422 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 25, 1895. 
The Winchester Repeating Arms Co. 
The exhibit of firearms and ammunition at the Sports- 
men's Exposition was full and complete, and that of the 
Winchester Arms Co. was just as varied and interesting 
as is usually made by that company. Their exhibit at 
Chicago was much larger, but it was impossible in the 
space allotted to them at the Garden to use these cases; 
and to equalize the difference, perhaps, they have in this 
instance departed from their usual habit and had their 
goods shown and explained in detail by Mr. Daggett and 
Major Albee, who came down from the factory on pur- 
pose. 
The case in which the rifles were exhibited was one 
used by them at the Paris Exposition of 1889, where they 
took the Grand Prize over their competitors; and while 
some of the rifles and guns shown last week were the 
same as those used at the Chicago Fair, most of them 
were new and especially made for this Exposition. 
In single-shot rifles were shown some novelties, among 
them being a small carbine, weighing 4ilbs., intended for 
the Mexican market, and wi ch could be aimed and fired 
with one hand readily. There was also a sample of the 
,236 single-shot rifle for the new navy cartridge with a 
special barrel, a handsome and light gun and one for the 
,20cal. U. S. army cartridge; some fancy designs in nickel 
and gold and one remarkably beautiful single-shot in the 
glass case for target shooting. This was an octagon bar- 
rel of .32-40cal., weighing 181bs. This gun was finished 
handsomely, with cheek piece, Swiss butt, fancy stock, 
etc., and attracted a great deal of attention. In model 
1886, a sample of the light-weight half-magazine gun in 
the .45-70 seemed to be in continual demand, and the new 
cartridge for this model rifle, ,50 100-450 was asked for 
and given to many people as a souvenir. The Winchee- 
ter people also handed out dummies in the .236 navy and 
.30 U. S. army cartridges. Tn one of the glass cases was 
exhibited a model 1890 rifle, beautifully engraved and 
finished, which listed at$51, and when one considers that 
this Tifle is probably the cheapest and strongest rifle ef its 
kind made in the world and lists at $16, the ingenuity of 
the Winchester Co. is shown in their ability to engrave 
and decorate a small frame like this, so that it would 
bring that price. The rifle was a beautiful work of art. 
The model 1894 rifle, model '82, model'86 and model'90, 
are now all made in the "take-down" pattern, if wished, 
so that, in any reasonable caliber, one is certain 
to be able to pack his rifle in a trunk if he wishes. The 
take-down mechanism for the 1886. 1892 and 1894 models 
is particularly ingenious, the barrel going on to the frame 
by an interrupted thread. A sample of their new model 
1894 to carry a .30cal. smokeless cartridge was expected 
from the factory, but had not arrived at the time this arti- 
cle was written. There was much inquiry for it. 
In ammunition, a new feature in jacketed bullet was 
shown in a ,30cal. TJ. S. A. bullet with a soft nose, and 
one that had been fir* d showed the upset of the bullet. 
Some of the new smokeless powder cartridges and all of 
their extensive line of wads were shown in one of the 
glass cases; also several varieties of patched bullets, the 
Army and Navy bullet, and samples of their shot shells in 
all varieties, including their "Leader" for any load of 
smokeless powder with their new No. 4 "smokeless" 
primer. Some celluloid wads, made by John P. Lower's 
Sons, of Denver, were shown here in Winchester shot 
shells. 
Metal-patched bullets in great variety were in the case 
on the side aisle; a full line of primers and caps, includ- 
ing the 6-gplit, foil-lined and varnished, and Spanish- 
ribbed musket caps, of which the Winchester people are 
the only makers in this country. There was also shown 
in this case a sectional model of their '86 rifle, and on the 
counter, in front of the display of cartridges, were shown 
samples of gun forgings which were remarkable as such. 
Those who are familiar with forgings did not hesitate to 
declare that few concerns who make a specialty of forg- 
ings could equal theie in beauty of lines and finish. 
Here was shown the method of the manufacture of their 
famous shotgun barrels, in a separate block of steel, about 
a foot loner, through the center of which a hnle has been 
drilled. This is rolled out by their improved machinery 
until it reaches the required length of 30in., and the bar- 
rel is thus made solid without seam or weld. The remark- 
able excellence in shooting qualities of these shotguns has 
been a matter of general comment since the gun was first 
introduced, and the mode of manufacturing the barrel 
interested many on that account. 
In large ammunition they showed the armor- piercing 
rapid-fire projectile, and cases made by them for the U. 
S. Navy, and also a Hotchkiss gun carrying a>l-Pdr. pro- 
jectile. It was intended to show the large gun they use 
at their proving grounds at New Haven, but it was not 
possible to set it up as the barrel projected into the aisle 
so far that it would hinder traffic. Their exhibition of 
the plate used at their proving grounds and penetrated by 
the projectiles of their own manufacture was especially 
interesting and was examined by crowds daily. 
The entire exhibit was in charge of Major Albee, who 
gives special attention to the heavy ammunition for the 
Hotchkiss gun, of which he is the Winchester Company's 
expert. 
In smokeless powder rifle cartridges the Winchester 
Company are making careful and costly experiments, and 
each week sees the results of their attention to this de- 
parture in the appearance of new sizes adapted to the 
more popular calibers. At present they have ready most 
of those most called for from .22 short to ,41 long double 
action, and other larger calibers are looked for daily. 
The exhibit was well arranged and well explained, and, 
while it did not cover so large a space as their remarkable 
Chicago display, this was the fault of the hall rather than 
that of the material that the company could display if the 
space were provided. 
Away back in the early '60s times and customs and cos- 
tumes were different in this country from what they are 
to-day. A great many men in a certain part of the 
country wore gray-colored clothing, and in another sec- 
tion of" the land a great many men wore a garb of blue. 
Nowadays nearly all the men you see are sound of body 
and limb. You see few cripples among the mature men 
of average walks of life. In those days a good many men 
were seen who had lost an arm or a leg, or who were in- 
jured in some oth<r way. In short, those were the days 
of cruel war. 
In those days, as the writer of these lines can well re- 
member, though then he was but a boy, a great many 
soldiers came home from the seat of war to visit their 
frier ds for a short time "on furlough." (Alas! some had 
furlough that never took them home.) Even so far re- 
moved as 'they were then from active war, these men, 
whether sound or maimed, whether well or sick, clung 
to the garb they wore "at the front," and usually they 
brought with them also the weapons they were wont 
to use. 
At first these weapons wt re the long muzzle-loading 
Enfields, the muskets almost as terrifying to him who 
shot them as to him who was shot at. Then the Spring- 
field rifle came in view. At that time no one had any 
idea of shooting more than once without reloading. 
Many sorts of rifles came home on furlough, but not 
one of them borne by a soldier was anything tut a sin- 
gle-shot affair. 
One day the newspapers told of a company of U. S. 
trorps which had been armed with a new-fangled rifl , 
called the Henry rifle, which shot sixteen times with- 
out reloading. This company, posted to defend a cer- 
tain bridge, repulsed a body of troops many times the r 
number. The repeated fire of these first old Hetry rifli s 
confused and terrified the enemy, many of whom wt re 
killed and wounded, and some taken prisoners. One of 
the prisoners expressed the feeling of his whole regiment 
when he said that "It was no use trying to stand up 
against guns which were wound up Sunday and shot all 
the rest of the week." 
From that time on the idea of the repeater grew. It is 
remembered that a great many of these old Henry rifles 
were brought home by discharged soldiers at the close 
of the war. Large numbers of soldiers turned from 
hunting men to hunting game. In a very short time the 
reputation of the repeater as a game gun — even in so 
poor a form as it then had — was established and began to 
spread all over the country. Once established, men be- 
gan to wonder why they had not thought of it before. 
As a matter of fact, it has been thought of before, and 
it is not meant that the old Henry rifle, with its brass fit- 
tings and magazine, was the first repeater ever made, 
though it was the best up to that time. 
We think, without wishing to be unfair to others, 
that we may say the old Henry rifle, poor as it was by 
comparison with the repeaters of to-day, was practically 
the first repeating rifle ever used to any extent or any 
success on game. 
It will be accurate enough for general purposes to state 
also that the old Henry model was the grandparent of the 
Winchester repeating rifle, which soon began to make its 
appearance in the hands of so many men in this nation of 
natural sportsmen. It is not very far from 1863 to 1873, 
Yet in 1873 the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. put on 
the market their .44-40 rifle, the "model '73," as it is now 
generally known. This was a light and compact central- 
fire rifle, using a cartridge which was easily to be ob- 
tained and wh ch could be used also in heavy revolvers. 
Perhaps no weapon of the kind has ever been more popu- 
lar. To-day many hunters prefer some of the many later 
products of the Winchester Repeating Arms Co.; but the 
fact remains that the .44-40 Winchester, model '73, has 
killed more game than all the other rifles of this make 
put together. This was largely due, of course, to the fact 
that it was the repeater first at hand in the game country 
when civilization began its rapid march to the West. 
To-day many hunters like this old model and will have 
no other for bear or deer or elk, and many even stick to 
the carbine model, shooting the same cartridge. These 
may have their choice. Others of different tastes can 
certainly find wide range for the gratification of their 
preferences. 
Three years after the '73 model there appeared another 
"Winchester," the "Model '76." This shot the bottle- 
necked shell, .45-75, with 350grs. of lead. Many an ante- 
lope and elk was killed with this arm, and a great 
many hunters thought perfection was attained, though 
the argument between these and the men who preferred 
the Winchester using the old Government cartridge, 
.45 70, with 405 or SOOgrs. of lead, was something which 
history does not record as settled. 
In short, the Winchester Repeating Arms Co., quick to 
grasp the popular taste, now began to manufacture new 
and improved models almost as fast as one could snap his 
fingers. Any man could suit his theories in the propor- 
tions of lead and powder, for the firna was making all 
sorts of ammunition for all sorts of rifles. 
To-day one cannot tell without counting it up in the 
catalogue just how many sorts of cartridges are made by 
the Winchester Repeating Arpjs Co., but it is somewhere 
between 300 and 400 different styles. You can hardly 
think up a cartridge you would like to see, but what you 
can find it already listed in the Winchester catalogue. 
In rifles of every sort, from the tiny .22, which you can 
pack in your trunk, up through .25, .32, .38, .44, 45, .50, 
in repeaters, single shots, heavy express — in brief, of 
every useful or practical sort Of arm for use on game or 
at the target, the produce of the great factory has been 
continually enlarging, and becoming more curious and 
comprehensive. Truly, the name of Winchester has 
become in America a household word. 
Not in method is it capricious or fanciful; and adopt- 
ing any suggestion only after the most careful weighing 
and most exhaustive test, they have studied closely ana » 
carefully the tastes and requirements of the public, and 
have at length found themselves in a position to realize 
their ambition of becoming manufacturers of arms truly 
to be called popular. Such popularity could only be at- 
tained by thought and effort, and can only be retained by 
uniform excellence in product, 
Yet that general popularity obtains for the arms of the 
Winchester Repeating Arms Co., not 'only in this coun- 
try, but in every country on the globe. In every land of 
the earth the Winchester is found. Surely, somewhere 
in all the earth, the defect^ of the Winchester goods 
would be found, if any such existed. 
It has not been in the manufacture of repeating rifles 
or rifle ammunition alone that this extensive company 
has engaged itself. Ever in touch with popular needs and 
popular tendencies, the company recognized the growth 
of the shotgun idea, in the field and at the trap. Shoot- 
ers began to need a better class of shotgun ammunition, 
from wads to shells and primers. The Winchester Co. 
began to supply the want, and as usual to supply it con- 
scientiously, thoroughly and well. 
To-day you find Winchester shotgun shells by the banks 
of the remotest duck marshes of the country, and at the 
great trap tournaments the game shells, improved in the 
most scientific manner to meet the latest requirements of 
the modern trap-shooter, are to be seen in every corner of 
the land. The shooters use them just as they do all the 
goods of the Winchester Co., because they know they are 
not t ffered on the marlet until the most conclusive tests 
have proved them perfect. 
Shooters ftr a leng time paid large prices for their rifh s, 
till the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. put on the market 
a perfect weapon at a price within the reach of all. By 
and by some one began to ask, "If a reptating rifle was 
such a good idea, why should not a repeating shotgun also 
be good?'' So the company put out the Winchester re- 
peating shotgun. The first model worked with a lever, as 
the rifle did. 
Then came the sliding fore-end, or "trombone" action. 
To-day you see this repeating shotgun in the hands of 
many game hunters, and at the trap tournaments it cuts 
a very large figure. Bored so that its shooting is per- 
fection, its excellence and regularity are proved by the 
record-breaking runs it has made in the hands of expert 
shooters. Cheap, durable, reliable and effective— it is 
predicting little to eay, that it too will soon be a house- 
hold word. 
In fact, it is no self- flattery for the Winchester Company 
to feel that it has attained success. All over the world its 
goods are known. 
But as this company gained its success by careful study 
of the public, so it knows that it can bett hold and in- | 
crease its success by keeping its goods continually before 
the public by all legitimate and respectable methods of , 
advertising. 
This company sets no limit for its attainments and 
knows no such word as "good enough." Naturally as one 
essential method of impressing this fact upon the public, 
the company would have repres' ntaiion at any grt at ex- 
position whe re sporting mate rial could be shown, and there- 
fore i at the really great expositions of the lands, the 
Winchester Repealing Arms Co., has had e xtt nsive dis- 
play made of its extensh e fine of gooes. 
At the World's Fair its exhibit was one of the most 
elaborate and most popular installed. Of course, too, at 
the Sportsmen's Exposition a Winchester exhibit was es- 
sential as Hamlet in the play. 
