Lorcin Engineering Company
Private | |
Industry | firearms |
Fate | Bankrupt |
Founded | 1989 |
Defunct | 1998 |
Headquarters | Mira Loma, California, U.S. |
Area served
|
U.S. |
Key people
|
James Waldorf |
Products | weapons |
Lorcin Engineering Company was a firearms manufacturer established in 1989 by Jim Waldorf.[1] Lorcin produced a series of very inexpensive handguns, which were sold primarily through pawn shops and marketed towards people with low income. As such, their guns were frequently referred to as saturday night specials, and Lorcin was noted by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as one of the Ring of Fire companies (a series of companies established around Los Angeles, California, all of which manufactured inexpensive handguns of similar design[2] and all of which were connected to Raven Arms. Waldorf was a high school friend of Bruce Jennings, founder of Raven Arms.
The guns were constructed of injection-molded Zamak, a zinc alloy.
In 1993, Lorcin was the number one pistol manufacturer in the United States, producing 341,243 guns.[3] However, in 1996, Lorcin filed for bankruptcy, with 18 pending product liability, personal injury, and wrongful death lawsuits. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 1997, but went out of business permanently in 1998 with an additional 22 lawsuits having been filed.[3]
Contents
Products
- L-22: Semi-automatic, .22 LR, 9-shot capacity. A 2001 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives publication warned that the pistol is "extremely dangerous" when dropped, with the "potential for serious injury", due to an insufficient gap between the trigger bar and the sear.[4]
- L-25: Semi-automatic, .25 ACP, 7-shot capacity
- L-32: Semi-automatic, .32 ACP, 7-shot capacity
- L-380: Semi-automatic, .380, 7-shot capacity
- L-9mm: Semi-automatic, 9×19mm Parabellum, 10-shot capacity
See also
References
External links
- Defunct firearms manufacturers
- Firearm manufacturers of the United States
- Manufacturing companies based in California
- Manufacturing companies established in 1989
- Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1998
- 1989 establishments in California
- 1998 disestablishments in California
- Companies based in Riverside County, California
- Defunct companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area