RIFLE AND SHOTGUN PRODUCTION HISTORY

Company Facts:

According to a 1989 article by Ron Taylor in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the history of SWD, Inc. begins in 1978 with the acquisition of Military Armament Corporation's parent company, RPB, and the rights to the MAC-10 fully automatic assault pistol by Wayne Daniel and his partner John Carpenter. Carpenter was soon convicted of trying to bribe a prosecutor to get him to drop a drug charge against a client. Two other partners in the company were accused of smuggling more than two tons of marijuana into Florida. One fled the country; the other was sentenced to 30 years.

Wayne Daniel went on to manufacture a semi-automatic version of the MAC-10, which led to his first confrontation with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). The agency approved the assault pistol, but reassessed its position following reports that it was easily converted to full-auto. In 1982 ATF banned it. Daniel sued and lost. At the end of the dispute, Daniel dissolved RPB and created SWD, Inc. and placed it in the hands of his ex-wife Sylvia. SWD is an acronym for Sylvia and Wayne Daniel.

In 1985 the Daniels were indicted on 12 charges of illegally selling parts to manufacture silencers for submachine guns. The Daniels were eventually fined $1,400 after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of not paying proper taxes on the parts.

Ads for the MAC-11 dubbed it "The Gun That Made the '80s Roar." The gun was cheap�$200 to $300�easy to conceal, and could be fitted with a 32-round magazine. SWD also manufactured the Street Sweeper, a 12-gauge, semi-automatic, 12-round, revolving cylinder shotgun�complete with folding stock and pistol grips. One ad for the gun warned, "It's a Jungle Out There! There Is A Disease And We've Got The Cure." For only $395 the ad advised, "Make you [sic] streets safe and clean with the help of 'The Street Sweeper'!"

MAC/SWD/Cobray were sued in 1998 by a man who suffered severe injuries when a shell manufactured and sold by Cobray exploded when the victim fired a MAC/SWD/Cobray flare launcher.