Armscorp USA

Post WWII Commercially Manufactured M1 Carbines (U.S.A.)

Armscorp USA

Baltimore, MD









 



Armscorp USA

Maryland corporate records indicate Armscorp USA was incorporated in February 1992 at 4424 John Ave. in Baltimore, Maryland by John Henry Friese. The company appears to have gone through several different name changes and owners prior. Armscorp USA sold surplus GI parts for the M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, Springfield 1903, and other military arms. They also assembled surplus GI parts into several different military style rifles including an M14. The Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Exportation Reports (AFMER) prepared yearly by BATF for 2001-2004 indicate Armscorp USA manufactured an average of 400 rifles a year. Armscorp no longer appears in the reports starting with the report for arms production in 2005.

Baltimore County Court records indicate Friese began experiencing financial difficulties by December 2003. Federal Bankruptcy Court records indicated Friese filed for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in August 2004. The case was dropped in November 2004 as Friese failed to follow through with the requirements for bankruptcy. By April 2005 Friese was involved in multiple litigation cases involving his financial difficulties.

Maryland corporate records indicate in October 2009 "Armscorp Manufacturing" was incorporated by Steven Richard Salt at the same address at 4424 John Ave. Baltimore County records indicate the property and building are still owned by John Friese. The property includes a warehouse with what appears to be a later addition of an attached metal structure.

As of February 2011 the old Armscorp USA website at ArmscorpUSA.com is still active and carries the same list of parts for sale as it did when Freise was in business. However, the website refers buyers to RAparts.com for current prices and purchases.

The Maryland Department of Taxation indicates the first time RA Parts submitted personal taxes was in April 2009. The owner is listed as Claude A. Rankin of Columbia, MD.


The Advertisement

The ad below appeared as part of a Dealer's Warehouse (Modesto, CA) advertisement on page 96 in the October 3, 2003 issue of Shotgun News. The same information appears in a Dealer's Warehouse ad in Shotgun News in December 2003.

Close examination of an enhanced image of the ad revealed the top of the receiver behind the rear sight platform indicates the name ARMSCORP. Underneath the name is what is probably a city or abbreviated city name that is illegible, followed by the what appears to be the letters MD.


The Dealer's Warehouse
Shotgun News October 3, 2003


Information from RA Parts

Claude Rankin currently owns and operates RA Parts in Simpson, MD. Rankin was employed by Armscorp between 2004 and 2008. Extended family had been employed by Armscorp during the time period Armscorp attempted to manufacture M1 Carbine receivers.

Information from Rankin and his extended family indicates Friese attempted to manufacture M1 Carbine receivers on two different occasions. Once in 2003 and again about 2008. Friese was unable to completely machine the receivers and none are believed to have been finished or sold. Friese was friends with the owner of Dealer's Warehouse and it appears the advertisements were run in anticipation of the arrival of the carbine receivers that were never completed. On his second attempt Friese indicated the production of forged steel M1 Carbine receivers was too expensive and the project was dropped.

If any Armscorp receivers are in existence they are probably unfinished and left over from the atempts at manufacturing.

Special thanks to Claude Rankin for contacting this author and sharing the information above.