Windham Weaponry

CristianM

CristianM

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From "American Rifleman":
"Ever heard of Windham Weaponry? You have, but you just don't know it yet. Although this is technically a new company, it brings years of AR rifle manufacturing experience to the table. Back in 1973, Richard Dyke founded Bushmaster Firearms International, a company that would grow to become one of the top providers of quality, AR-style firearms. In 2006, Cerberus Capital Management purchased Bushmaster, adding it to its portfolio of other well-known gun companies, like Marlin and Remington, as part of the Freedom Group. The production of Bushmaster rifles continued in the original Windham, Maine, location until March of 2011 when the operation was relocated to Ilion, N.Y.

The move resulted in the facility's closure and the seasoned work crew losing their jobs. This would have been the end of the story if Richard Dyke hadn’t stepped up to the plate to change the situation. With his five-year non-compete clause expiring and new financial backers on board, Mr. Dyke organized the reopening of the Maine facility and brought back as many of the original employees as he could. Under the banner of Windham Weaponry, this re-energized company is providing a selection of ARs to rival the biggest names in the industry."V:I:

Their website: http://www.windhamweaponry.com/

I couldn't find much on this forum about the Windham ARs:ar15:; mostly in one thread started for another brand and stopped last October.

I've heard the Windham ARs will be sold soon in Canada in 14.5" and 16" barrels. They shouldn't cost too much as US prices are just a little above 1000 USD.

Is there enough info to assess them?

What about a comparison with North Eastern Arms? They are around the same price level. To start here:
- Windham uses Mil Spec forged Al (7075), 4150 CMV, chrome lined barrel, 1 in 9" rifling
- NEA works with 6061 Al, 4140 CMV barrel, 1 in 7" rifling

Thanks!
 
CristianM said:
From "American Rifleman":
"Ever heard of Windham Weaponry? You have, but you just don't know it yet. Although this is technically a new company, it brings years of AR rifle manufacturing experience to the table. Back in 1973, Richard Dyke founded Bushmaster Firearms International, a company that would grow to become one of the top providers of quality, AR-style firearms. In 2006, Cerberus Capital Management purchased Bushmaster, adding it to its portfolio of other well-known gun companies, like Marlin and Remington, as part of the Freedom Group. The production of Bushmaster rifles continued in the original Windham, Maine, location until March of 2011 when the operation was relocated to Ilion, N.Y.

The move resulted in the facility's closure and the seasoned work crew losing their jobs. This would have been the end of the story if Richard Dyke hadn’t stepped up to the plate to change the situation. With his five-year non-compete clause expiring and new financial backers on board, Mr. Dyke organized the reopening of the Maine facility and brought back as many of the original employees as he could. Under the banner of Windham Weaponry, this re-energized company is providing a selection of ARs to rival the biggest names in the industry."V:I:

Their website: http://www.windhamweaponry.com/

I couldn't find much on this forum about the Windham ARs:ar15:; mostly in one thread started for another brand and stopped last October.

I've heard the Windham ARs will be sold soon in Canada in 14.5" and 16" barrels. They shouldn't cost too much as US prices are just a little above 1000 USD.

Is there enough info to assess them?

What about a comparison with North Eastern Arms? They are around the same price level. To start here:
- Windham uses Mil Spec forged Al (7075), 4150 CMV, chrome lined barrel, 1 in 9" rifling
- NEA works with 6061 Al, 4140 CMV barrel, 1 in 7" rifling

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Being the former owner of bushmaster, is not really a good thing in the AR market
 
Lee Enfield said:
That's what I was going to say.

When a Colt, Daniel Defence, ect "tier one" AR retails for @ $950-1150, I really don't think anyone in their right mind is going to buy one...
Click to expand...

they will sell by the boatload in the states me thinks...anything that is readily available and on the shelf will sell. As for NEA, I would love to give one a go but they don't make rack grade guns, I am not a fan of billet receivers, low pro gas blocks, ff rails etc etc...NEA starts making a high quality M4/C8 platform I will put one in my safe...
 
sparrow said:
they will sell by the boatload in the states me thinks...anything that is readily available and on the shelf will sell. As for NEA, I would love to give one a go but they don't make rack grade guns, I am not a fan of billet receivers, low pro gas blocks, ff rails etc etc...NEA starts making a high quality M4/C8 platform I will put one in my safe...
Click to expand...

gif-12.gif
 
If they come in at a competitive price they will sell, the shrubmasters that were made out of Windham were not that bad, teir 2 or 3 at the time. Remember they sold to Black-water and were used in real world conditions, so they built guns for the specification that was demanded of them. The specs they publicly announce are fine for the most part depending on what you intend to do with it, 1/9 twist is fine considering most police forces I see just buy 55gr to 62gr anyway. At least this cuts down on throat erosion according to what I was told by Colt Canada years back and recently from a Colt armorer. If you are shooting above the 62gr mark then the 1/9 will not due..

Hey in the CF I remember when were doing the battle Sim and the rifles we were using had the Bushmaster logo on the lower receiver. They were Shrubmaster rifles.
 
badboybeeson said:
Being the former owner of bushmaster, is not really a good thing in the AR market
Click to expand...

Please, explain your theory as to why?

I've had an on/off interest in AR's for close to 25 years now. Back in the 1990's when I bought the (3) AR's that I have now, Bushmaster was widely viewed as one of the top AR manufacturers.

One complaint that customers occasionally had was the "purple" receivers and discolouration mismatch between uppers and lowers. This was something they eventually sorted out in short order.

So, why would a preceived poor reputation of today's Bushmaster reflect badly on the previous owner who lead the company in the haydays of the company's success? If anything, I think it would demonstrate that the man can run a frearms company and produce a quality product.

In 1996, while on vacation in Maine, I actually visited Bushmaster at their Windham location. I didn't get a tour of the facility but I did buy a few different items from them while I was there.
 
2bad4u2 said:
Please, explain your theory as to why?
Click to expand...

Because in the early 2000's there were a number of "quality" issues that made headlines in the marketplace. Large "runs" of guns were having problems and those problems tracked back to production issues and parts issues.

During the 2000's the quality of the product suffered as Bushmaster chose to change various quality specifications of certain component parts... this reduced their costs but it also resulted in higher failure rates. They also chose to go with "batch testing" on various components rather than testing "all" of a component (bolts for example) and this resulted in higher failure rates being experienced by end-users.

I owned some excellent Bushmaster AR's in the late 1990's and early 2000 but by @ 2002 or 2003 some real issues started to occur and reputation of the product quickly deteriorated. Given that reputation and history many might believe that the same could easily occur with a "new company" if the owner makes the same decisions he/she made in the past.

Mark
 
Questar said:
Because in the early 2000's there were a number of "quality" issues that made headlines in the marketplace. Large "runs" of guns were having problems and those problems tracked back to production issues and parts issues.

During the 2000's the quality of the product suffered as Bushmaster chose to change various quality specifications of certain component parts... this reduced their costs but it also resulted in higher failure rates. They also chose to go with "batch testing" on various components rather than testing "all" of a component (bolts for example) and this resulted in higher failure rates being experienced by end-users.

I owned some excellent Bushmaster AR's in the late 1990's and early 2000 but by @ 2002 or 2003 some real issues started to occur and reputation of the product quickly deteriorated. Given that reputation and history many might believe that the same could easily occur with a "new company" if the owner makes the same decisions he/she made in the past.

Mark
Click to expand...

100% on the money mark.
Its all about the ceo of the company manke the choice to to skimp on things,this runs the chance of issues.
but bushmaster, it came at a time when a big demand hit for guns.
Many people people had issues and many agancys dumped them as fast as they could.
I myself has a mid 1990,s busy and loved it, but many late models we crap.
bbb
 
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