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THE WILDEY STORY

Production eras

Eras defined by production locations,
milestones in a single story.

To help readers navigate the Wildey’s history and identify individual examples, I present its production eras together with the serial number formats used in each period.

  1. Cheshire I.

    CompanyWildey Firearms Company, Inc.

    Period1980–1982

    LocationCheshire, Connecticut

    Slide markingWILDEY FIREARMS COMPANY, INC. / CHESHIRE, CONNECTICUT USA

    Serial number format: 45-XXXX

  2. Cheshire II.

    CompanyWildey, Inc.

    Period1983–1986

    LocationCheshire, Connecticut

    Slide markingWILDEY FIREARMS COMPANY, INC. / CHESHIRE, CONNECTICUT USA

    Serial number format: 09-XXXX

  3. New Milford

    CompanyWildey, Inc.

    PeriodLate 1980s–1996

    LocationNew Milford, Connecticut

    Slide markingWILDEY
    NEW MILFORD, CT. USA

    Serial number format: 1000–4XXX

    Estimated productionApprox. 3,800 pistols

  4. Warren

    CompanyWildey F.A., Inc.

    Period1996–2011

    LocationWarren, Connecticut

    Slide markingWILDEY
    WARREN CT. USA

    Serial number format: 5000 onwards

    Estimated productionApprox. 700 firearms

  5. Winsted

    CompanyUSA Firearms Corp.

    Period2015 onwards

    Production began2016

    LocationWinsted, Connecticut

    Current statusProduction has been suspended since the COVID pandemic, and the facility remains dormant.

    Available slide markingsWILDEY or SURVIVOR

    Distinguishing featureAn engraved phoenix motif on the left rear of the slide.

    Frame markingUSAFC
    WINSTED, CT

    Serial number format: 16-XXXX

    Production reported to the ATF119 pistols2017–2022 · USA Firearms Corp.

  6. COMING
    SOON…?

    I’ve already saved a place for it. 🙂

The quantities are indicative. The New Milford estimate is based on the company’s 1988–1997 data; the 1993 figure is still missing, and the boundary between eras needs clarification. The Warren estimate is the rounded total of 619 firearms reported as pistols and 49 as revolvers; that classification remains to be clarified. I have not added separately listed production and export entries to these totals. The Winsted figure of 119 is USA Firearms Corp.’s reported pistol production for 2017–2022, without a breakdown by model.

New Milford: the contemporary ATF report lists Wildey, Inc. at 458 Danbury Road. Moore’s memoir dates the move to Warren to 1996. The start of the New Milford period still needs clarification; addresses in later reports may differ.

Serial numbering continued across the New Milford and Warren periods; the location marked on the slide helps distinguish the two eras. Within a production era, ascending serial numbers do not necessarily reflect the actual order or quantity of firearms manufactured.

Company milestones

  1. 1973

    Wildey J. Moore designs the gas-operated pistol. His adjustable gas system receives US patent 3,988,964 on 2 November 1976.

  2. 1980–1982

    Wildey Firearms Company, Inc. The original company, manufacturing in Cheshire, Connecticut. Slides from this era are marked “WILDEY FIREARMS COMPANY, INC. / CHESHIRE, CONNECTICUT USA”.

  3. 1983–1996

    Wildey, Inc. Wildey’s production locations during this period include Cheshire II and New Milford (the dates are being refined). According to the sources, its appearance in Death Wish 3 (1985) boosted sales.

  4. 1996–2011

    Wildey F.A., Inc. Warren, Connecticut. Production was suspended in 2011 because of the founder’s health problems and litigation.

  5. 2015 onwards

    USA Firearms Corp., Winsted, Connecticut. The return of the Survivor models was announced in August 2015. Production began in 2016, and orders opened on 3 February 2017. Production has been suspended since the COVID pandemic, and the facility remains dormant.

Sources: Wikipedia (Wildey), auction descriptions and my own observations as a collector.