Firearm production by U.S. manufacturers, 1989 update

Shooting Industry, Dec, 1989 by Walter J. Howe

Firearm Production by U.S. Manufacturers, 1989 UPDATE

Total production of firearms by U. S. manufacturers in 1986 was the lowest (3,039,650) recorded for any year in the sixteen years that the BATF has been collecting such data. It was 46% below the high figure of 5,831,744 recorded in 1974.

In 1986 there seemed to be no reason to believe that the factors which made the low numbers for that year had significantly changed - at least to the extent that 1987 would be much better. However, those who did divine that "Things will be better in 1987 and 1988" were right.

With the exception of revolvers, the other three basic gun types - rifles, pistols and shotguns - showed material gains in 1987. Over-all, production increased by 483,000 units. Moreover, whichever factors contributed to the 1987 upturn continued in place during 1988. Final BATF figures for 1988 show a total of 3,944,000 units, with significant gains in production in all basic gun types except revolvers.

For those readers who prefer a comprehensive view of the firearm production situation in the most recent years, the overview array showing the main figures of 1988, 1987 and 1986, is offered. For those who find indepth data to their liking, the graphs and tables in this article can provide an unrivaled perspective of the U.S. gun making industry.

Table : U. S. FIREARM PRODUCTION and EXPORTS: 1988, 1987, 1986, OVERVIEW

Firearm Type          1988     %        1987     %        1986     %
Rifle            1,128,369    29   1,006,100    29     970,541    32
Shotgun            912,338    23     857,949    24     641,482    21
Revolver           691,834    17     695,270    20     734,650    24
Pistol           1,211,791    31     963,562    27     692,977    23
TOTAL            3,944,332   100   3,522,881   100   3,039,650   100
Long gun Total   2,040,707    52   1,864,049    53   1,612,023    53
Handgun Total    1,903,625    48   1,658,832    47   1,427,627    47

Pistol production by caliber:

22                 456,287    24     353,257    21     278,611    20
25                 225,829    12     228,834    14     167,314    12
32                 133,466     7      88,549     5      28,670     2
380                 74,131     4      57,198     3      62,338     4
9mm                183,449    10     108,238     7      64,361     5
45                 138,629     7     127,486     8      91,683     6

Revolver production by caliber:

22                  97,008      5      75,509      5    77,879     6
32                  23,011      1       3,707   neg.    15,331     1
38 Spl.            127,785      7     198,994     12   161,888    11
357 Mag.           321,857     17     292,299     18   317,988    22
44 Mag.            114,967      6     116,922      7   144,943    10
45                   7,206   neg.       7,839   neg.    16,621     1

Exports by U.S. manufacturers:

Rifle               52,686     21      42,144     18    37,224    17
Shotgun             68,419     27      41,014     17    58,943    27
Revolver            98,099     39     133,859     55   103,890    48
Pistol              32,580     13      24,941     10    16,657     8
TOTAL              251,784    100     241,958    100   216,714   100
Long gun Total     121,105     48      83,158     34    96,167    44
Handgun Total      130,679     52     158,800     66   120,547    56

Total exports as a percent of production:

Long gun 6 5 6 (of all long guns)

Handgun 7 10 9 (of all handguns)

Total (of all firearms) 7 7 7

Table : Total Pistols Manufactured

Manufacturer                   Pistols
1  Raven Arms                  144,600
2  Smith & Wesson              138,834
3  Calwestco                   109,862
4  Sturm, Ruger & Co.          100,208
5  Colt                         80,654
6  International Die Casting    65,582
7  Davis Industries             64,398
8  Beretta USA                  42,492
9  Arcadia Mach. & Tool         31,165
10 FIE                          30,663
11 Ranger Mfg.                  23,731
12 Excam                        20,344
13 K.W. Thompson Tool           19,071
14 Arms Technology              15,211
15 Intratec, USA                14,725
16 S.W. Daniel                  12,244
17 Springfield Armory           10,685
18 Auto Ordnance                 7,753
19 AMAC                          5,714
20 Charter Arms                  4,647
21 Kern Instrument & Tool        4,195
22 American Derringer            2,864
23 Federal-Ordnance              2,709
24 Remington Arms Company        2,487
25 Essex Arms                    2,041
26 Caspian Arms                  1,484
27 Bellmore-Johnson Tool Co.     1,452
28 LAR Manufacturing             1,247
29 L.W. Seecamp Company          1,215

Table : Total Shotguns Manufactured

  Manufacturer                 Shotguns
1 O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc    229,961
2 Remington Arms Company       208,604
3 New England Firearms Co.     146,056
4 U.S. Repeating Arms Co.      127,744
5 Savage Industries            120,848
6 Kern Instrument & Tool        11,288
7 Sturm, Ruger & Co.             9,482
8 Ithaca Acquisition Corp.       2,434
9 Marlin Firearms Co.            1,042