Leonard Frank Allen had started Replica Arms, in El Paso, Texas, in 1962, with the first Colt 1847 Walker replica, made by Armi San Marco. In 1965 the company was sold and moved to Marietta, Ohio, with Ken Phelps as President. In circa 1971, Replica Arms was bought out by Val Forgett and Navy Arms. Meanwhile, in Santa Fe, Allen started Western Arms Corp. [1] in the early 70's. In 1980 he found himself the subject of a lawsuit brought on by the Olin Corporation (Winchester) for trade name infringement with the company name, Western Arms Corp.. Olin Corporation owned Winchester Western ammunition, so Leonard Allen was forced to dissolve Western Arms Corp and two separate companies were then formed, Allen Firearms Company and Western Gun Stores, Inc.

Meanwhile, Cimarron Firearms had formed in 1977 as a muzzle loading shop and sporting goods store in Houston, Texas, known as "Bigfoot". Mike Harvey, who owned the shop, ordered plans for a Hawken rifle from a museum and built his first replica from scratch. As the economy worsened due to the early 1980s oil depression in Texas, Harvey sought to diversify his stock by selling replica old-west firearms. He then entered into a joint venture with Allen Fire Arms importing Uberti revolvers from Italy. Allen Firearms Company eventually went out of business in 1987, and Old-West Gun Co., now Cimarron F.A. in Fredericksburg, TX, bought the remaining inventory of Allen Firearms. Cimarron F.A. maintains a retail shop that specializes in period clothing, accessories and Cimarron firearms known as Texas Jack's Wild West Outfitters, named for Texas Jack Omohundro, as Harvey owns several of his firearms. The shop caters primarily to the film industry and Old West reenactors.

Now, back to Replica Arms. Replica Arms, Marietta, OH, used the logo, RA in circle over a gun sight. When Navy Arms bought out Replica Arms in circa 1971, they did not simply eliminate Replica Arms from existence, but changed it to Navy Arms over a period of time. This was to establish Replica Arms and Navy Arms as one and the same. Replica Arms had been the chief competitor of Navy Arms before the buyout. According to Val Forgett, III "his dad didn't buy Replica Arms until the early 1970's (1971) and he purchased it from bankruptcy. He used Replica Arms as his sub-brand to keep Aldo Uberti in line. He would buy cheaper guns from other makers when Uberti would try and take advantage of his dad, then his dad would sell them at low prices under Replica Arms."

Original Replica Arms imported revolvers will be marked REPLICA ARMS CO., EL PASO, TEXAS. When Replica Arms was sold the first time and moved to Ohio, the revolvers were marked REPLICA ARMS, MARIETTA, OHIO. The next marking change was after the sale to Navy Arms with “REPLICA ARMS RIDGEFIELD NJ” on the barrel, Ridgefield being the home of Navy Arms. After a short period of time, this was changed to “NAVY ARMS RIDGEFIELD NJ” on the barrel, but retaining the Replica Arms Logo somewhere on the gun, the frame, under the loading lever, etc. Replica Arms first used Armi San Marco as its manufacturer, and new info also indicates that Palmetto was also a supplier, being very active in the early 1960’s as well. Navy Arms used Uberti in the beginning for the 1851 Navy, Leech & Rigdon, Remington New Model Army, and the Griswold & Gunnison. Replica Arms was the first company to sell the 1847 Walker, the Dragoons, the Baby Dragoons, and the Pocket Models. These were made by Armi San Marco and possibly by Palmetto.