Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Exodus

There is no doubt that one of the contributing factors to the North winning the Civil War was its ability to produce weapons. Most of the guns made in America, prior to secession, were made in the North or more specifically New England. 
The states of New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Connecticut made up the majority of gun manufacturing in the United States.  What a difference a century and a half makes......

It is really a shame to see what has happened to the cradle of gun making. New York, New Jersey & Connecticut and the surrounding areas were once booming gun towns (some called the area "Gun Valley"). Companies like Colt, Marlin, Winchester, Ithaca, Ruger and others once supplied thousands of jobs to dedicated American craftsmen.

Thanks to gun control legislation in the northern states, those companies are relocating to greener pastures.

Les Baer Customs: One of the 1st gun manufactures to relocate due to anti-gun laws was Les Baer. They moved their operations from the anti-freedom state of Illinois to LeClaire, Iowa.

Lewis Machine & Tool: Five years on the heals of Les Baer's move, LMT is also making plans to relocate to Iowa. They are leaving Milan, Illinois for Davenport, Iowa.

Magpul: They officially announced that their headquarters and some manufacturing are moving to Texas, additional manufacturing will be performed in Cheyenne, Wyoming (not too far from their old Boulder address).

Remington: Remington has been manufacturing guns in Ilion, New York since 1816. While they are not closing the Ilion plant, They did relocate their headquarters to Madison, North Carolina.

They have also chosen a location outside the State of New York for their expansion facility. Mayfield, Kentucky will be the new home of some of Remington's products.  
Remington's Ammunition is no longer made in the old UMC Bridgeport, Connecticut plant, those operations moved to Lonoke, Arkansas.
In addition Remington's "Techinical Center" has been moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Ruger: While Ruger is still headquarted in Southport, Connecticut; they no longer make anything there. 
Their casting and manufacturing has been moved to Newport, New Hampshire and Prescott, Arizona. Ruger recently acquired a 220,000 sq ft production facility in Mayodan, North Carolina and have begun operations this year.

Beretta USA: Beretta made their US headquarters in Accokeek, Maryland in 1977. The welcome has worn out and due to anti-gun politicians in Maryland, Beretta will be relocating to a new state of the art, $45 Million facility in Gallatin, Tennessee.

Gun Parts Corp/Numrich Arms: Started in selling surplus guns and parts in the 1950's, they currently have over 1 Million cubic feet of stored merchandise in 7 warehouses in West Hurley, New York.
There are rumors that thanks to the New York S.A.F.E. Act Gun Parts Corp will be relocating to Pennsylvania.

Sarco Inc.: Another dealer in surplus guns and parts moved their operation from New Jersey to Easton, Pennsylvania.

American Tactical Imports: An importer of guns, including the GSG line, is moving its operations from Rochester, New York to Summerville, South Carolina.

Henry Repeating Arms: Has moved more of its rifle production from their Bayonne, New Jersey facility, to one in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. This was prompted by Hurricane Sandy, but I would venture to guess that future expansions will not take place in New Jersey.

PTR Industries: Makers of roller locked sporting rifles (FN-FAL copies) is moving its manufacturing and company headquarters to Anyer, South Carolina from the anti-gun Bristol, Connecticut.

O.F. Mossberg: Based in North Haven, Connecticut (former home of Marlin) has decided to expand its plant in Texas, rather than invest further in Connecticut. No announcement of moving the company headquarters, just yet.

Stag Arms: The AR rifle maker, famous for their left handed AR, cancelled plans to expand their New Britain, Connecticut facility and is now looking in other states. Rumor has it that Texas and South Carolina representatives have been courting Stag Arms. Stag Arms CEO Mark Malkowski has reportedly received over 100 offers to relocate his business.

 Kahr Arms: The Pearl River, New York pistol manufacturer has plans underway to move it's entire operation to Pike County, Pennsylvania.

Ithaca Gun Company: Is no longer making guns in the upstate New York city from which they take their name. The company, under new ownership, and their production facility are now located in Sandusky Ohio.

Colt: is moving manufacturing of their Competition Series to Brekenridge, Texas from the old West Hartford, Connecticut location.

Downrange TV: While not a manufacture of guns, they are in the gun business. DR TV makes gun shows that air on the Outdoor Channel and have written letters expressing their displeasure with the new Colorado gun laws. Owner Michael Bane has suggested that he may move his production studio and operations to a more gun friendly state.



Although not for political reasons, Winchester's New Haven, Connecticut plant closed after 140 years of production. The rifles are now being produced, under license by Browning Arms (a subsidiary of FN Herstal), but not in Connecticut, rather from locations in Japan (Miroku), Belgium and Columbia, South Carolina.


Just when you think that is the end of the story, we hear word that there is a growing list of manufactures that refuse to sell guns to the State of New York or any municipality residing in New York.
This policy was started years ago by Ronnie Barret, when he refused orders for his .50 Cal rifles from the State of California, because his rifles were not legal for private ownership there.

The New York boycott list now numbers 144 and continues to grow, read about it here

The final word on this is that we now have law enforcement officers in New York, Connecticut, Oregon, Colorado and other states that have put down on paper their refusal to enforce unconstitutional gun laws. The CSPOA website has a list of 17 County Sheriffs who have committed to not enforcing unconstitutional gun laws.





References

Guns and Ammo
Wikipedia
Ruger
Fox Business
Constitutional Sheriff & Peace Officer's Association
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

1 comment:

  1. REAL America will rise and drain this swamp..... eventually.

    TrailMaker - Vestal, NY.
    U*P*S*T*A*T*E New York, thank you very much!

    ReplyDelete