One of the things Caleb, Alan and I touched on in Vicious Circle #17 was the phenomenon of gun manufacturers being located in decidedly anti-gun states, like Smith & Wesson in Massachusetts, Kimber in NY, or Springfield Armory in IL. Naturally, I felt the need to expand on this concept, and started digging into the locations of various American gun manufacturers...
I started by listing as many American gun makers as I could think of, drawing mainly on what's in the G. armory as well as other guns I've seen bandied about the intertubez. (and yes, I'm such a geek I pasted the link into Excel, sorted alphabetically, then posted the revised list...) Basically, I stopped when I hit two dozen manufacturers...* I then looked up where each is located:
ArmaLite - Illinois
Barrett - Tennessee
Bushmaster - Maine
Colt - Connecticut
Henry Repeating Arms - New Jersey
Ithaca Arms - Ohio
Kahr Arms - Massachusetts
Kel-Tec - Florida
Kimber - New York
Marlin - Connecticut
Mossberg - Connecticut
North American Arms - Utah
Remington - North Carolina
Rock River Arms - Illinois
Ruger - Connecticut
Savage - Massachusetts
Seecamp - Connecticut
Serbu - Florida
Smith & Wesson - Massachusetts
Springfield Armory - Illinois
Stag Arms - Connecticut
STI - Texas
Weatherby - California
Winchester - Utah
Connecticut, a "may issue" state with an "assault weapon" ban, holds the clear lead in gun manufacturers from this list, with a whopping 25% of listed manufacturers. MA and IL are tied for second, with three makers in each state. CT, MA, and IL are home to half of the list. Two "may issue" states and one "no issue" for CCW; all three with assault weapons bans of some flavor. The remainder of the list is split among freedom-loving states like FL, UT, and TX and other repressive regimes like CA, NJ, and NY.
The question, of course, is "Why?" Why, in the name of all that is good and wholesome, would a company that manufactures firearms remain located in a state that is openly hostile to firearms and firearms owners? Heck, Kahr Arms is located in Worcester, MA (about 90 minutes from my house), and yet their handguns are not allowed to be sold in the state of Massachusetts. Many of the semi-automatic rifles made by Colt are specifically precluded from sale by the state's version of the assault weapons ban. It seems counter-intuitive for a manufacturer of a firearm to be based in a state that seems hell-bent on outlawing that product, does it not?
We asked that very question on the Smith & Wesson factory tour, as a matter of fact. The S&W rep tasked with leading our group had a pretty good response: never mind the logistics of relocating all of the machinery and other equipment of a business the size of S&W, but also the people. Smith & Wesson is located in western MA; they could not relocate to a gun-friendly state without uprooting hundreds of loyal employees and moving them, at best, to VT over 100 miles away. Moving the company would most likely be disastrous; and while they appreciate the socio-political concerns, they are still a business.
I'd wager that most gun manufacturers operating behind anti-gun lines are in much the same situation: they started out back when firearms were not anthropomorphized into the very embodiment of evil. Over time, as the political climate changed, the location became more and more hostile to guns and gun makers; however, their businesses became entrenched, dependent on local talent for their high quality and falling into the comfortable trap of the status quo. Even in the worst states for gun owners, these businesses are simply in no position to pick up and move.
It would be nice, however, to see them start to kick in a little bit towards the forces of freedom that are working ever so diligently to repeal the unjust and unconstitutional gun laws, but perhaps I'm too much of a dreamer...
That is all.
*Granted, this is by no means a scientific study of any sort; I suppose I could have looked up the top 10/20/whatever selling firearms manufacturers and listed accordingly; however looking at the list it's pretty clear that most of the major US players are represented.
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Many gun companies started along the Connecticut River Valley as a propitious place to start any business. Many more could be mentioned that are no longer in business. Note, too, that Ruger has two other factories here in NH and one in AZ. Also note that most NEW companies will locate to politically and economically friendlier states in the south. The politicians in MA think they have a captive audience, but that didn't stop Raytheon from moving a lot of production out of state.Given a choice, it always comes down to making a buck.
Jay, you listed Ithaca Gun Company as Ohio, and while that is true now, it's not historically. Until four years ago, Ithaca Gun was in Kings Ferry, NY, but before that it was based in ITHACA NEW YORK - and had that proudly stamped on the barrels. As a micro-cosm of the entire firearms industry, Ithaca Gun moved out of Ithaca NY when the town became a liberal cesspool. Something about too many Cornell University graduates and professors in that town.
They moved to Kings Ferry, about 20 miles away. While this bought the company some time, it went bankrupt and was sold again, this time moving to Ohio, where it will hopefully remain.
1877-1987 - Ithaca NY
1987-2005 - Kings Ferry NY
2005-present - Upper Sandusky OH
While I was sad to see a local company fold, and to see another chunck of firearms heritage leave NY, I do believe it was a good thing in the long run. The new Ithacas are all made on modern CNC equipment and are better-built now than they have been in years.
Just the ramblings of a farm boy who grew up an hour away from the factory that made his favorite shotgun. Nice post, Jay, thanks!
What? No love for Sig (Exeter, NH)?
Uh, Sig's not an American gun company.
last I checked, STI wont sell their 1911s in California because of the "No cool guns for the every day people", much like Ronnie Barret. I just know I'll be heading their way once I have enough saved up for a 1911. Everyone I've spoken with says they have the best triggers, hands down.
I didn't know Kahr was in Worcester. My dad went to college up that way (my entire family is from the Northeast, I'm the first not raised in Mass, RI, or Connecticut). I like to pride myself of being one of maybe a handful of Texans who can pronounce Worcester correctly.
I remember about three years ago, several of the IL gun manufacturers said they would leave the state if a certain bill banning certain weapons passed, though as far as I know that bill didn't get anywhere.
That bill did fail, but yes, Armalite had a short list of sites in Iowa picked out. Les Baer did actually move over to Iowa a couple of years ago, but that wasn't such a big move for them since they were already right on the border. I imagine a lot of the old employees still work there and live in Illinois.
Springfield Armory and Armalite are very active in Illinois politics. Both donate guns to be used to take politicians shooting.
Remember a bill last year to require gun owners to carry $1 million insurance? The sponsor went shooting with some NRA and ISRA reps and ended up tabling the bill.
If that assault weapons ban had passed, they'd have had no choice but to leave. It actually banned possession, sales, or manufacture of "assault weapons" as it defined them, and although it was legal for law enforcement and military units to purchase such weapons, it wasn't legal to manufacture or sell them even to police or military. They literally would have made it illegal for Armalite to sell an AR10 or an AR50 even to a military unit, and if some unit had asked for 200 AR10 rifles, Armalite would have had no legal right to manufacture them. It was a crazy bill.
This has nothing to do with anything, but this is how crazy it was: it established performance of duty as law enforcement or military as an "affirmative defense" to possession of an assault weapon. So, if you possessed an AR15, you would be arrested and charged with a felony. If you were, say, a National Guard soldier on duty with your issued rifle as ordered, you would still be arrested and charged, but you would be allowed to use the "affirmative defense" of your on-duty status as a defense at trial.
Dosen't Remington still have their major facility in Illion, New York. Didn't know they had any other locations.
I took the locations right off the company websites - hence why Ithaca is listed as OH and Remington as NC:
"About Remington
Remington Arms Company, Inc., headquartered in Madison, N.C., designs, produces and sells sporting goods products for the hunting and shooting sports markets, as well as military, government and law enforcement markets. Founded in 1816 in upstate New York, the Company is one of the nation’s oldest continuously operating manufacturers. Remington is the only U.S. manufacturer of both firearms and ammunition products and one of the largest domestic producers of shotguns and rifles. The Company had revenues in 2004 of approximately $393 million and distributes its products throughout the U.S. and in over 55 foreign countries."
Like I said, it certainly wasn't the most methodical of research, more "back of the envelope" work...
Hey Jay,
Let's not forget the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) in Newtown, CT.
Perhaps there is another aspect, remaining in such anti-gun states is akin to having fortress' behind enemy lines.
;-)
Charter Arms is also here in CT, as is/was US Repeating Arms (building Winchesters and FNs. I heard they were closing, then I heard they were not. Haven't been by there to look). Remington used to be located here too. I for one am quite happy they are here. As you can see, it's a fairly large industry, and every time they try to pass something dumb like microstamping they all threaten to leave. :)
You forgot Para with their new HQ here in NC.
You have Winchester on your list, so you could also add Browning in Utah. Of course, Browning is owned by FN (and doesn't technically own Winchester, just the manufacturing rights through Browning).
Add DSA for Illinois. American FN-FAL builder.
I can answer your question why - you're thinking like a consumer, and not like a manufacturer.
While NY, NJ, Conneticut and many other regions are "gun unfriendly", they're also big industrial areas(in fact, the socalled Industrial corridor centered on Rte 80 running from NJ to Conn. is the second biggest in the US after Detroit) - there's something like 8000 machine shops within 20 miles of me here in NYC.That means when you need skilled machinists to operate your machines, they're available.
I don't think they're are a quarter that many in the entire STATE of Montana.
Add in Material(where is the steel gonna come from?)service for the Machine tools, etc.. And suddenly it makes alot more sense. It's also why alot of new gun companies are setting up in the likes of FL and Texas, both have up and coming industrial bases.
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