Few residents of Park Slope, Brooklyn are probably aware that they share their neighborhood with a firearms company that has operated in the borough for almost a century. The Henry Repeating Arms Co. is garnering some unwelcome attention this week, however, after it was revealed that the company shipped four of its lever-action rifles with live rounds inside. The company produces around 100,000 rifles annually.
The incident where loaded weapons were shipped has to do with the industry standard practice of test firing weapons before they are distributed. In this particular case, loaded weapons were shipped after they were loaded but before they were test fired.
Anthony Imperato, who is the current president of the family-owned business attributed the four loaded weapons to an oversight of its quality control procedures, which have been adjusted. Another casualty of the heated property market in NYC, Henry Repeating Arms is in the process of leaving its home in Brooklyn for Bayonne, NJ.
Henry Repeating Arms has a factory on 8th St. off of 3rd Ave. that manufactures long guns whose design dates back to one that was patented in 1860 and played a pivotal role in the Civil War. The quick re-loading lever action of the rifle allowed a much greater rate of fire over traditional muzzle loading guns. Although many of its guns are engraved "Brooklyn, USA," the company generally tries to keep a low profile in NYC.
