View source for A-Square

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox company
| name = A-Square
| logo =
| type = [[Limited liability company|Limited liability]]
| industry = Firearms and ammunition
| fate = Dissolved
| predecessor =
| successor =
| founded = {{Start date and age|1979}}
| founder = Lt. Col. [[Arthur Alphin|Arthur B. Alphin]]
| defunct = {{End date|2012|02|15}}
| hq_location_city = [[Chamberlain, South Dakota]]
| hq_location_country = [[United States]]
| area_served =
| key_people =
| products =
| owner =
| num_employees =
| num_employees_year =
| parent =
| website =
}}
'''A-Square Company, LLC''' was a manufacturer of [[rifle]]s, [[ammunition]] and [[bullet]]s based in [[Chamberlain, South Dakota]], in the [[United States]]. The company was one of 19 that are members of the [[SAAMI|Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturer's Institution]] (SAAMI).<ref name="Nr.1"/><ref name="Nr.2"/> The company's focus was on its firearms for hunting large dangerous game. This was reflected in the selection of larger caliber chamberings in the company's rifles.
== History ==
The company was established in 1979. Lieutenant Colonel [[Arthur Alphin|Arthur B. Alphin]] was the founder and chief designer for the A-Square Company.<ref name="Nr.6"/> Besides the company location in [[Chamberlain, South Dakota]], the company had a location in [[Bedford, Kentucky]].<ref name="Nr.7"/> By August 2008 Alphin planned to move his ammunition factory to [[Butte, Montana]].<ref name="Nr.8"/>
A-Square-manufactured rifles usually came with stainless steel barrels as a standard feature. The barrels on the rifles use epoxy resin to bed the barrel to the stocks. Magazine boxes were manufactured from plate steel for rigidity and were also welded to the receiver. A-Square rifles were engineered to allow the firing pin to retract further into the bolt body than other firearms ({{convert|.400|in|mm|abbr=on}}). This increases the force of the firing pin on the cartridge within the chamber.<ref name="Walter2006"/>
Available calibers for A-Square firearms range from those designed for large, dangerous game, including the [[.577 T-Rex]] and [[.416 Taylor]], through smaller-caliber [[.243 Win]] rifles.
A-Square held the patent 4811666 for the monolithic solid bullet.<ref name="Nr.4"/>
==Change in controlling interest==
From 2010 to February 2012 Sharps Rifle Company LLC owned an 80% controlling interest in A-Square of South Dakota LLC and a 67% controlling interest in A-Square of Wyoming.<ref name="Nr.5"/>
==Closure==
In October 2011, all A-Square employees were dismissed from both the Chamberlain, South Dakota, ammunition plant and the Glenrock, Wyoming, rifle plant.
On February 15, 2012, the A-Square Company ceased to exist. Owner and founder Art Alphin led Sharps Rifle Company LLC, CEO Michael Blank to shut down both A-Square of South Dakota and Wyoming along with Sharps’ main operations in St. Louis.
M. Blank conveyed ownership, all of the equipment, and intangible assets belonging to A-Square of South Dakota LLC and A-Square of Wyoming LLC to the new Sharps Rifle Company Inc., CEO Kevin Tierney and his partner William Martin.
Due to fiscal insolvency and a new company vision neither the ammunition plant in South Dakota nor the rifle plant in Wyoming were reopened.
==New ownership==
In February 2013, Broadsword Group, LLC acquired the Sharps Rifle Co., which included the sister companies of A-Square rifles and ammunition. New ownership and a new management team are steering a different course for these companies through their headquarters in Glenrock, Wyoming. Sharps has abandoned manufacturing A-Square bolt-action rifles, instead focusing on the [[AR-15|AR]] market. The company produces the patented Relia-bolt, the Balanced Bolt Carrier, barrels, complete uppers, and rifles, all dedicated to the [[.25-45 Sharps]] cartridge, which the company offers factory loadings in 87-grain soft-point and 70-grain hollow-point ammunition. This cartridge, based on the parent .223 in/5.56 mm case necked up for .257 bullets, is SAAMI standardized. The company offers properly headstamped virgin brass, as well as remanufactured ammunition from once-fired military 5.56 brass.
== References ==
<references>
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<ref name="Nr.1">{{Cite web |url=http://a-squareco.com/SAAMI.html |title=SAAMI Membership, company website, accessed 28th April 2009 |access-date=April 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126050645/http://a-squareco.com/SAAMI.html |archive-date=November 26, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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<ref name="Nr.2">[http://www.saami.org/membership/Member_Companies.cfm SAAMI Member Companies Website, accessed 28th April 2009] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420125333/http://www.saami.org/membership/Member_Companies.cfm |date=April 20, 2009 }}</ref>
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<ref name="Walter2006">{{cite book|last=Walter|first=John|title=Rifles of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eq2Dnj4sDZIC&pg=PA45|date=March 25, 2006|publisher=Krause Publications|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=0-89689-241-7|page=45}}</ref>
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<ref name="Nr.4">{{US patent|4811666}}</ref>
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<ref name="Nr.5">{{cite news|newspaper = The Glenrock Bird|title = A-Square's Alphin charged with obtaining grant by false pretenses|volume = 4|issue = 28|date = February 20, 2011}}</ref>
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<ref name="Nr.6">{{Cite web |url=http://a-squareco.com/Alphin.html |title=SAAMI Membership, company website |access-date=September 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125074553/http://a-squareco.com/Alphin.html |archive-date=November 25, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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<ref name="Nr.7">{{Cite web |url=http://a-squareco.com/ |title=Company website |access-date=April 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126050655/http://a-squareco.com/index.html |archive-date=November 26, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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<ref name="Nr.8">Holly Michels, The Montana Standard, August 29, 2007 [http://mtstandard.com/news/local/ammo-maker-plans-move-to-butte/article_b5b19242-8940-55b5-aa45-95165e31d99d.html ''Ammo maker plans move to Butte ''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407070237/http://mtstandard.com/news/local/ammo-maker-plans-move-to-butte/article_b5b19242-8940-55b5-aa45-95165e31d99d.html |date=April 7, 2018}}</ref>
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</references>
== External links ==
* [http://www.broadswordgroup.com/asquare.html Broadsword Group A-Square link]
* [http://srcarms.com/ Sharps Rifle Company Homepage]
[[Category:Defunct firearms manufacturers of the United States]]
[[Category:Companies based in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Privately held companies based in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Chamberlain, South Dakota]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1979]]
[[Category:Companies disestablished in 2012]]