About Winchester
HISTORY OF WINCHESTER
1866-2026 : 160 years of Winchester
Oliver Fisher Winchester was an innovative and driven man who saw the future of firearms and built an industrial empire around the lever-action rifle. Born in Boston in 1810, Winchester’s initial foray into business was as a maker of men’s shirts. Seeing the economic potential of the fast-growing firearms industry, Winchester began to assemble investors and secure venture capital, and in 1857 bought a controlling interest in the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company from two inventive gentlemen named Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson.
Winchester continued to refine firearm designs with inventors Benjamin Tyler Henry and Nelson King, and on May 22,1866 the Winchester Repeating Arms Company was born. For the next 14 years Winchester aggressively sought new markets, created new products and explored new opportunities for his lever-action rifles. With the opening of the American West to settlement and the ongoing military conflicts in Europe and the Near East, the demand for Winchester firearms and ammunition remained strong. In ill health for some time, Oliver F. Winchester died December 11, 1880 at age 70 in New Haven, Connecticut. He had groomed his son, William Wirt Winchester as his successor, but the younger Winchester died of tuberculosis in March of the following year before he could assume control of Winchester Repeating Arms.
The Model 1876 Centennial Model became the favorite hunting rifle of Theodore Roosevelt when he was a young cattle rancher in the Dakota Territory. In 1885 Roosevelt wrote, “The Winchester…is by all odds the best weapon I ever had, and now I use it almost exclusively...”
In 1887 Roosevelt helped found the Boone and Crockett Club to encourage wildlife conservation and fair-chase hunting practices. Throughout his life Roosevelt worked tirelessly to champion civilian and military marksmanship, wildlife preservation and natural resource conservation.
When the American cinema industry moved to southern California to take advantage of the endless sunshine, Westerns quickly became a mainstay of the movies, featuring cowboys, Indians, outlaws, horse-drawn supply wagons, runaway stagecoaches and exciting shootouts in smoky bars and dusty streets.
The Winchester Model 1892 lever-action rifle quickly established itself as the movie-maker’s favorite, while revolvers chambered in 38-40 Win., 44-40 Win. and 45 Colt were also popular.
The 1939 film «Stagecoach», shot in Monument Valley by John Ford, has become one of the classic Westerns. In it, John Wayne, playing Johnny Ringo, carried a Winchester Model 1892 lever-action repeating rifle that was specially made to fit his big hands. Wayne also won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of U.S. Marshal Ruben «Rooster» J. Cogburn in the 1969 film «True Grit», in which he also used a Winchester Model 1892 during the final shootout on horseback against a gang of outlaws.
The 1950 Western «Winchester ‘73» starring James Stewart was based on the life of Kansas outlaw Henry N. Brown, who ended up lynched by a mob after a failed bank robbery in 1883.
Steve McQueen, nicknamed «the King of Cool», began his acting career as bounty hunter Josh Randall in «Wanted: Dead or Alive». In it, he carried a sawn-off Winchester Model 1892 nicknamed the «Mare’s Leg» in a holster, which could be drawn quickly. In the mid-1960s, «Spaghetti Westerns», so called because they were filmed in Spain and Italy, gained popularity with movie fans around the world. The premiere of «A Fistful of Dollars», the first film in Sergio Leone’s «Dollars» trilogy, took American TV actor Clint Eastwood to global silver-screen stardom. These films featured flawless supporting roles by certain Winchester rifles.
Westerns have enjoyed a revival in recent decades. Original studio productions such as «Silverado», «Unforgiven» and «Open Range», together with remakes of classics such as «3:10 to Yuma» and «True Grit», still have the power to entertain and enthrall audiences. They take us on a journey back to the Wild West, a time when a Winchester shotgun or rifle was a faithful friend.
As long as there have been beautiful Winchester guns there have been folks who want to add them to their collections.
In 1875, the Winchester Repeating Arms company started bringing out superior grade Model 1873 rifles that were specially stamped «One of One Hundred» and «One of One Thousand». This unique feature stimulated demand from early Winchester collectors.
Multi-decorated and ornate Winchester guns have always been popular with collectors. Oliver Winchester presented many superbly engraved guns to influential people in person, including President Abraham Lincoln and his Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, as well as to a number of generals, kings, princes and monarchs.A devoted Winchester collector was industrialist and former president of Olin Corporation John Olin.
In 1975 Olin began the transfer of thousands of firearms and millions of historic documents from the Winchester corporate archives to the Buffalo Bill Historic Center in Cody, Wyoming. Later, part of Mr. Olin’s personal gun collection was auctioned to provide funds to create the Winchester Museum Complex in Cody. The Cody Firearms Museum now houses one of the largest collections of firearms in the world and is open to the public year-round. You can learn more at www.centerofthewest.org
Some collectors choose to specialize in specific models or types of Winchester guns, or love the factory commemoratives or firearms with a unique story behind them. Still others collect rare Winchester-branded items like hand tools, knives, toys, rollerskates, sporting goods, flashlights and home appliances or Winchester promotional items like calendars, ads, posters and the like.If you enjoy collecting, there’s something in the Wonderful World of Winchester that’s just right for you.
The Winchester Arms Collectors Association is made up of thousands of members who are devoted to the preservation, understanding and collecting of Winchester firearms and related products as well as the role these products had in forging America’s heritage. Visit www.winchestercollector.org to learn more.
HISTORY OF WINCHESTER RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS
HISTORY OF WINCHESTER AMMUNITION
Oliver Winchester establishes the Winchester Repeating Arms Company to build the finest guns and ammunition possible.
The transcontinental railroad is completed, opening the American West to settlement. This westward expansion will fuel decades of demand for Winchester firearms.
The National Rifle Association is founded in New York with U.S. Army General Ambrose Burnside as the organization’s first president.
Smoothbore Model 1873. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s favorite Winchester rifle for trick shots in his “Wild West Show.” The show launched in 1883 and would soon feature Annie Oakley.
“for hunting, I pronounce your improved Winchester the boss.”
— — William F. « Buffalo Bill » Cody in the 1875 Winchester catalog
“The Winchester…is by all odds the best weapon I ever had, and now I use it almost exclusively...”
— Theodore Roosevelt on the Centennial Model 1876 lever-action rifle
Winchester receives a patent for a folded type primer anvil.
Oliver F. Winchester dies at age 70 in New Haven, CT.
Winchester begins loading sporting cartridges with the latest thing in ammunition
— smokeless powder.
Combined with the Model 1894, this is the most famous hunting rifle and bullet combination never to have existed.
Winchester introduces "NEW RIVAL" products.
Factory loaded shotshells.
The United States goes to war with Spain. Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt becomes a national hero leading his “Rough Rider” volunteer unit at San Juan Heights. Roosevelt reportedly loans his personal Winchester Model 1895 rifle to another soldier during the attack.
Winchester introduces Repeater shotshells.
The first Grand American Trapshooting Championship marks the beginning of more than a century of Winchester support for the annual event.
Winchester shooters Ad and Plinky Topperwein dazzle visitors at the Worlds Fair in Saint Louis.
Winchester begins using the famous W/P oval proof mark called the “Hallmark of Quality” and introduces Nublack brand shotshells.
The Model 1907 semi-auto centerfire rifle is introduced along with the new .351 Winchester Self Loading smokeless cartridge.
Winchester starts loading Lesmok powder in centerfire cartridges.
Artist Phillip R. Goodwin creates an illustration that soon becomes the trademark for Winchester.
Winchester introduces the legendary Super-X brand shotshell.
Winchester introduces Lubaloy copper-plated bullets.
Dr. Fred Olsen patents a method for making smokeless powder underwater in small spherical grains. The new Ball Powder creates an instant competitive advantage for Winchester’s ammunition operation.
Western collaborates with Smith & Wesson to produce the 357 Magnum cartridge.
The western movie “Winchester ‘73” is released, staring Jimmy Stewart. Winchester’s wizard Herb Parsons fills in for Stewart during the film’s trick shooting scenes.
The 458 Winchester Magnum cartridge is introduced.
Launch of the Power-Point bullet, designed to expand more rapidly.
The Winchester Mark 5 shot collar is introduced, enclosing the shot column and greatly improving patterning performance.
The 300 Winchester Magnum cartridge is introduced, filling an important performance niche between Winchester’s 264 and 338 Magnums.
Winchester introduces the legendary AA shotshell. Its durable one-piece compression-formed hull is ideal for reloading and quickly becomes the “go-to” shell for millions of clay target shooters.
While the “Horse & Rider” have been part of the Winchester brand since 1919, the trademark is officially registered.
To mark the 100th Anniversary of Winchester Repeating Arms, a gold-tone plated Model 1894 named the Model 66 Centennial is introduced.
John Wayne wins the Academy Award for his role in the Western ”True Grit”, in which he fires his Winchester Model 1892 lever-action rifle one-handed on horseback while chasing a gang of outlaws.
The Buffalo Bill Historic Center in Cody, Wyoming begins negotiations to secure the Winchester Repeating Arms corporate gun collection. Thousands of Winchester guns become the cornerstone of the new Cody Firearms Museum.
The new world’s one day record, set by a team of six trapshooters uses six Winchester Super X Model 1 shotguns, crushing the old mark by 9,000 targets.
Winchester sets a new industry standard by introducing the one ounce rifled shotgun slug.
Launch of the high-performance Super-X Drylok Super Steel Waterfowl watertight shell.
The 300 WSM (Winchester Short Magnum) cartridge is introduced. The 300 WSM offers long action magnum performance in a short action rifle. Additional WSM calibers soon follow.
Winchester Ammunition celebrates its new rimfire manufacturing operations in Oxford, Mississippi, also home to one of the most state-of-the-art facilities in the world for centerfire rifle and handgun ammunition manufacturing.
Based on technology developed for the FBI, Winchester Ammunition introduces PDX1 Defender personal defense handgun ammunition.
Winchester Blind Side Steel ammunition, with its ‘hex’ shape shot and diamond cut wad, is named ammo product of the year by Outdoor Life and NRA American Hunter.
915 meters per second
The speed of the newly released 17 Winchester Super Magnum debuts, making it the fastest rimfire cartridge in the world.
Long Beard XR redefines turkey hunting ammunition and sets two new world records at the NWTF still target competition. SHOT LOK technology uses a liquid resin that hardens, keeping the shot perfectly round.
Launch of the Extreme Point: the first bullet specially designed by Winchester for deer hunting.
Launch of the Super Speed Generation 2 munition.
The new Super Speed® Generation 2 builds on the prestigious legacy of the pioneering Super Speed cartridge to once again set new standards in hunting.
At the heart of this unrivalled new cartridge is the innovative G2 powder. The Generation 2 strikes the perfect balance between load, velocity, pressure and grouping to guarantee the effective and consistent performance you demand for outstanding hunts.
Winchester also launches its Varmint X munition, which brings together the best technologies to maximum effect when varmint hunting
Winchester Ammunition brings out the Extreme Point Copper Impact™, an all copper monolithic munition that is as devastating and accurate as the lead core Extreme Point™.
Winchester further consolidates its position as the world’s leading munitions manufacturer.
New identity.
Winchester blazes a new trail with a new image and a new communications strategy.
The legendary logo of the Winchester brand depicting the horse and rider galloping headlong into the wind on the arid plains of the West will never be forgotten.
But the modern cowboy deserves a revival. This new positioning is more in keeping with its peers and makes for easier brand identification.
The new logo expresses this new identity.
Launch of the ZZ Canard.
Winchester’s fastest steel munition, measured at 1,444 fps.
Winchester introduces its new COPPER FORCE big-game munition, whose revolutionary design will stop any game with unmatched knockdown power, including lighter animals such as roe deer.
Driving leading brands
The FN Browning Group is a global company that supplies world-leading brands: FN, Browning, Winchester* and Noptel.
Our products and services have always been renowned for their innovation and dependability and have an extraordinary legacy with the world’s most demanding armed forces, law enforcement agencies, responsible firearm owners and hunters.