imagine they get lots of stupid ideas from lots of foolish people, meaning they have screening systems anyone with a good idea would have to get through.

CR

Don't worry CR, we did nothing illegal. :P One was a bolt-action (we were testing the stock design and recoil suppression) rifle we refitted, and the other was semi-auto. We unfortunately cannot build a fully auto, fully functioning gun, so we are testing each part of the design one at a time as best as we can.
I see your point with smaller manufacturers, but isn't it true that with a smaller company it would be unlikely that they would ever be produced on mass? To be honest, it is not money that we are concerned with; we just want the US military to have the best equipment available, and we think we have something that could give them a serious edge. As long as the Marines end up using it, we will be happy. :P

EDIT: That said though, the design would carry over perfectly into civilian rifles. :)

[Husar]

It may also be wise to make sure they can't just say "thanks for the idea, we'll try it, now bugger off" and then claim it as their own idea.
A patent would seem like the most logical choice but I have no idea whether or what that costs.
In the process of getting a patent you might also find out whether or not someone else has already had or tried the same idea.

[Vuk]

It may also be wise to make sure they can't just say "thanks for the idea, we'll try it, now bugger off" and then claim it as their own idea.
A patent would seem like the most logical choice but I have no idea whether or what that costs.
In the process of getting a patent you might also find out whether or not someone else has already had or tried the same idea.

hmmm...thanks, that is probably a good idea. Does anyone have any idea how that would be done? :P