Winchester Rifles
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was one of the most important repeating firearms manufacturing company during the late 19th and 20th century. The ancestor of this company was the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, a company that produced the Volcanic lever-action rifle of Daniel Wesson and Horace Smith. One of the most important rifles ever produced was the Model 1873 which had the first center fire cartridge .44-40 WCF - Winchester Central Rifle). From 1883, the famous John Browning worked in a partnership with the Winchester company and together they designed a series of shotguns and rifles, the most important would be the Winchester Model 1885 Single Shot.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the company produced the first commercial self-loading rifle, the Winchester Model 1903 and later on, the Model 1905, 1907 and 1910. During the World Wars, they produced after a design of John Browning the M1917 Enfield - this happened during World War I. During World War II the company manufactured the M1 rifle and later on, Winchester was the first civilian producer of the M14 rifle. The company was bought in 1963 by the Olin-Matheson Chemical Corporation and continued its activity.
The United States Repeating Arms Company closed the factory in New Haven, Connecticut on January 16th, 2006. Later on that same year, on August 15th, the Olin Corporation which is the owner of the Winchester trademarks, announced that they signed a licensed agreement with the Browning company to make Winchester-brand shotguns and rifles.
Over the years, Winchester Repeating Arms Company has produced many popular rifles that are used even today although only a few models are being produced in the present. We will now offer you some of the most famous rifles that the company produced over its prolific history. We will start with the very first Winchester rifle.
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Winchester Model 1866
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The Winchester Model 1866 rifle was also known as the “Improved Henry“ and was the very first rifle to be called a Winchester. The rifle got the nickname “Yellow Boy“ from its unique brass colored frame (a primitive form of bronze that was also called “gunmetal“). In comparison with the Henry rifle, one of the most noticeable improvements of this rifle was the addition of the Nelson King’s patented cartridge loading gate system which allowed the rifle for a closed magazine tube and also a wood forend. This model, just like the Henry rifle, fired the same .44 caliber rimfire round. The rifle was offered in a few configurations: rifle, carbine or musket. The standard barrel length for the rifles was 24 inches, for carbines was 20 inches and for the muskets, 27 inches.
This model was produced from 1866 to 1898 and almost 160,000 Winchester Model 1866 were manufactured. The first models had flat-side receivers while the second, third and fourth models had a flared receiver in order to accommodate a thicker forend. Serial numbers of this model started in the mid-12,000 range (overlapping with Henry’s serial numbers which ended around 14,900) and carried just into the 170,000 range. Both the Henry and the 1866 Winchester model shared a unique double firing pin which struck the head of the rimfire cartridge in two places when the weapon was fired thus increasing the chances that the fulminate in the hollow rim would ignite the 28 or so grains of black powder inside the case.
We will continue with one of the models they introduced back in 1936, a rifle that is a descendent of the original Winchester rifle.
Winchester Model 70
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The Winchester Model 70 is a very popular bolt action rifle that was originally manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. This model is also known as “The Rifleman’s Rifle“ due to the fact that it was and still is a very popular rifle among hunters. This model was offered in many configurations and chamberings: .22 Hornet, .225 Winchester, .220 Swift, .22-250 Remington and many other. The pre-1964 models brought a very high price due to a public perception that they had several, more than desirable, features like cut checkering and controlled round feed that the post-1964 models didn’t have. After 1964, as a costing measure, several changes were made to the rifle: they didn’t include the controlled round feed feature, they modified the basic stock shape and others as well.
Although these changes weren’t very well received, the Winchester Model 70 remained a very accurate and reliable firearm. In 1992 the company launched a new version of the Winchester Model 70 which was an extensive rifle line that had just about all the features of the original model plus Controlled Round Push Feed action as well as synthetic stocks. The rifle was offered in all of the original chamberings as the original did plus they added newer rounds, an example would be the Winchester Short Magnusm (WSM) and the Winchester Super Shot Magnum (WSSM) cartridges.
We will end our review with one of their latest models designed for varmint hunting.
Winchester Wildcat Target/Varmint
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The Winchester Wildcat Target/Varmint comes in a very accurate .886” diameter bull barrel. The receiver of the rifle is drilled and tapped for bases not to mention grooved for mounting a scope. The rifle offers a fully adjustable trigger as well as dual front steel swivel studs. The caliber of the rifle is 22 and the barrel length is 22”. The overall length of the Winchester is 38 3/8” while the length of the pull is 13 ½”. The drop at comb is ¾” and the drop at heel is 1”. With a weight of only 6 lbs. 4 oz. this is a very easy to carry around rifle as well as very maneuverable.
The magazine capacity of the Winchester Wildcat Target/Varmint is 5/10 and one of the main advantages this rifle has to offer is the more than affordable price when you take into consideration all it has to offer. The pinpoint accuracy of the Winchester Wildcat Target/Varmint will make a long lasting impression from the very first shot.
We have offered you three of the most famous Winchester rifles ever produced in the long and prolific history of the company, a company that produces long lasting rifles that are known for their accuracy and resistance.