The Arms Corporation of the Philippines (Armscor) is a

firearms manufacturing company The following list of modern armament manufacturers presents major companies producing modern weapons and munitions for military, paramilitary, government agency and civilian use. The companies are listed by their full name followed by the short ...

headquartered in the Philippines. The company is known for its inexpensive 1911-pattern

pistols A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, ...

revolvers A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six ro ...

, shotguns, sporting rifles, firearms parts and ammunition. The company, whose manufacturing facility is located in

Marikina Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina ( fil, Lungsod ng Marikina), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 456,159 people. It is loca ...

, produces about 200,000 firearms and some 420 million rounds of ammunition a year, where 80 percent of this is exported and sold to over 60 countries. In 2017, the company was renamed Armscor Global Defense, Inc..

History

Armscor traces its roots back to a Manila print shop, Squires Bingham & Co., founded in 1905. The print shop later imported and sold motorcycles and various sporting goods, which included some firearms and ammunition. The company was bought by the Tuason family in 1941 and began making firearms through 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 Cimarron Firearms is an American firearms importer that has been in operation since 1984. The company's field of specialty is reproduction firearms from the American Civil War to the end of the Old West period. Founded by Mike Harvey in Houston, ...

pre-1923 Model 1911, and Charles Daly 1911 style pistols. Armscor is an

ISO 9001 The ISO 9000 family is a set of five quality management systems (QMS) standards that help organizations ensure they meet customer and other stakeholder needs within statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service. ISO ...

certified compliant company which manufactures weapons using CNC (Computer Numerical Control) equipment. The company is headquartered in

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and represented in the United States by its subsidiary Armscor International, Inc, located in

Pahrump, Nevada Pahrump ( ) is an unincorporated town located at the southernmost tip of Nye County, Nevada, United States, about west of Las Vegas, Nevada. Pahrump lies adjacent to the Nevada–California border and the area had a population of 44,738 as of ...

with facilities in

Stevensville, Montana Stevensville ( Salish: ɫq̓éɫmlš) is a town in Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,002 at the 2020 census. Stevensville is officially recognized as the first permanent settlement of non-indigenous peoples in the sta ...

. Armscor became a registered trademark on February 24, 2009.

Ownership/Management

Armscor is owned by the Squires Bingham Co. Inc, a holding company for the family of Don Celso Tuason. Don Celso's eldest son Demetrio "Bolo" Tuason is the Chairman Emeritus. Younger brother Daniel "Concoy" oversees production and plant operation. Bolo's son, Martin, is currently the president and CEO of the company.

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.

Revolvers

* M200 * M202 * M206 Armscor Rock Island Armory M200 right side

Handguns

Armscor's handguns are based on the Colt M1911A1 design and Tanfoglio versions of the

CZ-75 The CZ 75 is a semi-automatic pistol made by Czech firearm manufacturer ČZUB. First introduced in 1975, it is one of the original " wonder nines" and features a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer forged barrel. I ...

* GI Series * 1911 Tactical Series * Match Series * 2011 Tactical Series * 22 TCM/Micro Mag Series * XT 22 Series * MAP/MAPP Series - Armscor assembled and marketed

Tanfoglio Combat The Tanfoglio Combat or Standard, also known as T(A)95 or EAA Witness Steel, is a modified clone of the Czech CZ-75/ CZ-85 pistol. It is made in Gardone Val Trompia near Brescia, Italy by Fratelli Tanfoglio S.N.C. Design details The Tanfogl ...

and

Force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...

pistols.

Shotguns

Based on design of High Standard Flite King shotgun. * M30

Rifles

The company has been making bolt-action and rimfire rifles since 1980. * MAK 22 Also known as AK 22 * M1600 * M1400TS * M1400E * M1500TM * M1700 * MIG 22 Standard * MIG 22 Target * TCM 22 Rifle

Innovations

Armscor introduced a new propriety caliber named the

.22 TCM The .22 TCM or 22TCM (.22 Tuason Craig Micromagnum) is a proprietary bottle-necked cartridge created from a 5.56 NATO cartridge developed by custom gunsmith Fred Craig and Rock Island Armory (RIA) for semi-automatic pistols and the Rock Island ...

(Tuason Craig Micromag) based on the 1911 pistol. The cartridge is essentially a 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge shortened to 1.265 in. total length with a 40-grain jacketed

hollow point upright=0.2, Cross-section of a hollow-point bullet; proportions are those of a .22 Long Rifle cartridge Jacketed soft point (JSP) round. Right: Jacketed hollow-point (JHP) round. JSP is a semi-jacketed round as the jacket does not extend to ...

bullet. Its main characteristics are its high velocity and low recoil, allowing for repeated accurate shots. More recently the company has released a bolt-action rifle chambered for this cartridge.

AFP (Armscor) Arsenal Battalion

Due to the nature of the Business of ARMSCOR, it has been tapped by the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The P ...

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 operational control of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Reserve Command.

References

External links

{{commons category, Armscor (Philippines)
Official Page of ARMSCOR Philippines
(Archived)
Official Page of ARMSCOR USA

Firearm manufacturers of the Philippines Companies based in Marikina 1905 establishments in the Philippines