So Bushmaster is kaput. They will be moving production to the same place that makes DPMS or whatever other AR lines Cerberus owns. It figures. The week I buy one, the company is dissolved.

 

It's also interesting to read the Bloomberg article. 2/3rds of the article is about how a Bushmaster was used by the Beltway snipers.

 

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http://www.ammoland.com/2010/12/10/bushmaster-firearms-maine-factory-to-close/

 

Madison, NC --(Ammoland.com)- Freedom Group, Inc. (“The Company”), the world’s leading innovator, designer, manufacturer, and marketer of firearms, ammunition, and related products for the hunting, shooting sports, law enforcement, and military markets announced today that it will close its Bushmaster Firearms International manufacturing facility located in Windham, Maine, effective March 31, 2011.

 

The Bushmaster brand and products remain key strategic assets within the Freedom Group portfolio.

 

The Company will relocate manufacturing of all Bushmaster products currently produced at Windham to other, existing Freedom Group Facilities.

 

The move will have no impact on customers or the existing supply base. The Company noted that all affected employees will be offered a comprehensive severance package, including outplacement services.

 

John B. Blystone, Chairman of the Board of Directors, commented, “We are continuing to adjust our operations in order to remain competitive and to continue to grow. Given increasing costs and pricing pressures affecting the entire firearms industry, this action is clearly necessary and responsible.”

 

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http://www.pressherald.com/news/bushmaster-closing-windham-plant_2010-12-11.html

Bushmaster closing Windham plant

 

The firearms maker, which is based in Windham and employs 73, will shut down next March.

 

By J. Hemmerdinger [email protected]

Reporter

 

 

 

Four years after being acquired by a private equity firm, Bushmaster Firearms International plans to close its manufacturing plant in Windham, effective March 31.

 

The firearms manufacturer, which was founded in 1973 and is based in Windham, employs 73 workers in Maine.

 

A media release from Madison, N.C.-based Freedom Group Inc., Bushmaster's parent company, said the Windham plant's staff will be given "comprehensive severance packages" and assistance in finding new jobs.

 

Freedom Group will retain the Bushmaster brand but move the manufacturing of products now made in Windham to other facilities. Freedom Group owns other firearms manufacturers, including Remington Arms Co., Dakota Arms Cos., Parker Gunmakers, H&R 1871 and Marlin Firearms.

 

Members of Maine's congressional delegation called the closure a blow to the Windham community.

 

"The workers of that company have earned an international reputation for the quality of their work ... It's very disappointing to see them cut out of the respected brand they have worked so hard to build," said Rep. Chellie Pingree in a prepared statement.

 

A statement from the offices of Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins said Bushmaster "has provided good jobs to workers in the Windham area, and the facility's closure will be a great economic loss to southern Maine."

 

Bushmaster makes short-barreled and long-barreled rifles, including the M16 military rifle and the related AR15. Those models are used by law enforcement agencies, private security firms and the militaries of 50 countries.

 

Bushmaster guns are made from aluminum and advanced carbon fiber and are used for hunting, recreational and competition shooting and home defense, according to the company's website.

 

Bushmaster made news in August, when R.J. Grondin & Sons proposed building an enclosed firing range at its quarry in Windham for weapons testing by Bushmaster. The proposal followed months of complaints by residents about noise from high-power weapons testing at the quarry.

 

Bushmaster was acquired in April 2006 by the New York City-based private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which also acquired Remington, DPMS and Marlin from 2006 to 2008.

 

All were placed under the ownership of Freedom Group, a company owned by Cerberus.

 

In a 2009 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said the acquisitions were intended to create "the world's leading firearms and ammunition company."

 

Jonathan Hemmerdinger can be reached at 791-6316 or at:

 

jhemmerdinger @mainetoday.com

 

---------

Here's the Bloomberg article. Any anti-gun bias here?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-10/gun-maker-s-plant-in-maine-to-close-70-lose-jobs.html

WINDHAM, Maine (AP) — The Maine gun plant that produced the semiautomatic rifle used by the Beltway snipers will close, putting about 70 people out of work.

 

North Carolina-based Freedom Group announced Friday it's closing the Bushmaster Firearms plant in Windham. The company said production will be moved to other plants owned by Freedom Group, which is the parent company of Remington, Marlin Firearms and Dakota Arms, along with Bushmaster.

 

The Windham plant will close on March 31.

 

Bushmaster is one of the largest producers of the civilian version of the M-16 rifle. A Bushmaster XM-15 was used by John Allen Muhammad and his teenage accomplice in a three-week spree in 2002 across Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Mohammad was executed in November 2009.

Oh my god! It's almost like that last article is a joke.

Oh my god! It's almost like that last article is a joke.

 

Like he feels good about it closing, no more deadly snipers using these murderous weapons of mass destruction!

I too think it sucks that a week (two) after I buy my brand new, baby, Bushmaster... they close. Naturally... The Story of My Life!

 

But, you know, I would rather have the Bushmaster in the way I want it (config etc.) than a Remington R-15 in a setup I don't like as much/didn't really want. Still a great rifle and I almost bought one when I didn't know squat, but I am glad I have the Bushmaster.

 

Now how this will effect warranty? I was told by the gent from Bushmaster on my way home from Arms and Ammo, that they offer a 1 year warranty and a lifetime worth of "trying to help if we can" , i.e. don't do something stupid and we'll try to fix it for you. Also they said they would do any work I wanted done if I sent it to them, I.e. if I bought a whole bunch of parts etc. I could send it to them and have them redo my rifle etc. Who knows if that will still be the case.

 

 

Shame to see American businesses closing ... Makes you think twice about buying an H & K, no?

 

 

Shame to see American businesses closing ... Makes you think twice about buying an H & K, no?

 

No, it really doesn't. I don't let the "buy american" bias into my firearms purchase criteria, and neither should anyone who would think of relying on one to protect their lives. None of my HK's have had the teething problems that the ACR has had.

 

That being said, I purchased an American made KAC rifle over its H&K Counterpart because I believe the KAC is a superior weapon.

Now how this will effect warranty?

 

 

You seem to be laboring under the misconception that Bushmaster is going away. The article says that will retain the brand, they're simply closing one manufacturing facility and moving production to other plants within the group.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

Business decision. This "Freedom Group" has it's hands in too many pots.

You seem to be laboring under the misconception that Bushmaster is going away. The article says that will retain the brand, they're simply closing one manufacturing facility and moving production to other plants within the group.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

 

 

Well Old Sage... You brought clarity to the situation again. The damned rifle is milspec so what's the deal if they fell off the face of the earth? Use milspec parts...