sar article pdf shot show issue 2010

42 The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010

Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com

Under the traditional middle easternshemagh headwrap is I.O.’s production

foreman Shan Agner, outfitted for co-vert action desert operations andwell armed with the company’s ex-clusive STG-2000-C rifle. This con-

figuration is fitted with an op-tional side-folding stock, poly-mer magazine and fore arm instylish “flat dark earth” color.This uniquely interestingsemi-auto tactical carbine isbased on the East GermanSturmgewehr 940, a prod-uct-improved AK devel-oped for export sales inthe late 1980’s. (Rob-ert Bruce)

43The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010


Many entrepreneurs say that their pathto success began at an identifiable point inchildhood. In the case of Ulrich “Uli”Wiegand and his older brother Oliver, itcame in the West German equivalent ofmiddle school and high school in the his-toric city of Witten. Contradictions betweena government mandated, politically correctWWII history curriculum and what theyheard in vivid personal accounts of wartimeexperiences by family and friends set theyoungsters on a search for truth. This grewover time into an intense interest in all thingsmilitary, with weaponry holding particularfascination.

In an interview for SAR, conducted in hisspacious office at I.O. Inc.’s headquartersin Monroe, North Carolina, the 39 year oldUli recalled that his father, a combat vet-eran of the Luftwaffe (Air Force), startedthe boys at a young age in what wouldquickly become a passion for small arms.

“Dad got us an air rifle, then he got a de-activated bolt action rifle, like a K98, I musthave been seven or eight,” he said. “Thenlater on I joined the shooting club and shot.22s and later, high powered rifles.”

The gun laws in postwar West Germanywere somewhat favorable to the Wiegandbrothers in their growing interest in more

“My dad was a WWII veteran and was telling us about the war when we were young and we got inter-ested in history. In school when the teacher tried to tell something about history, and you heard thestory from my dad or his colleagues in the shooting club who were WWII vets, it was always a differentstory. So we became interested in that, researched it and became interested in firearms.” Ulrich Wiegand,Director, I.O. Inc.

exotic military hardware.“We were active shooters, so we joined

the shooting clubs, made friends there. At18 you could get your licenses for hand-guns, rifles. We could buy deactivatedguns...machine guns like MG34s and 42s.And we had live guns on our private col-lector licenses,” Uli explained. “Now youcan have full automatic guns on your li-

censes but at that time you could only havesemiautomatic guns like the G41, Garand,G43, stuff like that.”

Wiegand Ordnance GmbH

When Oliver Wiegand, three years olderthan Uli, needed money to pay for univer-sity their hobby was a natural springboard

I.O.’s innovative American made receivers for their AK and STG rifles are notedfor sturdiness and durability, as well as the special rail on the receiver’s sidethat allows quick attachment of the company’s new scope mount. (Robert Bruce)

Below: I.O.’s proprietary STG-2000-C is built on their US made AK type receiver and barrel group chambered forpowerful and inexpensive 7.62x39mm ammo fed from standard 30-round AK magazines including the polymer versionshown. Using the same bolt group, piston assembly and other internals as the AK, I.O.’s STG features a hooded frontsight that is integral with the gas block, as well as an M16-style birdcage flash suppressor. I.O. plans to offer this handyand highly affordable assault carbine chambered for 5.56mm in the near future. (Robert Bruce)



to the business world. Collector friends inSwitzerland pointed Oliver to a large cacheof WWII Sten MKII submachine guns forsale in England.

Recognizing a fleeting opportunity, the23 year old Oliver quickly set up WiegandOrdnance GmbH in 1988, with a modestfinancial input from his mother. It wasenough to finance the purchase, deactiva-tion and importation of the famous Britishburp guns. Uli, noting this quick success,joined his brother the following year as abusiness partner in their next successfulventure.

“The German government was destroy-ing plenty of G3 rifles at that time,” Uli re-calls. “We bought the scrap and had it allsorted through and sold all the good onesas spare parts.”

Major importers in the US eagerlysnapped up the Wiegand brothers’ G3 partskits which they advertised in the usual gunrelated publications. Sales acceleratedwhen an enterprising metal-stamper beganmaking semi-auto G3 type receivers, plant-ing the seed of an idea that would bloom inthe next few years.

The Wiegand brothers traveled far andwide in search of large lots of suitable mili-tary weapons, parts and accessories. Whilethere have been some major finds along theway - particularly the 50,000 brand newsurplus Yugoslavian M59/66 SKS typerifles that they found a few years later - Ulivividly recalls some frustrations.

Asked if there was anything he desper-ately wanted to buy but couldn’t, he broughtup several, including some WWII Germantanks in Scandinavia, a film studio’s gunroom and artillery collection in Bulgaria anda treasure trove found in a major weaponstorage site in the former Soviet Union.

“It’s in an old salt mine, a huge under-ground city,” the younger Wiegand re-counted. “They have there, I would say,sixty to a hundred thousand Thompson sub-machine guns - 1921s, 28s, M1A1s. Beau-

Left: Frank Pennachio, a retiredNew York policeman who is nowI.O.’s business manager, breaks outhis SWAT gear once again to dem-onstrate the Liberty, the firm’s lat-est semiautomatic tactical carbine.It combines legendary reliabilityand simplicity of the classic AK-47mechanism with accommodationsfor a full range of modern militaryand law enforcement accessories.(Robert Bruce)

Above: Holding his new Liberty Tactical Carbine, Ulrich “Uli” Wiegand, I.O.’sowner and driving force, talks with business manager Frank Pennachio in thecompany’s warehouse and production area. (Robert Bruce)



tiful, brand new. But we couldn’t legallybring them into the US.

On the other hand, there was plenty ofsuccess to ease the sting. Diligent searchesand canny business deals brought in enor-mous amounts of military surplus gun partsand other items from Europe and beyond.Notable among the acquisitions were thou-sands of surplus rifles from various com-batants in World Wars I and II.

Ulrich is particularly proud of a speciallot of Tsarist Russian M91 rifles found inRomania. “They have the original Impe-rial markings but also Finnish marking,” hesaid. “Made for Imperial Russia, they endedup there in Finland, captured during theFinnish-Russian War of 1939-40. Some-how the Russians got them back and pro-vided them as aid to Romania.”

Honorable mention goes to a unique lotof K98 rifles imported from the former So-viet Union. “A Mauser Gewehr 98 whichwas shortened as the Karabiner (carbine)but it had Polish Radom markings and SSmarkings and 660 for Steyr,” Uli explained.“These guns were given to the new govern-ment of Poland right after World War I.Then the Poles set up the Radom plants in1924 and they refurbished. When the Ger-mans took over (in WWII) they chopped itdown into a carbine and gave it to the SS.”

Building on a strong base of surplus sales,the Wiegand brothers’ business model

evolved to include modern small arms. Buta valued former customer soon became aformidable competitor.

“We started out with the Wum Rifle, anAK with a thumbhole stock,” Uli told us.“We went to Romania to the factory andsaid ‘build this rifle for the US market.’ Wegot everything set up and approved but thenone of our competitors came in. They hadbeen in business longer, had deeper pock-ets, so they bought the production rights inRomania. Took our idea and changed it tothe WASR-10.”

InterOrdnance of America, L.P.

Assessing the situation, the Wiegands de-cided to take the fight to their competitor’sturf and set up operations in the US.

“We asked a consulting firm to get us a

business plan for the US and they recom-mended Charlotte, North Carolina,” Ulrichrecalls. “Our first thought was ‘why andwere is that!’”

The Charlotte metro area, perhaps bestknown to Americans as the home ofNASCAR, proved to be a good choice.Monroe, a suburb, welcomed new businessdevelopment, featured reasonable real es-tate prices and a labor pool with a work ethicand other traditional values. InterOrdnanceof America, L.P., established in June, 1995,hired a general manager and began ship-ping tons of military surplus into a rented2,000 square foot warehouse building inMonroe.

But it soon became apparent to the broth-ers back in Germany that things weren’tmoving smoothly. “In August ’96 I cameover to see what was going on,” Uli told us.“It was a mess. I weighed closing up ordoing it myself. I decided to stay in the USand run the operation myself.”

InterOrdnance began an aggressive salescampaign, running big ads in Shotgun News

Right: The firearms production andassembly area of I.O.’s sprawlingfacility in a suburban industrialpark outside Charlotte, NorthCarolina. I.O. is nearing the goalof 100% American made parts forits firearms. (Robert Bruce)

Left: The Liberty Tactical Carbine’sconfiguration offers multiple advan-tages from an M4 carbine type tele-scoping stock, special quick-attach-ing scope mount secured to the re-ceiver, and polymer fore end withbuilt-in Picatinny rails for a fullrange of grips, lights and other ac-cessories. Currently chambered forhard-hitting, standard CommunistBloc 7.62x39mm ammo, I.O. plans tointroduce versions in 5.56mm and5.45mm. (Robert Bruce)



and other publications for its military gunparts kits and a compelling selection of ex-otic war surplus items. Orders rolled in and,in 1998, the company built a new 5,000square foot facility at its present location ina nearby industrial park. This was doubledin size a year later. Things seemed to begoing great when fate dealt a cruel blow.

Indictment

“We had this big problem with ATF (Bu-reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, andExplosives) over a shipment of L1A1 (FALselective fire rifle) kits,” Ulrich explained.“Supposedly these weren’t deactivatedproperly.”

The cargo arrived in customs in October2001, right after the September 11th terror-ist attacks; a particularly sensitive time forheightened security. The resulting differ-ence of opinion on deactivation went backand forth for more than two years. Accord-ing to the government’s official news re-lease following indictment on February 4,2004, InterOrdnance was charged with sev-eral violations arising from importation andsale of parts kits for Imbel FAL rifles aswell as Russian PPSh-41 and AustrianMP69 submachine guns. The governmentalleged that the Wiegands “imported the

component parts knowing the machine gunshad not been destroyed according to ATFspecifications.”

The brothers mounted a vigorous defensethat countered government claims on ev-ery point, particularly what they saw as theATF’s flawed interpretation of its own de-tailed technical specifications for demillingguns. Ulrich believes their ordeal was mademuch harder by a poor choice of law firms

and problems in the wake of the retirementduring this time of Edward Owen, Jr., thehighly respected Chief of ATF’s FirearmsTechnology Branch. Owen’s departure, hesaid, left a void in judgment and technicalexpertise that would previously haveavoided this kind of erroneous adversarialaction.

Both sides, apparently making the bestof a bad situation, worked out a deal. InDecember 2005, Oliver and Ulrich agreedto plead guilty on minor recordkeeping vio-lations and were fined $1,000 each.InterOrdnance, fined $10,000, was allowedto keep its Federal Firearms License. Thegovernment agreed to return the confiscatedparts kits “after further inspection.”

Despite these relatively minor penaltiesthe fight took a heavy toll. “In the end wegot our L1A1 kits back, we had to cut themup, including the barrels,” Uli said. “Withattorneys and everything else, the wholething cost us over a million dollars.”

Bouncing Back

InterOrdnance continued to operate dur-ing their four year ordeal despite beinghandicapped by crippling legal fees, con-fiscation of the expensive parts kits andshaken consumer confidence from a lot ofnegative accounts in the press and Internetpostings.

“When you fall on your face you get backup and walk again,” Uli declared. “I boughtmy brother out in 2005 and changed thecompany from a partnership to an incorpo-ration.”

The new corporation carries the simple



designation of I.O. Inc., which he points outhas the very practical advantage of brevityin importer and manufacturer identificationstamping. “In order to mark firearms youhave to use the name on the license,” Ulisaid. “InterOrdnance of America L.P.,Monroe, North Carolina, was way too long,so we’re just I.O. Inc.”

The receivers being stamped were on AKtype rifles being imported from Romaniaand Ulrich expressed a great deal of dissat-isfaction with their poor quality. “From athousand guns you really had to throw awaythree hundred,” he said, “and from anothertwo or three hundred guns you had to fixthem in order to make them halfway decent.The quality is so, so terrible.”

This led directly to his decision that I.O.would begin exclusive manufacture of aunique tactical carbine.

STG-2000-C

“The STG 2000-C is basically a US-made version of the Wieger STG 940 rifle,”Wiegand explained, “the latest developmentfrom East Germany (which ceased to existsoon after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989). It’sa fantastic gun, a sleek design with basi-cally all the features of an AR-15 or M16

with the reliability of an AK. That’s whatyou’re looking for. I have heard some sto-ries from troops in Iraq and Afghanistan ofproblems with their M16 and M4. Youhave to keep these meticulously clean orthey say they experience jamming.”

The reliability of I.O.’s semi-auto STGcomes from its AKM type receiver and in-ternal components. The rifle’s AR-15 fea-

tures are primarily in a front sight mountedon the gas block and a muzzle mountedbirdcage flash suppressor. An over-the-topcover sight mount clamped to thereceiver’s integral rail aids tactical versa-tility.

While initial production of I.O.’s STG uti-lizes a combination of imported and Ameri-can made components, work is near



completion on a 100% US made gun. “Weinvested heavily in tooling to make the re-ceivers and many other parts ourselves righthere in the USA,” Uli told us. “We havevery good barrels being made for us. Rightnow the only imported parts are the bolt,carrier, trunnion, and receiver cover, buteverything will be US made by the end ofthe year (2009). We’re outsourcing somethings to certain local machine shops butthe goal will be having everything - everyscrew, pin, bolt and nut - made and as-sembled in our own facility. Proper space,proper work environment. It will go to-gether like a jigsaw puzzle with all the tol-erances right.”

The robust stamped sheet steel receiverfor I.O.’s STG is nearly identical to that ofthe AKM but with some important modifi-cations based on a close evaluation of sev-eral existing versions. “We wanted to makea receiver that is superior and to make surewe could use imported trigger componentsas well as US made,” Wiegand explained.“When we designed ours, we had somefrom Romania and Russia, as well as USreceivers from a variety of manufacturers.Hammer follow down was a problem and ittook two or three months to make sure thatthe trigger axle and the hammer axle loca-tion were optimal. Thousandths of an inchmakes a difference. With the I.O. receiveryou can put in imported or domestic com-ponents and it will work absolutely fine.”

I.O.’s beefy, custom built receivers startwith thick steel blanks that are precisionformed and heat treated for hardness anddurability. Ulrich is proud of some addi-

STG-2000-C Technical Specifications

System of operation: Kalashnikov AK-47Fire mode: SemiautomaticCaliber: 7.62 x 39 mmOverall length: 36.25 in.Barrel length: 16.25 in.Weight (unloaded): 6.5 lbs.Feed: Detachable AK-47 compatible

30-round box magazinesManufacturer: I.O. Inc.Catalog Number: IOIN0001MSRP: $699.95

Above: I.O.’s new SSG-2000 is a 100% US-made semi-auto precision tactical rifle inspired by the fearsome Soviet Dragunov.A significantly improved version of the Romanian PSL, reinforcing plates on the extra thick, elongated AK/RPK typereceiver strengthen it against abuse from heavily recoiling 7.62x54R ammunition such as these Polish military produc-tion LPS light ball rounds. The SSG features sure-grip textured matte black polymer furniture, 10-round detachablemagazines, and a chrome lined match grade barrel. Its sturdy detachable scope mount, pictured here with a powerfulday optic, has a generous length of Picatinny rail for most any other day or night sighting device. (Robert Bruce)



tional features that significantly increase theservice life, pointing out a ridge runningcrosswise on the bottom of the receiver toreinforce positioning of the trigger and ham-mer assembly.

Also, borrowing an idea pioneered by theRussians, I.O. stamps “crow’s feet” tostrengthen pin hole locations. A fully ma-chined mounting rail securely riveted to thereceiver completes the value package, al-lowing quick but rigid attachment of a widerange of scopes or other devices.

Wiegand says that I.O.’s STG has sev-eral other noteworthy improvements. “Thehand guard and buttstock are better andmore sturdy than the East German. It has aneoprene butt plate that cushions againstrecoil. We gave it a way better sling swivelthat doesn’t rattle around. This is a sturdygun. All exclusive to I.O.”

Right now the guns are chambered forubiquitous Eastern Bloc 7.62 x 39mmammo fed from surplus and new-made AK-47 magazines, but we’re told that .223 and5.45mm versions are in the works. “Youcan change the caliber by changing the bolthead to fit 5.45 and .223,” Ulrich explained.“You do that by reprogramming during themachining process.

Assembly of key components on theSTG-2000-C rifles is done with speed and

precision using some specially engineeredproduction fixtures, Wiegand says. Theseensure straight and tight alignment of thereceiver, trunnion, barrel, and gas block withits integral front sight.

I.O.’s AKs

There are plenty of AK type rifles on themarket, apparently selling well enough for

I.O.’s wholesale network to urge Wigeandto jump back on the bandwagon.

“We were doing the STG and some ofour dealers and distributors asked if wecould make an AK,” Ulrich recalls, addingthat a positive decision was made easier be-cause virtually all AK parts were fully com-patible with I.O.’s new STG receivers. ButWiegand maintains that he was not contentto make just another Kalashnikov knock-



off. “Just like with the STG,” he said, “weput a lot of thought and money into makingit the best AK out there: a US-made AK.”

Ulrich showed us I.O.’s new Liberty Tac-tical Carbine and gave us a quick tour ofthis upgraded AK’s features and benefits.“Look at our stock,” he said, “it’s longerfor better positioning on your shoulder. Ithas minimum recoil and muzzle rise be-cause it’s straight line. There’s an ergo-nomic handgrip, new hand guard withPicatinny rails for tactical accessories. Allof our AK rifles will have a scope mountrail that’s integral with the receiver. Theaccuracy grouping is fantastic; compare itwith an AR-15/M16. Much more reliableand significantly cheaper than the AR-15.”

Wiegand told us that production experi-ence and parts commonality with the STGhas made it relatively easy to build I.O.’sdistinctive AKs. “Our new 6 groove rifledbarrels are made locally and they’re excel-lent quality,” he noted. “When we get ourreceivers in from the stamping house, madewith our tooling, we always make surethey’re all right. We have our own qualitycontrol. I’ll show you how, on every workstation, every person is responsible. Andwhen each rifle is assembled, every one getsa function test firing with three rounds.When they pass the test and come back up

to the front they get a final visual inspec-tion before shipment to distributors.”

Energetic distributors and enthusiasticcustomer word of mouth have acceleratedsales with little need for special advertis-ing. “We’ve been overwhelmed with or-ders,” Uli says, “and haven’t had time towork on a promotional campaign. We’llship it to anyone to test it because we’re100 percent convinced we have the best

product out there at a reasonable price.”

Frank Discussion

During much of our time with UlrichWiegand, Frank Pennachio, I.O.’s businessmanager, had been sitting quietly in a cor-ner of the office. He draws on a wealth ofexperience from 22 years as a law enforce-



ment officer in New York’s WestchesterCounty and during much of this time washeavily involved in LE training. After re-locating to a quiet Charlotte suburb afterretirement, fate intervened when UlrichWiegand bought a house on the same street.The neighbors became friends and thenbusiness associates for the past elevenmonths.

Pennachio chose this point in the inter-view to add some important observationson the company in general and AKs in par-ticular, along with some words of appre-ciation for the local population. “This is agood community,” he said, “a lot of peoplehere believe in gun ownership and gunrights. We fill the need for untrained laborto come in and work on our production lineand do assemblies for us. Shan Agner, ourproduction foreman, does a great job inteaching the guys the gunsmithing aspect;doing the assemblies like trigger groups andvarious furniture configs on the guns. We’realso fortunate to have some rather uniquemachinery that helps us to assemble themain part of the gun - barrel and trunnionassembly. So a lot of good things came to-gether at one time.”

Production of the STG and AK rifles,Pennachio told us, is still a bit of a work inprogress. “It’s limited so far as the actualmanufacturing” he said. “We take parts thatwe’re having made for us, that we own thetooling on, that we’ve set specifications on,that we’ve had made locally and elsewherein the United States, along with parts kitsthat are imported from overseas. And weput together US-compliant guns in an AKformat.”

It didn’t take long during our three wayconversation to note the very different per-sonalities evident in I.O.’s German-bornowner and the Italian-American New Yorkex-cop who runs the company’s daily busi-ness operations. Both men smiled when weasked how they get along.

“Uli has always been very hands on, do-ing everything himself,” Pennachio ob-served. “He’s never had a staff to get thingsdone and he wants things done quickly. Oneof his favorite sayings is, ‘It’s hard to teachan old dog new tricks,’ but I keep trying(laughs). He’s a ‘need to know’ person, hehas to see personally what’s going on.Sometimes I literally have to chase him offthe production floor and back into the of-fice to keep things - from a managementperspective - running a little moresmoothly.”

“Uli and I have lasted a whole lot longer

in this business arrangement than anybodyelse expected us to,” Pennachio continued,“including, perhaps, ourselves. We valueour friendship and respect each other’s po-sitions. There’s a lot of head-butting goingon but it’s from the heart. Like railroadtracks, we can think along parallel lines togetting the same things done. But we goabout it different ways.”

Expanding the Product Line

I.O.’s product offerings are amazingly di-verse with some notable departures fromsmall arms. Their online catalog

(www.ionic.us) lists uniforms, books, bayo-nets, holsters, medieval armor, and evenRussian-built copies of WWII German mili-tary motorcycles.

While military surplus remains an impor-tant part of I.O.’s business model, Ulrichpointed to efforts underway to add new-pro-duction tactical products such as scopes,mounts and lights to the company’s offer-ings. How, we asked, do decisions get madeon specific products?

The boss was quick to credit key mem-bers of his team. “Shan Agner, our produc-tion foreman, is the best idea man you canhave,” Ulrich said. “He’s on top of what’s



out there as a consumer and a shooter. Shanbuilds his own guns and loves going out onthe range. Plus Frank with his law enforce-ment background and our reps at AMG(American Marketing Group). You throwthings out and brainstorm.”

This collaborative effort resulted in a de-cision to build and sell a modernized ver-sion of the Romanian PSL, a high poweredprecision tactical rifle inspired by the RedArmy’s famous Dragunov. The new SSG-2000 is I.O.’s own 100% US-made semi-auto, featuring modern synthetic furnitureand a match-grade, chrome lined barrel.Initially offered in classic Russian 7.62 x54R chambering, a 7.62mm NATO caliberversion is said to be in the works.

Iconic German Clones

I.O.’s print advertisements for acouple of particularly unusual firearmshave caught SAR’s attention. Theystrongly influenced a decision to pro-file the company, US dealer for superblydetailed and authentically configuredlive firing semi-auto versions of theWWII German military classic MP38Maschinen Pistole and StG44Sturmgewehr. Offering them at a frac-tion of the cost of original selective firespecimens, Wiegand had taken the leadin providing an opportunity for shoot-ers and collectors to own and shootthese rare and highly desirable combatclassics.

We were quite disappointed to learn

that, while the company still has someof the initial batch of MP38-C replicasin stock, problems with the Germanmanufacturer have made further deal-ings unlikely.

Ulrich told us that the deal for im-portation of StG44-C rifles had stalled.“We got everything approved withBATFE on our end,” he said, “and evenhad all the compliance parts made herelocally. But they (Sport-SystemeDittrich) never delivered anything buta prototype and we’re suing them for$50,000 of our money.”

It’s clear that Wiegand has a particu-lar affection for the distinctively con-

figured StG44, widely considered to bethe father of all modern assault rifles.He’s determined to keep the semi-autoSturmgewehr project moving but witha decidedly interesting twist inspired bythose full scale working models thatoriginated in the Japanese non-gun mar-ket.

Ulrich enthusiastically showed us anamazingly realistic stamped metal andwood replica StG44. “Look at it, theoriginal weight, it’s fantastic!,” he de-clared. “We have an engineer workingon this making it into a .22 caliber semi-auto. And we’ll put some nice originalmarking on it.”

Below: Achtung collectors! Time is running out to get the last of the stunningly realistic live firing semi-auto 9mm MP38-C pistols, built in Germany by Sport-Systeme Dittrich and imported by I.O. They are characterized by original weight anddimensions with a beautifully machined ribbed steel receiver tube and simulated Bakelite furniture. These dead-on repli-cas of Heinrich Vollmer’s classic early WWII German military machine pistol are authentic down to the numerous Waffenamtcode stamps. Alas, the folding stock is permanently locked as required by the BATFE. (Robert Bruce)



Distribution Network

Both Wiegand and Pennachio praisedthe work of American MarketingGroup’s field representatives who showI.O.’s products nationwide. “AMG rep-resent us to distributors and at the tradeshows,” Pennachio said. “Vinnie(Vincent) Chiarenza is their lead man;well known and respected with 35 yearsin the industry.”

“Distributors are looking for a steadysupply of merchandise,” Wiegandadded. “They want quality, of course,and pricing as well. We developed anice relationship with all the distribu-tors who carry our products.”

I.O.’s STG-2000 and AK-47 rifles areavailable through a network of distribu-tors covering the entire United States:

Ellett Brotherswww.ellettbrothers.com

Colorado Guns Saleswww.cogunsales.com

Atlantic Firearmswww.atlanticfirearms.com

AmChar Wholesalewww.amchar.com

Lew Horton Dist. Co.www.lewhorton.com

Camfour, Inc.www.camfour.com

Interstate Armswww.interstatearms.com

Davidson’s Firearmswww.galleryofguns.com

Valor Corp.www.valorcorp.com

RSR Groupwww.rsrgroup.com

Bill Hicks & Co., Ltd.www.billhicksco.com

Bangers Shooting Sourcewww.bangersusa.com

Personal Collection

Those of us who have longed for theways and means to increase our per-sonal collections of guns and militariashould closely follow the example setby Uli Wiegand. We found a small partof his acquisitions from more than twodecades of worldwide buying trips piledhigh in various parts of I.O.’s facility.

There were pallet loads of historiclong arms carefully catalogued andboxed, along with crew served weap-ons, tripods, and more, packed in cratesand stacked in corners. The muzzle ofa wheeled Russian anti-tank gun, lastand best of many dozens Wiegand im-ported and sold, pointed to his sidecar-equipped WWII German Zundapp mo-torcycle.

These artifacts and many more are

waiting patiently for the time when theycan be properly displayed in a show-room/museum planned on site.

I.O. Incorporated

The company does business by onlineorders and as a wholesale distributor.It does not maintain a showroom forwalk-in customers. However, it is openby appointment every Friday for FFLdealers and private customers to pickup orders and to speak with the salesstaff.

I.O.’s user-friendly website is packedwith information and photos on hun-dreds of pieces of militaria, and gunitems ranging from AK-47 grenadelauncher sights to ZB-37 ammo belts.Links are provided for instant access toseveral in-depth published reviews ofthe STG-2000-C and other products.Don’t miss the video of the Dnepr mo-torcycle in action at the tab “MuseumItems and Vehicles.”

I.O. Incorporated3305 Westwood Industrial DriveMonroe, North Carolina 28111

Telephone: (866) 882-1479.Internet: www.ioinc.us

(Special thanks to Shan Agner for ar-ranging the live fire photo session atEfird’s Rifle Range, Inc., in Albermarle,NC. Also to Ed Efird for his patienceand good humor while we were hisguests at his excellent shooting venue.Contact Ed at (704) 244-6528)

The distinctive WWII German Sturmgewehris well recognized by aficionados as the con-ceptual father of postwar assault rifles, in-cluding the mechanically different AK47. Be-cause the originals are selective fire machineguns, they are very rare and prohibitively ex-pensive. I.O. is planning a surprise for col-lectors who have long coveted these iconicinfantry weapons. (I.O. photo)

sar article pdf shot show issue 2010

Documents