About 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.

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.

The transcontinental railroad is completed, opening the American West to settlement. This westward expansion will fuel decades of demand for Winchester firearms.

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.

“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

Oliver F. Winchester dies at age 70 in New Haven, CT.

Combined with the Model 1894, this is the most famous hunting rifle and bullet combination never to have existed.

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.

Western collaborates with Smith & Wesson to produce the 357 Magnum cartridge.

Launch of the Power-Point bullet, designed to expand more rapidly.

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.

To mark the 100th Anniversary of Winchester Repeating Arms, a gold-tone plated Model 1894 named the Model 66 Centennial is introduced.

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.

Winchester sets a new industry standard by introducing the one ounce rifled shotgun slug.

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.

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.

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.

The iconic Winchester brand celebrates 150 years of legendary excellence.