[ A Tour of PGM Précision ]
Hi guys, thanks for tuning in to another video on ForgottenWeapons.com.
I'm Ian McCollum, and today we are in the city of Annecy
in Haute-Savoie, in ... south eastern France near the Swiss border.
And today we're going to go take a look at PGM rifles.
These are the precision rifles used by the French military and security services.
So, while we have a gorgeous background out here, let's go find a rifle factory.
Alright, this is PGM, and this is François, who is CEO of the company.
Thank you very much for inviting us down. - Thank you again to visit here in France.
- I am excited to see this. Before we look at how these guns are made,
can you give us a brief overview of what rifles PGM makes?
Like ... you have a huge grin on your face, and I understand why. What is this?
- This is the [latest] design of PGM, this is the Mini Hécate 2, .338 Lapua Magnum.
Here you have many Ultima Ratio, this is the first PGM model, built and designed in 1991.
- OK, 1991. And that's named after a French cannon inscription, right?
- Yes. - Ultima ratio regum? - Yes, ultima ratio regum, yes exactly.
We also propose the Hécate 2, you know very well.
- Yes, we have done some film on the Hécate 2, the big .50 calibre precision rifle,
- With the big muzzle brake. - Yes indeed, a huge muzzle brake. That was used by the French military.
- Yes, true, true, the French Army, the GIGN.
And all our models, so PGM338, Ultima Ratio, Mini Hécate 2, Hécate 2,
we do equip ... 45 countries in the world.
- 45? Wow, OK, I didn't realise they were that widespread, that's excellent.
- SWAT teams, special forces, armies, and ... more.
- So basically the Hécate 2 is .50 BMG. - Yes.
- The Mini Hécate is the same mechanical system in .338 size.
- .338, exactly. Strong with PRC, strong with normal Magnum.
This is our [latest] design, very ergonomic.
And of course Ultima Ratio, .308, 6.5 Creedmore.
- OK, so basically three different action sizes. - Yes.
- OK. And then you have the Ludis. - Yes, a single shot rifle.
- OK, so that's mostly for the civilian competition market? - Exactly, exactly. - OK.
And then ... I know you also have a PGM338. - Yes. - How is that different from the Hécate 2?
- The PGM338 is between the Ultima Ratio and the Mini Hécate 2
because the receiver was also made in aluminium.
- Ah, OK, so the Hécate and the Mini Hécate are steel. - Exactly.
- And the Ultima Ratio and the PGM338 are aluminium. - Yes, aluminium receiver. - OK.
... This doesn't look like there are a lot of machining centres in this building, in this room.
- No, here you have the marketing, you have the design, the final assembly.
And the manufacturing unit is two miles from here.
- OK, I would love to see how these are made, can we take a look?
- Ready? - Yeah. - Let's go! - Alright, excellent! ...
We are now at the manufacturing facility where basically all of PGM's parts are actually made.
So the origin of PGM actually being kind of in some ways similar to
how Accuracy International started,
it was originally basically a ... couple of guys hand-making rifles.
And that was OK for a few at a time.
But when they got their first French Army contract and needed hundreds of rifles,
all of a sudden they need a lot more manufacturing infrastructure.
Well, PGM is still a relatively small company,
it does a relatively small volume of high precision business.
And so rather than invest all of the capital to get their own manufacturing setup
when they go from a large volume of guns for an order,
to then nothing for a time, to then another large order.
Instead they contract with a local manufacturing company to do the actual parts fabrication.
Now it's not just any manufacturing company, this is a company that specialises in
aeronautics, very high-end digital sound systems, robotics.
The sorts of very precise manufacture that
are exactly what you would want for a precision rifle company.
And so inside here we have basically everything being manufactured.
I should say, they don't do barrels here.
Barrels for the .50 calibre, for the Hécate 2, are got from FN.
Barrels for all of their other rifles come from Lothar Walther in Germany.
And then the plastic components are not made here, they are made elsewhere in this region in France.
As are some of the very small components, like firing pins and screws,
and sheet metal components, which is basically magazines.
Beyond those parts, everything else is made here. Let's have a look.
OK, so we're basically at the end of the factory here, these are parts in stock for PGM,
and for all the other companies that have work done here.
... If PGM gets an order for components or for complete rifles,
they will first check in their own shop to see what they have in stock.
If they don't have sufficient quantities in stock,
then they'll place an order for manufacture here at essentially the machining centre.
Now the machining centre keeps a lot of these parts on hand themselves.
That's what we have here, things like, well, scope mounts or scope rings.
Set of, feel like pretty heavy-duty scope rings.
Yeah. So a set of steel STANAG-style scope rings.
Some of the basic ... assembly work is also done here on site.
Things like assembling the adjustable rear monopods, assembling bipods.
Some of that's done locally right here before it gets to PGM's own facility.
But, primarily this is for fabrication.
So let's take a walk through and see what they're making today.
So because of the setup of the factory, they're not always running PGM parts.
However, there are a few that are being made right now while we're here visiting.
For example, suppressor bodies.
Lathe turned with the threading.
And we actually have one of those running in the machine right now, let's take a look.
And on the next machine down, a more interesting part.
This is actually the base of the Hécate 2 stock, and there's one in the machine right now being cut.
Very, very small precise cuts.
Being a facility for robotics and aeronautics, this is a manufacturing facility
that is perfectly set up to do precision rifle components like PGM uses.
So in this particular operation we are starting with a buttstock element here
that is pretty much squared up at the front from the previous milling machines.
When it comes out, it's going to have all of these round sections cut,
the hole in the end, and the outside profile there.
So the very last step in the production, once you have done all the machining,
is of course surface treatment.
In the case of, well, the Ultima Ratio receivers,
that means black anodisation because it's an aluminium receiver.
So this same manufacturing facility has a quite substantial surface treatment area in the factory.
And we actually have a rack of anodised Ultima Ratio receivers here.
So at this point the receiver is completely finished,
and it could go either into stock as a spare part,
or back over to PGM's assembly room to be turned into a complete rifle.
Either way, by the way, it would have to go through proofing,
because of course this is in France, this is in Europe.
Barrels and receivers, firearms in general, have to be proofed,
which is not a process that we go through in the United States.
Alright, so I mentioned that some of the sub-assemblies are actually put together here.
Well it's kind of cool to see the facility where it starts from raw bar stock.
Basic machining, so this is part way through ... fabrication of a bipod leg for the Hécate 2 in .50.
And then we're here at the basically the end of the line, and we have
the complete bipod assembly. So ...
you can see the part here that we started with.
A few more operations have been done, the notches for the different extension lengths on the bipod leg.
The other components put together.
Everything blasted, anodised if it's aluminium, finished otherwise if it's steel.
And then actually assembled together
ready to go back over to PGM's assembly shop to be put onto a complete rifle.
We are now back in PGM's own workshop.
This is in their own offices, a few kilometres away from the manufacturing facility.
And this is where the guns ... actually go through final assembly.
So many of the sub-assemblies are put together at the manufacturing centre, we saw some of that.
But when it comes to installing barrels, head spacing the barrel and the bolt,
and then proofing the rifles.
Well of course the proofing is not done at this table, but the assembly is done here.
The manufacturing facility doesn't have the legal licensing to have complete guns.
And that's really the most specialised part of the task, that head spacing and final assembly.
You might think it's a bit odd that this is all you need for that process on a very high-end rifle,
but the reality is the important elements for a precision rifle
are either done or not done during the manufacturing process.
It's not here that you're going to add anything, aside from getting the headspace right.
It is in the manufacturing process where the accuracy is kept or lost.
And in this case it's interesting to me, when I first heard that,
"Oh, we don't do the manufacturing in-house, we have our subcontractor who does the manufacturing."
I thought, "Maybe. OK, I hope that works well."
Well, they have worked with the same manufacturer for ... 26 years now.
PGM was formed in 1991, and that manufacturer
(who has, by the way, been around for 45 years, the owner started the company with
two machines and himself, and it's grown to what you just saw),
PGM has been working with them since 1995.
So just 4 years into the company's origins
they set up shop with those guys, and they've stayed with them to this day.
So, the institutional knowledge that you would generally gain
by having all of your manufacturing in-house,
essentially PGM has all of that institutional knowledge
because they've been working with the exact same manufacturing partner for 26 years.
At any rate, it's been really cool to get a chance to take a look at the process
for PGM rifle manufacture.
Every company, every firearms manufacturer is a little bit different,
so it's neat to see some of the variety. I hope you guys liked the video.
A big thanks to PGM for inviting me out here to take a look at their processes,
and being so open with how everything is done.
A lot of companies are a little bit more paranoid and secretive about how they do things.
But honestly, having looked at the manufacturing centre,
I don't think PGM really has anything to be ashamed of or to hide in the process.
So anyway, like I said, hopefully you enjoyed the video.
Thanks for watching.