Maine’s last big gunmaker has gotten a new lease on life.
Windham Weaponry has reopened under new ownership and management, the company announced Friday.
The manufacturer, based on Roosevelt Trail in Windham, is well-known for AR-style rifles sold to the Maine State Police and other law enforcement agencies across the country.
Windham Weaponry closed last September following the death in March of Richard Dyke, who effectively built up the manufacturer.
Dyke acquired Bushmaster Firearms out of bankruptcy in 1973. He sold the company to a private equity firm in 2006. But when the new owner closed the Maine plant to consolidate its operations, Dyke started Windham Weaponry and hired many of the plant’s former workers.
Windham Weaponry is bucking a trend of declining gun manufacturing in Maine, which fell 77 percent between 2007 and 2021. That comes as more firearm companies move their manufacturing facilities to the South.
