By Dave Workman | Senior Editor
Historic early 1900s photo of the original Lyman Gun Sight Corporation factory above a recent photo of the multi-product Lyman Products Corp. in Middletoen, CT, currently celebrating 140 years in business.
Difficult times may have fallen on some historic brands in the firearms industry, but at Lyman, which is celebrating its 140th anniversary this year, the company is going strong.
Company President Rick Ranzinger, who has been with Lyman for three decades and has a considerable amount of institutional knowledge as a result, told TGM matter-of-factly, “We’re 100 percent for the shooter.”
This company, founded in Connecticut by William Lyman in 1878 to produce a precision rifle sight, has never lost sight of its customers and their needs.
“One thing I’ve learned is that business is all about people,” Ranzinger said. ‘You’re successful because you are what you are, based on your people.”
He’s a guy who could probably write a book about the subject. Right after emerging from graduate school, he started a career in the firearms industry and never left. He spent ten years with Winchester, a couple more with Beretta and then took a position with Lyman in marketing. He’s been with the company ever since.
Lyman, according to some publicity about the landmark anniversary, has been a company of shooters, for shooters. The firm has become one of the leaders in metallic cartridge reloading, still produces the rifle sight line, and has expanded with acquisitions including Pachmayr, TacStar, A-Zoom and a few others.
Products easily identifiable thanks to the trademark orange powder coat finish on the reloading bench gear, is impossible to mistake. The “big orange” has made its mark on the outdoors landscape. The company produces its popular presses and accessories in the USA, which certainly helps keep the brand popular.
Ranzinger said Lyman now employs about 125 people, many of whom he calls “legacy” staff because they have worked at the company for years.
The company has always been privately owned, which has given it considerable stability over the years. Owner Mace Thompson serves as chairman of the board, and Ranzinger said Thompson still comes into the office every day.
“The legacy and the brand is one of the most well known in the industry,” Ranzinger acknowledged. “I go to the NRA (exhibitions) and I meet people in their 60s and 80s, and they have old Lyman scopes, parts and talk about repairs on items we haven’t made in over 30 years.”
It can be a humbling experience chatting with such longtime customers who have depended on the brand longer than you’ve lived.
As a testament to the longevity of their products, there are countless aging handloaders who still use decades-old Lyman single-stage presses, case trimmers and other accessories for putting together their ammunition. The Pachmayr brand shows up on rifle and shotgun recoil pads and on the rubber replacement grips of handguns frequently.
According to a brief history of the company circulated to outdoor and gun writers, founder William Lyman was “an avid outdoorsman and inventor (who) created a product that resolved problems with gun sights of his day.”
The three new Brass Smith series reloading presses Lyman introduced in 2018.
He patented the design of a tang sight that became the Lyman No. 1, and you can still find specimens on all kinds of heirloom rifles, especially at gun shows. It is a rugged, yet simple little accessory that provided the launch pad for the Lyman Gun Sight Company.
Successful businesses get bigger and so it was with Lyman. In 1925, the Lyman family acquired Ideal reloading products, including the Ideal reloading handbooks. The publication became the Lyman Reloading Handbook, and savvy reloaders have at least one volume in their reference rack. Two years ago, the company released the 50th Edition Reloading Handbook with updated data. Lyman also published the Long Range Precision Rifle Reloading Handbook, aimed specifically at the growing number of long-range shooters.
This year, in conjunction with the landmark anniversary, Lyman has introduced a new line of reloading presses and reloading kids. Ranzinger noted that many Lyman products have been copied over the years, which he considers a “great compliment” to the company’s innovations.
The new presses, dubbed the Brass Smith line. Included in the lineup are:
- The Brass Smith C-Frame Press Kit, which features a single-stage press, reloading manual, loading block and other accessories;
- The Brass Smith Single Stage Press Kit, including the press, reloading handbook, funnel, case lube kit and more;
- The Brass Smith 8-station turret press kit, which includes the press, powder measure, loading block, reloading handbook, universal case trimmer, primer tray and more.
The presses are available separately, and it should be noted that the turret press, for high-volume handloaders, is a real piece of work. Like the single stage models, it is made with a heavy duty cast iron frame, and the turret is also cast iron. It’s got a 1-inch ram, primer feed, and at 23 pounds, it is as solid a reloading platform as you will find anywhere. It is the only 8-station turret press on the market.
It would be impossible to go through the entire array of Lyman products and those of its other brands. Suffice to say that Lyman has used the past 140 years to create a “total package” for shooters, and that includes black powder guns and accessories, including bullet moulds.
At this year’s NRA exhibits in May, Ranzinger said the company will unveil a new single-shot carbine based on the proven Sharps design. Made by Pedersoli, it should be an eyeful!
Through it all, Lyman has remained headquartered in Connecticut, a state that has become increasingly unfriendly to the gun industry. However, Lyman is committed to staying put where its employees and the brand, itself, have deep roots.
Lyman is a legendary name in the firearms industry, and shows no signs of slowing down. Other companies may come and go, but Lyman has endured. Always with an eye on bringing more customers on board, this outfit hasn’t forgotten its commitment to the old timers who have been faithful to the brand for generations.
That “big orange” just keeps glowing.
