2011
Windham, Maine
“The Quality Goes In, Before The Rifle Goes Out”
- 2011 Richard Dyke founded Windham Weaponry in Windham, Maine
– gathered the financing in two days
– in the property where Bushmaster had been
– and the workers who had helped him build Bushmaster
Windham Weaponry
The company went out of business in September 2023.
About Windham Weaponry
Windham Weaponry was a Maine manufacturer of AR-15-style rifles founded in 2011 by Richard Dyke, the businessman who had built Bushmaster Firearms into one of the largest AR-15 makers in the country. Dyke bought Bushmaster out of bankruptcy in 1976 and sold it in 2006. When the new owners moved Bushmaster production out of Maine, Dyke started Windham Weaponry in the same town, hiring many of the same employees and producing a similar line of rifles. The company built complete AR-pattern rifles and carbines and promoted its products as made in Maine.
Richard Dyke died in March 2023 at age 89. In September 2023, Windham Weaponry announced it was going out of business after failing to meet loan obligations, and auctions of its assets were scheduled to begin October 1, 2023. The company is no longer in operation as of 2026, but its rifles remain in wide circulation and the story of Dyke’s two Maine rifle companies is a notable chapter in the history of the AR-15 in the civilian market.
Key Facts
- 1976: Richard Dyke bought Bushmaster out of bankruptcy
- 2006: Dyke sold Bushmaster
- 2011: Dyke founded Windham Weaponry in Windham, Maine
- March 2023: Richard Dyke died at age 89
- September 2023: Company announced it was going out of business
- October 1, 2023: Asset auctions scheduled to begin
Sources
- Maine Rifle Manufacturer Created by Bushmaster Founder Goes Out of Business – WGME
- Windham Weaponry: Makers of ARs and More – American Rifleman
- Rifle Maker Windham Weaponry Goes Out of Business – Manufacturing Business Technology
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