Bushmaster was initially manufactured by Gwinn Arms Co. located in Winston-Salem, NC between 1972 and 1974. The Quality Parts Co. gained control in 1986. During 2003, Bushmaster purchased Professional Ordnance, previous maker of the Carbon 15 Series of semi-auto pistols and rifles/carbines (for pre-2003 Carbon 15 manufacture, please refer to the Professional Ordnance section). In April, 2006, Bushmaster was sold to Cerberus Capital Management and became part of the Freedom Group. On March 31, 2011, Freedom Group Inc. announced that Bushmaster's manufacturing facility in Windham, ME would be closing, and new Bushmaster products would be produced in other Freedom Group facilities. In 2015, the Freedom Group was renamed as Remington Outdoor Company. In January 2020, Remington announced that they would no longer be producing Bushmaster firearms. As part of Remington's bankruptcy proceedings, Bushmaster was sold off at auction in September, 2020 to Franklin Armory Holdings, Inc. and production began again in Carson City, NV in late 2021.
Current trademark of AR-15 style carbines, rifles, and pistols established in the 1970s, currently manufactured and headquartered in Carson City, NV beginning 2021. Manufacturing facilities were previously located in Huntsville, AL and company headquarters were located in Madison, NC, both until 2020. Prior to that, manufacturing was located in Windham, ME until 2011.