Author Topic: If Smith buys Winchester?? (Read 1311 times)

jeager106 · « **on:** March 24, 2006, 10:32:17 PM »

If Smith and Wesson buys Winchester then Winchesters are still made in New Haven, still American owned, little changes except possibly for the better, and people that paid outrageous money for a 150 buck lever 94 30-30 are going to absoutely puke! :-D :-D

Dee · « **Reply #1 on:** March 25, 2006, 02:41:37 PM »

Here's something even better to think about. Oliver Winchester bought the rifle end (including designs for the leveraction) of the company from Smith and Wesson originally when they were in financial trouble. Until he bought the rifle company from them he owned a shirt mfg.ing company. SOOOOOOOO. It may go full circle back to where the rifle ACTUALLY started. Smith and Wesson! Hmmmm

Graybeard · « **Reply #2 on:** March 25, 2006, 06:01:38 PM »

Say what? Where did you find that history? It's sure not like any other I've read of either company. I'd like a reference to see where your version of that history comes from.

Winchester bought the patent to the Volcanic and then bought the patents to most of their original guns from Browning. S&W was formed by the men by the names of Smith and Wesson and made handguns not rifles to the best of my recollection.

scout34 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 26, 2006, 06:32:30 AM »

I don't know if it's true, but here is a link to the article in the NH Register.

http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16349011&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=566835&rfi=6

Graybeard · « **Reply #4 on:** March 26, 2006, 08:11:39 AM »

I get nothing at that link. Can you copy it here?

coyote trapper1928 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 26, 2006, 08:33:17 AM »

http://www.nhregister.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=16349011&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=8

Graybeard · « **Reply #6 on:** March 26, 2006, 01:46:12 PM »

I take it this is what you are referring to:

Quote

Founded in 1852 in Norwich, Smith & Wesson was the nations largest handgun maker for decades, surpassed in 2000 by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Based in Springfield, Mass., Smith & Wesson made the world-famous .357-caliber Magnum and .38 Special, outfitting countless police departments nationwide with sidearms.

Smith & Wesson and Winchester go back a long way together, and a union of the two brands now would be the stuff of American gun legend.

Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson first sought to make a lever action repeating pistol in 1852, but the company ran into financial hardship two years later. They were forced to sell their company to a shirt manufacturer named Oliver Winchester, and in 1866, using the original lever-action design created by Smith & Wesson, Winchester rifles were born.

I need to do a bit of reading but I think that's revisionist history. They weren't trying to make a lever action rifle tho according to this and Winchester got their first rifle the Volcanic from elsewhere and the rest from Browning.

msorenso · « **Reply #7 on:** March 26, 2006, 02:25:37 PM »

All I can say is this is great news or possilbly great news.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #8 on:** March 26, 2006, 02:26:44 PM »

Here's some info on the S&W involvement of the introduction of the lever gun...

http://ca.geocities.com/winchesterguns/

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/taylor/history.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Firearms#Early_history

http://www.leverguns.com/leverguns/winchester_history.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Repeating_Arms_Company

scout34 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 26, 2006, 06:37:52 PM »

Hmm. Not sure what happened to the link, but yes that is the section that I was referring to. It sounded strange to me as well, and I didn't have time to research it myself. There is a kernel of truth in most of these mainstream media stories, but more often than not there is oversimplification and revision of events to suit an editorial view.

Reading a news story on the web these days is like any other transaction. Caveat emptor.

I do hope S&W buys the plant though.

Graybeard · « **Reply #10 on:** March 26, 2006, 06:46:01 PM »

OK I guess I was wrong then. I sure don't recall reading that the founders of S&W owned Volcanic but two of those sources say it's so. I guess I'll just accept that and let it ride.

msorenso · « **Reply #11 on:** March 27, 2006, 06:52:27 AM »

What other companies are looking in them??

F-F-Fred · « **Reply #12 on:** April 02, 2006, 12:05:54 PM »

It is correct that Smith & Wesson were the original designers of the now Henry rifle. And it was Winchester who bought the patent from them. S&W for some reason couldn't make it work. Henry an employeee of Winchester made it work. That whole story was on the History Channel.

old06 · « **Reply #13 on:** April 02, 2006, 02:41:12 PM »

I also heard the same thing from on the history channel awhile back on one of the segment of history of the gun.

Dee · « **Reply #14 on:** April 02, 2006, 05:16:12 PM »

Gosh, I didn't mean to confuse anyone. Just repeating what I read from what I thought was a reliable source. Guess it was huh?