Jimenez Arms, also known as "J.A.", is an American firearms manufacturer based in Henderson in Nevada. The company was started in August 2004 using the molds and machinery from bankrupt Bryco Arms and currently makes four models of firearm.
Contents |
| Former type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | firearms |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Successor | Jimenez Arms |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder(s) | Bruce Jennings |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Carson City, Nevada, Irvine, California and Costa Mesa, California, U.S. |
| Area served | U.S. |
| Key people | Paul Jimenez |
| Products | weapons, Semi-Automatics |
| Subsidiaries | Jennings Firearms |
Bryco Arms was an American firearm manufacturing company based at various times in Carson City, Nevada, Irvine, California, and Costa Mesa, California. The company's most famous product was the Bryco Arms Model 38 semi-automatic pistol, available in both 32 ACP and 380 ACP calibers (also known as the P-38). The company was owned by Bruce Jennings.
Bryco Arms was one of the manufacturers of so-called Saturday night special firearms that operated in and around Los Angeles, California, all of which were descendants in some way from George Jennings' Raven Arms. It produced firearms variously branded as Jennings Firearms at its Irvine, California facility, as well as under the brand name of Bryco Arms at its former Carson City, Nevada facility, and at its Costa Mesa, California facility.
Bryco Arms declared bankruptcy in 2003 as a result of losing a lawsuit filed in Oakland, California and which resulted in a jury award of a record $24 million judgment against Bryco Arms. The lawsuit stemmed from an injury to a then 7-year old boy named Brandon Maxfield received from a 20-year old family friend who was attempting to unload the 380 ACP version of the Bryco Arms Model 38. The gun discharged while the 20-year old was attempting to clear the chamber, the gun inadvertently pointed at Maxfield.[1] The ensuing negligent discharge paralyzed Brandon Maxfield from the neck down. The plaintiffs claimed that due to a design defect, the gun had a cartridge feed problem, made evident when the safety was on and the user pulled back the slide to check the chamber or load a cartridge into the chamber. Rather than re-design the gun to correct the jamming problem, the design of the gun was altered to require that the safety be placed in the fire position when checking the chamber or chambering a cartridge, which hid the problem from the user. [2][3][4] Maxfield|accessdate=2009-07-19|date=2005-07-12}}</ref>
Jennings Firearms was another brand name for the company's products, having been started in 1978 by Bruce Jennings as an earlier incarnation of what became Bryco Arms, but which also remained a recognizable brand name for Bryco Arms for many years even while Bryco Arms used its own brand name for firearms. Possibly most known for producing the both popular and yet infamous Jennings J-22 pistol in .22LR caliber.
Bryco's former foreman, Paul Jimenez, bought the bankrupt Bryco Arms for $510,000 in August 2004, and renamed the company Jimenez Arms. The former Model 380 (the 380 ACP version of the Model 38) was renamed the JA-380, and production of the same semi-automatic pistol design was resumed.
The soon-to-be-named Jimenez Arms (JA) was purchased by Paul Jimenez and resumed operations in Costa Mesa, California. The JA-NINE, the former Bryco Arms Model 380 (renamed the JA-380), the former Jennings J-22 (renamed the JA-22 LR), and the Jennings J-25 (renamed the JA-25) quickly became the only firearms currently manufactured by the company. Due to California law requiring California-manufactured guns to pass safety tests, Jimenez Arms submitted passing test results on the new guns to the state, but the guns failed subsequent additional independent tests. The law requires that upon failure, the manufacturer must correct the problem and resubmit for additional testing. Rather than complete the process, Jimenez Arms ceased California operations and established itself in Nevada, which has no safety testing requirements for firearms. [5]
A business license was granted on August 30, 2006 for Jimenez Arms to commence operation in Henderson, Nevada, and production has resumed there. Since their relocation the company has began production of the JA-32 (A .32 ACP pistol based on the frame of the JA-380) and the LC380 (A .380 ACP pistol based on the frame of the JA-NINE).