19th century origins The Remington company was founded in 1816.
Eliphalet Remington II (1793–1861) believed he could build a better gun than he could buy. Remington began designing and building a
flintlock rifle for himself. At age 23 (in late 1816), he entered a shooting match; though he finished second, his well-made gun impressed other contestants. Before Remington left the field that day, he had received so many orders from other competitors that he had officially entered the gunsmithing business. By 1828, he moved his operation to nearby
Ilion. The modern Remington firearms plant still uses this site. On March 7, 1888, two years after
spinning off the typewriter business which later became
Remington Rand, the Remington family sold the ownership of E. Remington & Sons to new owners,
Marcellus Hartley and Partners. This consisted of Hartley and Graham of
New York, New York, a major sporting goods chain that also owned the
Union Metallic Cartridge Company in
Bridgeport and the
Winchester Repeating Arms Company of
New Haven, both in Connecticut. At this time, the company formally changed its name to the Remington Arms Company.
20th century military
sniper rifle, based on the
Remington 700. After the 1902 death of Marcellus Hartley,
Marcellus Hartley Dodge Sr. assumed leadership of the company. In 1910, the company merged into a single company with Union Metallic Cartridge, becoming known as "Remington-UMC". After the US entered
World War I, Remington became deeply involved in the war effort. . In 1940, the US Army became worried about its ammunition capacity and asked Remington to collaborate on a plan for national expansion. With the aid of DuPont, Remington built the
Lake City Army Ammunition Plant (named Lake City Arsenal initially) and
Denver Ordnance ammunition plants, and three more plants later on, including the
Lowell Ordnance Plant. Though the plants belonged to the US government, Remington was asked to oversee their operation. Among the weapons that Remington manufactured for the government during
World War II was the famous
M1903A3 Springfield bolt-action rifle. During the 1950s and 1960s, Remington expanded into other products besides guns, with the purchase of Mall Tool Company in 1956. One of the products was
chain saws.
Remington Model 742 and
Remington Model 760 In 1962, Remington introduced the
Model 700 bolt-action rifle, which became one of Remington's most successful firearms and quickly lent itself to developments of many sub-variants, including the
Remington 700 BDL,
Remington 700PSS for
police and
law enforcement agencies (the rifle, later renamed 700P, is very popular among law enforcement agencies) and the
military M24 SWS, which was the
United States Army standard
sniper rifle between 1988 and 2010. Other armed forces worldwide still use it, such as the
IDF. Other firearms brands designed and manufactured sniper rifles based on the reliable and accurate Remington Model 700 action. In 1969, Remington broke ground on a new ammunition manufacturing plant in
Lonoke, Arkansas. By 1970, centerfire ammunition in the Remington, UMC and Peter's brand names were being produced by the facility. The company's shotshell then rimfire ammunition production operations were subsequently moved to the Lonoke facility in the mid 1970s and early 1980s. In 1986, Remington closed its ammunition plant in
Bridgeport, Connecticut, completely transferring operations to the facility in Lonoke, Arkansas. A year later, Remington built a new clay targets plant in
Athens, Georgia. According to an article in
The New York Times, in 1993, Remington's parent company—DuPont de Nemours & Company (DuPont)—sold Remington to the New York investment firm
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) for $300 million.
The Times, citing the National Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association said that "rifle and shotgun sales totaled $900 million" in 1992. Citing the
National Shooting Sports Foundation president, the article said that since 1986, "interest in hunting" had "declined". The sale of long guns—which represented 75% of Remington sales had become "slack" by 1993, while the sale of handguns had become the "fastest-growing segment" of the gun industry. In 2015, the Freedom Group was renamed
Remington Outdoor Company. In December 2007, Remington Arms acquired rifle-maker
Marlin Firearms. In 2009, ammunition sales continued to remain high despite the ongoing
United States Ammunition Shortage during that time. Chief Executive Officer Ted Torbeck said that consumer concerns over future restrictions, and taxes on ammunition and firearms by the Obama administration, were creating a rise in demand. In 2009, Remington's former ammunition factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was investigated by the Travel Channel's
Ghost Adventures. The site was eventually purchased by Peter DiNardo Enterprises Inc. and was scheduled for demolition. In October 2009, Remington Military products acquired
suppressor manufacturer
Advanced Armament Corporation. In 2010, Remington introduced the fastest commercially available shotgun shell, Hypersonic Steel, with a patented wad technology that allows the shot to travel at . After a 12-year absence from the handgun market, Remington announced the
Remington 1911 R1 in 2010. It had previously ceased production of its last handgun, the
Model XP-100R in 1998. Later in 2010, Remington introduced the
Versa Max auto-loading shotgun. Its patented "Versa Port" system self-regulates gas pressure based on the length of the cartridge used, enabling the shotgun to shoot light target loads, hunting loads, and magnum hunting loads. In 2012, Remington won a US Army contract to manufacture 24,000 M4A1 carbines at $673 per unit worth $16,163,252 total. In 2013, for the first time since 1928, Remington began to offer an air rifle, called the "Remington Express." On February 17, 2014, Remington announced a plan to build a new state-of-the-art plant in
Huntsville, Alabama. Remington said it decided to move two production lines from the
Ilion, New York, plant as a result of the fallout from the
NY SAFE Act, which restricted gun ownership in response to the
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
AR-15 style semi-automatic rifles from
Bushmaster,
DPMS, and Remington (R-15) and 1911 style R-1 pistols were produced in the plant. The plant was touted by Alabama's Department of Commerce Secretary and by Remington as a boon to Alabama's economy. The president of
United Mine Workers Local 717, which represented workers at Ilion, expressed fears about the future of the New York facility and blamed the
NY SAFE Act for the company's decision to favor Alabama over New York. Subsequently, about 100 Remington jobs were shifted from New York to Alabama. Beginning in late 2017, Remington began
bankruptcy planning, having suffered declining sales and reputation; damage from an August 2017 exposé on the CBS news program
60 Minutes about X-Mark Pro trigger defects linked to several deaths, and amassed some $950 million worth of debt. The low sales and debt were blamed on either a reduction in "panic-buying", or diminishing quality and reputation. Remington filed for bankruptcy in March 2018, and exited bankruptcy on May 17, 2018, less than two months later. The company's quick exit was due to a pre-approved restructuring plan supported by 97% of its creditors, which canceled all shares of common stock issued before the bankruptcy proceedings, and the issuance of new shares to convert over $775 million of company debt into equity. The families of nine victims and a teacher who were shot and survived the 2012
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting with a Remington Bushmaster rifle filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Connecticut state court seeking a jury trial to recover unspecified damages. The case was briefly moved to federal court before being referred back to the state court level. In 2016, the suit was initially dismissed by a
Connecticut Superior Court citing the immunity provided to firearms manufacturers by the federal
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) of 2005. Remington's bankruptcy delayed the suit. On March 14, 2019, the
Connecticut Supreme Court ruled, 4–3, that the suit's wrongful marketing claim could proceed to trial under Connecticut's Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) which addressed marketing including "truly unethical and irresponsible marketing practices promoting criminal conduct" and was not preempted by the PLCAA. The
US Supreme Court declined to hear the case. On February 15, 2022, it was announced that a $73 million settlement had been reached between the Sandy Hook families and Remington. The cost of the settlement was borne by insurers. The Remington arms factory in Ilion was closed in March 2024. In July 2025 the site was sold to Turin Hoefler Avenue LLC. In April 2026 it was reported that a 250,000 square foot
AI data center was planned as the primary post-remediation use for the factory.
Breakup On July 28, 2020, Remington filed again for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and its assets were divided up and sold to various buyers, including: • The Remington
brand name and the Lonoke ammunition factory was bought by
Vista Outdoor, which used it to market and manufacture several types of ammunition. • The Remington firearms business (excluding
Marlin Firearms) was sold to Roundhill Group, LLC, which now operates it through the holding company
RemArms, LLC. RemArms licenses the use of the "Remington" brand name from Vista Outdoor. • Marlin Firearms was purchased by
Sturm, Ruger & Co. Post-breakup ==Products==