U.S. Fire Arms Manufacturing Company
 | |
| Private/no longer in production since 2011 | |
| Industry | Firearms, Defense |
| Headquarters | Hartford, Connecticut, United States |
| Products | Firearms, weapons |
| Website | defunct corporation |
United States Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company, Inc. (U.S. Fire Arms Mfg. Co., ) was a privately held firearms-manufacturing firm based in Hartford, Connecticut. Originally produced single action revolvers that were clones of the Colt Single Action Army revolver.[1] The factory was located "Under the Blue Dome," the former site of the Colt East Armory, where Colt's Manufacturing Company produced many of their classic firearms in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company no longer exists since about late 2011, and The Company was the last fire arms maker in the Colt's Armory Complex - and the site is now seeking Historic Landmark Status.
Firearms manufacturing in Hartford
U. S. Fire Arms Mfg. Co. was the only firearm company still manufacturing when it closed in 2011, in the City of Hartford, CT.[2] Due to space limitations, the company built an additional production location outside of the Blue Dome in order to accommodate their CNC machinery.
US Fire Arms had an active role in firearms politics in the United States, and issued a statement on the District of Columbia v. Heller court decision on the interpretation of the Second Amendment[3]
Product line
US Fire Arms was best known for producing firearms based on the Colt Single Action Army revolver, semiautomatic M1911 pistols and rifles such as the Lightning rifle.[4] These models are no longer manufactured by United States Fire Arms Mfg. Co., as the company no longer exists.
Custom shop
Company used to maintain an "Old Armory Custom Shop" which produced custom firearms to order. These firearms featured expensive traditional materials and techniques such as engraving or hand engraving, gold inlay, damascening, case hardening, polishing, and fine metal plating, or other finish.
Exhibitions
Through January 1, 2009, U.S. Fire Arms Mfg. Co. guns were displayed in the exhibit, Guns West![5] at the National Rifle Association's own National Firearms Museum. A U.S. Fire Arms Mfg. Co. Single Action Army revolver, given by United States Vice President Dick Cheney to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, may be viewed online through the Center's Cody Firearms Museum digital collection.[6][7] ESPN noted[8] U.S. Fire Arms Mfg. Co's 2007, Orlando, Florida, SHOT Show exhibit, which recalled an exhibit displayed at the 1876 Philadelphia, PA Centennial Exhibition in the same month George Armstrong Custer perished at Little Bighorn.
Use in film
Hollywood firearms expert Thell Reed selected USFA to provide revolvers for several films for which he served as key armorer.
- 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
- Shanghai Noon (2000)
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Rees, Clair (May 1, 1999). "Swords and Plowshares". Guns (magazine): 56.
- ↑ Clapp, Wiley (July 2003). "The High-Tech Peacemaker: U.S. Fire Arms applies modern gunmaking to a classic" (PDF). Shooting Illustrated (reproduced at USFirearms.com). p. 39. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
- ↑ see U.S. Fire Arms press release in support of D.C. v. Heller, dated 26 June 2008, retrieved 07 July 2008.
- ↑ Taffin, John. Auto Retro: USFA, the Leader in "Cowboy" Guns, Steps into the 20th Century, Guns Magazine, May, 2007, p. 58-61, reproduced on USFA web site, retrieved 16 July 2008.
- ↑ The National Firearms Museum, Fairfax, Virginia, information page about the Guns West! exhibit
- ↑ see Cody Firearms Museum Object Finder Page, select "Manufacturer" and from the drop-down menu, select "U.S. Fire-Arms Mfg. Co., Inc., Hartford, CT"
- ↑ or see web site Custom Shop Guns page for high resolution pictures of the Cheney gun
- ↑ see Eifling, Sam. Exhibitors in an "Arms Race, ESPNOutdoors.com 12 January 2007, retrieved 10 July 2008.