The origins of Midland firearms began in the late 19th Century when Midland Gun Company was established in Birmingham, England. The founders of the firm are not known, but their intention was to compete with others, such as BSA, for good quality economically priced machine made guns.

By the 1930’s, the company had an office in London, and they sold a wide range of guns, pistols and shooting equipment by British (BSA rifles) and foreign manufacturers. They had a small wholesale export market, and they made components e.g. actions for the trade.

In 1952, the company was bought by Parker-Hale, Ltd., who produced and marketed firearms under the Midland brand for several decades. In 1991, both the Parker-Hale and Midland firearms divisions were sold to Val Forgett, Jr., the founder of Navy Arms Company. Mr. Forgett and his son, Val III, opened a factory in Martinsburg, West Virginia to produce and market both Parker-Hale and Midland firearms. They sold rifles and shotguns with the Midland name for nearly a decade. After Mr. Forgett’s passing in 2002, Val III focused on moving Navy Arms to West Virginia and used the Midland brand sparingly.

In 2017, Val III was presented an opportunity to build and market a line of single-barrel long arms that he could add his own design and product features to, and Midland Arms was reborn to again sell quality sporting arms at value prices.