Winchester Records Corrections- Have Ya'll Heard of This?

[Hagler]

Gents, and ladies,

Recently, I started poking around the GunBroker.com forum. Well, I like the "Ask the Experts" section. One of the members has mentioned, several times, that the long-accepted imformation about some Winchester rifles is not correct. I just read this "sticky" from the currator of the Cody Museum:

http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=317678

I find it interesting that the "Polishing Room" records were little-known for so long.

Shawn

[Hagler]

...and this, from one of the GunBroker forum moderators:

http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=245213

Shawn

[20cows]

Thanks for posting!

[longarm4146]

a lot of folks (me included) thought they had "antique" 1894s but found out that we don't. Oh well

[Last Spike]

The polishing room records came out within the past couple years or so. However, it's been known for a longer period of time that George Madis' dating of Winchesters in some cases was out by several years. The existing factory records along with the polishing room records will help correct this.

[Griff]

I first heard of this over on the Cast Boolit's forum, with additional information given on the Winchester Collector's forum. It's certainly additional information in dating your Winchester. Especially in light of information they have regarding the '41-'48 years. While I don't think it's possible to definitively date any particular gun, one would expect that a rifle's completion would occur within days of its leaving the polishing room. When a particular completed gun was then shipped would be anyone's guess. My understanding of Madis' work is that it was based on dates guns were received into the warehouse, meaning completed. And, given manufacturing tolerances, between polishing, bluing, and assembly, any number of occurences could have happened to delay the completed rifle from being ready for shipment.

[popeye44]

So we got warehouse records. Now we got 'polishing room records'. That dont make one wrong and the other right.
I dealt with the Cody Museum on a 94 last year and even tho they were unable to shed much lite on my gun.
It seems there are other records they dont have. In my case it was the"custom shop records" after '64. Theres
also another set of records I understand called the ATF records due to the 68GCA laws. I guess thats what makes
collecting so much fun. The great MYSTERY is how Winchester could have survived and even prospered in
the great depression and sunk when we are at war and other arms companies seem to be prospering.

[Griff]

The great MYSTERY is how Winchester could have survived and even prospered in the great depression and sunk when we are at war and other arms companies seem to be prospering.

Remeber, Winchester hasn't produced any firearms in a factory owned & operated by Winchester (read Olin Corporation), since Olin sold the New Haven, CT plant to a fledgling group of investors called the US Repeating Arms Co. circa 1983. Sales of the Model 70 and the Mdl 1300 shotgun to some military units aside, USRA only produced arms for the civilian market. After re-inventing the Mdl 94 as the Mdl 94AE, they stumbled along until being absorbed by Fabrique Nationale, then part of the Herstal Group. This act of salvation for the Winchester plant took place in 1993/4 (IIRC). Now, FN has done credibly well with military and police contracts for several weapons of a military and para-military nature.

Frankly, MO is that FN just closed the New Haven plant to obviate union contracts related to the production of Mdl 70s & 94s.

And, since Browning Arms has been a member of the Herstal Group and under the current FN umbrella, their August 2006 agreement with Olin Corporation that gave them exclusive rights to produce firearms with the Winchester name, the quasi-secret re-introduction of the Mdl 94 is highly likely to become formal in 2009.

So... Winchester, (Olin Corporation) is just fine... just not what we think it once was.

[popeye44]

Griff I guess those Winchester employees went the way most our jobs have gone.Those guys were UAW employees.
I did read somewhere that M94's may show up from Goose Creek SC this year. I know FN has a couple plants in SC.
One is located in Columbia where they make military weapons. The SAW being made there. I had the oppertunity to
talk with a guy on a flite out of Columbia a couple years ago who worked at that plant. We talked a little of Winchester
going under. His favorite gun was the 1300 shotgun. He collected them and talked buying "dropped" ones. I asked what
he meant by that term. He said those were the ones that were nicked or scratched during production. He said the
employees could buy them at low prices. I queried further and he said they could be any gun FN made or marketed
here or overseas. I asked about 94's and he said those went real cheap because most wanted the BAR's M70's BBR's.
He offered his card and a tour of the plant.He said he loved going to the indoor range they have when they tested
the weapons. Said he esp liked it when they would torture tests on the SAW's. Seems the guvment picks samples
and runs them thru the wringer. But he said EVERY one gets shot before it leaves the factory. WE talked a little of
the term "unfired". He said as far as he knew every gunmaker tests their guns by sending a few rounds out. Said it
was an insurence co thing. I wonder where Winchester's "dropped gun" records are??????????