On April 19, Windham Weaponry announced it is back in business, although details in the press release made it obvious the efforts to re-launch the famed firm had been underway for months. “We are under new ownership and a new management team,” it reads. “We have also hired back some of the best gun people in the industry, with many having 20-30 years of experience.”
A company spokesman confirmed the effort to re-open began Jan. 1. The trio of new owners—two of them former Bushmaster/Windham staff members and an investor—faced a significant hurdle before full operations could resume. The company liquidated all assets when it shut down late last year. Desks, chairs and every machine needed to be replaced.
“We also have hired back six former Bushmaster/Windham Weaponry old employes and will be hiring more back in the near future,” Mrs. Dale Lauten, Windham Weaponry office manager, wrote in an email. “All of us here currently have over 30 years in this business and we are excited to be back doing what we love with our co-workers.”
She also delivered good news for enthusiasts who purchased one of the company’s firearms prior to the company’s late 2023 closure. “We will be upholding the 100 percent limited lifetime warranty on all firearms manufactured by Windham Weaponry Inc., past or present.”
The firm is operating out of the same site, which is owned Jeff Dyke—son of Richard Dyke, who established Bushmaster in 1978 and built it to legendary status before selling it in 2006. There was a five-year “no compete” clause in that agreement. During that period, the new owners moved the company’s operations to New York and laid off the experienced staff in Maine.
Once that clause expired, Richard Dyke opened Windham Weaponry in the same city—Windham, Maine—rehiring the same team that raised Bushmaster to industry prominence. It wasn’t easy, though, and in September 2023, a notification on the company’s website read, “It is with deep regret that we announce the closing of Windham Weaponry … The last few years have been a very challenging time for the firearms industry, and we have struggled to keep the WW dream alive for as long as possible. Unfortunately, we have not been able to meet our loan obligations with the bank after they worked with us as much as they could.”
The first production firearms manufactured by the new Windham Weaponry company shipped the week of April 22. Lauten said to the company’s future plans aren’t limited to AR-15s, either. “Right now we are discussing shotguns, bolt-actions, etc.”
