End of an Era: Remington shutters DPMS, Tapco, and Bushmaster
 

The writing has been on the wall, but alas, the other shoe has dropped. Remington Outdoors Company is closing Bushmaster, DPMS, Storm Lake Barrels, and Tapco.

Some of us who were in the AR game before the recent bloom of boutique assemblers will remember fondly the days when Colt was the overpriced option, Bushmaster the competitors AR, and the DPMS the working man’s rifle. But under management by a spineless anti-gun umbrella corporation, bankrupting and distributing, it’s now apparent that the remaining skeleton held by JP Morgan Chase which is Remington Outdoors is closing DPMS, Tapco, Storm Lake barrels, and Bushmaster.

Despite my disgust with the management choices made by their recent owners and leaders, whether Cerberus, Freedom, and JP Morgan-Chase, I’m deeply saddened to see Bushmaster and DPMS fall. I’ve personally built AR’s on over a hundred Bushmaster lowers, and a few dozen DPMS’s, and 2 or 3 times as many uppers using Bushmaster uppers and BCG’s. I’ve favored their National Match 2 stage trigger for many years. I remain to hold two as-factory Bushmaster AR’s, one an Hbar M4gery and the other a Varmint Special Stainless. One of the most accurate factory AR’s I have ever owned was a DPMS Sweet 16.

Unfortunately, the Remington Outdoor Company owners have been cowtowing to liberal pressures for years, and now they’re closing their “MSR” businesses under the guise of focusing their resources into their hunting product lines, Barnes, Marlin, AAC, and Remington. We can be certain, this is a move too late, in the opinion of their managers - as ties to these financial management companies caused Bushmaster/Remington to become an apparently lucrative target, leading to the recent Supreme Court ruling which allowed them to be held liable for the misuse of their products in the Sandy Hook shootings (under the premise of irresponsible advertising to underaged children akin the Phillip Morris lawsuits decades ago).

So I’ll end my scattered eulogy reflecting on the great products of their past and lamenting the unfortunate series of events which became their undoing by saying Remington has forever forward lost my business, but I remain to hope they will right the ship and not further ruin the names of Marlin and Remington.

This is kind of disturbing news with the backstory you've shared. Another way for anti-gunners to accomplish their goals.

Very.

-Jake

Unless you have a vote on the Board of Directors, or are a top management person, nobody knows all of the details of corporate decisions. Our firm often deals with complex and confidential corporate matters of which the public has no knowledge and even at that level there are facts and opinions that are unknown to us unless deemed relevant.

If the facts are not known (perhaps from the bankruptcy court documents, a BOD member, leaked documents, or information releases from the company) all else is speculation. A good old public bashing of a firearms company will not make the situation better for shooters. If there is a profitable hole in the market another company will step in to fill it.

It is saddening to see some of the older products go away but sometimes a different company will buy the brand name and make a better product for us. I think the Winchester brand is a good example.

The strong survive. The weak die on the vine. It's a story as old as time.

Is Remington going to move totally out of New York State?

Or, in this case the COWARDS capitulate to the weak. Who are thriving among the ignorant and illiterate.


DPMS grew up in my back yard, of MN. Until they sold out to Remington.
I got to shoot a prototype .308LR at the Rifle Range they owned in St. Cloud, MN. 20 years ago, when they were still small, locally owned.

Cowards = Weak.

The company remains for sale, but I expect the whole thing will collapse before investments are ever made to move the company again.

It is very possible this time next year Remington will have ceased to exist.