Which guns are manufactured in Alabama? (2024)

We now make several guns in Alabama, part of a recent Southern surge from North Carolina to Tennessee to Texas.

"It's the first time since the Civil War there has been any major production of firearms in Alabama," said Larry Barnett, long-time owner of the Huntsville landmark Larry's Pistol & Pawn. "We call it the firearms corridor."

And perhaps no gun is more Alabama's own than the RM380 micro pistol, a piece designed for purses and pockets, a piece Barnett says is popular as a backup weapon for police officers.

The first run in Huntsville came with the shape of the state etched into the stainless barrel and the words "Alabama Inaugural Product."

Southern corridor

Beretta recently uprooted from Maryland for Tennessee, cutting the ribbon on a new plant near Nashville this spring. Frank Miniter, author of The Future of the Gun, wrote in 2014 in Forbes: "Like many firearms manufacturers, Beretta couldn't stay in a state that banned some of its popular products and that might soon decide to ban the rest."

In the last few years, several manufacturers have followed suit. Kahr Arms left New York for Pennsylvania. Magpul left Colorado for Texas and Wyoming. "Moving operations to states that support our culture of individual liberties and personal responsibility is important," said Magpul CEO Richard Fitzpatrick in 2014.

But when Barnett talks about the new manufacturing corridor he is mostly talking about companies, like Beretta and Remington, choosing the South. PTR Industries went from Connecticut to South Carolina. Remington has operations in North Carolina. Ruger opened a new plant in North Carolina. Steyr Arms opened a showroom and distribution center in Bessemer.

And of course there is the manufacturing plant in Huntsville. With the celebrated announcement in 2014, Remington began to shut down older plants elsewhere and ship jobs to Alabama.

Guns of Alabama

Today Alabamians assemble three distinct firearms in Huntsville.

There is the 1911 R1 handgun, mainly produced in .45 caliber, more rarely 9 mm -- a weapon whose design has changed little in a century.

Remington says: "America's most trusted pistol, remastered by Remington for peak shootability. And stopping danger in its tracks."

There is the AR platform, the body of a modern sporting rifle. The similar AR-style rifles manufactured in Huntsville, according to Remington, include the Bushmaster modern sporting rifle and the DPMS modern sporting rifle and the Remington modern sporting rifle.

And finally there is the RM380.

Huntsville's pocket pistol

The Remington RM380 is a small gun, fits easily in a hand. The trigger is double action, meaning it's a long trigger pull, and it's not easy for the untrained to hit the target at 25 feet.

At Larry's, a young couple reels in paper targets shaded with comic book armed robbers. "You get progressively lower left, but your first shot is dead on," says the young man, as they tape over the holes and send the target out for more pistol practice.

But there's no need for taping up the target when firing off the RM380. After more than a dozen rounds, there are no holes in the free bullseye, and only two on the cardboard frame around it.

The RM380, according to Larry Barnett, is best handled by holding it in the middle of your body, centering it, and aiming where you point your nose. The sights are minimal. This is not the gun for sharp-shooting.

Remington calls it a fusion of "confidence and concealment," a weapon specially built for unfailing function "in the fight of your life."

Instead, the pistol is marketed online with an image of a female jogger on a lonely, snowy road. But Barnett says the gun is equally popular with men. He says the gun makes sense in Alabama, where it's hot and concealed weapons need to be small enough to fit into pockets in summer clothes.

In Alabama, approximately 1 in 8 adults have a concealed carry permit.

And Barnett said he sold a hundred of the limited run of souvenir models. That's now a collector's item, a two-tone silver and black model. Remington says they sold just 1,000 of the Alabama keepsakes.

The commemorative model sold for $389.99. But normally the RM380 sells for less.

Jessica Kallam, spokesperson for Remington, said the company also makes silencers and some shotguns in Huntsville. She said there are plans to make the R51 in Huntsville and that later the company could move manufacturing of six other makes of rifle from Mayfield to Huntsville.

Those are the Remington 783, 770, and 597 and the Marlin 60, 795 and XT.

Betting on gun jobs

In 2014, Remington announced "a vertical integration initiative" and closed plants in Lawrenceville, Ga., St. Cloud, Minn., Elizabethtown, Ky., West Jordan, Utah, Kalispell, Mon., and Pineville, N.C., and announced plans to ship the jobs to Alabama.

The company said in May that it will also move production lines from Mayfield, Ky., to Huntsville.

While gun manufacturers have been moving to more areas with less restrictive gun laws, tens of millions in state and local incentives also helped make the decision for Remington.

Huntsville effectively bought Remington a new plant, putting up $12.5 million.

The Huntsville's Industrial Development Board bought the former Chrysler plant for $10.5 million. The company then agreed to rent the facility from the city for $1.25 million per year. However, the annual rent payments are waived each year if the company meets its employment and salary targets.

If Remington meets all terms, it will own the factory and grounds after 10 years. Plus, Remington in 2015, according to company disclosure forms, kept the extra $1.9 million from Huntsville that exceeded to cost of the building.

If the company doesn't meet its promises for new jobs, the company will have to start paying rent and interest. If the company closes the plant, then it has to pay back the city in full.

The company's annual statement, same as audit documents provided by the city, show that Remington is meeting its hiring targets. Remington reports: "As of December 31, 2015, the Company had met the criteria for the year preceding and no principal and interest payments are due in 2016."

The company's annual statement for 2015 also lists receipt of another $16.6 million in various state, county and local incentives "restricted for use in connection with the acquisition, construction or improvement of property, plant and equipment."