The People
Behind the Pistol
Small shop. Obsessive standards. One gun at a time — and we mean it.
Our Story
Mooresville, NC — Est. 2024
1911 DS
2011 Style Platform
100%
American Made
1
Gun at a Time
Our Story
Born from a
Higher Standard
“Cardinal Arms began as a challenge to ourselves: take everything we had learned behind the scenes and build a pistol worthy of carrying our own name.”
Before Cardinal Arms appeared on a slide, our work was already shaping firearms for others. We machined parts, engineered solutions, solved problems, and learned the difference between what looks impressive and what actually performs.
Cardinal Arms is the result of that education.
We are a small American manufacturer built on precision machining and hand craftsmanship. One gives us repeatability. The other gives us judgment. Every pistol is engineered, cut, fit, tuned, and finished with intent.
Our move from behind-the-scenes manufacturer to Cardinal Arms was not about attention. It was about accountability. If our work was going to carry the standard, it needed to carry our name.
The Cardinal Standard
“You may not know our name just yet — but you know our guns. The kind that, once you fire it, it owns you.”
— Cardinal Arms, Mooresville NC
01
No Compromise on Material
4140 chromoly steel billet- Machined in house. Not because it’s the cheapest option — it isn’t — but because it machines the way it should and holds the tolerances we require for the service life we expect.
02
Hand Fitted. Every One.
Frame to slide. Slide to Barrel. Barrel to Frame. Every clearance and surface engagement is checked, adjusted, and re-checked by a gunsmith. There is no other way to achieve what we achieve.
03
Pride in Work
We chase perfection — doing things the craftsman’s way because better work has a look, a feel, and a name worth protecting.
The Workshop
Where It
Gets Built
Our shop in Mooresville, NC is purpose-built for precision small-batch manufacturing. CNC machining centers and hand-fitting benches — all under one roof.
What We Stand For
The Cardinal
Principles
Every decision we make in the shop — from material selection to final function-fire — runs through the same filter: does this meet the standard?
01
Craft Over Volume
We will never chase production numbers. One gun built right is worth more to us — and to you — than a hundred built fast. The moment we start scaling, we start compromising. We don’t scale.
02
A Home for skilled hands
Cardinal Arms exists to build more than pistols. It exists to build a place where skilled people can take pride in their work, grow in mastery, and know that what they do matters. The product is only as strong as the people behind it.
03
American Manufacturing
Designed, machined, assembled, and tested in Mooresville, NC. No imported components — from raw steel to a finished gun, built here, from here, by people who live here. That’s the only way we do it.
04
Stand behind the name
We answer our own email. We stand behind every pistol we ship. If something isn’t right, we make it right. Small team means direct accountability — there’s no customer service department to hide behind.
05
The Long Game
We’re not building Cardinal Arms to flip it. We’re a young crew of craftsmen building for legacy — the kind measured in decades, not quarters. Every pistol we ship either strengthens that reputation or costs it.
The Team
The PEOPLE
Behind the Gun
Founder / Head Gunsmith
Cardinal Arms
10+ years building on the 1911 platform. Veteran. North Carolina Native.
Lead CNC Machinist
Cardinal Arms
10+ years in precision machining. Degreed Engineer. North Carolina Native.
The Team
Cardinal Arms
A small team of experienced gunsmiths, machinists, and enthusiasts.
The Road Here
How We Got
to This Point
2019
Optimum MFG founded
Company founded to service the needs of many industries but primarily focusing on precision firearms industry.
2021
Development
Company starts building complete doublestack 1911 guns and moves to current Mooresville, NC location.
2023
Double down on doublestacks
Company repositions itself within the market. Brings in new leadership and focuses solely on the doublestack 1911 platform.
2024
G2 Development
Original G2 prototype, designed, developed and tested.
2025
Cardinal Arms Launches
Original G2 prototype, designed, developed and tested.
2025
G2 Ported Launch
G2P model launched in September of 2025.
Where We Are
Mooresville,
North Carolina
“Mooresville is a precision town. The same discipline that goes into a race engine goes into every pistol we build.”
Cardinal Arms is based in Mooresville, surrounded by a community of machinists, builders, engineers, and craftsmen who understand that precision is not a marketing word. It is a way of working.
We chose this place because it fits the work: disciplined, capable, and unpretentious. The kind of place where tolerances matter, process matters, and the finished product is expected to speak for itself.
Our shop is not open to the public, but we welcome dealer inquiries and can arrange private visits for serious buyers, partners, and collectors who want to see where their pistol is built before they order one.
Ready to
Hold One?
Find an authorized dealer near you, or reach out to us directly. We’re a small team — we answer our own email.