Charles Daly firearms
A historic firearms brand imported and manufactured by multiple companies.
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Charles Daly is a firearm brand now owned by Chiappa Firearms in Italy. It began as a firearms manufacturer and importer based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The company’s origins trace back to 1875 in New York City, when Charles Daly, born there on October 12, 1839, partnered with August Schoverling to import firearms, mainly from Suhl in what was then Prussia. Early manufacturers included Heym, Shiller, H. A. Lindner, Sauer, J&W Tolley of England, Newman of Belgium, and Lefever Arms. In 1887, Joseph Gales joined, forming Schoverling, Daly, and Gales, which later settled on the name Charles Daly. After Charles Daly died suddenly in 1899, his son Charles Howard Daly took over until 1919, when Henry Modell bought the partnership.
The new owners kept importing and selling firearms under the Charles Daly name until the late 1920s, when the company was sold to the Walzer family, which owned Sloan's Sporting Goods in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The Walzers opened a New York City branch called Charles Daly & Company.
Daly guns were then made by manufacturers worldwide, including Beretta, Bernadelli, and Miroku. In 1976, Sloan's sold the trademark to Outdoor Sports Headquarters Inc. (OSHI), a Dayton, Ohio wholesaler. OSHI was sold in 1996 to Jerry's Sport Center in Forest City, Pennsylvania.
That same year, KBI, Inc. of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, acquired the brand. KBI expanded the import line to include semi-auto and pump-action shotguns and 1911-style pistols, renaming the company Charles Daly, The Shooting Sports Specialist. In 2008, KBI formed Charles Daly Defense to manufacture and market AR-15-type carbines and rifles for law enforcement and civilians—a departure from the company’s tradition of selling only imported firearms, as these were made in the United States. On January 29, 2010, a letter from Michael Kassnar on the Charles Daly website announced the company was going out of business and closing its doors.
At the SHOT Show in Las Vegas in January 2012, Charles Daly and CD Defense announced their return to the U.S. market, with distribution by Trans World Arms LLC of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In September 2012, Samco Global Arms, Inc. (SGAI) of Miami, Florida, acquired the trademark and began importing firearms under the Charles Daly brand. In 2017, Chiappa Firearms of Italy acquired the trademark.
Lore & Background
Charles Daly was born in New York City on October 12, 1839. Around 1875, he and August Schoverling began importing firearms into the United States, primarily from Suhl in Prussia.
Manufacturers for Daly at that time included Heym, Shiller, H. A. Lindner, Sauer, J&W Tolley, Newman, and Lefever Arms. In 1887, Joseph Gales joined the partnership, and the company operated as Schoverling, Daly, and Gales before settling on the name Charles Daly. After Charles Daly died in 1899, his son Charles Howard Daly took over until 1919, when Henry Modell purchased the partnership.
The brand changed hands several times. In the late 1920s, it was sold to the Walzer family, which owned Sloan's Sporting Goods and established Charles Daly & Company in New York City. Manufacturers such as Beretta, Bernadelli, and Miroku produced Daly guns for the Walzers. In 1976, the trademark was sold to Outdoor Sports Headquarters Inc. (OSHI) in Dayton, Ohio, then to Jerry's Sport Center in 1996.
That same year, KBI, Inc. of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, acquired the brand and expanded the import line to include semi-auto and pump-action shotguns and 1911-style pistols. In 2008, KBI formed Charles Daly Defense to manufacture AR-15-type rifles in the United States. The company closed in January 2010 but returned in 2012 with distribution by Trans World Arms LLC. In September 2012, Samco Global Arms, Inc. acquired the trademark, and in 2017, Chiappa Firearms of Italy acquired it.
Reader's Guide
The Charles Daly brand is significant for its long history of importing firearms from numerous international manufacturers, spanning over a century. It served as a conduit for European and Asian firearms into the U.S. market, including shotguns from Miroku, Sabatti, Zabala Hermanos, and Turkish makers; rifles from Zastava Arms and Armi Sport de Chiappa; and handguns from Armscor, BUL Transmark, FEG, and F.LLI Pietta. The brand also briefly manufactured AR-15-type rifles domestically under Charles Daly Defense.
Its legacy includes multiple ownership changes and a temporary closure in 2010, followed by revival and eventual acquisition by Chiappa Firearms. The brand's 1911 pistols, particularly those from Armscor and later Italian production, remain notable, as do its over-and-under shotguns from Miroku and its Turkish-made shotguns. The brand's history reflects the shifting landscape of firearm importation and manufacturing in the United States.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Charles Daly firearms (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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