A firearms writer says current guns deliver strong modularity, reliability, and low prices yet feel interchangeable, with popular pistols producing nearly identical shooting experiences and newly labeled rifles following the same layout.

A few unusual models have appeared in recent years, among them the Dragon from Rideout Arsenal, though they remain costly. Experimentation has repeatedly given way to copying once a successful layout sells, a pattern also seen in cell phones, cars, and computers.

William Abernathy and James Utterback described the cycle in 1975 as disruption, competing versions, a prevailing design, then gradual commoditization. The SIG P365 combined compact size with higher capacity and prompted Springfield, Smith and Wesson, Taurus, Kimber, and others to field similar micro pistols that standardized extra-capacity magazines, optics mounts, and accessory rails.