Cobray Company
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | firearms |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Successor | Leinad |
| Founder | Wayne and Sylvia Daniels |
| Headquarters | Westhope, North Dakota, U.S. |
Area served | Predominately U.S. |
| Products | Pistols, Shotguns, Rifles, Automatic Firearms |
| Website | http://www.cobray.com |
The Cobray Company was an American developer and manufacturer of sub-machine guns and automatic carbines, handguns and shotguns as well as non-lethal 37 mm launchers. These were manufactured by SWD. In the 1970s and 1980s, Cobray was a counter terrorist training center in addition to being an arms maker under the leadership of Mitch WerBell.[1]
Cobray models
The legacy of Cobray is a poor one, with most firearms collectors and enthusiasts agreeing that the company's products were poorly designed and marketed, as well as being impractical. Today, Cobray's name is synonymous with two of its products in particular, the Street Sweeper and the Lady's Home Companion, the former of which was so offensively named and marketed that it led to a lobby of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms to classify it as a destructive device. Similarly, the Lady's Home Companion is regarded as a wildly impractical pistol, due to its cambering in 45-70 gov. and it's weight of over eight pounds, which makes it an unwieldy and cumbersome weapon.
- M-10 (.45 ACP/9mm Parabellum), semi and full auto (146 mm barrel/127 mm barrel)
- M-11 (.380 ACP), semi and full auto (127 mm barrel)
- M-11/9 (9mm Parabellum), semi and full auto (127 mm barrel)
- M-12 (.380 ACP), semi-auto only
- Pocket Pal .22 Long Rifle/.380 ACP, dual-barrel, switch-cylinder, top-break revolver[2]
- Terminator, slam fire, single-shot shotgun in 12 and 20-gauges[3]
- M11-A1 .380 ACP, an open bolt version of the MAC-11.
- Street Sweeper, a clone of the Armsel Striker. It featured limited parts commonality to the original weapons system.
- Ladies Home Companion, a reduced caliber version of the Street Sweeper in .410 bore or .45-70.[4]
- Cobray/FMJ Ducktown Over-Under, a .22LR/.45 Colt-.410-bore Derringer.[5]
Legal issues
After some legal troubles, the company changed its name to Leinad (Daniel spelled backwards) and produced at least four new models which were designed to conform with the ban on assault weapons that was then in effect.
Leinad models
- PM-11/9 (9 mm)
- PM-12 (.380 ACP)
- DBD38357 (.357 Magnum/.38 Special)-Double Barrel (Pictured right)
- DBD41045 (.45 Long Colt/.410 bore)-Double Barrel
- 6 shot (manual rotation) .22 LR derringer
- Model MR-5 shot manual rotation .45 Long Colt/.410 bore Pepper-box revolver derringer
Closure of company
The owners of Leinad chose to shut down the company because of the changes in the gun laws and the divorce of company founders Wayne and Sylvia Daniels. The Cobray Trademark is registered to a privately owned company in the US. They continue to manufacture parts and accessories for the firearms as well.
References
- ↑ Dunkin, Tom (1980-01-01). "Cobray: Turning the Tables on Terrorists". Soldier of Fortune. 5 (1): 46–50.
- ↑ Angelfire article on Pocket Pal
- ↑ Long, Duncan (2004). Streetsweepers: The Complete Book of Combat Shotguns. Paladin Press. p. 66. ISBN 1-58160-436-X.
- ↑ Erik Larson (1995). Lethal Passage: The Story of a Gun. p. 81. ISBN 0679759271.
- ↑ C. R. Jahn (2012). FTW Self Defense. p. 204. ISBN 1469732556.