The gun industry has lost another well-known black rifle company, as North Carolina-based Del-Ton has closed its doors after more than 25 years.
"Thank you for your support. Del-Ton is closing," the company posted on its website and social media accounts on Tuesday. "As Del-Ton prepares to close its doors, we want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to the incredible people who have been part of our journey."
Del-Ton was founded in 1998 in a North Carolina garage outside of Fayetteville, near Fort Bragg. After several years of supplying AR parts, kits, and accessories, the company moved to a 5,000-square-foot facility and then finally to a 26,000-square-foot factory in Elizabethtown after 2007, where it produced AR-15 and later AR-10 style rifles along with large-format pistols. By 2013, the company was making over 15,000 firearms a year.
Del-Ton was the first AR for many buyers over the years, as it offered a decent entry-level rifle – backed by a lifetime warranty – for an affordable price of admission. Across its popular Alpha, Echo, and Sierra series platforms, most had an MSRP in the $600 to $700 range, which was typically lower at retail.
While that was all it took to carve out space in the consumer feast for a decade or so after the federal "assault weapon" ban expired in 2004, budget AR makers like Anderson, Diamondback, and Palmetto State Armory ate up increasingly larger bites of that same market. Coupled with value AR lines from big names like Mossberg, Ruger, and Smith & Wesson, it isn't hard to see how Del-Ton is no longer at the table.
According to the most current data from federal regulators, Del-Ton in 2023 produced no less than 3,911 handguns and 27,416 rifles across all calibers. For a frame of reference, FN America produced just 24,942 rifles the same year, while Colt made 22,504.
The loss of Del-Ton follows on the heels of the recent closing of AK makers Kalashnikov USA and Pioneer Arms.
Pour one out for the crew at Del-Ton, folks. They were there with us through some of the darkest days.
