Eagle Imports: 1988-2020

Eagle Imports, established in 1988, was the stateside importer and representative for Bersa, American Classic, Metro Arms and MAC pistols, as well as Comanche single-shots and revolvers. It also handled Llama and S.P.S. handguns and often held exclusive importation rights with manufacturers worldwide. The company even added Grand Power models to its offerings for a five-year period that ended in 2019. The lineup was a diverse one and sourced from some of the world’s oldest and most respected gunmakers.

Based in Wanamassa, N.J., Eagle Imports operated for more than three decades. Then the pandemic struck. Offshore shipping delays backed up for weeks, and the price of business increased exponentially. The environment was a hostile one for any importer, but when combined with the firm’s already-shaky financial footing, the company closed its doors permanently in 2020. The timing was unfortunate. The nation was just beginning its record-setting run on guns that lasted for two years and has barely slowed this year.

The company’s last catalog (2020, seen above) included the first Bersa pistols with threaded barrels available to American enthusiasts—introduced only months before Eagle Imports closed. The Bersa TPR semi-auto line became available the prior year and the company’s tradition of new offerings built an avid and eager audience of American Bersa fans that kept the company busy.

Price is the often-cited virtue of Bersas, but the reliability and performance is too often underrated. They show in B. Gil Horman’s review of a Bersa Thunder 380 pistol for American Rifleman. Thankfully, Talon Distributing is making them available stateside.

Other firms have assumed importing duties, or soon will, for many of the other makes. It’s an internationally flavored potpourri that came to an end with Eagle Imports. Bersas, for example, come from Argentina, the same place Comanches are made. Llamas and MACs are manufactured in the Phillippines. American Classics and SPSs are a Spanish product, and Grand Powers originate in Slovakia.