Maine's largest and best-known rifle maker, Windham Weaponry, announced this week that, after a long run, it is headed towards "full liquidation."

Founded by the late Richard Dyke from the ashes of the old Bushmaster Firearms after the brand was sold to Remington Outdoors and moved from its long-time home in Windham, Maine, the company suddenly posted on Monday that it is closing its doors. 

"Twelve years ago, when we started Windham Weaponry, our shareholders and longtime employees were excited to continue the traditions and spirit of Bushmaster Firearms, after the new owners decided to leave Maine," read the notice. "We built WW into a company we could be proud of providing outstanding customer service, high-quality products, as well as a great place for our dedicated employees to work." 

Now, after the loss of Dyke and citing failure "to meet our loan obligations with the bank after they worked with us as much as they could," the company said it has begun discussions with Portland, Maine-based Keenan Auction Company "to determine the best course of action for a full liquidation which should happen within the next month or so." 

Windham says the company's website will remain active through Sept. 12 and that "We will do our best to ship all orders this week and early next week. No credit card will be charged until the order is shipped."

According to the latest information from federal regulators, in 2021, Windham Weaponry produced 1,264 pistols as well as 20,221 rifles, and 1,445 "miscellaneous firearms," the latter a category typically used by the ATF to categorize the production of standalone lower receivers. Most were for the American commercial market, although at least 541 rifles were exported overseas in 2021. Maine had 21 other Type 7 FFLs – firearm manufacturers – on record that year, but none produced more than 100 guns. 

Dyke founded Bushmaster Firearms International in 1973, then acquired the remnants of Bangor, Maine-based Gwinn Firearms a few years later and moved operations to Windham. After selling Bushmaster to the holding company that evolved into Remington Outdoors in 2006, he signed a non-compete agreement that expired in 2011. By then, "Big Green" had made the decision to move the concern “lock, stock, and barrel” out of Maine to its factory in Ilion, New York, leaving behind many of the old workers and the factory in Windham. 

Three months later, Windham Weaponry was back at work with Dyke at the helm, rolling out WW-branded ARs with much of the same old Bushmaster workforce in the rebranded factory. 

As for Bushmaster, Remington Outdoors later shifted the assembly line again to Huntsville, Alabama, and then began to quietly close it down in early 2020. When the conglomerate was broken apart in federal bankruptcy court, the Bushmaster and Panther Arms trademarks and IP were purchased by Crotalus Holdings, a sister company to Nevada-based Franklin Armory, and have since returned to production.

Banner image: Windham Weaponry ARs receivers rolling off the assembly line in Windham, Maine in 2021. (Photo: Windham Weaponry)