Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.

com

Under the traditional middle eastern

shemagh headwrap is I.O.’s production
foreman Shan Agner, outfitted for co-
vert action desert operations and
well armed with the company’s ex-
clusive STG-2000-C rifle. This con-
figuration is fitted with an op-
tional side-folding stock, poly-
mer magazine and fore arm in
stylish “flat dark earth” color.
This uniquely interesting
semi-auto tactical carbine is
based on the East German
Sturmgewehr 940, a prod-
uct-improved AK devel-
oped for export sales in
the late 1980’s. (Rob-
42 The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010
ert Bruce)
 Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com

“My dad was a WWII veteran and was telling us about the war when we were young and we got inter-
ested in history. In school when the teacher tried to tell something about history, and you heard the
story from my dad or his colleagues in the shooting club who were WWII vets, it was always a different
story. So we became interested in that, researched it and became interested in firearms.” Ulrich Wiegand,
Director, I.O. Inc.

Many entrepreneurs say that their path

to success began at an identifiable point in
childhood. In the case of Ulrich “Uli”
Wiegand and his older brother Oliver, it
came in the West German equivalent of
middle school and high school in the his-
toric city of Witten. Contradictions between
a government mandated, politically correct
WWII history curriculum and what they
heard in vivid personal accounts of wartime
experiences by family and friends set the
youngsters on a search for truth. This grew
over time into an intense interest in all things
military, with weaponry holding particular
fascination.
In an interview for SAR, conducted in his
spacious office at I.O. Inc.’s headquarters
in Monroe, North Carolina, the 39 year old
I.O.’s innovative American made receivers for their AK and STG rifles are noted
Uli recalled that his father, a combat vet-
eran of the Luftwaffe (Air Force), started for sturdiness and durability, as well as the special rail on the receiver’s side
the boys at a young age in what would that allows quick attachment of the company’s new scope mount. (Robert Bruce)
quickly become a passion for small arms. exotic military hardware. censes but at that time you could only have
“Dad got us an air rifle, then he got a de- “We were active shooters, so we joined semiautomatic guns like the G41, Garand,
activated bolt action rifle, like a K98, I must the shooting clubs, made friends there. At G43, stuff like that.”
have been seven or eight,” he said. “Then 18 you could get your licenses for hand-
later on I joined the shooting club and shot guns, rifles. We could buy deactivated Wiegand Ordnance GmbH
.22s and later, high powered rifles.” guns...machine guns like MG34s and 42s.
The gun laws in postwar West Germany And we had live guns on our private col- When Oliver Wiegand, three years older
were somewhat favorable to the Wiegand lector licenses,” Uli explained. “Now you than Uli, needed money to pay for univer-
brothers in their growing interest in more can have full automatic guns on your li- sity their hobby was a natural springboard

Below: I.O.’s proprietary STG-2000-C is built on their US made AK type receiver and barrel group chambered for
powerful and inexpensive 7.62x39mm ammo fed from standard 30-round AK magazines including the polymer version
shown. Using the same bolt group, piston assembly and other internals as the AK, I.O.’s STG features a hooded front
sight that is integral with the gas block, as well as an M16-style birdcage flash suppressor. I.O. plans to offer this handy
and highly affordable assault carbine chambered for 5.56mm in the near future. (Robert Bruce)

The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010 43

 Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com

to the business world. Collector friends in

Switzerland pointed Oliver to a large cache
of WWII Sten MKII submachine guns for
sale in England.
Recognizing a fleeting opportunity, the
23 year old Oliver quickly set up Wiegand
Ordnance GmbH in 1988, with a modest
financial input from his mother. It was
enough to finance the purchase, deactiva-
tion and importation of the famous British
burp guns. Uli, noting this quick success,
joined his brother the following year as a
business partner in their next successful
venture.
“The German government was destroy-
ing plenty of G3 rifles at that time,” Uli re-
calls. “We bought the scrap and had it all
sorted through and sold all the good ones
as spare parts.”
Major importers in the US eagerly
snapped up the Wiegand brothers’ G3 parts
kits which they advertised in the usual gun
related publications. Sales accelerated
Above: Holding his new Liberty Tactical Carbine, Ulrich “Uli” Wiegand, I.O.’s when an enterprising metal-stamper began
owner and driving force, talks with business manager Frank Pennachio in the making semi-auto G3 type receivers, plant-
company’s warehouse and production area. (Robert Bruce) ing the seed of an idea that would bloom in
the next few years.
The Wiegand brothers traveled far and
wide in search of large lots of suitable mili-
tary weapons, parts and accessories. While
there have been some major finds along the
way - particularly the 50,000 brand new
surplus Yugoslavian M59/66 SKS type
rifles that they found a few years later - Uli
vividly recalls some frustrations.
Asked if there was anything he desper-
ately wanted to buy but couldn’t, he brought
up several, including some WWII German
tanks in Scandinavia, a film studio’s gun
room and artillery collection in Bulgaria and
a treasure trove found in a major weapon
storage site in the former Soviet Union.
“It’s in an old salt mine, a huge under-
ground city,” the younger Wiegand re-
counted. “They have there, I would say,
sixty to a hundred thousand Thompson sub-
machine guns - 1921s, 28s, M1A1s. Beau-

Left: Frank Pennachio, a retired

New York policeman who is now
I.O.’s business manager, breaks out
his SWAT gear once again to dem-
onstrate the Liberty, the firm’s lat-
est semiautomatic tactical carbine.
It combines legendary reliability
and simplicity of the classic AK-47
mechanism with accommodations
for a full range of modern military
and law enforcement accessories.
(Robert Bruce)

44 The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010


Right: The firearms production and
assembly area of I.O.’s sprawling
facility in a suburban industrial
park outside Charlotte, North
Carolina. I.O. is nearing the goal
of 100% American made parts for
its firearms. (Robert Bruce)
tiful, brand new. But we couldn’t legally
bring them into the US.
On the other hand, there was plenty of
success to ease the sting. Diligent searches
and canny business deals brought in enor-
mous amounts of military surplus gun parts
and other items from Europe and beyond.
Notable among the acquisitions were thou-
sands of surplus rifles from various com-
batants in World Wars I and II.
Ulrich is particularly proud of a special
lot of Tsarist Russian M91 rifles found in
Romania. “They have the original Impe-
rial markings but also Finnish marking,” he
said. “Made for Imperial Russia, they ended
up there in Finland, captured during the
Finnish-Russian War of 1939-40. Some-
how the Russians got them back and pro-
vided them as aid to Romania.”
Honorable mention goes to a unique lot
of K98 rifles imported from the former So-
viet Union. “A Mauser Gewehr 98 which
was shortened as the Karabiner (carbine)
but it had Polish Radom markings and SS
markings and 660 for Steyr,” Uli explained.
“These guns were given to the new govern-
ment of Poland right after World War I.
Then the Poles set up the Radom plants in
1924 and they refurbished. When the Ger-
mans took over (in WWII) they chopped it
down into a carbine and gave it to the SS.”
Building on a strong base of surplus sales,
the Wiegand brothers’ business model
The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010
Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com
evolved to include modern small arms. But
a valued former customer soon became a
formidable competitor.
“We started out with the Wum Rifle, an
AK with a thumbhole stock,” Uli told us.
“We went to Romania to the factory and
said ‘build this rifle for the US market.’ We
got everything set up and approved but then
one of our competitors came in. They had
been in business longer, had deeper pock-
ets, so they bought the production rights in
Romania. Took our idea and changed it to
the WASR-10.”
InterOrdnance of America, L.P.
Assessing the situation, the Wiegands de-
cided to take the fight to their competitor’s
turf and set up operations in the US.
“We asked a consulting firm to get us a
business plan for the US and they recom-
mended Charlotte, North Carolina,” Ulrich
recalls. “Our first thought was ‘why and
were is that!’”
The Charlotte metro area, perhaps best
known to Americans as the home of
NASCAR, proved to be a good choice.
Monroe, a suburb, welcomed new business
development, featured reasonable real es-
tate prices and a labor pool with a work ethic
and other traditional values. InterOrdnance
of America, L.P., established in June, 1995,
hired a general manager and began ship-
ping tons of military surplus into a rented
2,000 square foot warehouse building in
Monroe.
But it soon became apparent to the broth-
ers back in Germany that things weren’t
moving smoothly. “In August ’96 I came
over to see what was going on,” Uli told us.
“It was a mess. I weighed closing up or
doing it myself. I decided to stay in the US
and run the operation myself.”
InterOrdnance began an aggressive sales
campaign, running big ads in Shotgun News
Left: The Liberty Tactical Carbine’s
configuration offers multiple advan-
tages from an M4 carbine type tele-
scoping stock, special quick-attach-
ing scope mount secured to the re-
ceiver, and polymer fore end with
built-in Picatinny rails for a full
range of grips, lights and other ac-
cessories. Currently chambered for
hard-hitting, standard Communist
Bloc 7.62x39mm ammo, I.O. plans to
introduce versions in 5.56mm and
5.45mm. (Robert Bruce)
45

and other publications for its military gun
parts kits and a compelling selection of ex-
otic war surplus items. Orders rolled in and,
in 1998, the company built a new 5,000
square foot facility at its present location in
a nearby industrial park. This was doubled
in size a year later. Things seemed to be
going great when fate dealt a cruel blow.
Indictment
“We had this big problem with ATF (Bu-
reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives) over a shipment of L1A1 (FAL
selective fire rifle) kits,” Ulrich explained.
“Supposedly these weren’t deactivated
properly.”
The cargo arrived in customs in October
2001, right after the September 11th terror-
ist attacks; a particularly sensitive time for
heightened security. The resulting differ-
ence of opinion on deactivation went back
and forth for more than two years. Accord-
ing to the government’s official news re-
lease following indictment on February 4,
2004, InterOrdnance was charged with sev-
eral violations arising from importation and
sale of parts kits for Imbel FAL rifles as
well as Russian PPSh-41 and Austrian
MP69 submachine guns. The government
alleged that the Wiegands “imported the
46
Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com
component parts knowing the machine guns
had not been destroyed according to ATF
specifications.”
The brothers mounted a vigorous defense
that countered government claims on ev-
ery point, particularly what they saw as the
ATF’s flawed interpretation of its own de-
tailed technical specifications for demilling
guns. Ulrich believes their ordeal was made
much harder by a poor choice of law firms
The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010
and problems in the wake of the retirement
during this time of Edward Owen, Jr., the
highly respected Chief of ATF’s Firearms
Technology Branch. Owen’s departure, he
said, left a void in judgment and technical
expertise that would previously have
avoided this kind of erroneous adversarial
action.
Both sides, apparently making the best
of a bad situation, worked out a deal. In
December 2005, Oliver and Ulrich agreed
to plead guilty on minor recordkeeping vio-
lations and were fined $1,000 each.
InterOrdnance, fined $10,000, was allowed
to keep its Federal Firearms License. The
government agreed to return the confiscated
parts kits “after further inspection.”
Despite these relatively minor penalties
the fight took a heavy toll. “In the end we
got our L1A1 kits back, we had to cut them
up, including the barrels,” Uli said. “With
attorneys and everything else, the whole
thing cost us over a million dollars.”
Bouncing Back
InterOrdnance continued to operate dur-
ing their four year ordeal despite being
handicapped by crippling legal fees, con-
fiscation of the expensive parts kits and
shaken consumer confidence from a lot of
negative accounts in the press and Internet
postings.
“When you fall on your face you get back
up and walk again,” Uli declared. “I bought
my brother out in 2005 and changed the
company from a partnership to an incorpo-
ration.”
The new corporation carries the simple
 Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com

designation of I.O. Inc., which he points out with the reliability of an AK. That’s what tures are primarily in a front sight mounted
has the very practical advantage of brevity you’re looking for. I have heard some sto- on the gas block and a muzzle mounted
in importer and manufacturer identification ries from troops in Iraq and Afghanistan of birdcage flash suppressor. An over-the-
stamping. “In order to mark firearms you problems with their M16 and M4. You topcover sight mount clamped to the
have to use the name on the license,” Uli have to keep these meticulously clean or receiver’s integral rail aids tactical versa-
said. “InterOrdnance of America L.P., they say they experience jamming.” tility.
Monroe, North Carolina, was way too long, The reliability of I.O.’s semi-auto STG While initial production of I.O.’s STG uti-
so we’re just I.O. Inc.” comes from its AKM type receiver and in- lizes a combination of imported and Ameri-
The receivers being stamped were on AK ternal components. The rifle’s AR-15 fea- can made components, work is near
type rifles being imported from Romania
and Ulrich expressed a great deal of dissat-
isfaction with their poor quality. “From a
thousand guns you really had to throw away
three hundred,” he said, “and from another
two or three hundred guns you had to fix
them in order to make them halfway decent.
The quality is so, so terrible.”
This led directly to his decision that I.O.
would begin exclusive manufacture of a
unique tactical carbine.

STG-2000-C

“The STG 2000-C is basically a US-

made version of the Wieger STG 940 rifle,”
Wiegand explained, “the latest development
from East Germany (which ceased to exist
soon after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989). It’s
a fantastic gun, a sleek design with basi-
cally all the features of an AR-15 or M16

The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010 47

 Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com

Above: I.O.’s new SSG-2000 is a 100% US-made semi-auto precision tactical rifle inspired by the fearsome Soviet Dragunov.
A significantly improved version of the Romanian PSL, reinforcing plates on the extra thick, elongated AK/RPK type
receiver strengthen it against abuse from heavily recoiling 7.62x54R ammunition such as these Polish military produc-
tion LPS light ball rounds. The SSG features sure-grip textured matte black polymer furniture, 10-round detachable
magazines, and a chrome lined match grade barrel. Its sturdy detachable scope mount, pictured here with a powerful
day optic, has a generous length of Picatinny rail for most any other day or night sighting device. (Robert Bruce)

completion on a 100% US made gun. “We

invested heavily in tooling to make the re-
ceivers and many other parts ourselves right STG-2000-C Technical Specifications
here in the USA,” Uli told us. “We have
very good barrels being made for us. Right System of operation: Kalashnikov AK-47
now the only imported parts are the bolt, Fire mode: Semiautomatic
carrier, trunnion, and receiver cover, but Caliber: 7.62 x 39 mm
everything will be US made by the end of Overall length: 36.25 in.
the year (2009). We’re outsourcing some Barrel length: 16.25 in.
things to certain local machine shops but Weight (unloaded): 6.5 lbs.
the goal will be having everything - every Feed: Detachable AK-47 compatible
screw, pin, bolt and nut - made and as- 30-round box magazines
sembled in our own facility. Proper space, Manufacturer: I.O. Inc.
proper work environment. It will go to- Catalog Number: IOIN0001
gether like a jigsaw puzzle with all the tol- MSRP: $699.95
erances right.”
The robust stamped sheet steel receiver
for I.O.’s STG is nearly identical to that of
the AKM but with some important modifi-
cations based on a close evaluation of sev-
eral existing versions. “We wanted to make
a receiver that is superior and to make sure
we could use imported trigger components
as well as US made,” Wiegand explained.
“When we designed ours, we had some
from Romania and Russia, as well as US
receivers from a variety of manufacturers.
Hammer follow down was a problem and it
took two or three months to make sure that
the trigger axle and the hammer axle loca-
tion were optimal. Thousandths of an inch
makes a difference. With the I.O. receiver
you can put in imported or domestic com-
ponents and it will work absolutely fine.”
I.O.’s beefy, custom built receivers start
with thick steel blanks that are precision
formed and heat treated for hardness and
durability. Ulrich is proud of some addi-

48 The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010

 Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com

tional features that significantly increase the

service life, pointing out a ridge running
crosswise on the bottom of the receiver to
reinforce positioning of the trigger and ham-
mer assembly.
Also, borrowing an idea pioneered by the
Russians, I.O. stamps “crow’s feet” to
strengthen pin hole locations. A fully ma-
chined mounting rail securely riveted to the
receiver completes the value package, al-
lowing quick but rigid attachment of a wide
range of scopes or other devices.
Wiegand says that I.O.’s STG has sev-
eral other noteworthy improvements. “The
hand guard and buttstock are better and
more sturdy than the East German. It has a
neoprene butt plate that cushions against
recoil. We gave it a way better sling swivel
that doesn’t rattle around. This is a sturdy
gun. All exclusive to I.O.”
Right now the guns are chambered for
ubiquitous Eastern Bloc 7.62 x 39mm precision using some specially engineered I.O.’s wholesale network to urge Wigeand
ammo fed from surplus and new-made AK- production fixtures, Wiegand says. These to jump back on the bandwagon.
47 magazines, but we’re told that .223 and ensure straight and tight alignment of the “We were doing the STG and some of
5.45mm versions are in the works. “You receiver, trunnion, barrel, and gas block with our dealers and distributors asked if we
can change the caliber by changing the bolt its integral front sight. could make an AK,” Ulrich recalls, adding
head to fit 5.45 and .223,” Ulrich explained. that a positive decision was made easier be-
“You do that by reprogramming during the I.O.’s AKs cause virtually all AK parts were fully com-
machining process. patible with I.O.’s new STG receivers. But
Assembly of key components on the There are plenty of AK type rifles on the Wiegand maintains that he was not content
STG-2000-C rifles is done with speed and market, apparently selling well enough for to make just another Kalashnikov knock-

The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010 49

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50 The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010

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The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010 51

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off. “Just like with the STG,” he said, “we

put a lot of thought and money into making
it the best AK out there: a US-made AK.”
Ulrich showed us I.O.’s new Liberty Tac-
tical Carbine and gave us a quick tour of
this upgraded AK’s features and benefits.
“Look at our stock,” he said, “it’s longer
for better positioning on your shoulder. It
has minimum recoil and muzzle rise be-
cause it’s straight line. There’s an ergo-
nomic handgrip, new hand guard with
Picatinny rails for tactical accessories. All
of our AK rifles will have a scope mount
rail that’s integral with the receiver. The
accuracy grouping is fantastic; compare it
with an AR-15/M16. Much more reliable
and significantly cheaper than the AR-15.”
Wiegand told us that production experi-
ence and parts commonality with the STG
has made it relatively easy to build I.O.’s
distinctive AKs. “Our new 6 groove rifled
barrels are made locally and they’re excel- to the front they get a final visual inspec- product out there at a reasonable price.”
lent quality,” he noted. “When we get our tion before shipment to distributors.”
receivers in from the stamping house, made Energetic distributors and enthusiastic
with our tooling, we always make sure customer word of mouth have accelerated Frank Discussion
they’re all right. We have our own quality sales with little need for special advertis-
control. I’ll show you how, on every work ing. “We’ve been overwhelmed with or- During much of our time with Ulrich
station, every person is responsible. And ders,” Uli says, “and haven’t had time to Wiegand, Frank Pennachio, I.O.’s business
when each rifle is assembled, every one gets work on a promotional campaign. We’ll manager, had been sitting quietly in a cor-
a function test firing with three rounds. ship it to anyone to test it because we’re ner of the office. He draws on a wealth of
When they pass the test and come back up 100 percent convinced we have the best experience from 22 years as a law enforce-

52 The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010

 Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com

ment officer in New York’s Westchester

County and during much of this time was
heavily involved in LE training. After re-
locating to a quiet Charlotte suburb after
retirement, fate intervened when Ulrich
Wiegand bought a house on the same street.
The neighbors became friends and then
business associates for the past eleven
months.
Pennachio chose this point in the inter-
view to add some important observations
on the company in general and AKs in par-
ticular, along with some words of appre-
ciation for the local population. “This is a
good community,” he said, “a lot of people
here believe in gun ownership and gun
rights. We fill the need for untrained labor
to come in and work on our production line
and do assemblies for us. Shan Agner, our
production foreman, does a great job in
teaching the guys the gunsmithing aspect;
doing the assemblies like trigger groups and
various furniture configs on the guns. We’re
also fortunate to have some rather unique
machinery that helps us to assemble the
main part of the gun - barrel and trunnion
assembly. So a lot of good things came to-
gether at one time.”
Production of the STG and AK rifles,
Pennachio told us, is still a bit of a work in
progress. “It’s limited so far as the actual
manufacturing” he said. “We take parts that
we’re having made for us, that we own the
tooling on, that we’ve set specifications on,
that we’ve had made locally and elsewhere
in the United States, along with parts kits
that are imported from overseas. And we
put together US-compliant guns in an AK
format.”
It didn’t take long during our three way
conversation to note the very different per-
sonalities evident in I.O.’s German-born
owner and the Italian-American New York
ex-cop who runs the company’s daily busi-
ness operations. Both men smiled when we
asked how they get along. in this business arrangement than anybody (www.ionic.us) lists uniforms, books, bayo-
“Uli has always been very hands on, do- else expected us to,” Pennachio continued, nets, holsters, medieval armor, and even
ing everything himself,” Pennachio ob- “including, perhaps, ourselves. We value Russian-built copies of WWII German mili-
served. “He’s never had a staff to get things our friendship and respect each other’s po- tary motorcycles.
done and he wants things done quickly. One sitions. There’s a lot of head-butting going While military surplus remains an impor-
of his favorite sayings is, ‘It’s hard to teach on but it’s from the heart. Like railroad tant part of I.O.’s business model, Ulrich
an old dog new tricks,’ but I keep trying tracks, we can think along parallel lines to pointed to efforts underway to add new-pro-
(laughs). He’s a ‘need to know’ person, he getting the same things done. But we go duction tactical products such as scopes,
has to see personally what’s going on. about it different ways.” mounts and lights to the company’s offer-
Sometimes I literally have to chase him off ings. How, we asked, do decisions get made
the production floor and back into the of- Expanding the Product Line on specific products?
fice to keep things - from a management The boss was quick to credit key mem-
perspective - running a little more I.O.’s product offerings are amazingly di- bers of his team. “Shan Agner, our produc-
smoothly.” verse with some notable departures from tion foreman, is the best idea man you can
“Uli and I have lasted a whole lot longer small arms. Their online catalog have,” Ulrich said. “He’s on top of what’s

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 Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com

out there as a consumer and a shooter. Shan

builds his own guns and loves going out on
the range. Plus Frank with his law enforce-
ment background and our reps at AMG
(American Marketing Group). You throw
things out and brainstorm.”
This collaborative effort resulted in a de-
cision to build and sell a modernized ver-
sion of the Romanian PSL, a high powered
precision tactical rifle inspired by the Red
Army’s famous Dragunov. The new SSG-
2000 is I.O.’s own 100% US-made semi-
auto, featuring modern synthetic furniture
and a match-grade, chrome lined barrel.
Initially offered in classic Russian 7.62 x
54R chambering, a 7.62mm NATO caliber
version is said to be in the works.

Iconic German Clones

I.O.’s print advertisements for a

couple of particularly unusual firearms
have caught SAR’s attention. They
strongly influenced a decision to pro-
file the company, US dealer for superbly
detailed and authentically configured
live firing semi-auto versions of the
WWII German military classic MP38
Maschinen Pistole and StG44
Sturmgewehr. Offering them at a frac-
tion of the cost of original selective fire
specimens, Wiegand had taken the lead
in providing an opportunity for shoot-
ers and collectors to own and shoot
these rare and highly desirable combat
classics.
We were quite disappointed to learn
that, while the company still has some
of the initial batch of MP38-C replicas
in stock, problems with the German
manufacturer have made further deal-
ings unlikely.
Ulrich told us that the deal for im-
portation of StG44-C rifles had stalled.
“We got everything approved with
BATFE on our end,” he said, “and even
had all the compliance parts made here
locally. But they (Sport-Systeme
Dittrich) never delivered anything but
a prototype and we’re suing them for
$50,000 of our money.”
It’s clear that Wiegand has a particu-
lar affection for the distinctively con-
figured StG44, widely considered to be
the father of all modern assault rifles.
He’s determined to keep the semi-auto
Sturmgewehr project moving but with
a decidedly interesting twist inspired by
those full scale working models that
originated in the Japanese non-gun mar-
ket.
Ulrich enthusiastically showed us an
amazingly realistic stamped metal and
wood replica StG44. “Look at it, the
original weight, it’s fantastic!,” he de-
clared. “We have an engineer working
on this making it into a .22 caliber semi-
auto. And we’ll put some nice original
marking on it.”

Below: Achtung collectors! Time is running out to get the last of the stunningly realistic live firing semi-auto 9mm MP38-
C pistols, built in Germany by Sport-Systeme Dittrich and imported by I.O. They are characterized by original weight and
dimensions with a beautifully machined ribbed steel receiver tube and simulated Bakelite furniture. These dead-on repli-
cas of Heinrich Vollmer’s classic early WWII German military machine pistol are authentic down to the numerous Waffenamt
code stamps. Alas, the folding stock is permanently locked as required by the BATFE. (Robert Bruce)

54 The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010

 Visit SAR on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com

The distinctive WWII German Sturmgewehr

is well recognized by aficionados as the con-
ceptual father of postwar assault rifles, in-
cluding the mechanically different AK47. Be-
cause the originals are selective fire machine
guns, they are very rare and prohibitively ex-
pensive. I.O. is planning a surprise for col-
lectors who have long coveted these iconic
infantry weapons. (I.O. photo)

Distribution Network waiting patiently for the time when they

Both Wiegand and Pennachio praised
the work of American Marketing
Group’s field representatives who show
I.O.’s products nationwide. “AMG rep-
resent us to distributors and at the trade
shows,” Pennachio said. “Vinnie
(Vincent) Chiarenza is their lead man;
well known and respected with 35 years
in the industry.”
“Distributors are looking for a steady
supply of merchandise,” Wiegand
added. “They want quality, of course,
and pricing as well. We developed a
nice relationship with all the distribu-
tors who carry our products.”
I.O.’s STG-2000 and AK-47 rifles are
available through a network of distribu-
tors covering the entire United States:
Ellett Brothers
www.ellettbrothers.com
Colorado Guns Sales
www.cogunsales.com
Atlantic Firearms
www.atlanticfirearms.com
AmChar Wholesale
www.amchar.com
Lew Horton Dist. Co.
www.lewhorton.com
Camfour, Inc.
www.camfour.com
Interstate Arms
www.interstatearms.com
Davidson’s Firearms
www.galleryofguns.com
Valor Corp.
www.valorcorp.com
RSR Group
www.rsrgroup.com
Bill Hicks & Co., Ltd.
www.billhicksco.com
Bangers Shooting Source
www.bangersusa.com
Personal Collection
Those of us who have longed for the
ways and means to increase our per-
sonal collections of guns and militaria
should closely follow the example set
by Uli Wiegand. We found a small part
of his acquisitions from more than two
decades of worldwide buying trips piled
high in various parts of I.O.’s facility.
There were pallet loads of historic
long arms carefully catalogued and
boxed, along with crew served weap-
ons, tripods, and more, packed in crates
and stacked in corners. The muzzle of
a wheeled Russian anti-tank gun, last
and best of many dozens Wiegand im-
ported and sold, pointed to his sidecar-
equipped WWII German Zundapp mo-
torcycle.
These artifacts and many more are
can be properly displayed in a show-
room/museum planned on site.
I.O. Incorporated
The company does business by online
orders and as a wholesale distributor.
It does not maintain a showroom for
walk-in customers. However, it is open
by appointment every Friday for FFL
dealers and private customers to pick
up orders and to speak with the sales
staff.
I.O.’s user-friendly website is packed
with information and photos on hun-
dreds of pieces of militaria, and gun
items ranging from AK-47 grenade
launcher sights to ZB-37 ammo belts.
Links are provided for instant access to
several in-depth published reviews of
the STG-2000-C and other products.
Don’t miss the video of the Dnepr mo-
torcycle in action at the tab “Museum
Items and Vehicles.”
I.O. Incorporated
3305 Westwood Industrial Drive
Monroe, North Carolina 28111
Telephone: (866) 882-1479.
Internet: www.ioinc.us
(Special thanks to Shan Agner for ar-
ranging the live fire photo session at
Efird’s Rifle Range, Inc., in Albermarle,
NC. Also to Ed Efird for his patience
and good humor while we were his
guests at his excellent shooting venue.
Contact Ed at (704) 244-6528)

The Small Arms Review • Vol. 13 No. 5 • February 2010 55