Ron Spomer walks you through the return of a Short Rifle version of the venerable Winchester 1866. Perhaps no rifle changed the perceptions of Americans about the future possibilities of lever actions.
I have an original Winchester 1866 made in 1868, the older 1866 were still marked Henry on the Barrel address like mine is. I purchased one of these new so called Winchester Rifles, made in Japan like my Toyota and you know what, Its just like a Japanese car or truck, first rate fit and finish perfect I Love this Rifle . Its built by people that are not allowed to own Guns in their Country, and sold to people in this country that can own Guns, But our Country has a hard time making things especially Guns do to our politicians Judges and Lawyers. We will in our Life time see the end of Gun ownership. We are lucky to be able to own a Rifle period regardless of where its made. Go to any shooting Range and see how many Japanese trucks in the parking lot..
I am probably going to get one of these, but I want .45 Colt. One thing I can tell you is that this would make a great home defense gun in places where the AR or semi-auto is politically incorrect. Even in .38 Special this gun would be great, no recoil and as simple to work with.
What about Uberti or Pedersoli or Pietta!? I for one I’m glad that this rifle is still made along with other Winchester old west models! Same goes for all old west guns. Japanese or Italian.....your choice. But only one is licensed to carry the Winchester name. My first rifle was a Winchester 94. I shot my first deer with it. Winchester no matter where they are made will always hold a special place in my heart. And I would not be happy if they ceased to exist. Maybe someday they will bring production back home.....
The older toggle link mechanism may be a tad weak for the 357 magnum. I dont know if thats the reason, or possibly the brass receiver. These are made in 357 in the 1873 replicas, so the brass receiver may be why. Anyone have any input on this?
Kane Jones The .357 has a longer case that the .38 so it won't fit in the cartridge elevator, that's why later browning designs can fire both, in addition to being stronger actions, they use an angled cartridge lifter instead of an elevator.
I'll hunt deer with my 24" Uberti 1873 "Winchester" in .45 Colt, within reasonable ranges, using my standard pressure (yet stronger than cowboy) reloads, but I am not taking a .38 Special deer hunting.
It might say Winchester on the barrel. But its just another Copy out of Japan ! Just because it says Winchester on it dont make it a Winchester . Just Sayin !
I don't know about that. If the rifle is made using the original drawings then I say that it's still a Winchester. The other ones that are reverse engineered are the replicas. The Browning A5 was never made in the USA, but if they started making it in the USA using the original drawings would you say that it's mo longer an A5? I wouldn't!
With your reasoning, if Browning started producing an A5 in the USA would you refuse to call it an A5. The original A5's were made in Belgium. As long as Winchester is using the original drawings and hasn't reverse engineered then I say it's a Winchester. Just some food for thought!
They don't still make it. Winchester makes nothing. Japan makes it. So sad! Bring production back to America or , go out of business for real by not selling out your name to other companies in other countries.
blueringoctopuss then don't buy it dude. Miroku makes just as good a quality as USA made stuff for less. I'll pay $1,300 for one versus $3,000 if made in us. Most old design aren't made anymore because of the labor costs like the old browning auto 5.
I've disassembled and rebuilt 100s of them they're not just as good. That's the kind of bullshit people used to say about crap from China. You said it $1300 so Olins savings isn't passed on to the consumer. They're made there because Winchester has sadly been reduce to a sold out name that makes absolutely nothing itself. So sad.
