Armscor (Philippines)

Armscor Precision, Inc.
Private
Industry Defense
Founded 1952
Headquarters Marikina, Philippines
Products Firearms, ammunition
Armscor 1911A1-FS PS .45

The Arms Corporation of the Philippines (Armscor) is a firearms manufacturing company headquartered in the Philippines. The company is known for its inexpensive 1911-pattern pistols, revolvers, shotguns, sporting rifles, firearms parts and ammunition.

History

Armscor traces its roots to a Manila sporting and dry goods retail store, Squires Bingham & Co., that was founded in 1911. Squires Bingham was bought by the Tuason family in 1941 and began making firearms though the present corporation in 1952. Armscor manufactures its own line of firearms and holds manufacturing contracts for other companies' firearm lines, such as Twin Pines' Rock Island Armory (RIA) pistols. In addition to the Rock Island Armory 1911 series pistols, Armscor is the source of pistols for STI's Spartan, Cimarron Firearms pre-1923 Model 1911,[1] Charles Daly and Auto Ordnance 1911 style pistols. Armscor is an ISO 9001 certified compliant company which manufactures weapons using CNC (Computer Numerical Control) equipment.

The company is headquartered in Marikina, Philippines and represented in the USA by its subsidiary Armscor Precision International (API), located in Pahrump, Nevada with facilities in Stevensville, Montana.[2]

Armscor became a registered trademark on Feb 24, 2009.[3]

Ownership/Management

Armscor is owned by the Squires Bingham Co. Inc, a holding company for the family of Don Celso Tuason. Don Tuason's eldest son Demetrio "Bolo" Tuason is the current president and CEO of the company.[4]

Products

While it is primarily known as a manufacturer of M1911 pistols, Armscor manufactures and markets a number of other handgun, revolver, shotgun and rifle models as well as ammunition and accessories.[4]

Revolvers

Handguns

Armscor's handguns are based on the Colt M1911A1 design and Tanfoglio versions of the CZ-75.[3][4]

Armscor 1911A1 9mm FS GI
Armscor 1911A1 9mm FS PS

Shotguns

Based on design of High Standard Flite King shotgun.[3][5][6]

Rifles

The company has been making bolt-action and rimfire rifles since 1980.[3]

Innovations

Armscor introduced a new propriety caliber named the .22 TCM (Tuason Craig Micromag) on the 1911 pistol platform. The cartridge is essentially a shortened 223 rifle cartridge necked down to fire a 22 caliber rifle bullet with a 40-grain jacketed hollow point slug. Its main characteristics are its high velocity and low recoil, allowing for repeated accurate shots.[7]

More recently the company has released a bolt-action rifle chambered for this cartridge.[4]

AFP (Armscor) Arsenal Battalion

Due to the nature of the Business of ARMSCOR, it has been tapped by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to be one of its partners as an "Affiliate Reserve Unit". The company was designated as the 1st (ARMSCOR) Arsenal Battalion (Reserve) and placed under the operation control of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Reserve Command.[3][8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Shideler, Dan (20 August 2010). Guns Illustrated 2011: The Latest Guns, Specs & Prices. Iola, Wisconsin: F+W Media, Inc. p. 35. ISBN 1-4402-1624-X.
  2. ↑ Huntington, Roy (July 1, 2013). "Armscor Expands, Doubles Capabilities". Shooting Industry  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lucas, Daxim L. (June 24, 2012). "Third generation clan members take control of lucrative firm". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Abuyuan, Abuyuan (November 10, 2013). "Top Shot". Manila Bulletin  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
  5. ↑ "51329 - M5 Shotgun". Armscor USA. Armscor USA. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Armscor M30 Series Shotguns". Internet Movie Firearms Database. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Review of the TCM Ammunition and pistol". January 9, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Another Arms Cache Found". Manila Bulletin  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . December 6, 2009.
Bibliography