Savage Arms

Posted on January 1, 1894 by gwebs

founded in 1894
Westfield, Massachusetts & Canada

1892 Arthur Savage designed a rifle for Colt
– magazine in the stock, not under the barrel
– but contract was won by the Krag–Jørgensen
1894 Savage Arms founded by Arthur Savage in Utica, New York
1895 Model 1895 the first hammerless lever-action rifle
– Savage invented the rotary magazine rifle
one of six companies to participate in the United States Army trials for a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol
1897 – 1999 Model 99 lever-action rifle made for 102 years
1908 invented the removable box magazine
– but his patent expired in 1942
.300 Savage. Savage
merged with the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company
World War I
– produced Lewis machine guns in Sharon, Pennsylvania
– produced Model 1899 muskets
1919 approached by Chief Lame Deer to buy rifles for his tribe in New York
– Lame Deer offered Savage to use his image as its logo in exchange for discounted rifles and an annual fee
1091 – Arthur Savage moved to Duarte, California, and formed the Savage Tire company, he invented radial tires
1920, Savage Arms bought Stevens Arms of Chicopee Falls, MA
1929 Savage acquired the A.H. Fox Gun company of Philadelphia and moved production to Utica, New York
1939 Model 24 combination gun
World War II
– made most of the Thompson submachine guns used in World War II
– produced the British No. 4 Lee–Enfield bolt-action rifle
1969 Canadian operations began called Lakefield Arms
– Lakefield, Ontario
2002 the AccuTrigger
2018 Savage Arms is still paying the annual fee to Lame Deer

Iver Johnson

Posted on January 1, 1871 by gwebs

from 1871 to 1993
Massachusetts

U.S. firearms, bicycle, and motorcycle manufacturer
Iver Johnson (1841–1895)
1857 educated as a gunsmith in Bergen, Norway
Had a gun store in Oslo, Norway
1863 immigrated to Worcester, Massachusetts
he made “pepperbox” pistols for Allen & Wheelock
1871 with Martin Bye created the Johnson Bye & Company
1883 Johnson bought Bye out
– name changed to Iver Johnson & Company
1891 name changed Iver Johnson’s Arms & Cycle Works
– relocated to Fitchburg, Massachusetts
O.F. Mossberg worked for Iver Johnson durring this time
1895 Iver Johnson died of tuberculosis, his sons took over
1971 Louis Imperato purchased the name and moved IJ to New Jersey
1983 Investors bought Iver Johnson name and moved to Jacksonville, Arkansas
1993 ceased trading under its own name
– owned by American Military Arms Corporation (AMAC)
2006 Iver Johnson Arms opened (relation in name only)
– in Rockledge, Florida
– manufacturer and firearms importer
– Iver Johnson Arms is making 1911s

Posted on January 1, 1871 by gwebs

Harrington & Richardson

founded in 1871 – 2015
Massachusetts

1875 Harrington & Richardson = Nathan Harrington and William Richardson (former S&W employee)
– Harrington was president
– Richardson was treasurer
1871 – 1877 at 18 Manchester Street, Worcester, MA
1877 – 1894 at 31 Hermon Street, Worcester, MA
1897 Harrington and Richardson both passed away
– held by Harrington’s son and Richardson’s wife
1894 new facility in Worcester, Massachusetts
1950 new facility in Drummondville, Québec, Canada
1960s was acquired by the Kidde corporation
1986 original H&R company went out of business, and building was demolished
Was in business for over a century from 1871 to 1986

Posted on January 1, 1864 by gwebs

1864
Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts

founded by Joshua Stevens in 1864 in Chicopee, Massachusetts
– J. Stevens & Co.
tip-up single shot pistol
1883 they purchased the Massachusetts Arms Company
1886 incorporated as J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co
1887, Stevens developed the .22 LR cartridge
1896 bought by I.H. Page
1898 .25 Stevens rimfire rifle cartridge
1901 manufactured Stevens-Duryea automobile
1902 .25 Stevens Short rimfire rifle cartridge
May 28, 1915 a division of Westinghouse Electric purchased Stevens
– created specifically for a contract to produce 1.8 million Mosin-Nagant rifles for Russia in World War I
– 1916-1917 produced over 770,000 rifles
– 225,260 were delivered, rest were sold to the USA
July 1, 1916, renamed the firearms division the J. Stevens Arms Company
1917 commies never paid, company & fell into financial distress
April 1, 1920 purchased by the Savage Arms Company
– until 1942 its own brand
During World War II produced:
– Savage Lee–Enfield No. 4 rifle
– Thompson submachine gun
– Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)
– Browning M1919
– M2 machinegun
July 9, 2019 sold with Savge to Investors

Posted on January 1, 1856 by gwebs

founded in 1856
Connecticut, Massachusetts

Smith and Wesson both worked at the National Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts
1852 Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson founded
– the (1st) Smith & Wesson Company in Norwich, Connecticut
– 1855 renamed Volcanic Repeating Arms
– purchased by Oliver Winchester
– Wesson stayed as plant manager with Volcanic Repeating Arms for 8 months
– April 1857 renamed New Haven Arms Company
– 1866 renamed Winchester Repeating Arms Company

1856 Samuel Colt’s patent on the revolver expired
1856 Smith & Wesson Revolver Company
– founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson
– in Springfield, Massachusetts
1899 Model 10
January 4, 2007, Thompson/Center was purchased by Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson
2100 Roosevelt Avenue
Springfield, MA 01104

1-800-331-0852

smith-wesson.com

Posted on November 5, 1818 by gwebs

November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893
Massachusetts

criminal defense lawyer
major general of the Union Army during the American Civil War
September 27, 1862, Butler formed the first African American regiment in the US Army, the 1st Louisiana Native Guard
1869 – founded the United States Cartridge Company
leadership role in the impeachment of U.S. President Andrew Johnson
1882 33rd Governor of Massachusetts
– January 4, 1883 – January 3, 1884
coauthored the Civil Rights Act of 1875