USA office opened in 1985
Nevada, Montana

Armscor history in Philippines

• 1941 – Don Celso Tuason purchases Sportsman’s Headquarters
• 1952 – In postwar Philippines, Don Celso Tuason obtains the first license in his country to begin firearm and ammunition manufacturing
• 1952 – The company is renamed Squires Bingham Manufacturing Inc.
• 1965 – Don Celso turns over control of the company to his three sons: Bolo, Butch, Concoy
• 1980 – Squires Bingham Manufacturing Inc. is reorganized
  – becomes Arms Corporation of the Philippines (ARMSCOR)
  – Demetrio “Bolo” Tuason is named Chairman and President
• Armscor bult 1911s for
  – Charles Daly
  – Tanfoglio
  – Rock Island Armory

• 1985 – Armscor Precision International opens its first office in the US
• 1985 – acquires the Rock Island Armory brand
  – partly outsourced to IMBEL (Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil)
  – distributed in the U.S. by SARCO
  – rebranded Armscor  1911s
• 1997 – the second manufacturer awarded the ISO 9001 certification
• 2011 – new production facilities in Stevensville, Montana
  – Armscor USA Ammo
• 2012 – Martin Tuason becomes new president
• 2016 – Open US Manufacturing plant in Pahrump, NV
• 2017  M200 .38 caliber revolver

Armscor USA and Rock Island Armory
150 North Smart Way
Pahrump, NV 89060

(775) 537-1444

About Rock Island Armory

Rock Island Armory is the brand under which Armscor, the Arms Corporation of the Philippines, sells most of its firearms in the United States and abroad. The name started in 1977, when David Reese founded Rock Island Armory in Colona, Illinois. Armscor bought it in 1985, the same period it opened its first U.S. offices. The name only loosely echoes the historic Rock Island Arsenal, and the two have no connection. Armscor’s own roots go back to a Manila business the Tuason family bought in 1941. It began making firearms in 1952.

Gun owners know Rock Island Armory for affordable, full-size 1911 pistols. American Rifleman has noted that Armscor has likely made more M1911s than any other maker in the world. The line now also covers revolvers, shotguns, rifles and the Armscor ammunition brand. U.S. operations are based in Pahrump, Nevada, with an ammunition plant in Stevensville, Montana, that opened in 2011. Worldwide, Armscor produces about 200,000 firearms and about 420 million rounds of ammunition a year. Martin Tuason, who led Armscor and Rock Island Armory as president and CEO from 2012, died in November 2025.

Key Facts

• 1952: Armscor’s predecessor began firearm manufacturing in the Philippines
• 1977: Rock Island Armory founded in Colona, Illinois
• 1985: Armscor acquired the Rock Island Armory brand and opened its first U.S. offices
• 2011: Ammunition plant opened in Stevensville, Montana
• 2012: Martin Tuason became president and CEO
• November 2025: Martin Tuason died

Sources

• Dual Citizenship: The Rock Island Armory Story (American Rifleman)
• Armscor (Philippines) (Wikipedia)
• Martin Tuason: 1974 – 2025 (Shooting Illustrated)

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