Mr. Maunz of Camp Perry fame sold his M14 rifle business (Maunz Manufacturing, Inc.) to Smith Manufacturing Co. (then P. O. Box 1070 Toledo, OH 43697) about 1984. The semi-automatic M14 receiver master die was loaned to them as part of the sale. Smith Manufacturing Co. produced complete rifles built on investment cast H&R Gun Co. stamped receivers. The H&R Gun Co. Semi-Auto 7.62MM-M14 receivers were marked TOLEDO, OHIO though Smith Manufacturing Co. was physically located in Holland, OH about fourteen miles to the west. H&R Gun Co. Semi-Auto 7.62MM-M14 rifles were assembled with Harrington & Richardson M14 parts kits imported in 1985 by Jack Friese. All H&R Gun Co. models were originally sold as complete rifles by Smith Manufacturing Co. Smith Manufacturing Co. was operated by Carl Hinkelman, Ron Smith of Tennessee (no relation to Ron Smith of Smith Enterprise, Inc. in Arizona) and another associate. As an aside, Carl Hinkelman lived in Toledo, OH within blocks of the Schuster family at the time. Karl Maunz was a consultant to Smith Manufacturing Co. on the H&R Gun Co. project.
Smith Manufacturing Co. machined the first Armscorp of America receivers around 1985 or 1986. Armscorp serial number 1120 is marked SMITH MFG. INC. TOLEDO, OHIO on the left side of the receiver directly under the elevation knob and to the rear of the bolt lock. A number of the early Armscorp receivers had rear lugs made as part of the casting. The very first Armscorp of America M14 receiver was hand delivered to Mike Gruber by Karl Maunz. Smith Manufacturing Co. marked a few Armscorp of America receiver heels by electro-discharge machining (EDM) instead of using stamping dies as an experiment. Smith Manufacturing Co. also produced Smith Ltd. investment cast semi-automatic M14 type receivers. Smith Ltd. receivers were made about 1987.
Smith Ltd. receivers were assembled as complete rifles and sold about 1987 and 1988 at Camp Perry shooting matches by Smith Manufacturing Co. Ron Smith, one of the principals of Smith Manufacturing Co., assembled the Smith Ltd. rifles at the family gun shop, Georgia Gun Trader, Inc. (then 605 West Nashville Street Ringgold, GA 30736).
Ron Smith was a competitive shooter at Camp Perry in the 1980s. He learned how to build M14 type rifles through a couple of retired miltary armorers who lived in northern Georgia as well as from armorers and competitors he met at Camp Perry. The parts fit, if using USGI and/or National Match parts, is excellent, based on examination of Smith Ltd. rifles serial numbered 0210, 0225, 0236 and 0237. A commercial manufacture bolt and commercial manufacture operating rod were found to be too thick to slide smoothly inside Smith Ltd. receiver serial number 0237. The following report was given by M14 gunsmith Tim Strait on March 14, 2006 on Smith Ltd. receiver serial number 0003 [minor spelling and punctuation errors corrected]:
Smith Ltd M14 # 0003
Receiver specifications as follows:
1. Excellent cast receiver with virtually no machine marks visible. Excellent parkerized 'phosphate coated’ metal finish on the entire rifle. Surface hardening was checked at the rear sight base with results of 59 HRC according to a local metallurgist.
2. All parts on this rifle are TRW (barrel, operating rod, firing mechanism and bolt). Allparts seem to fit well without any fitting at all. Barrel gauges at 0 for throat erosion and 0 for muzzle wear.
3. Receiver threads (barrel) are correct per M14 military specification (barrel timing or indexing).
4. The machine work done on the inside of the receiver is excellent and smooth. No burrs were found on this receiver.
5. The locking lug helix of this Smith Ltd receiver matches the helix of the USGI M14bolt very well at approximately 99.9 %.
6. Firing pin retraction was well within standard for USGI military specification.
7. Headspace on this rifle was set at a modest 1.6325 ". This is good enough for
commercial .308 Winchester or 7.62 NATO ammunition. The bolt lugs have about 99 % contact with the receiver locking lug engagement area.
8. The receiver heel is just a bit thicker than other commercial receivers being made today.
9. The front pin hole for the bolt stop roll pin is cut exactly the same as USGI M14 rifles.
10. The operating rod dismount notch is 1 ½ times the width of current commercial
receivers.
11. The receiver safety bridge was milled correctly and there’s no bolt shuck or
interference with bolt rotation. The action functions smoothly and without a hitch.
Note:
During the 1980s, there were four businesses or individuals with the name of Smith involved with commercial M14 rifles as manufacturers. Neal Smith of Smith Firearms (Mentor, OH) performed NFA registered select fire conversions of already manufactured Springfield Armory, Inc. M1A rifles. Richard Smith and Ron Smith of Smith Enterprise, Inc. (then Mesa, AZ) produced semi-automatic and select fire M14 rifles stamped SMITH ENT. Melvin Smith of Valley Ordnance (Wilkes-Barre, PA) machined raw castings into M1A receivers for Springfield Armory, Inc. in Geneseo, IL. Smith Manufacturing Co. (Holland, OH) produced Maunz Match Rifle, H&R Gun Co. and Smith Ltd. semi-automatic M14 rifles and the first Armscorp of America M14 type receivers. Ron Smith of Tennessee was one of three stakeholders in Smith Manufacturing Co. He is of no relation to Ron Smith of Smith Enterprise, Inc. None of these entities ever did any work for the others. Although Armscorp of America, Inc. sold Smith Enterprise, Inc. M-14 receivers and Smith Manufacturing Co. made some Armscorp of America M14 receivers, there was never any connection or relationship between Smith Manufacturing Co. (Holland, OH) and Smith Enterprise, Inc. (then Mesa, AZ). Additionally, Frank Smith was the All National Guard MTU armorer in the 1980s and early 1990s. The similarity in
names is purely coincidental.
By Lee Emerson
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Originally Posted by Buck
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