Gohon said:
I've got a Dodge truck assembled in Mexico. I certainly don't consider it a replica of a Dodge. Miroku has been manufacturing guns for many generations and the guns that come out of that family owned business will equal or exceed the quality of guns from New Haven.
Yes, but that plant in Mexico is owned by the Chrysler Corporation (now DaimlerChrysler, I guess), and staffed by employees of Chrysler. Miroku's only relationship to Winchester is that it makes guns based on Winchester designs, and sometimes is allowed to stamp the Winchester name on them if it pays for that right. For example, the Browning 92 rifles, while excellent quality, are considered copies of the Winchester 1892 -- they aren't "Winchesters."
Gohon said:
Personally I feel it was Hollywood that really won the west with Winchesters. I suspect there were just as many Henry rifles and later on Marlins as Winchesters being used in the old west. BTW, it was the Henry that was used by union troops, not the Winchester.
You are wrong. First of all, there were indeed lots of Henrys in the old west. The Henry, however, is a Winchester. It was produced by the New Haven Repeating Arms Company, whose owner was one Oliver Winchester. It was called the Henry rifle because B. Tyler Henry, the shop foreman for Winchester, made some improvements to the original design and patents were issued in his name. Oliver Winchester didn't know yet whether the rifle would be a success, and didn't want his name on a failure, so he didn't name the company "Winchester." They were still Winchester rifles, however.
On a side note, the inventor of the Henry's repeating mechanism was none other than Smith & Wesson. They held the patents, and formed the company "Volcanic Arms" to market them. The company failed, principally because of the ammo design. Winchester bought the patent rights, and with B. Tyler Henry designed a rifle with the Volcanic action but designed for modern metallic cartridge ammunition.
In 1866, New Haven Repeating Arms introduced an improved version of the Henry rifle, called the -- "Improved Henry" (apparently, they didn't have much of a marketing department). The main difference was the introduction of a loading gate in the receiver, so you no longer had to load from the muzzle end. It also separated the barrel and mag tube into two parts for easier manufacture and eliminated the mag slot and exposed follower, so a wood forearm could be installed. It was the first of the modern pattern lever action rifles. It became commonly known as the "Yellowboy" rifle for its brass frame. As with the Henry, tens of thousands were sold, and many found their way to the western frontier. Again, while they did not bear the Winchester name on them, they were made by Oliver Winchester's company, in his factory, and bore his company's name -- New Haven Repeating Arms. They are Winchesters.
Seven years later, Winchester came out with the first rifle to actually bear his name -- the model 1873. It was just another minor improvement to the 1866, with a steel frame, removable sideplates for easier cleaning, and a new, more powerful centerfire cartridge. By this time, New Haven Repeating Arms and its products were wildly successful, and Winchester chose to put his name on his products for the first time. From 1873 forward, all of his products would bear the "Winchester" brand.
The Winchester model 1873 IS the "gun that won the west." Hundreds of thousands were sold.
In addition, the period in which the west was "won" is the time from the end of the Civil War (1865) until the Indian Wars were over (and the Indians confined to reservations) and the railroads had connected the coasts and opened up the interior. That period ended in the early to mid 1890s.
In that time frame of 1865 to 1895, the only successful and commonly available repeating rifles were indeed Winchesters. Besides the Henry, Yellowboy and 1873, there were the Winchester models of 1876 and 1886, which were large frame rifles for more powerful cartridges, and the John Browning-designed model 1892, which was intended was a replacement for the model 1873 (the 1892 was lighter, stronger and cheaper to build). All of those guns came along before Marlin entered the market in any significant way. By the time Marlin's model 1894 became common, the West had long been won.
Thus, when it came to repeating rifles in the old west, Winchester was indeed the only game in town.
Hollywood's big error was not in using Winchesters, it was in using the wrong Winchesters. John Wayne always carried a model 1892, despite the fact that most of his movies were set in the 1860s, 70s and 80s. He should have had a Henry, Yellowboy or '73 in those films, but Hollywood didn't care.
) and is reasonably accurate. It's also reliable and holds many rounds in something I can easily sneak by the "PC Police." 
