Buddy Holly! The Big Bopper! Ritchie who?
I was reminded of a conversation I had once, with someone twenty or so years older than me, right after the movie "La Bamba" came out in 1987. He was referring to what the reaction was in southern Ohio after the February 3, 1959 plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, JP "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens. He wasn't trying to sell anyone short. It takes things a while to make it to southern Ohio. Probably more so back then. This day is commonly referred to as "The Day The Music Died."
The reason I was reminded of this conversation was an announcement that was made on January 18, 2006. The Winchester plant in New Haven, Connecticut will cease all production at the end of March 2006. So will end the production of the Model 70 bolt action rifle, the Model 94 lever action rifle and the Model 1300 Pump Action Shotgun.
Noooooo! Not the 70! AAAAAAh! No more 94's! The what? Oh yeah. The 1300.
Two Ledgends and perhaps one in the making. The Model 70 began production in 1936 and became known as "The Rifleman's Rifle." The new Model 70 was introduced in 1964 and a lot of shooters and hunters are still complaining 42 years later. Not only was the rifle more or less redesigned but the controlled round feed bolt was replaced with a push round feed and the free floating barrel to stock fitment left a space large enough for small game animals to hide. Twenty years later in 1994, Winchester finally came around and went back to a pre '64 type action. The claw extractor, fixed blade ejector and controlled round feed bolt were back. Some models now have a controlled round push Feed which combines the best qualities of both. The Model 70 is perhaps the most imitated bolt action rifle in history. The three position safety is almost without doubt the most ingenious bolt action safety ever devised and I doubt that fact will ever change.
The Model 94 began production in 1894 and, by way of clever marketing, became known as "The Gun That Won The West." That slogan is still used 100 years later and even though the 94 didn't win the west, it sure did put a lot of meat in the freezer. The 94 chambered in 30 WCF (.30-.30) has taken more deer that any other rifle. That's what I've heard, read and whole heartedly believe to be fact. I can't tell you how many people I've heard say "I took my first deer with an old thirty-thirty." The explosive popularity of The Single Action Shooting Society has put both old and new 94's at a demand that is at an all time high. The 94 has been around for 112 years and I have a feeling someone somewhere will still be making them 112 years from now. They just won't be stamped on the barrel "MADE IN NEW HAVEN, CONN. U.S.A."
The model 1300 came into existence in 1978. The youngest of the three at 28 years of age. Not that long compared to the other two. I never thought the 1300 got a fair shake. It had big shoes to fill. In the world of pump guns the model 12 is the stick by which all others are measured. Sure others have been made longer and sold more but, someone once wrote "The Winchester Model 12 points like the hand of God." I don't foresee any pump living up to that standard.
In 1866 Oliver Winchester bought control of the New Haven Arms Company and changed the name to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The history actually starts twelve years before that, but that's when the barrels started to say "WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS, MADE IN NEW HAVEN, CONN. U.S.A." And now is when it ends.
I have a 94 in my safe. Chambered in .30-.30. Made in the early 1900's. I pick up my 70 in a few days. It's a brown laminated coyote in blue. Chambered in .270 WSM. Brand new, and the dealer didn't gouge me on the price like so many are doing now that the end of them is near. I don't own a 1300. I have a 12 that was made before 1920. Points like the hand of God.
The reason I was reminded of this conversation was an announcement that was made on January 18, 2006. The Winchester plant in New Haven, Connecticut will cease all production at the end of March 2006. So will end the production of the Model 70 bolt action rifle, the Model 94 lever action rifle and the Model 1300 Pump Action Shotgun.
Noooooo! Not the 70! AAAAAAh! No more 94's! The what? Oh yeah. The 1300.
Two Ledgends and perhaps one in the making. The Model 70 began production in 1936 and became known as "The Rifleman's Rifle." The new Model 70 was introduced in 1964 and a lot of shooters and hunters are still complaining 42 years later. Not only was the rifle more or less redesigned but the controlled round feed bolt was replaced with a push round feed and the free floating barrel to stock fitment left a space large enough for small game animals to hide. Twenty years later in 1994, Winchester finally came around and went back to a pre '64 type action. The claw extractor, fixed blade ejector and controlled round feed bolt were back. Some models now have a controlled round push Feed which combines the best qualities of both. The Model 70 is perhaps the most imitated bolt action rifle in history. The three position safety is almost without doubt the most ingenious bolt action safety ever devised and I doubt that fact will ever change.
The Model 94 began production in 1894 and, by way of clever marketing, became known as "The Gun That Won The West." That slogan is still used 100 years later and even though the 94 didn't win the west, it sure did put a lot of meat in the freezer. The 94 chambered in 30 WCF (.30-.30) has taken more deer that any other rifle. That's what I've heard, read and whole heartedly believe to be fact. I can't tell you how many people I've heard say "I took my first deer with an old thirty-thirty." The explosive popularity of The Single Action Shooting Society has put both old and new 94's at a demand that is at an all time high. The 94 has been around for 112 years and I have a feeling someone somewhere will still be making them 112 years from now. They just won't be stamped on the barrel "MADE IN NEW HAVEN, CONN. U.S.A."
The model 1300 came into existence in 1978. The youngest of the three at 28 years of age. Not that long compared to the other two. I never thought the 1300 got a fair shake. It had big shoes to fill. In the world of pump guns the model 12 is the stick by which all others are measured. Sure others have been made longer and sold more but, someone once wrote "The Winchester Model 12 points like the hand of God." I don't foresee any pump living up to that standard.
In 1866 Oliver Winchester bought control of the New Haven Arms Company and changed the name to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The history actually starts twelve years before that, but that's when the barrels started to say "WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS, MADE IN NEW HAVEN, CONN. U.S.A." And now is when it ends.
I have a 94 in my safe. Chambered in .30-.30. Made in the early 1900's. I pick up my 70 in a few days. It's a brown laminated coyote in blue. Chambered in .270 WSM. Brand new, and the dealer didn't gouge me on the price like so many are doing now that the end of them is near. I don't own a 1300. I have a 12 that was made before 1920. Points like the hand of God.
posted by Jeffrey Priest | 10:32 AM
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