Behind the Curtain at F-1 Firearms

Let me tell you there are some BADASS perks to living just down the street from F-1 Firearms. This last week, after someone from F-1 saw a review we wrote about their product a while back, I was invited to tour the F-1 Firearms shop to see for myself how their most amazing skeletonized AR-15 is made–and to get a sneak peek at what else they have in development.

Your next rifle could be in this picture right here, hanging on this rack!

I was wide-eyed and drooling from the moment I stepped behind the curtain at F-1 Firearms. At the front of their shop they had floor-to-ceiling shelves that held completed rifles and hundreds of chassis with anodized designs and color combinations ready for assembly to your preferred build-out specs. And if you’re looking for a unique color combination or a special design then they’ll work with you to make that happen. I lost count of how many of these beauties I pulled off the rack to get a closer look at. Just amazing, quality workmanship.

Next to the candy aisle was the work area where they do the final assembly of each custom rifle. They looked at me funny when I asked them if I could take a picture of this area, because honestly it was pretty rough. But that workbench is where the final bit of magic happens. That’s where they put all the parts together and breathe life into your gun. It would be weird if it didn’t look lived in. And I also thought it was incredible to see that each rifle has an individual putting everything together, exactly like the customer wants. This is as much art as it is manufacturing.

Final Assembly Workbench. This is where your rifle becomes real.

The F-1 Firearms Dynamis Edition Rifles are pretty sweet!

F-1’s manufacturing process is amazing to watch. We were asked not to take pictures of the actual machining process for proprietary reasons. But let’s just say that it was awesome to see. Their brand new, state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment is impressive, and allows them to control critical tolerances for each of their components across all of their platforms.

We were very careful to respect their photography preferences, but were able to take photos of certain components in various stages of production. F-1 makes 90% of each firearm in-house starting with solid blocks of aluminum, which their automated machines carve into parts that require very little clean up once finished.

Here is one of their new Hyper Lite Handguards:

Here is one of their UDR-15 3G Style 2 Universal Uppers in three different stages of the process:

Here is one of their GRP-ST skeletonized grip:

Here is what the first pass of one of their UDR-15 3G Style 2 Universal Lower looks like:

Even their Safety Selector is expertly milled out from a slice of aluminum:

And what happens with all of the extra aluminum shavings that are milled off of the blocks?
They are compressed into little blocks and sent off to be recycled.

Will there be a F-1 Firearms Sniper Rifle?

I know I already mentioned in my Q&A post with F-1 Firearms that there is a bolt action rifle in the works, so that’s not exactly news. But while I was touring they let me hold one of them and take a picture. Holy crap what a BEAST!! I wanted to sneak out and take a few shots with it, but I will wait… reluctantly.

Thank you F-1 Firearms

Everyone at F-1 Firearms was extremely nice and helpful. I really enjoyed wandering around their facility with my wife. It’s obvious that everyone at F-1 Firearms enjoys what they do, and their pride shows in the manufacture and quality control of their products every step of the way. Special thanks F-1 salesmen Justin and Kevin for arranging the tour and showing us around.