Windham Weaponry closing.
- Thread starter 12Bravo20
- Start date
mcb
Member
Well that is a bummer.
MarshallDodge
Member
We always lose a few on a downturn.
TinNePa
Member
I have one of their rifles. It’s a great shooter. Sad to see this.
InTheSwamp
Member
Sad. I guess that will put a closure to the Bushmaster Story. Really Sad.
Windham did not have anything on their website when I received the email and started the thread. But there is a statement on their website now.
https://www.windhamweaponry.com
I always liked their 1-7 twist A2 barrels plus the fact that they used the same exact A2 handguards as Colt and FN. The A2 barrel I have is way more accurate than it should be with M855 ammo.
https://www.windhamweaponry.com
I always liked their 1-7 twist A2 barrels plus the fact that they used the same exact A2 handguards as Colt and FN. The A2 barrel I have is way more accurate than it should be with M855 ammo.
I hate to see any firearms company go out of business, but this made me go “Huh?”:
The last three years saw record-breaking sales and empty shelves because manufacturers couldn’t keep up. Granted, things have slowed now but the pandemic and the Democrats sent sales through the roof. Sounds more like fundamental financial soundness issues than hard times for the firearms industry.
The last three years saw record-breaking sales and empty shelves because manufacturers couldn’t keep up. Granted, things have slowed now but the pandemic and the Democrats sent sales through the roof. Sounds more like fundamental financial soundness issues than hard times for the firearms industry.
Nature Boy
Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2015
- Messages
- 8,255
Doesn’t surprise me. The increase in demand over the last 10 years caused a boom in the number of manufacturers. It’s inevitable some would get squeezed when that demand flattened out.
MarshallDodge
Member
Not saying it is wrong but I see posts all the time on THR of people buying from PSA and BCA, not many from Windham anymore.
I never consider them much of a player anymore, although I recently purchased one of their liteweight barrels from CDNN on sale.
Last edited:
NIGHTLORD40K
Member
Their stuff may be 15% higher quality than the equivalent PSA product, but at twice the price, the value proposition just wasn't there for the budget offerings and theres alot of competition for boutique stuff from sexier brand names.
Hate to see them go, but ya, I wasn't likely to buy anything from them.
Hate to see them go, but ya, I wasn't likely to buy anything from them.
Golfanaticshooter
Member
A lot of members buy from Wal Mart as well......
mcb
Member
And yet Bushmaster (Franklin) is still churning out Patrolman. The AR market is rather bizarre and finicky.
Windham was the only place to find a good A2 upper with an actual A2 receiver and proper 1-7 twist when I built my A2 clone a few years ago. The quality and accuracy has been top notch with the barrel. WIndham also sourced their A2 handguards from the same place as Colt and FN which was a bonus. The PSA A2 handguards are way too fat.
gunmechanic
Member
Very sad to hear that /Great company.I know the owner had passed a year ago.Good jobs are hard to come by in MAINE.The people that work there are the ones that are feeling it.
illinoisburt
Member
The pandemic business environment was very difficult for many companies with a huge increase in wages needed in rural areas to compete with unemployment checks for lower skilled employees. Companies who have debt and run on credit (which is a lot of them) are getting greatly squeezed by the rapid interest rate increases and tightening bank credit requirements. Throw in some inflation and companies running close to the margins are unfortunately failing in many industries.
Crosshair
Member
As a non-AR person, here are my outsider thoughts.
This is the disadvantage of being in the AR market. Sure its easy to enter, but also easy to be forced from. There are no nieches for you to specialize in, because you are a slave to interchanging with everyone else's parts. Two dozen manufacturers making the same dozen configurations and somehow trying to differentiate themselves.
People nowadays default to the AR due to price. What happens if that's no longer the case? If an AR costs the same as a Mini-14, Bren 2, AK, or something else?
I know a lot of non-gun industries are in for huge shakeups with the end of the Fed liquoring up the markets with cheap credit. It will be interesting to see what happens.
This is the disadvantage of being in the AR market. Sure its easy to enter, but also easy to be forced from. There are no nieches for you to specialize in, because you are a slave to interchanging with everyone else's parts. Two dozen manufacturers making the same dozen configurations and somehow trying to differentiate themselves.
It will be interesting to see the impact what you describe has on the AR market. I've felt for a long time that the low prices we've seen for ARs the last decade are an abnormality. I could never put my finger on the exact reasons, but it just didn't match up with other prices I could see.
People nowadays default to the AR due to price. What happens if that's no longer the case? If an AR costs the same as a Mini-14, Bren 2, AK, or something else?
I know a lot of non-gun industries are in for huge shakeups with the end of the Fed liquoring up the markets with cheap credit. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Shortly after the AWB expired, everyone had an AK when they could be had for $300-$500 all day long and AR's were closer to $800 and up.
Crosshair
Member
Exactly, and in the 1980s, you bought a Mini-14 if you wanted a scoped .223 autoloader for similar reasons.
1970s? Surplus M1 carbines.
jmorris
Member
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 24,186
The AR became popular when it cost more than mini’s and AK’s. They didn’t get cheap until everyone and their brother started making them. The whole supply/demand thing.
Don’t get me wrong as I have all 3 but I don’t think I would pay more for less today…unless I just needed it to complete the collection.
Crosshair
Member
They became mainstream popular, though still not ubiquitous, around the time politicians started wanting to ban them.
GBExpat
Member
Sad. They made some fine, accurate AR-15s as both Bushmaster and later as Windham. I'll have to get out the old XM15-E2S Bushy that I bought NIB 20+ years ago and put some rounds thru it.
MarshallDodge
Member
The AR market is constantly evolving. My dad had a 20" Colt SP1 clone in the 80s. In the 90s, I had a "flattop" A4 style varminter. Then the M4 carbine became popular and I built one of those. Free float rails were up next and then liteweight barrels, and even lighter rails. More recent has been the pistol fad with 8-12" barrels and braces.
Retro started to become a thing about 15 years ago and that seems to be where Windham focused some of it's models.
Palmetto seems to have all the bases covered and has brought a lot of manufacturing in house. This is really hard to compete against when you are a smaller, mid-tier competitor like Windham, who contracts out most of their components.
Retro started to become a thing about 15 years ago and that seems to be where Windham focused some of it's models.
Palmetto seems to have all the bases covered and has brought a lot of manufacturing in house. This is really hard to compete against when you are a smaller, mid-tier competitor like Windham, who contracts out most of their components.
