Armscor Ammo

Armscor Ammo: Shoot with confidence. Every time. Every box.

Armscor Ammunition's History

The Arms Corporation of the Philippines (Armscor) didn’t start out as a firearm and ammunition manufacturer. They were founded by Ray Squires and William Bingham in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, as Squires Bingham & Co. in 1905. The printshop also sold clothing, motorbikes and sporting goods, including guns and ammo.

The Englishmen’s business had become primarily associated with firearms by the 1930s. They then sold it to Arthur D. Hileman, who in turn sold it to Celso S. Tuason in 1941. That was arguably poor timing on Don Celso’s behalf, as the Japanese invaded the Philippines shortly thereafter and made confiscating all of the country’s firearms one of their first orders of occupation.

The Tuason family scraped by selling clothing and hats during the Second World War. In 1952 President Elpidio Quirino granted Don Celso permission to begin manufacturing guns and ammo as part of his vision for a more industrialized nation of the Philippines. This line of business would treat the Tuason family very well. As of 2021, Don Celso’s grandson Martin Tuason serves as Armscor’s CEO.

Armscor Today

Today Armscor’s headquarters are located in the Philippine city of Marikina, where we imagine the weather is humid and the spiders are the size of economy cars. They expanded to the U.S. in 1985, where they own factories in Pahrump, Nevada and Stevensville, Montana. Together these facilities comprise the Armscor International side of Armscor’s business.

Armscor is well-known for their Rock Island Armory 1911 series pistols. The ISO 9001 certified manufacturer utilizes CNC equipment to produce 1911-type pistols on the behalf of Staccato, Cimarron Firearms and Charles Daly as well. But that’s not all! Armscor also produces revolvers, rifles, shotguns, and pretty much anything else that could possess a muzzle you’d rather not be on the wrong side of. They currently turn out 200,000 firearms annually.

Armscor's Ammo Line-Up

Armscor’s firearm production is dwarfed by the ammo side of their business. The company produces over 400 million rounds of ammunition every year, 80% of which is exported to over 60 countries around the world. They make rimfire, handgun, rifle and shotgun ammunition including 22 LR, 9mm, 5.56x45 and 12 Gauge. Armscor’s affordable component cases are popular among handloaders.

Armscor introduced their proprietary 22 Tuason Craig Micromagnum (22 TCM) cartridge in the early 2010s. It is based on a shortened 5.56x45 case and compatible with 1911-style handguns as well as rifles. Like the FN 5.7x28, this bottlenecked cartridge utilizes a high-velocity yet lightweight bullet to deliver low recoil followed by extreme energy on impact. Unfortunately, the 22 TCM also resembles FN’s pistol cartridge in that it has failed to become mainstream. (The 22 TCM is never to be mistaken with the 22 LR, a round with which it shares only a bullet diameter in common.)