Excel Version
- Serial Numbers Nero Jan 30, 2004 Any Bushmaster with a serial number of L062xxx or higher, or BFIxxxxxxx is a post-ban. Serial numbers of L051xxx and below are pre-bans. Be careful with serial numbers in the L052xxx-L061xxx range - some are pre, others are post.
- XM15-E2S and its stamped CAL. MULTI It shoots 223/5.56 Ive read that all Bushmasters serial numbers start with either a BFI or IL prior to the numbers,But mine starts with ARA. Find out here For what it's worth, there's a pre/post-ban serial number list for most. 'M242' redirects here.
Disclaimer: This list is correct to the best of my knowledge, however, I accept absolutely no responsibility for the accuracy of this information or for the consequences and/or damages occurring from any inaccuracies. I have compiled this list for the purposes of sharing information only. This is not intended to be used in any way except for personal entertainment. It is a compilation of both personal information and information submitted from others from the Internet. ALL SERIAL NUMBERS SHOULD BE VERIFIED FROM THE MANUFACTURER PRIOR TO ANY PURCHASE OR ASSEMBLY. It should be noted that it is a felony to possess a Post-Ban (newly assembled after Sept 13, 1994) assault weapon.
Jumbled serial numbers, call to get the history of suspect receivers. Olympic - Olympic Arms 620 Old Pacific Hwy. Olympia, WA 98513 (206)-459-7940 “Tom” Post-ban production is year-pre fixed, but they too, had receivers in the “float”. Non-prefixed serial numbers are not a guarantee of actual Pre-ban status. Bushmaster - Quality Parts Co. I have a Bushmaster I bought in 2000 and a RRA I bought in 2008-2009. It had a serial number that started with ARG. The ones I've looked at online start with LBM.
If any information presented here is found to be incorrect or you have additional information to contribute, please contact me via E-Mail (hkusp40@midmaine.com) and I will update and re-issue the list.
Note: All items marked with a single asterisk (*) are taken from http://home1.gte.net/bblakley/ban/index.htm. The year/serial numbers under Colt SP series was forwarded to me by an individual whose return address I no longer have. Double asterisk (**) under Bushmaster, a person on the internet e-mailed me that he had a lower that was shipped stripped (thus not a complete rifle) in 1991 from Bushmaster with serial #0327XX - ALWAYS CALL TO VERIFY.
Advanced Armaments
No information - Apparently machined from bar stock aluminum, lowers are marked as M-15.
American Spirit Arms(Formerly 'Sun Valley Traders')
ALL lowers are Post-Ban. Began introduction of lowers and rifles in mid/late 1998. Noted as having good fit & finish. Also, reported to be manufactured by Lewis Machine & Tool.
Armalite/Eagle 800-336-0184
Slightly over S/N 30,000 was the Pre-Ban cut-off, call to verify.* (Some Eagle lowers below the 30,000 range were determined to be POST ban by BATF - call to verify) Armalite sells Eagle lowers, but sells factory complete rifles with Armalite lowers.
Bohica
Made stainless steel lowers, rumored to have also made AR-15 pistols. Lower marked M16-SA. This is NOT verifiable info as it came from the Internet. Out of Business.
Bushmaster 800-998-SWAT
Below L051000 - Assembled Pre-Ban Rifles and some pre-94 lowers.**
L051001-L063000 - Mixed Pre-Ban Assembled Rifles and Pre-Sept 94 Lowers (Call to verify)
L063001 and Up - Post-Ban
Century Arms
Lower marked CIA. All are Post-Ban. Made with Olympic Arms Receivers under contract.
Colt 800-962-COLT
CC001616 and Below - Pre-Ban
CH019500 and Below - Pre-Ban
GC018500 and Below - Pre-Ban
LH011326 and Below - Pre-Ban
MH086020 and Below - Pre-Ban
NL004800 and Below - Pre-Ban
SL027246 and Below - Pre-Ban
SP360200 and Below - Pre-Ban
1963 SP00001-SP00023**
1964 SP00101
1965 SP02501
1966 SP05600
1967 SP08250
1968 SP10750
1969 SP14000-SP14653
1970 SP15001-SP15473
1971 SP16001
1972 SP19401
1973 SP24201
1974 SP32601
1975 SP43801
1976 SP55301
1977 SP67651
1978 SP83400
ST038100 and Below - Pre-Ban
TA10100 and Below - Pre-Ban
BD000134 and Below - Pre-Ban (AR-15A3 Tactical Carbine - very rare model)
MT00001 and Above - Post-Ban
BK000001and Above - Post Ban (CAR-A3)
CST000001 and Above - Post-Ban (Began Late 1997 Production)
CMH000001 and Above - Post Ban
CCH010000 and Above - Post Ban MT6700, MT6700C and MT6700CH series, 1998 production
Dalphon (360) 427-6867
All are POST ban. Cast 356-T6 Aluminum, hardcoat anodized per mil-spec A-8625
DPMS 800-578-3767
Below 10300 - Pre-Ban.
Some or all lowers are cast. Black in color. Some lowers are Stainless Steel.
Eagle Arms 309-944-6939
Now called ArmaLite. They will not give out a list, but will look up on an individual basis. Lower receiver serial numbers DO NOT begin with EA.
Essential Arms
All are Pre-Ban as they went out of business in 1993. (DPMS bought them prior to the Ban) Call DPMS Lower receiver serial numbers begin with EA. Some or all lowers are cast. Light gray coloring. It is rumored that Ruger investment casted the lowers for Essential Arms.
Frankford Arsenal
All are pre-ban. As rumor has it, Olympic Arms produced the lowers for Frankford Arsenal Call Olympic Arms and then Frankford assembled the weapon. A2 configuration lower. Frankford Arsenal went out of business in 1987. (Info from RudolphoS@aol.com)
Hesse Arms
All AR-15's are post ban. Manufacturing began late 1997/early 1998.
J.L.M & Sons* (603) 425-1860
SC001 thru SC250 are Pre-Ban. All others are post ban.
Bushmaster Serial Number Argentino
Knights Armament Co.
All AR-15's are post ban, very few AR-10's are pre-ban. No further info at this time.
Military Manufacturing (M2) (FAX 702-263-7875)
All were military/law enforcement only. Full auto lowers were standard, semi were optional. Lowers were machined form raw bar stock with improvements incorporated - 18deg magazine angle and square mag release. (See: http://www.m2corp.com/HOME.htm)
Nesard
See 'Sendra' below.
Olympic Arms 360-459-7940
Olympic Arms Manufacturer's Notes:
1. There were some odd variations and some custom serial numbers mixed in thru the years also. And, some receivers manufactured after the ban have the year stamp after the model name, not in the serial #. And if you don't see a year stamp on the receiver, it is not necessarily pre-ban.
2. Serial numbers that end in 'D' were duplicates and one was changed using this letter.
Bushmaster Serial Number L226599
3. Recently some serial numbers have left with one or two letters followed by FIVE numbers. The last numbers are either 5's or 0's. 99.9% of these are post-ban.
4. 'Older' does not always mean pre-ban as per Corey Sattler.
5. 'BL' serial number series lowers are transitional with some pre and some post ban. If you have a 'BL' you'll have to call to verify for certain.
Professional Ordinance
All are post ban (including all of the pistols).
PWA (360) 438-3983
35222 and Below - Pre-Ban (Note:Some lowers are cast not forged. Out of business) Post-ban have a year prefix in the serial number. Rumored to have only sold lowers.
Rocky Mountain Arms
Producer of AR-15 type pistols.
Bushmaster Serial Number Search
Sendra
Post-ban receivers have a circle milled into the side of the magwell. They were originally bead-blasted to a non-glare finish. All others are pre-ban. (This is unverified info...) Also, they used to be NESARD. Rumored to have been owned by Dick Drasen (currently M&A Parts) and produced lowers only out of Barrington, Illinois. No complete guns were sold (again, unverified info).
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973; 48 years ago |
| Headquarters | Madison, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Jim Marcotuli (CEO) | |
| Owner | Franklin Armory Holdings Inc. |
| Website | https://www.bushmaster.com/ |
Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC, based in Madison, North Carolina, United States, is an American manufacturer and distributor of firearms. The company's product line revolves around semi-automatic pistol and rifle variants of the M4 / AR-15 design.
History[edit]
Bushmaster Firearms was a company in Bangor, Maine, that went bankrupt and was purchased by Richard Dyke in 1976 and moved to Windham, Maine.[1] According to a Maine newspaper, it was later sold by Dyke to Cerberus while Krause Publications says it was first acquired by Quality Products Company, in 1990.[2]
In 2002, Bushmaster and a Bushmaster dealer were the subject of a civil lawsuit brought by two survivors and six families of victims of the October 2002 D.C. sniper attacks which resulted in the deaths of ten and injures to three people. On September 8, 2004 Bushmaster agreed to pay $550,000 of a $2.5 million settlement in the lawsuit and Bull's Eye Shooter Supply of Tacoma, Washington, the Bushmaster dealer from whom one of the perpetrators said he had shoplifted the rifle, paid $2 million. [3][4] The company cited mounting legal fees and compassion for the victims and their families as the reason for settling.[5]
Dyke sold the business in 2006 for 70 million dollars to Cerberus Capital Management. The company became part of the Freedom Group, owned by Cerberus Capital Management, in April 2006.[6] In December 2010, Freedom Group announced that operations at the Windham, Maine, facility would cease as of March 2011.[7]Windham Weaponry was founded by the former Bushmaster owners in 2011 in Windham, ME in order 'to put Maine people back to work who lost their jobs' when Bushmaster moved out of state in March 2011.[8]
In December 2012, Cerberus Capital Management announced its intention to sell Bushmaster's parent company, Freedom Group.[9] In a press release, Cerberus stated that they would 'retain a financial advisor to design and execute a process to sell [their] interests in Freedom Group' (Freedom includes the former Bushmaster company).[10] Cerberus indicated that the decision to sell the company stemmed from publicity surrounding the use of a Bushmaster rifle in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. According to the company: 'It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level.'[9][11]
Cerberus announced in late 2013 that it had failed to deliver on its promise to divest itself of the Freedom Arms group and has come up with a plan to buy out some Cerberus investors. Those who chose to give up their shares would get paid off by an unidentified lender.[12]
In January 2020, parent entity, Remington Outdoor Company, announced that it would be focusing operations on its core hunting and shooting brands: AAC, Barnes, Remington, and Marlin. It also announced that as a result, Bushmaster, TAPCO, DPMS, and StormLake Barrels would no longer be produced.[13]
In September 2020, in the bankruptcy auction of Remington Outdoor Company the Bushmaster trademarks were sold to Crotalus Holdings Inc.[14]
Products[edit]
Bushmaster's firearms, such as the XM-15 line, are typically offered in a 5.56 NATO chambering with forged aircraft-grade (7075-T6) aluminum receivers. Most Bushmaster barrels are 4150 steel, offered in 1:9 twist rate, and chrome-lined to increase durability. Some barrels are available with 1:7 rifling, on special order. Stainless steel or chrome molybdenum barrels are available on certain models. Their name is not related to the Bushmaster autocannon. Bushmaster Firearms originally produced their 'First Generation' rifle using an aluminum lower receiver paired to a stamped steel upper receiver. This first generation model used the AK-47 gas system and the recoil spring is located within the upper barrel gas system as compared to the AR-15/M-16, where the recoil spring is located within the butt stock. Originally marketed for police and the military, Bushmaster later changed its unique hybrid version AR-15/M-16 to the standard Colt/Armalite design. The First Generation rifles were chambered for the 5.56mm round. Bushmaster First Generation rifles are very rare and are collectables.
In late January 2008, it was announced that Bushmaster had signed a licensing deal with Magpul, granting Bushmaster the rights to produce and distribute Magpul's Masada rifle, renamed the Bushmaster ACR. According to the company in 2010, Bushmaster began making the ACR available to the civilian market, posting it on its website.[15]
Carbon 15 is a lightweight AR15 available as rifles or pistols. It saves weight by using polymer instead of the traditional steel or aluminum in the upper and lower receivers. Some models also remove the forward assist and the dust cover, and use a thinner barrel design to save additional weight.
The Bushmaster Dissipator combines a longer sight radius with a shorter barrel to allow more effective use of the iron sights. Similar modifications sometimes suffer from reliability problems due to the close proximity of the gas port to the muzzle, which throws the timing of the weapon's gas system off and makes it more sensitive to gas port diameter and port pressure variables introduced by the ammunition. Bushmaster's solution was to use a low-profile gas block in the normal position for carbine-length barrels and fit the front sight tower/gas block, which is not connected to the gas system, further forward to create the longer sight radius.
Discontinued[edit]
The Bushmaster Arm Pistol was produced from 1977 to 1990. The Bushmaster M17S is a semi-automaticbullpuprifle that was manufactured by Bushmaster from 1992 until 2005. The BAR-10 was meant to compete in the .308 market against Armalite's AR-10 series rifles and Springfield Armory's M1A Rifle by offering a .308 rifle that could accept the relatively inexpensive metric and inch pattern FN FAL magazines. In 2005 Bushmaster discontinued the BAR-10 line of rifles.[citation needed]
Gallery[edit]
Bushmaster XM15 E2S A2 16in Dissipator Model
Bushmaster Carbon-15 SBR (shorter barrel)
Bushmaster Dissipator barrel with M16A2 handguard
Bushmaster ACR
Bushmaster M17S
Bushmaster XM15-E2S M4 Style Carbine
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Singer, Natasha (November 26, 2011). 'How Freedom Group Became the Big Shot'. The New York Times. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
- ^John Walter (25 March 2006). Rifles of the World. Krause Publications. pp. 76–. ISBN978-0-89689-241-5. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
- ^Butterfield, Fox (September 10, 2004). 'Sniper Victims in Settlement With Gun Maker and Dealer'. The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^Jackman, Tom (September 10, 2004). 'Gunmaker, Store Agree To Payout in Sniper Case'. The Washington Post. p. 1. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^Manning, Stephen (September 10, 2004). 'Families of sniper victims reach settlement'. The Washington Times. Associated Press. Retrieved April 18, 2007.
- ^Balentine, John (April 21, 2006). 'Dyke sells Bushmaster Firearms'. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
- ^'Bushmaster closing facility in Windham'. Wlbz2.com. 2010-12-10. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
- ^Hall, Jessica. 'Owner seeks to sell rifle maker Bushmaster'Portland Press Herald December 18, 2012.
- ^ ab'Cerberus to sell gunmaker after massacre'. CNN. December 18, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- ^'Cerberus Capital Management Statement Regarding Freedom Group, Inc'. Prnewswire.com. 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
- ^Reaction to Newtown Shootings Spreads to Corporate AmericaThe New York Times - December 18, 2012.
- ^Foley, Stephen (2013-12-09). 'Cerberus offers investors way out of gunmaker Freedom Group'. FT.com. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
- ^https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/is-remington-leaving-the-msr-market-dpms-bushamster-and-tapco-sites-are-shuttered/
- ^[1]
- ^'Bushmaster Firearms: Press release'. Bushmaster.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-14. Retrieved 2016-02-01.