Projects Update 2025

I refinished two rifles for friends/relatives this year, which slowed me down from my other projects

Uncle Mikes Winchester 94

The Winchester model 67 Project

I did finish one of my projects, the 50th Anniversary Ruger Mark II 

I found a bolt for the Winchester model 74 project and started the restoration, it may actually be finished by the time you read this

I am still searching for a bolt and stock for the Winchester model 47 project

 

The search has ended for a squirrel stock for the Marlin model 60, you'd think with 11 million of these rifles made that an affordable one could have been easily found. I found one in usable condition which I will refinish.

I had forgotten about these next few projects

My Remington 513 Matchmaster, I need to inventory the parts and see if anything is missing

I am not sure what I am going to do with my Swedish Rolling Block project, I think I may try to find an original barrel and have it rechamberd or take what I have to a machinist and see if the newer barrel can be fitted to the old receiver

I have the Mossberg 500 barrel on my bench now and may be finished by the time you read this

The search for parts for the Explorer II AR-7 pistol continue

The High Standard Model B is still waiting my attention

The Savage/Stevens Model 83 is going to hit the bench soon

I still need to order supplies to refinish the receiver for the J.C. Higgins model 36, but I hope to get to it this year

My Meriden Arms model 15 will have to take a back seat to the easier projects, I still need parts to complete the rifle

Lower on the priority list are the following:

Remington 11-48 shotgun

Marlin model 1894, the "frosty" rust isn't bad, I may try to polish it out with steel wool and oil

I finally got my hands on the collection of projects gifted to me earlier this year, here they are in no particular order:

Remington Rolling Block model 6, it came with a bag of parts and the rolling breach lock removed, not sure what the issue was. The barrel appears to have been painted (rattle can) and the stock has a chunk missing

Remington model 550-1, the gun is almost complete, it is missing the bolt and receiver cap, which should be easy to find. It appears to have been refinished at some point

Remington Model 10-T, 12-gauge shotgun, someone cut the barrel down and cut the stock into a pistol grip. The first thing I did was measure the barrel, it is 19 inches, so no legal issues there. It is missing the magazine and pump assembly. This may be a candidate for a post-apocalypse project like this one

Winchester Model 74, the stock/magazine is missing, the bluing looks excellent and also appears to have been reblued. This will make my third Winchester model 74.

Marlin Model 60/Coast to Coast model 40. This is just the barrel, receiver, magazine and bolt, someone removed the finish from both. I will need the action, stock and trigger assembly. This will be my 4th or 5th model 60 project. I found a donor gun, minus the receiver, it is a 1984-88 vintage. I then found a factory walnut stock, which may be from a model 99. This will be another "Deluxe Edition" rifle.

Stevens/Savage model 87A, the gun has been taken apart, not sure why, it appears to be missing a trigger link or spring. The metal looks to have been reblued, but the stock and aluminum trigger guard will definitely need some work.

Connecticut Valley Arms Bobcat 50 Caliber muzzle loader, the gun has the lock removed, parts are in a bag, not sure what is wrong or missing yet.

Unknown 22 "trapdoor" style single shot rifle. The trigger/hammer doesn't cock, I am guessing a spring is broken or missing. I have no idea who made the rifle, it will be an interesting quest to find out more about this gun.

the butt plate

I still have my several 10/22 projects in the works

The post-apocalypse project with a homemade receiver

The 10/22 lightweight project using an aftermarket receiver and lightweight factory parts

The Frankenstrat 10/22

I also have my two classic Remington shotguns, my 1951 vintage 11-48 (top) and my 1955 vintage 870 Wingmaster (bottom). They both have decent original bluing and both need their stocks refinished. So I will strip them, fix and dings/dents and give them an old fashioned, hand rubbed oil finish.

If you like restoration projects, stay tuned.......

Best of Theme Guns: Star Wars

 

Merry Christmas / Blog Update

Merry Christmas Everyone! 

Here we are about to start our 13th year, still going strong. I started this blog to display my project guns that I had refinished; and it evolved into a place for entertainment and information. 

We will continue to reblue/refinish guns, I have a project update coming next. We will continue the "Firearm Factory of the Month" as well as the "Featured Gun" posts.

You may have noticed regular posts from my friend Randy Chamberlain. I have known Randy for more than 25 years, after retiring he came for a visit and decided to stay, moving to my corner of Arizona a couple of years ago. He expressed interest in writing articles for the blog and I was (am) happy to have the help. It is not always easy coming up with ideas for articles. He has a wealth of knowledge of surplus and military arms and will be a regular contributor going forward.

In addition, we will both be attending the SHOT Show this year, look for posts on that in late January/early February

I wish everyone Merry Christmas, spend time with your friends and family and if you are not near them, find someone, there are lots of people in need of a friend, especially this time of year.

Firearm Factory of the Month: Winchester

 Today we look at the history and current status of one of the most storied gun factories in the World: Winchester. I call it Winchester, but the company that ran the factory in New Haven only went by that name officially for part of its history.

We begin our story with Horace Smith & Daniel B. Wesson, yes those two men who started the famous revolver company Smith & Wesson.

The year was 1852, the place was Norwich Connecticut, the two men who had both apprenticed as gunsmiths decided to start a company and build firearms. They formed the Smith & Wesson Company to develop a lever action pistol and self-contained "rocket ball ammo" that had been worked on previously by other gunsmiths.

In 1855 they changed the name to "Volcanic Repeating Arms Company", they also found a new investor, a shirt maker by the name of Oliver Winchester. 

In 1856 after both Smith & Wesson had left the company, Winchester forced the company into receivership, took over and moved operations to New Haven, where he built a new factory to develop the lever action repeater. He named the new company: New Haven Arms Company.

The factory was just blocks from the storied campus of Yale University, which was founded more than 150 years prior to Winchester breaking ground on Union Street in Wooster Square.

The picture below is from the Wooster Square factory in 1859.

In 1866, the operation moved to Bridgeport, before buying the huge lot in New Haven and building the iconic Winchester plant in 1870 on the corner of Munson and Lock Street (later renamed Winchester Ave.). The map below is from 1870 when the factory was still new.

Like nearly all factories built before electricity, the buildings were long and narrow with lots of windows in which to harvest the daylight.

Power came from steam engines which powered machinery through a series of leather belts and shafts.

In 1860 Winchester introduced their signature product, the modern lever action rifle, dubbed the "Henry Rifle", it fired a self-contained 44 caliber metallic cartridge. Used throughout the Civil War, the rebels called it "that Yankee rifle that you load on Sunday and shoot all week".

In 1866 Benjamin Tyler Henry, the designer of the 1860 Henry Rifle attempted to gain a share of the company. To prevent a take-over Winchester reorganized the company and changed the name to Winchester Repeating Arms Company.

That same year they introduced an improved version of the Henry, known as the model of 1866.

With the success of the company, the factory kept expanding, eventually covering more than 80 acres of ground.

In 1873 Winchester introduced another new rifle, this one was dubbed the "gun that won the west". Popular with lawmen, outlaws and sportsmen, it became the standard to which all other rifles were judged.

In December of 1880 Oliver Winchester passed away, Oliver's son William took over the company, but he died the following March. All the while the town of New Haven grew up around the factory.

A series of CEOs ran the company for the years that followed.

In 1892 Winchester introduced a new lever action rifle, designed by John Moses Browning.

Followed in 1894 by an improved and slightly larger version, this is the gun that would become the most popular deer hunting rifle in North America.

Winchester provided weapons to the government during the Spanish-American War and the Great War. 

In 1912 Winchester introduced a new pump shotgun, the model of 1912. Later this gun would evolve into the model 1200 with an aluminum receiver.

During WWI more than 20,000 people worked at the factory.

In the picture below there is a poster promoting Women's suffrage, the right to vote was finally granted in the 9th Amendment ratified in 1920.

The Great Depression hit Winchester hard, the company was in bad shape and in 1931 it was purchased by the Western Cartridge Division of Olin Corporation. The company's name was changed to Winchester-Western.

In 1936 Winchester introduced a bolt action rifle based on the Mauser action, the gun that would be nick-named "The Rifleman's Rifle". Dubbed the model 70 it was an instant hit.

Then came WWII, Winchester was given a contract to make M-1 Garand rifles, the only private contractor to do so during the war.

After the war the company saw great growth but also increased costs.

In 1964 the company decided to redesign their classic rifles and shotguns to reduce costs. Making the pre-64 models worth more money.

In 1980 a labor dispute and employee walk out result in Olin Corp divesting the gun manufacturing at Winchester. The employees (along with other investors) purchased the rights to the company and it was renamed once more to U.S. Repeating Arms Company. This was the beginning of the end. By now only a few hundred people were building guns there, occupying a fraction of the factory.

When US Repeating Arms failed, Browning a division of FN Herstal, purchased the company and on March 13, 2006 the New Haven factory was closed for good.

The factory sat empty for a number of years

This is a favorite picture of mine, these are the bluing tanks in which thousands of Winchester guns were blued. I own several guns that were blued in these tanks.

Shotgun magazine rings, still on their posts waiting to be installed on guns that will never arrive

even with the lights off, you can see how the building was designed to make the most of the daylight.

What Remains:

Winchester rifles are still being produced, just not by the people and company we knew as Winchester and not in New Haven. That shouldn't worry the collector as millions of New Haven built rifles are on the used market and available at nearly any gun show.

I could not find the locations of the Wooster Square plant (Union Street no longer exists) or the one in Bridgeport, I suspect they have both been demolished.

The 1870 to present property and buildings were purchased and turned into work lofts, apartments and office space.

Sources:

Winchester Lofts - Sporting Classics Daily

History of Winchester Firearms Manufacturing?

The History Of Winchester’s New Haven Factory | An Official Journal Of The NRA

Recalling the New Haven Winchester Arms Strike - Yale University Press

Winchester Lofts - DiMella Shaffer

The History Of Winchester’s New Haven Factory by HERBERT G. HOUZE - You Will Shoot Your Eye Out

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