winchester

Winchester’s marketing slogan was quite a bold statement, but one that was not braggadocio. When the Model 70 was introduced – way back in 1936 – it represented what I consider to be the ultimate culmination of the American bolt-action hunting rifle. It had all of the necessary appointments: a strong action – closely related to the Mauser Gewehr 98 – with a reliable extractor, capable of handling the highest of cartridge pressures, a well-fitting stock, an excellent trigger and a three-position safety which would (eventually) work perfectly with a rifle scope.

I peered through my Leupold scope at the buck, his black nose gleaming in the evening light. He faced me, antlers a bit wider than his ears, tines tall and curving. My crosshairs twitched rhythmically over my heartbeat, finally steadying on that black shiny nose. I squeezed. “Hohh! Hey look at that, check it out [...]

 Winchester Repeating Arms, a rifle manufacturer made famous by the innovative lever action Model 1866, debuted a concept chassis style rifle at the 2017 SHOT Show. One year later, the Winchester XPC is ready to hit the market.

My father was a big advocate of old cowboy guns. Hailing from Europe by birth and upbringing, his fascination with the old West and the cowboys who won it bordered on overzealous. Any gun good enough to be preferred by the old-time cowboys was good enough for him.

He had a point.

There are few manufacturers that have a long-storied history in the defense industry as Winchester. Undoubtedly, few things are more formidable or reliable in battle than a 12-gauge pump action shotgun. Winchester’s Model 1897 has proven over time to be a reliable firearm for protection of America’s finest.

The Big Five, or Dangerous Seven, or whatever you prefer to call the collective of African game animals that can easily end your life certainly gets the lion’s share (pun fully intended) of the spotlight, but the plains game, or more properly put, the antelope species, are much more abundant and affordable. Much has been written about the proper guns and cartridges for African hunting, but it seems there is still considerable confusion about what is needed to effectively hunt the lighter African game.

The active pursuit of dangerous game is far and away my favorite style of hunting. The gear required for hunting dangerous game — specifically the rifle — must be rock solid, as with failure comes the potential for loss of life.

At SHOT Show 2016, we had a chance to visit Winchester’s mini-Museum, which had all sorts of awesome guns on display to celebrate its 150th Birthday. Check out some of the cool pics and the new commemorative guns!

Winchester is issuing a recall on its select SXP shotguns following the discovery of a malfunction that causes the gun to fire without pulling the trigger.