Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC, is an American firearm manufacturer and distributor. The company's product line revolves around semi-automatic pistol and rifle variants of the M4/AR-15 design. It is currently in full operation and is based in Carson City, Nevada. Bushmaster Firearms is unrelated to the M242 Bushmaster autocannon, which was produced by Northrop Grumman.
Bushmaster Firearms is the successor of Gwinn Firearms, founded by Mack Gwinn Jr. upon his return from the Vietnam War. It went bankrupt, was purchased by Richard Dyke in 1976, and moved from Bangor, Maine to Windham, Maine.[1] Quality Products Company acquired it in 1990.[2]
In 2002, Bushmaster and a Bushmaster dealer were the subjects of a civil lawsuit brought by two survivors and six families of victims of the October 2002 D.C. sniper attacks, which resulted in the deaths of ten and injuries to three people. On September 8, 2004, Bushmaster agreed to pay $550,000 of a $2.5 million settlement in the lawsuit and Bull's Eye Shooter Supply of Tacoma, Washington, the Bushmaster dealer from whom one of the perpetrators said he had shoplifted the rifle, paid $2 million.[3][4] The company cited mounting legal fees and compassion for the victims and their families as the reason for settling.[5]
Dyke sold Bushmaster in 2006 for $70 million to Cerberus Capital Management. The company became part of the Freedom Group (renamed Remington Outdoor Company in 2015), owned by Cerberus Capital Management, in April 2006.[6] In December 2010, the Freedom Group announced that operations at the Windham facility would cease as of March 2011.[7]Windham Weaponry was founded by Dyke in 2011 in Windham, "to put Maine people back to work who lost their jobs" when Bushmaster moved out of state in March 2011.[8]
In December 2012, Cerberus Capital Management announced its intention to sell Bushmaster's successor company, Freedom Group.[9] In a press release, Cerberus stated that they would "retain a financial advisor to design and execute a process to sell [their] interests in Freedom Group" (Freedom merged with the former Bushmaster company).[10] Cerberus indicated that the decision to sell the company stemmed from publicity surrounding the use of a Bushmaster rifle in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. According to the company: "It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level."[9][11]
Cerberus announced in late 2013 that it had failed to divest itself of the Freedom Group and planned to buy out some Cerberus investors. Those who chose to give up their shares would be paid by an unidentified lender.[12]
In January 2020, the parent entity, Remington Outdoor Company, announced that it would focus operations on its core hunting and shooting brands: AAC, Barnes, Remington, and Marlin. It also announced that it would no longer produce Bushmaster, TAPCO, DPMS, and StormLake Barrels.[13][bettersourceneeded]
In September 2020, in the bankruptcy auction of Remington Outdoor Company, Crotalus Holdings, Inc. purchased the Bushmaster trademarks.[14][pageneeded][bettersourceneeded]
In August 2021, Bushmaster Firearms Industries, Inc. revived the brand name with a new business headquartered in Carson City, Nevada. The new Bushmaster business revived XM15-E2S, 450 Bushmasters, ACR, and BA50 brands.[15]
Products
Bushmaster First Generation rifle
Bushmaster's firearms, such as the XM-15 line, were offered in a 5.56 NATO chambering with forged aircraft-grade (7075-T6) aluminum receivers. Most Bushmaster barrels were 4150 steel, offered in 1:9 twist rate, and chrome-lined to increase durability. Some barrels were available with 1:7 rifling on special order. Stainless steel or chrome molybdenum barrels were available on certain models.
Bushmaster Firearms originally produced their 'First Generation' rifle using an aluminum lower receiver and a stamped steel upper receiver. This first-generation model used a long-stroke gas piston operating system. The recoil spring was within the upper barrel gas system compared to the AR-15/M-16, where the recoil spring is within the butt stock. Originally marketed for police and the military, Bushmaster later moved from this design to a variant of Eugene Stoner's AR-15/M-16 weapon system. Bushmaster chambered the First Generation rifles for the 5.56mm round. The First Generation rifles are considered scarce and collectible.
In late January 2008, Bushmaster signed a licensing deal with Magpul, granting Bushmaster the right to produce and distribute Magpul's Masada rifle, renamed the Bushmaster ACR. According to the company, in 2010, Bushmaster began making the ACR available to the civilian market, posting it on its website.[16]
Carbon 15 was a lightweight AR15 available as rifles or pistols. It saved weight by using polymer in the upper and lower receivers. Some models also removed the forward assist and the dust cover and used a thinner barrel design to save weight.
The Bushmaster Dissipator combined a longer sight radius with a shorter barrel to allow more effective use of the iron sights. Similar modifications sometimes suffered from reliability problems due to the proximity of the gas port to the muzzle, which threw the timing of the weapon's gas system off and made it more sensitive to gas port diameter and port pressure variables introduced by the ammunition. Bushmaster's solution was to use a low-profile gas block in the normal position for carbine-length barrels and fit the front sight tower/gas block, which was not connected to the gas system, further forward to create a longer sight radius.
The Colt AR-15 is a product line of magazine-fed, gas-operated, autoloading rifle manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company ("Colt") in many configurations. The rifle is a derivative of its predecessor, the lightweight ArmaLite AR-15, an automatic rifle designed by Eugene Stoner and other engineers at ArmaLite in 1956.
The M4 carbine is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle.
Remington Arms Company, LLC, was an American manufacturer of firearms and ammunition. It was formerly owned by the Remington Outdoor Company, which went bankrupt in 2020 with its lines of business sold to several purchasers. Two resulting companies each bear the Remington name—the firearms manufacturer is Remington Firearms owned by RemArms, LLC., and the ammunition business is Remington Ammunition owned by Vista Outdoor Inc.
The Bushmaster XM-15 series is a line of AR-15 style semi-automatic rifles and carbines manufactured by Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC. Variants include the Bushmaster M4-type Carbine, Patrolman series, QRC series, Bushmaster XM15-E2S, and the Carbon 15 line.
The 6.8mm Remington Special Purpose Cartridge is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate rifle cartridge that was developed by Remington Arms in collaboration with members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and United States Special Operations Command to possibly replace the 5.56 NATO cartridge in short barreled rifles (SBR) and carbines. Based on the .30 Remington cartridge, it is midway between the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO in bore diameter. It uses the same diameter bullet as the .270 Winchester hunting cartridge.
Bushmaster may refer to:
The Heckler & Koch HK416 is an assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge. It is designed and manufactured by the German company Heckler & Koch.
The Barrett REC7 is an American firearm manufactured as a selective-fire fully-automatic and semi-automatic rifle by Barrett Firearms. It is an M4 carbine utilizing a short-stroke gas piston system. REC7 is available in either 5.56×45mm NATO or 6.8mm Remington SPC. The REC7 is Barrett's second AR-pattern rifle chambered for the 6.8mm Remington SPC cartridge, the first being the Barrett M468 rifle. The 6.8 SPC-chambered M468 rifle employed the same direct gas-impingement system as the M4.
The Bushmaster M4 or M4A3 is a semi-automatic or select-fire carbine size assault rifle manufactured by Bushmaster Firearms International, modeled on the AR-15. It is one of the Bushmaster XM15 line of rifles and carbines.
Para USA (Para) was an American-owned firearms manufacturer. It was the successor to Para-Ordnance, founded in Canada in 1985. It specialized in making M1911-style semi-automatic pistols and components. The company was acquired by Remington Outdoor Company in 2012. In 2015, the Para brand ceased production and was folded into Remington.
DPMSPanther Arms is an American manufacturer headquartered in West Columbia, South Carolina, known for its wide range of military and civilian rifles and accessories.
The Marine Scout Sniper Rifle (MSSR) is a Philippine semi-automatic designated marksman rifle developed by the Philippine Marine Corps for their Marine Scout Snipers. Designed in the mid-1990s to replace severely-outdated battle rifles then used as marksman rifles, the MSSR is essentially an M16A1 that has been heavily modified and accurized to serve as a marksman rifle.
The M6 is a series of carbines designed and manufactured by LWRC International. It is based on the M4 carbine, with which it shares 80% of its parts. The 'M' model name is not a US military designation. Like the HK416, it features a proprietary short-stroke self-regulating gas piston system and bolt carrier/carrier key design, which prevents trapped gases from contacting the bolt carrier or receiver of the weapon. The manufacturer claims that this reduces the heating and carbon fouling of the internals, simplifies field maintenance, and improves reliability.
A STANAG magazine or NATO magazine is a type of detachable firearm magazine proposed by NATO in October 1980. Shortly after NATO's acceptance of the 5.56×45mm NATO rifle cartridge, Draft Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4179 was proposed in order to allow NATO members to easily share rifle ammunition and magazines down to the individual soldier level. The U.S. M16 rifle's magazine proportions were proposed for standardization. Many NATO members, but not all, subsequently developed or purchased rifles with the ability to accept this type of magazine. However, the standard was never ratified and remains a "Draft STANAG".
The Saiga semi-automatic rifles are a family of Russian semi-automatic rifles manufactured by Kalashnikov Concern, which also manufactures the original AK-47 and its variants, Saiga-12 shotguns and Dragunov sniper rifle. Saiga rifles are a sport version of the Kalashnikov rifle, and are marketed for hunting and civilian use. They are sometimes referred to as Saiga Sporters.
The Bushmaster M17S is a semi-automatic bullpup rifle that was manufactured by Bushmaster Firearms International from 1992 until 2005.
The Magpul PDR is a prototype bullpup-style 5.56×45mm NATO carbine unveiled by Magpul Industries in 2006. Although halted in development as of 2011 it has garnered some attention, largely due to its "futuristic" appearance. The system consists of a gas-operated bullpup carbine intended to replace some submachine guns, M9 pistols and M4 carbines while still offering the rapid fire and range of an M4 carbine in an ultra compact firearm.
Magpul Industries Corporation is an American designer and manufacturer of high-tech polymer and composite firearms accessories like M-LOK. Magpul Industries takes its name from its first product, the MagPul, an accessory for the STANAG magazines used by NATO armed forces, which aids users in pulling magazines from pouches.
The Adaptive Combat Rifle (ACR) is a modular assault rifle formerly designed by Magpul Industries of Austin, Texas, and known initially as the Masada.
The Remington Semi Automatic Sniper System (RSASS) is a semi-automatic precision rifle manufactured by Remington Arms.
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