USRAC/Winchester is quitting

lawson4 · January 17, 2006, 11:41 AM

USRAC (manufacturers of Winchester firearms) is closing as of April 2006. The company has been losing money for years and the owners (FN Herstal) finally decided it was bleeding them enough.
It was announced to us because we supply parts to them.

lawson4

El Tejon · January 17, 2006, 11:41 AM

Surprised that this had not been done sooner.

walking arsenal · January 17, 2006, 11:59 AM

So does this mean no more winchesters?

Hobie · January 17, 2006, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lawson4

USRAC (manufacturers of Winchester firearms) is closing as of April 2006. The company has been losing money for years and the owners (FN Herstal) finally decided it was bleeding them enough.
It was announced to us because we supply parts to them.

lawson4

Any public source verification?

El Tejon · January 17, 2006, 12:15 PM

Until they are sold again. Don't know how many are in the pipeline?

lawson, any clue on back orders?

whitebear · January 17, 2006, 12:20 PM

I couldn't find anything about this via Google News search. I'll keep looking.

Technosavant · January 17, 2006, 12:43 PM

Well, I guess I won't be getting that model 1300 Defender shotgun.

Dang shame.

kentucky_smith · January 17, 2006, 12:55 PM

I'm calling BS on this one.

JohnBT · January 17, 2006, 01:05 PM

I've read rumors/reports on a number of boards that the Herstal Group is closing the New Haven CT plant. Whether it's true or not remains to be seen. They have announced the new SX3 shotgun line, so it doesn't look like the Winchester name is going away anytime soon.

John

Hobie · January 17, 2006, 01:13 PM

I've just heard from a writer that only the CT plant is closing March 31st (if I understood correctly). Models built there will be unavailable for a bit.

kentucky_smith · January 17, 2006, 01:13 PM

that makes a bit more sense, yet still disappointing.

Gunblast · January 17, 2006, 01:28 PM

Only the Models 70, 94, and 1300 are scheduled to be discontinued.

At this time, there are no plans to build these antwhere else. The Jap/Belgium/Portugal guns are not affected.

It is a very sad day, to be sure.

Jeff Quinn
gunblast.com

lawson4 · January 17, 2006, 02:02 PM

We have a copy of the letter from the VP of HR at the New Haven Plant.

lawson4

Leif · January 17, 2006, 02:14 PM

Looking at the Winchester website, there seems to be a whole lot of new models offered, esp. for Models 70 and 94 ...

Speaking of which, has anybody seen one of the new takedown 94's? Just curious.

McCall911 · January 17, 2006, 03:27 PM

Winchester quitting????

That's about like saying that Christmas is about to be discontinued!

Oh, wait. We're about to that point nowadays also.

Father Knows Best · January 17, 2006, 03:42 PM

There haven't been any new Winchesters in a long, long time. Oliver Winchester's company, New Haven Repeating Arms, is long defunct. U.S. Repeating Arms, a subsidiary of Belgium-based Fabrique Nationale Herstal, is just a relatively recent (1981) licensee of the Winchester firearms brand name (which I believe is owned by Olin, the company that makes Winchester brand ammunition). If FNH gets out of the business of building Winchester brand firearms, some other licensee will pick up the torch. It's no different than, say, "Armalite" or "Springfield Armory" brand firearms. The current production firearms bearing those brand names are built by companies that have nothing to do with the original Armalite company or the U.S. government's Springfield Armory -- they just license the right to slap those brand names on their products.

The same is true of many other American firearms brands. For example, Eliphalet Remington founded the company that made the famous New Model Army revolver of Civil War fame (erroneously referred to in many cases as the "1858" Remington), and later the Rolling Block single shot rifles and many others. The Remington family has been out of the firearms business since before the turn of the 20th century, however. The firm went bankrupt in the 1880s, and the Remington brand name was purchased by others.

So don't fret. Whatever happens, you'll always be able to buy guns with "Winchester" stamped on them. The only question is who actually makes them, but that's always been in question.

kentucky_smith · January 17, 2006, 03:58 PM

But the model 70, 1300 and 94 have been an integral part of shooting sports for a long-time.

Detritus · January 17, 2006, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentucky_smith

But the model 70, 1300 and 94 have been an integral part of shooting sports for a long-time.

99.999% chance that FNH will close the plant, then sell the name and plant to another Co. in fact they likely already HAVE a buyer lined up, that's business.

Hobie · January 17, 2006, 04:50 PM

http://leverguns.sixgunner.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14190

For those who have are in any way appreciative of the past, this is indeed a sad announcement.

********************************************************

From Browning:

DATE: January 17, 2006

TO: FNH USA Distributors

FROM: Louis Dillais /Rick DeMilt

SUBJECT: Closing of USRAC Manufacturing Facility

Dear FNH USA Distributor,

While the HERSTAL GROUP has made the decision to close the USRAC manufacturing facility in New Haven, CT (please refer to the attached Browning press release), FNH USA is pleased to confirm we hold sufficient inventory of USRAC-made FN products and spare parts to meet your Customers’ requirements.

All WARRANTIES AND REPAIRS of FN products will continue to be serviced by FN / Browning distribution center located at Arnold MO.

FNH USA, with the support of FN Herstal, is investing into new and exciting products that will continue the legacy of FN firearms expertise. Many of these new and exciting products are currently under development and manufacturing at FN MANUFACTURING (FNM) in Columbia, South Carolina and are scheduled to be delivered this year.

FN MANUFACTURING is an ISO 9001state of the art facility with R&D, manufacturing, testing and repair/maintenance capabilities which, over the last
30 years, has produced most of the US Military small arms, such as the M16
A2, A3, A4 rifles as well as the M249 and M240 light/medium machinegun families. FNM also manufactures our FNP line of handguns and the FN 303 less lethal
launcher.

As we move forward, you can be assured of a continuing supply of FN products that are representative of the latest manufacturing technology and advanced firearms design.

REAL WORLD PRODUCTS FOR REAL WORLD OPERATORS.

Best regards,

Louis Dillais
President & CEO

Rick DeMilt
Director of Sales & Marketing

***********

From USRAC:

Contact: Scott Grange
For Immediate Release
(801) 876-2711, ext. 306

Paul Thompson
(801) 876-2711, ext. 229

U.S. Repeating Arms Company To Close
New Haven, CT Facility

U.S. Repeating Arms Company, maker of Winchester brand rifles and shotguns will close its New Haven, Connecticut manufacturing facility. Many efforts were made to improve profitability at the manufacturing facility in New Haven, and the decision was made after exhausting all available options.

Effective March 31, 2006 the New Haven manufacturing facility will stop manufacturing the Winchester Model 70, Model 94 and Model 1300.

Winchester Firearms will continue to sell and grow its current line of Select Over & Under shotguns, the new Super X3 autoloading shotgun, the new Super X autoloading rifle and Limited Edition rifles. The company also plans to introduce new models in the future. There will be no change in Customer Service.

This action is a realignment of resources to make Winchester Firearms a stronger, more viable organization. Winchester Firearms plans to continue the great Winchester legacy and is very excited about the future.

kentucky_smith · January 17, 2006, 05:01 PM

putting resources developing things like the p90 and FN Five-seveN, and 5.7x28

which seem to be selling.

David4516 · January 17, 2006, 05:28 PM

I can't imagine Winchester without the Model 94 and the Model 70.

Are they not going to make them ever again, or is this just untill they set up a new plant or something?

grimjaw · January 17, 2006, 05:37 PM

Guess I better get that Legacy model sooner than I planned.

jmm

Father Knows Best · January 17, 2006, 05:42 PM

Quote:

For those who have are in any way appreciative of the past, this is indeed a sad announcement.

What's sad about it? Are you all that brand conscious? Oliver Winchester's company (New Haven Repeating Arms) has been dead and buried for many, many decades. The company that is closing a plant is Fabrique Nationale Herstal, which happens to have a subsidiary called "U.S. Repeating Arms Company." That's pure smoke-and-mirrors branding, because "U.S. Repeating Arms" sounds like an American company name, and is awful close to the sound of "New Haven Repeating Arms." It's still a Belgian conglomerate, however, and it's only been manufacturing "Winchester" brand firearms since 1981. That's only the last 25 years. So what if they stop? It's not like Winchester brand firearms manufactured since 1981 have been special in any way. The last Winchester brand firearms to be recognized as truly special in any way were made prior to 1964 -- well before FNH/USRAC appeared on the scene.

Keep in mind that Olin Corporation still owns the Winchester firearms brand. FNH/USRAC is just a licensee, meaning they pay money to Olin for the right to slap the Winchester name on FNH/USRAC products. Either FNH/USRAC will resume manufacture of the models 94 and 70 at some other plant, or I bet that Olin licenses the rights to those models to some other company.

Regardless, nothing much changes. There may be a temporary interruption in your ability to get some models of "Winchester" brand firearms, but it will only be temporary. Whenever production resumes, by somebody, the new ones will be no more or less "authentic" than the FNH/USRAC versions we've been buying for the last 25 years.

Harry Stone · January 17, 2006, 05:43 PM

Even though the only Winchester I've ever been really interested in is the model 12, it's still sad news to hear.

JohnBT · January 17, 2006, 06:20 PM

"Are you all that brand conscious?"

Sure, I wasn't really looking for a Winchester duck gun, but when I saw that the SX2 Waterfowl was made in Belgium I jumped on it. FN, made overseas, cost too much = must be good, right? Right, especially since it was in 99% condition and almost $500 under the $1215 MSRP.

Just fooling. Sorry to see them go. I've wondered if this would happen ever since the Hertral Group acquired USRAC in 1988. Now that the Browning and Win shotguns are nearly identical they might as well go ahead and merge the companies into Brownchester.

John

January 17, 2006, 11:41 AM	#1
lawson4 Member Join Date: June 26, 2003 Posts: 227	USRAC/Winchester is quitting USRAC (manufacturers of Winchester firearms) is closing as of April 2006. The company has been losing money for years and the owners (FN Herstal) finally decided it was bleeding them enough. It was announced to us because we supply parts to them. lawson4 __________________ lawson4 NRA Life Member NRA Certified Instructor NRA Certified Training Counselor A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul.

January 17, 2006, 11:41 AM	#2
El Tejon Member Join Date: December 24, 2002 Location: Lafayette, Indiana--meanwhile, back in the Wabash Valley . . . zzzzz. Posts: 17,898	Surprised that this had not been done sooner. __________________ I [heart] Wal-Mart threads.

January 17, 2006, 12:15 PM	#5
El Tejon Member Join Date: December 24, 2002 Location: Lafayette, Indiana--meanwhile, back in the Wabash Valley . . . zzzzz. Posts: 17,898	Until they are sold again. Don't know how many are in the pipeline? lawson, any clue on back orders? __________________ I [heart] Wal-Mart threads.

January 17, 2006, 12:20 PM	#6
whitebear Member Join Date: December 24, 2002 Location: Tulsa, America Posts: 191	Nothing on Google News... I couldn't find anything about this via Google News search. I'll keep looking. __________________ Tony TFL Member #1931, since 8/4/1999 THR Member since 12/24/2002 If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate... Airplane Pictures

January 17, 2006, 12:43 PM	#7
Technosavant Member Join Date: March 24, 2005 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 2,013	Well, I guess I won't be getting that model 1300 Defender shotgun. Dang shame. __________________ The family that shoots together, has interlocking fields of fire.

January 17, 2006, 11:59 AM	#3
walking arsenal Member Join Date: August 6, 2003 Location: Bemidji, MN Posts: 1,684	So does this mean no more winchesters?

January 17, 2006, 12:55 PM	#8
kentucky_smith Member Join Date: October 6, 2005 Posts: 1,591	I'm calling BS on this one.

January 17, 2006, 01:05 PM	#9
JohnBT Member Join Date: December 26, 2002 Location: Richmond, Virginia Posts: 9,251	I've read rumors/reports on a number of boards that the Herstal Group is closing the New Haven CT plant. Whether it's true or not remains to be seen. They have announced the new SX3 shotgun line, so it doesn't look like the Winchester name is going away anytime soon. John

January 17, 2006, 01:13 PM	#10
Hobie Member Join Date: February 16, 2005 Location: Staunton, VA Posts: 314	I've just heard from a writer that only the CT plant is closing March 31st (if I understood correctly). Models built there will be unavailable for a bit. __________________ Sincerely, Hobie "We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson Shooting with Hobie

January 17, 2006, 01:28 PM	#12
Gunblast Member Join Date: December 11, 2005 Posts: 19	Only the Models 70, 94, and 1300 are scheduled to be discontinued. At this time, there are no plans to build these antwhere else. The Jap/Belgium/Portugal guns are not affected. It is a very sad day, to be sure. Jeff Quinn gunblast.com

January 17, 2006, 02:02 PM	#13
lawson4 Member Join Date: June 26, 2003 Posts: 227	We have a copy of the letter from the VP of HR at the New Haven Plant. lawson4 __________________ lawson4 NRA Life Member NRA Certified Instructor NRA Certified Training Counselor A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul.

January 17, 2006, 02:14 PM	#14
Leif Member Join Date: December 20, 2005 Location: Delaware Posts: 144	Looking at the Winchester website, there seems to be a whole lot of new models offered, esp. for Models 70 and 94 ... Speaking of which, has anybody seen one of the new takedown 94's? Just curious.

January 17, 2006, 03:27 PM	#15
McCall911 Member Join Date: February 21, 2004 Location: Alabama Posts: 1,425	Winchester quitting???? That's about like saying that Christmas is about to be discontinued! Oh, wait. We're about to that point nowadays also. __________________ **************************************** My opinion is worth at least what you've paid for it.

January 17, 2006, 03:42 PM	#16
Father Knows Best Member Join Date: April 14, 2005 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 2,503	There haven't been any new Winchesters in a long, long time. Oliver Winchester's company, New Haven Repeating Arms, is long defunct. U.S. Repeating Arms, a subsidiary of Belgium-based Fabrique Nationale Herstal, is just a relatively recent (1981) licensee of the Winchester firearms brand name (which I believe is owned by Olin, the company that makes Winchester brand ammunition). If FNH gets out of the business of building Winchester brand firearms, some other licensee will pick up the torch. It's no different than, say, "Armalite" or "Springfield Armory" brand firearms. The current production firearms bearing those brand names are built by companies that have nothing to do with the original Armalite company or the U.S. government's Springfield Armory -- they just license the right to slap those brand names on their products. The same is true of many other American firearms brands. For example, Eliphalet Remington founded the company that made the famous New Model Army revolver of Civil War fame (erroneously referred to in many cases as the "1858" Remington), and later the Rolling Block single shot rifles and many others. The Remington family has been out of the firearms business since before the turn of the 20th century, however. The firm went bankrupt in the 1880s, and the Remington brand name was purchased by others. So don't fret. Whatever happens, you'll always be able to buy guns with "Winchester" stamped on them. The only question is who actually makes them, but that's always been in question.

January 17, 2006, 03:58 PM	#17
kentucky_smith Member Join Date: October 6, 2005 Posts: 1,591	But the model 70, 1300 and 94 have been an integral part of shooting sports for a long-time.

January 17, 2006, 04:50 PM	#19
Hobie Member Join Date: February 16, 2005 Location: Staunton, VA Posts: 314	http://leverguns.sixgunner.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14190 For those who have are in any way appreciative of the past, this is indeed a sad announcement. ****************************************************** From Browning: DATE: January 17, 2006 TO: FNH USA Distributors FROM: Louis Dillais /Rick DeMilt SUBJECT: Closing of USRAC Manufacturing Facility Dear FNH USA Distributor, While the HERSTAL GROUP has made the decision to close the USRAC manufacturing facility in New Haven, CT (please refer to the attached Browning press release), FNH USA is pleased to confirm we hold sufficient inventory of USRAC-made FN products and spare parts to meet your Customers’ requirements. All WARRANTIES AND REPAIRS of FN products will continue to be serviced by FN / Browning distribution center located at Arnold MO. FNH USA, with the support of FN Herstal, is investing into new and exciting products that will continue the legacy of FN firearms expertise. Many of these new and exciting products are currently under development and manufacturing at FN MANUFACTURING (FNM) in Columbia, South Carolina and are scheduled to be delivered this year. FN MANUFACTURING is an ISO 9001state of the art facility with R&D, manufacturing, testing and repair/maintenance capabilities which, over the last 30 years, has produced most of the US Military small arms, such as the M16 A2, A3, A4 rifles as well as the M249 and M240 light/medium machinegun families. FNM also manufactures our FNP line of handguns and the FN 303 less lethal launcher. As we move forward, you can be assured of a continuing supply of FN products that are representative of the latest manufacturing technology and advanced firearms design. REAL WORLD PRODUCTS FOR REAL WORLD OPERATORS. Best regards, Louis Dillais President & CEO Rick DeMilt Director of Sales & Marketing ********* From USRAC: Contact: Scott Grange For Immediate Release (801) 876-2711, ext. 306 Paul Thompson (801) 876-2711, ext. 229 U.S. Repeating Arms Company To Close New Haven, CT Facility U.S. Repeating Arms Company, maker of Winchester brand rifles and shotguns will close its New Haven, Connecticut manufacturing facility. Many efforts were made to improve profitability at the manufacturing facility in New Haven, and the decision was made after exhausting all available options. Effective March 31, 2006 the New Haven manufacturing facility will stop manufacturing the Winchester Model 70, Model 94 and Model 1300. Winchester Firearms will continue to sell and grow its current line of Select Over & Under shotguns, the new Super X3 autoloading shotgun, the new Super X autoloading rifle and Limited Edition rifles. The company also plans to introduce new models in the future. There will be no change in Customer Service. This action is a realignment of resources to make Winchester Firearms a stronger, more viable organization. Winchester Firearms plans to continue the great Winchester legacy and is very excited about the future. __________________ Sincerely, Hobie "We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson Shooting with Hobie

January 17, 2006, 05:01 PM	#20
kentucky_smith Member Join Date: October 6, 2005 Posts: 1,591	putting resources developing things like the p90 and FN Five-seveN, and 5.7x28 which seem to be selling.

January 17, 2006, 05:28 PM	#21
David4516 Member Join Date: May 29, 2003 Location: Rainier, WA Posts: 725	I can't imagine Winchester without the Model 94 and the Model 70. Are they not going to make them ever again, or is this just untill they set up a new plant or something?

January 17, 2006, 05:37 PM	#22
grimjaw Member Join Date: May 9, 2005 Location: the great(ly depressed) state of Arkansas Posts: 3,039	Guess I better get that Legacy model sooner than I planned. jmm

January 17, 2006, 05:43 PM	#24
Harry Stone Member Join Date: October 20, 2005 Location: MO, USA Posts: 74	Even though the only Winchester I've ever been really interested in is the model 12, it's still sad news to hear.

January 17, 2006, 06:20 PM	#25
JohnBT Member Join Date: December 26, 2002 Location: Richmond, Virginia Posts: 9,251	"Are you all that brand conscious?" Sure, I wasn't really looking for a Winchester duck gun, but when I saw that the SX2 Waterfowl was made in Belgium I jumped on it. FN, made overseas, cost too much = must be good, right? Right, especially since it was in 99% condition and almost $500 under the $1215 MSRP. Just fooling. Sorry to see them go. I've wondered if this would happen ever since the Hertral Group acquired USRAC in 1988. Now that the Browning and Win shotguns are nearly identical they might as well go ahead and merge the companies into Brownchester. John

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