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Plant closing ends run for traditional Winchester rifles
The Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA) ^ | 19 February 2006

Posted on 02/19/2006 5:23:09 PM PST by Lorianne

Traditional Winchester rifles, including the famous Model 94, will no longer be produced when the plant in New Haven, Conn., closes March 31.

Modern, high-end rifles bearing the Winchester name will be produced in Belgium, Japan and Portugal, according to Robert Sauvage, a spokesman for the Herstal Group, the Belgium company that owns U.S. Repeating Arms and the rights to the Winchester name.

The Model 1894 appeared on the American scene in August 1895 and changed the world of shooting almost overnight.

It was chambered for the .30-30 and .25-35 cartridges. You could get the lever action in a rifle with a 26-inch barrel or as a carbine with a 20-inch barrel. The cost was only $18. Today, the original Model 1894 in excellent condition will bring in the vicinity of $1,500, according to Stoeger’s Gun Trader’s Guide.

It’s interesting to note with Winchester rifles manufactured before 1918 that the date of manufacture was used as the model number. So Winchesters produced before 1918 would be called the Model 1894. After 1918 Winchester went to a two-digit model number and the Model 1894 became known as the Model 94.

Early Model 1894 Winchesters, those made before 1918, came in other calibers including the .32-40, .32 Special and .38-55.

Most had a seven-shot tubular magazine and some came with a 4-shot or half magazine. The gun came with round, octagon or half-octagon barrels.

While the .30-30 cartridge was not the first smokeless cartridge developed, it was the first smokeless “sporting” cartridge of its time. The 160 grain jacketed bullet left the muzzle of the Model 1894 at a speedy 1,970 feet per second. Fast for those early days.

The Winchester Model 94 is without a doubt the most recognizable rifle of all time. Various editions have been presented to dignitaries, and one with the serial number 1,000,000 was presented to President Calvin Coolidge. Another, with the serial number 1,500,000 was given to President Harry Truman.

Today serial numbers have surpassed 5,000,000.

A western movie wouldn’t be a western movie if the likes of Gary Cooper, Tex Ritter, Rex Allen, Randolph Scott, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rodgers and the Lone Ranger didn’t carry a Model 94 in their saddle scabbard.

While John Wayne carried the Model 1892 (Model 92) in many of his early movies, he began carrying a Model 94 with the hoop finger lever in the film True Grit.

It’s no doubt the value of even the newer Model 94’s will escalate in price. The price suggested for the Winchester 94 Legacy in Shooter’s Bible is suggested at $485 for the round barrel and $882 for the octagon barrel.

If you have an older Model 94, say pre-WWII and with a serial number less than 1,300,000, it will get around $1000. A Model 94 pre-1964 with serial number below 2,700,00 will bring more than $600.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Winchester could be bought back by an American company, produced in the same plant in New Haven that once employed 19,000 during WWII? This way the “Gun the Won the West” could ride back onto the American scene like Harley-Davidson?


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; US: Connecticut
KEYWORDS: bang; banglist; manufacturing; theend; winchester
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To: the invisib1e hand
UGHHH! You are right, that is some UGLY. Russian onion held up by Doric columns atop American "Industrial Revolution" brick building. If there's such a thing as an architectural hermaphrodite, this is it.
61 posted on 02/19/2006 7:12:48 PM PST by CrazyIvan (If you read only one book this year, read "Stolen Valor".)
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To: Antoninus II
"My father had a Model 70 Featherweight chambered in 30-06 that he purchased new in '59 for $109. When he found out the was going to die of prostate cancer, he gave it to my twin brother in the original cardboard box with the cancelled check and the purchase receipt..."

My grandfather left me a '54 model 70 in 220 Swift with the factory stainless barrel. I have the original manual for it and on the inside of the cover in his handwriting is 7/30/54 $109.
62 posted on 02/19/2006 7:22:14 PM PST by CrazyIvan (If you read only one book this year, read "Stolen Valor".)
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To: yarddog; tubebender

Does anyone know when they changed to an aluminum receiver? My 94 is old but aluminum, has no safety.


63 posted on 02/19/2006 7:32:12 PM PST by Sender (As water has no constant form, there are in war no constant conditions. Be without form. -Sun Tzu)
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To: Sender

No it is not aluminum. They used some steel alloy which did not retain the bluing very well. It is very common to see model 94's made since 1964 with receivers looking almost grey.


64 posted on 02/19/2006 7:39:40 PM PST by yarddog
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To: yarddog

Hmm, then that is what I have, an alloy receiver that has lost most of its bluing. It's a smooth action and sweet shooter with nice wood.


65 posted on 02/19/2006 8:07:50 PM PST by Sender (As water has no constant form, there are in war no constant conditions. Be without form. -Sun Tzu)
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To: Lorianne

"Winchester '73" -- great old movie with Jimmy Stewart. Hope I'll be able to purchase one of these classics someday -- if their owners are willing to part with them!


66 posted on 02/19/2006 8:23:54 PM PST by NewJerseyJoe (Rat mantra: "Facts are meaningless! You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!")
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To: Lorianne

I personally prefer the looks and hitting power of the Marlin Guide Gun in .45-70 or the one in Marlin's own .450 caliber.


67 posted on 02/19/2006 11:34:59 PM PST by Chewbacca (Hell knows no fury than fiery habenaro Dorito's eaten before bedtime.)
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To: Chewbacca

A while back the local K-Mart ran a sale on the Model 94.

I have used a borrowed one and liked it's handyness.

The new in box one was so ugly that I passed with no regrets.

Get an older one with decent walnut not the bargain "hardwood" stocked version.

Just my opinion.


68 posted on 02/20/2006 2:26:48 AM PST by TLOne (All the terrorists want is for us to bow and worship their god. Oh, and let them rule.)
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To: CrazyIvan

The ballistics of the 7.62 X 39 and the 30-30 are very similar, one difference being that the tube mag of the lever actions prohibits sharp nosed bullets.



That truism is no more.

Hornady has ressurected the 30-30 with its new soft but pointed tip bullets. They reach much farther than before.


69 posted on 02/20/2006 10:32:48 AM PST by Atlas Sneezed (Your FRiendly FReeper Patent Attorney)
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To: billhilly
I had a model 12 shotgun when I was young. It was a good solid shooter but kicked like a mule. Traded it for a S&W pistol. I am still kicking myself in the arse over that.
70 posted on 02/20/2006 11:06:40 AM PST by reagandemo (The battle is near are you ready for the sacrifice?)
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To: Ed Condon

I had a Savage Model 99EG, 25-35, octagonal 32 inch barrel, curly maple stock and forepiece, pawned it to buy diapers in 1965; when I told my son about it, he said that if I had asked him before I pawned it, he would have gone naked for the first 2 years instead.


71 posted on 02/20/2006 11:21:39 AM PST by Old Professer (Fix the problem, not the blame!)
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To: NewJerseyJoe

If you're talking about the DVD, I think AMC bought the last copy; at least they have been showing it 36 hours a day some weekends.


72 posted on 02/20/2006 11:25:41 AM PST by Old Professer (Fix the problem, not the blame!)
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To: reagandemo

Me too. I started duck hunting on the Misissippi flyway with a model twelve that belonged to an uncle. I thought it was better than candy when I was around 8 or 9.

Twenty years or so ago I found a Model 12 that was chambered for 3 inch shells and had a solid rib. Other than a rotting gun case, that was probably bought at the same time, the gun was in great condition. The action was so stiff that it was apparant that the gun had seen little use. I have turkey hunted with it a few times and duck a couple of times. I know how much harder it shoots than more modern guns, but it just fits me. It has not been fired for a few years now, and I have already promised it. The other one is 2 and 3/4 inch, and the first modified model twelve I have seen.

They cost an arm and a leg if in good condition, but probably sold new for around $50. I'm talking about in the forties and fifties. In my youth.


73 posted on 02/20/2006 11:32:00 AM PST by billhilly (The Democrat symbol is no longer the donkey, it's a strait Jacket.)
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To: I got the rope

Foreign manufacturers don't have to pony up for employee health care. The U.S. won't be able to compete until we unburden our employers by nationlizing health care like our foreign competitors.


74 posted on 02/20/2006 11:38:18 AM PST by Wolfie
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To: billhilly

Yep mine was chambered for 3" shells too. Too bad I had a brain fade and sold it. The gun was too hard a hitting gun for me. A gunsmith told me that the angle of the stock to the barrel was the reason. Back then I did not fully appreciate the value of heirlooms. It was passed down to me from my father. My Grandfather bought it new.


75 posted on 02/20/2006 11:42:16 AM PST by reagandemo (The battle is near are you ready for the sacrifice?)
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To: reagandemo

That was a treasure. I'm sorry, as you are, that you let it go.


76 posted on 02/20/2006 2:29:47 PM PST by billhilly (The Democrat symbol is no longer the donkey, it's a strait Jacket.)
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To: reagandemo

Where do you live. I see that you are a southerner.


77 posted on 02/20/2006 2:31:15 PM PST by billhilly (The Democrat symbol is no longer the donkey, it's a strait Jacket.)
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To: Henchster

I must be grateful that I no longer have the whitetail's persepctive of the end of the weapon.


78 posted on 02/20/2006 3:17:01 PM PST by Ironclad (O Tempora! O Mores!)
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To: Ironclad

Wild Boar or Wolverine? {;^)


79 posted on 02/20/2006 5:31:52 PM PST by Henchster
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To: Beelzebubba
The ballistics of the 7.62 X 39 and the 30-30 are very similar, one difference being that the tube mag of the lever actions prohibits sharp nosed bullets.






That truism is no more.

Hornady has ressurected the 30-30 with its new soft but pointed tip bullets. They reach much farther than before.


Bad wording on my part. I should have said "hard pointed bullets". Have you used any of the soft tip, I'd like to know your results. I've used the similar ballistic tip in my 220 Swift and love them. Here in flat IL. where my 94 is not legal for game I load mostly with the varmint type flat hollow point that looks more like a pistol bullet. They're good for plinking and varmints and are good ricochet insurance.
80 posted on 02/20/2006 5:43:25 PM PST by CrazyIvan (If you read only one book this year, read "Stolen Valor".)
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