For a while in the 1980s I spent a good bit of time with the head of a firearms company - a leading company - and found that, although he was dealing with all aspects of that profit-making outfit, his primary focus was on smart innovation and the quality of his products. His reputation and the company history were based on some unique designs and solid products. Most of us have some of them. Firearms manufacture has changed a good bit since then, along with the tastes and preferences of those who buy and shoot the stuff. The social and legal climates have changed as well. And, most of the guys who did what he did are gone.
There always will be high quality rifles made individually by fine craftsmen, but the broad market has changed. There are some very fine gun makers in the "mass" market today, but the numbers they produce are much smaller and the cost for the traditionally nice rifles is much higher than for the general market the past. It's not difficult to imagine old guys who were used to Winchester 54s and older 70s having such concerns when more modern and "cheaper' rifles started becoming a bigger piece of the market more than 50 years ago. For me, older has become gooder.
