1984 – 1990
North Hollywood, CA
- Lajos John Goncz invented
– Hungarian - Goncz Armament GS-9 (9 mm)
– GS-4 (.45 ACP)
– GS-3 (.30) Mauser
– 5.5 inch threaded barrel
– 16-round magazines
– closed-bolt - Goncz Armament GA-9 (9 mm)
– GA-4 (.45 ACP)
– GA- 3 (.30) Mauser
– 9.5″ shrouded button rifled match - Goncz Carbine GC-9 (9 mm)
– walnut forearm
– GCL-9 (9 mm) has integral laser - receiver made of 4130 alloy
– machined out of solid piece - produced a few hundred
About Goncz Armament, Inc.
Goncz Armament, Inc. was a small North Hollywood, California, company that designed, prototyped and built the Goncz High-Tech Long Pistol between 1984 and 1990. The guns were designed by Hungarian-born inventor Lajos John Goncz and used a closed-bolt, blowback-operated telescopic bolt housed in a tubular upper receiver, with a one-piece machined lower that combined the frame, grip and trigger guard. Barrels were button-rifled match barrels made in-house. The line included the GS series with a 5.5-inch threaded barrel, the GA series with a 9.5-inch shrouded barrel, and the GC carbines, offered in 9mm, .45 ACP and .30 Mauser. Only a few hundred were produced, and the company also made survival daggers using the same grip.
In 1990 the design passed to Claridge Hi-Tec, Inc. of Northridge, California, which built pistols and carbines based on it until 1993, when the company ceased operations as California restricted these guns. Rights to the design were disputed during that period. Today original Goncz pistols are rare collector pieces, and their story is a clear example of how state assault weapon laws shaped the fate of small American gun makers in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Key Facts
- 1984: Goncz Armament introduces the GS, GA and GC models.
- 1987: The Goncz guns are featured in American Survival Guide magazine.
- 1990: Goncz production ends; Claridge Hi-Tec, Inc. is incorporated in Northridge, California, to build the design.
- 1993: Claridge Hi-Tec ceases operations under California restrictions.
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Sources
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