Winchester Hanging Up Their Guns

[Klaus]

Winchester Hanging Up Their Guns

In case you haven’t heard, U.S. Repeating Arms has announced that they are closing the historic Winchester firearms factory in New Haven, Connecticut. USRA parent company, FN/Herstal of Belgium, licenses the Winchester name from ammunition giant Olin Corp.

The city of New Haven and the local machinists union are desperately looking for ways to save the factory and the 200 or so jobs that it represents. They are hoping that a buyer for the plant can be found and that Olin would agree to extend the licensing of the Winchester name to the new owners.

USRA says that they intend to continue producing a limited number of firearms under the Winchester brand but that those guns will be manufactured overseas.

All of the old-line gun companies have been struggling for years with the challenge of continuing operations in the northeast where the cost of living is high, union membership is mandatory, wages are far above the national average, and the political environment is hostile.

It is probable that we will see the Winchester name on quality lever-action rifles, slide-action shotguns, and bolt action rifles for many years to come. The name is just too valuable to let it die. The big question is where Winchesters will be made. While New Haven, Connecticut is the historic home of the company, it would make much more sense to move operations to someplace like Arizona or Idaho where the cost of living and the cost of labor are both low and the political environment is much more gun-friendly.

Barring a move to the south or the west, it is likely that the guns would be made in South America or East Asia and that would undoubtedly be detrimental to the company’s floundering sales.

It will be interesting to hear the buzz at the SHOT Show coming up in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks.