Maine’s last big gunmaker closed this month after the death of the owner who effectively started the brand, then rescued it after its corporate parent moved production south.
Windham Weaponry, which was known for AR-style rifles bought by the Maine State Police and other law enforcement agencies across the country, posted a notice on its website saying it could not meet loan obligations and that talks with a potential investor fell through.
It took orders until Sept. 12 and was planning a full liquidation within a month and laid off 10 employees as of that date, according to a notice filed with the federal government. A company official did not respond to a phone message seeking comment.
“Our shareholders and employees truly appreciate your loyal support all of these years,” the notice read.
The closure is notable for leaving Maine with no major firearms maker. Commercial gun production declined here by 77 percent from 2007 to 2021, something that the Maine Monitor recently attributed to a trend of conservative states luring manufacturers with tax breaks and a welcoming climate.
The company’s owner, Richard Dyke, was a major figure in Maine’s business and political worlds. After Susan Collins lost a gubernatorial run in 1994, she ran a Husson University small business center named for Dyke until her 1996 election to the U.S. Senate.
Dyke bought Bushmaster Firearms for just over $240,000 out of bankruptcy in 1973. From Windham, he grew it into a major company. It produced 50,000 high-powered rifles per year and expected sales of $36 million in 2002, according to an Associated Press article at the time.
That same year, John A. Muhammad and Lee Malvo, used a Windham-made rifle at times in shootings that killed 17 people in and around Washington, D.C. Dyke encouraged employees the day after they found out one of their guns was used, saying they had nothing to be ashamed of. Bushmaster paid out a $550,000 settlement in 2004 to the families of victims.
Dyke sold the company to a private equity firm in 2006 for $70 million. In 2010, its new owner acquired a North Carolina company and closed the plant to consolidate production. Dyke led a new ownership group that started Windham Weaponry and hired back many of the plant’s former workers.
It became known for the lightweight rifles, but production in Windham declined over the last decade. In 2013, the company made more than 74,000 firearms, according to federal data cited by the Maine Monitor. It made 23,000 in 2021, the last year for which data was available.
Dyke died of heart failure at 89 years old in March. It was harder to find Windham Weaponry firearms in recent months, said David Trahan, the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine. He suspects that operating in a competitive industry was too difficult without the dynamic owner at the helm.
“When you looked at other firearms out there on the market, theirs stood out as a well made product and I think that’s a reflection of the people,” he said.
