Not much info on Owens. Do know they had difficulty getting people to buy them due to their weight and the design of the slide well. Owen Stock Company incorporated by David Owen in Independence, MO 25 Feb 1999. Larry Ruth has a bit more info on them. Also aware one of the family still had a bunch and popped up on Ebay a couple years ago selling off the leftovers. He's still there: http://www.ebay.com/itm/30-M1-Carbin...item43d9076b0c

I can only guess at why they designed it like they did. Maybe to accommodate the Universal and late Iver Johnson Carbines. Maybe to avoid a run in with Choate or someone else over a patent issue. I'll have to ask him. Thanks for the reminder.

Jim

Shotgun News April 1, 2004
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