Sarco, Inc. The Leader In Machine Gun Parts And Accessories (part 2)

What today is arguably the largest dealer in surplus war material in the country

, SARCO (an acronym for Steen Armament Research Company), Inc., of Stirling, New Jersey, actually began quite humbly in the attic of a small apartment. Charles "Cholly" Steen, the company's founder, recalls his next major expansion came by moving into a barn some years later, and then into his first store, all in the anti-gun state of New Jersey.

Living in a Toy Store

After several years in business as a non-corporate entity, SARCO was finally incorporated in 1962. It has since established a long tenure of 38 years in the arms business. SARCO's emphasis is strictly focused on surplus merchandise. Although activities are conducted in commercial-type material, virtually all the business centers around the accumulation of surplus material.

Through the years, SARCO has expanded into almost every facet of the gun business, except for the commercial end. Much of the business is done with military arms collectors, shooters and military history re-enactors. Steen describes his business as having allowed him to, "live in a toy store all these years."

Steen began collecting militaria at the tender age of five when he began to fill the drawers of his clothes dresser with military surplus. "I'm a collector at heart," he chuckles. He later served in the U.S. Marine Corps. and afterward began selling arms at gun shows as a way to support himself while in college where he studied engineering. He had plans to become a machine gun designer. When he told his wife of his intention to become a part-time gun show vendor, she made an agreement with him that if he did not clear $60 a week profit from the activity within the first year, he would give up on the idea. However, Steen's very first weekend at gun show dealing gave him a lot of incentive to stay in the gun business as he made $200 during those first two days, a whopping sum for him at the time.

Another big coup for Steen's fledgling business was expanding into mail order by advertising in the then new publication, Shotgun News. In contrast to the multiple full-page ads Sarco now runs in that advertiser publication, his first ad was just 3-inches by 3-inches in size. Steen estimates SARCO is the Shotgun News' longest continuously-running advertiser. Today, sales by mail order make up the largest part of SARCO's volume, with sales to U.S. and foreign governments playing the next largest role.

Traveling around the world in SARCO's early years during the 1960's, Steen built up a global network of agents who remain on the lookout for surplus materials when such items are offered from military and government sources. The agents alert Steen to the items being offered and bidding/purchase procedures. Steen says his import activities over the years have probably earned him the distinction of being the largest U.S. importer of gun parts.

Overseas manufacturing is another area of the business that has been developed. For instance, SARCO has slings for the Mauser 98 and Johnson rifles made overseas, in addition to 400-500 other items. Steen got into the machine gun part business by offering parts for .30 and .50 caliber Brownings. SARCO does sell live machine guns as well. A wide assortment of non-firing rebuilt machine guns (with a dummy receiver) are available and machine gun parts sets (sans the receiver).

Among the more notable surplus material Steen has sold over the years, was a model 95 Gatling Gun with limber which went to Bill Gasser of the American Armour Foundation museum in Long Island, New York. The serial number of this piece was in the same range as were the Gatling Guns shipped to Cuba at the time Teddy Roosevelt was there.

by: Sarcoinc

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