GREAT WESTERN ARMS COMPANY THE MYTHS OF GREAT WESTERN ARMS COMPANY

Very often, either one or two of the prevailing misconceptions will be raised at the mention of Great Western Arms Co., depending upon the respondents' knowledge of firearms. One is that Hy Hunter was the founder and owner of Great Western. The second myth is Great Western revolvers and derringers were manufactured in Italy, Spain, or Germany.
Hy Hunter, arms dealer to the stars, aggressively promoted Great Western through his American Weapons Corp. retail store and his catalog. Hunter publicized the Frontier Six Shooter to a degree that his name became a synonym for Great Western. In the beginning Hunter served in the capacity as sole West Coast distributor and was never an equity partner or corporately involved with any of the four companies that bore the Great Western marquee. Further, the back page of the 1956 GW Arms Sales Company, Inc. catalogue makes the following statement.
Note: Great Western Arms Company is the manufacturer, GW Arms Sales Co. is the distributor and there are no agreements expressed or implied between these companies and Hy Hunter, American Weapons and/or Crown International of Burbank, California, and these companies have not been purchasers of Great Western products since about the middle of 1955.
Eventually, in the early 1960s, Hunter imported and marketed a line of lower quality European made single-action revolvers and derringers, which were roll-marked with his name. Hy Hunter marked guns are relatively scarce today and there is not much collector interest in his single-action revolvers or derringers.
Secondly, no Great Western components were fabricated offshore. Castings, barrels, and other parts were provided by outside contractors. An exception can be the stag, pearl and ivory grip panels traditionally produced overseas and imported by grip distributors. Final fitting, polishing, finishing, and assembly were accomplished in-house. All Great Western facilities and correspondent shops were located in and around Los Angeles, Burbank, and Long Beach, which were the West Coast equivalent to Bridgeport and New Haven.
During WW II, Southern California developed the same capabilities for manufacturing as New England and was the greatest producer of war material on the Pacific Rim.
Following is an annual production schedule. At this juncture, it is an educated guess based on surviving documents, letters, and invoices, and should be used as a general guide only.
1954 - GW1 - GW5100, 1955 - GW5101 - GW11500, 1956 - 11501 - 16000, 1957 - 16001 - 18000, 1958 - 18001 - GW19750, 1959 - GW19751 - GW20250, 1960 - GW20251 - GW20750, 1961 - GW20751 - GW21750, 1963 - GW21751 - GW22250.
Regrettably, from a collector perspective, interest in the Great Western guns has remained an esoteric collectible, with a small but dedicated collector base. Along with other short lived modern manufacturers, Great Western Arms Co. should some day be afforded the same status as obscure pre-Victorian makers now enjoy.