Dirty Harry’s legendary gun maker moving to the Greenest State in the Land of the Free
Smith & Wesson has been manufacturing firearms at the same plant in Springfield, Massachusetts, since 1856.
But now, the ultra-blue restrictive state plans to ban the manufacture of assault rifles, which account for 60-percent of Smith & Wesson’s business.
So the legendary gun maker told Massachusetts to get lost, while the red state of Tennessee said, Come on down, make our day.
The $120-million move will add to the mass exodus from the over-taxed, over-governed Northeast. More than 700 jobs will be taken out of Massachusetts and moved to Maryville in Blount County, a Second Amendment sanctuary county.
SMITH & WESSON FIREARMS OVER THE YEARS
THEY ARMED THE WILD WEST
Inventors Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson started the company in Connecticut in 1852, making a lever-action firearm called the Volcanic Rifle.
They went on to arm the American frontier, producing larger-frame revolvers including the .44 S&W American, which was adopted by the U.S. Army as the first cartridge-firing revolver.
The company continued to forge history in 1899 when it developed the .38 Military & Police, which was the weapon of choice for nearly every police force in the U.S. through the 1900s.
After World War II, the company began manufacturing larger calibers, including the iconic magnum revolvers used by ‘Dirty Harry’ in the Clint Eastwood movies.
ASSAULT RIFLES SAVED THE COMPANY
The company’s fortunes took a hit in the 1980s when police departments began using pistols from the European manufacturers, Beretta, Glock and Sig Sauer.
Business picked up dramatically in recent years with the manufacture of military-style assault rifles, which continue to be increasingly popular with gun owners.