Windham Weaponry Closing

[Scorpion8]

Just got an e-mail that they are shutting down. Sad to see, as I have a few of their rifles made when they came back from the ashes of Bushmaster

[Ricklin]

I'm afraid it's just the beginning. Many companies making AR's are facing tough times. Way too many players, has little to nothing to do with regulations and changing laws. Classic oversupply situation. It's why I place little to no value in warranties, esp. life time warranties. The lifetime of greatest significance? That of the manufacturer.

[stagpanther]

As a Mainer--very sorry to hear that. the original Bushmaster was a good value--soon after they were absorbed by the idiot group their designer went on to help found Core 15--which is why I bought one of their AR's when they opened; it has remained a sturdy and reliable AR after over a decade of use. When Windham re-opened I was rooting for them but I think they just couldn't stay competitive.

[Nathan]

Sad because it was employee owned, I believe. They just didn’t make the shift from AR’s to snap together bolt guns, pistols, or other more sustainable platforms.

As much as I hate to see S&W go away from well made revolvers in hundreds of flavors, I see the value in moving the product to cheaper revolvers, plastic fantastic semi-autos, leo sales, AR’s….etc. I do wish they would startup a sub brand focused on making old school high quality revolvers, Contender frames and barrels, mauser action bolt rifles, quality o/u shotguns or similar. I mean does an entire company need to be focused on plastic guns at a low price point?

[imashooter]

Sad indeed. Great story. Still have 20" govt model from them. Superb weapon. Pricing probably became their downfall.

[FrankenMauser]

The writing has been on the wall. It is too bad they they failed to adapt and couldn't see that they were stuck in the mud.

Windham was selling a product line that belonged in a catalog from 2004, built on a mindset from 1994.
They never moved into the modern market.

Case in point: Across their entire rifle line, there were only seven rifles/uppers with free-floated barrels. Three of them were discontinued some time ago, including one that was nothing special and started over $1,500 (for something you could buy elsewhere at $750-900). Two were law-enforcement-only. That left two free-float rifles/uppers for the last couple years, and one of them was a 7.62x39 model priced at just shy of *twice* that of the competition.

So, not only were they barely touching what people wanted in today's market, and at prices far from competitive, but they were also shooting themselves in the foot with two of the models that they did make. Sub-50-year-old buyers do NOT like companies that sell LE-only products.
Many see it as an insult. "You're not good enough to have this."
Or, as a sign of a company that does not support the sale of NFA items to the general public. "Good for LE, but not for thee."

That's not even touching the politics involving the AR pistols that they made, and how angry it made younger buyers to see a company instantly comply with even the mildest suggestion that the ATF might change a rule - even though said rule hadn't even been officially proposed yet.

And, lastly, they did not sell parts. Most of the younger generation of gun people - not simple gun owners, but enthusiasts - don't buy ARs any more. They build what they want, and they do so with a mixture of parts from a dozen or more companies. Windham ignored that market even more than Colt.

[bamaranger]

If memory serves (unlikely these days) Windham began when the new Bushmaster (was that Remington?) failed to retain the original employees. There was some shifty contract wording, but seems the original Bushmaster people decided "that ain't right" and we saw Windham appear. Moral high ground . Sorry to hear they will not survive.

[imashooter]

It began when the 5 year no - compete clause ended and the original owner was able to pull together enough former employees to get the company up and running again.

[veprdude]

I'm sad to hear them closing and I feel a bit of an emotional attachment to them being "Bushmaster pt. 2" but then again I can't recall a single product of theirs that I was like "oooh I want THAT!"'

There's a Windham Weaponry A2 Govt 20" Rifle that I've been eyeballing at a pawn shop. Hoping to snag it on a deal because of the good reputation WW had. But no way would I pay full price for it new.