Why is Winchester so popular?

Hi,
I was wondering why is Winchester so popular? I still dont know why people like them so much and Win. had made tools, interesting posters and ads etc. I'm a Remington guy and there the oldest still running gun company in the USA. And they dont seem to be the same as Win.

 

I've wondered this about companies also. I've come to the conclusion it's in the name.

Winchester has "win" in their name denoting it a winner.
Coachmen RV's were #1 for years, Coach denoting the travler.
John Deer lawn equipment, well it just sounds right, better than Murry tractors.

Remington? I have nothing against them, in fact I'vegot quite a few but just what does the name say?

 

Why is Chevy popular, why is MacDonald's popular? They put out a product that is slightly different than everone else, and they have a following of customers/collectors that are interested in their product.

 

Its Plain Too See

Winchester rifles won the West~!

 

Have been a "Remington guy" as well since the seventies.
But..I really like Winchester too..
Seems to be a lot of that.

 

Have both Winchester and Remington firearms.....not to start a range war here, but on average the Winchesters are better made and hold more shooting titles than any of the Remingtons.

The answer may be that quality costs money.....Remingtons were cheaper than the Winchesters.

 

My only disappointment with Winchester is all the cheap non-firearm junk they are allowing their good name on. Winchester, Good ole American name licensed to market junk made in China, like; Winchester spotting scopes, knock off bipods, binoculars, knives, sunglasses, etc. Winchester collector items are special edition Chinese junk in a "Collectors tin". IMO

 

I like Winchester ammo and Remington guns.

 

Winchester brings up memories of cowboys, outlaws, and repeating rifles. I think that many of their logos even have a cowboy riding a horse on them.

Remington has pumped out so much stuff over the years, their image may be more diluted.

To my knowledge, Winchester has never produced super economy firearms of questionable quality, Remington has.

Maybe Winchester still holds a certain amount of tradition and prestige that Remington has lost.

 

Because the good Winchesters are great
The great ones are so good
They can make you cry

Listen carefully
The Model 12 whispers
Of the dream that was . . .
America

 

I'm partial to Pre 64 M70's. Work the bolt on one and you'll know why!
Just mio dos centavos worth
Dan

 

Bushmaster, that's beautiful. Thanks very much for posting the photo of your 12. It is a lovely example of the beautiful lines and proportions I think of, when I think of Winchesters.

 

I think you just nailed it! The name has that western allure to it.

 

Because they have a nice looking logo?

I've shot both over the years, and liked both. Winchester seems to have esthetics that appeal to some, and Remmington to others. Just a matter of taste.

I am MUCH more interested in a nice new truck, than a new car. Just a matter of taste again. And I won't even go into blondes, brunettes and redheads.

 

Well for one, it beats the hell out of Jennings, Lorcin, and Norinco.

Some Winchesters were made in Japan however.

 

That is right! I do like Winchesters but dont own one. Hunt with a Rem. Model 7 and its a great rugged and accurate gun. Both companies make nice guns, got to shoot a Winchester.

 

If you put the most popular trade mark name of all (Harley Davidson) on ANYTHING it will sell because it is an immage. Winchester is not far behind. It is based more in emotion than function. Sure Winchester (or whoever ownes the rights to the name now) makes good quality products, but then again so do some new upstarts that you never heard of.

Things do not have a "soul" they are simply tools and tools are no better or no worse than the skill of the man using them. Case in point, a doctor in my town went out and spent about 50 grand on a customized Harley chopper, bought the leather costume and all the "rugged individualist" paraphanalia that goes with it and laid it over on his first time out nearly killing himself.

 

Winchesters havent been made in many years.

All you get now is a trademark.

Belgians making Winchesters... bleh.

 

Winchester SX-1- best built semi auto shotgun ever made.

Va herder

 

By and large the exact same reason ANY product becomes a household name.

Make a decent product and SELL the heck out of it.

I and I dont mean merely selling products, you have to MARKET the name, the image, the "mistique"

Winchester is so popular for the same reason Glock is so popular among handgunners, they make a good product and have a FANTASTIC marketing department!!!

 

I prefer the designs by John Browning. I just can't afford them. And Winchester quit making them a long time ago. Balrog has it right. Bleh....

 

Model 70's have never been made in Belgium. They were made in Connecticut proir to 2006 and have been made in South Carolina since 2008.

The west was already won before the 1st Winchester was ever made. That is Hollywood hype.

Winchester has come up with some of the greatest firearm designs in history. Most required skilled labor and expense to make and have been replaced by designs that require less precise hand fitting and can be made much more cheaply. Remington 700's and 870's come to mind.

For many years Winchester suffered from poor quality and poor management and their name has now been bought by Browning.

Most of their lineup has been discontinued, but the 70 is back in production and is still the best design for a bolt action hunting rifle. Current rifles are as good or better than anything out there.

 

My vote, Style.

The guns are (were) good, but as noted so are Remington, Savage, Mossberg, etc.

See for example the photo of the M12 above. Or the M97 pump. Or a clean old 1894.

Winchesters have the name, they have the 'look', they have the feel. John Wayne's westerns had him with a 94, before they were invented, because they look 'right'. And the older ones at least are exquisitely accurate and beautifully made.

There is no lever action that matches the lines of the 94, no pump shotguns that match the 12, same for the M70 bolt rifles. Never underestimate the power style has on consumers. Detroit learned it early and often - good looking cars ALWAYS (well almost) outsell cars that are perhaps better but not as stylish.

 

i have a very old winchester repeating arms single shot .22 that is a blast to shoot.
winchester gets the same treatment as any other firearm company in my book, i try their products and if they work i'll buy it and if not then so long. so far everything ive used by winchester has been a fine product.

 

The Henry rifle was first manufactured in 1860 and an improved version, sometimes refered to as the 1866 Winchester was made six years later.
I do not think anyone would consider the west "won" by either of those two dates.
The next improvement was the 1873. In 1876 a version with a longer receiver was introduced in some heavier-hitting calibers. That same year on June 25th Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer lead five cavalry companies to their deaths at the end of Battle Ridge along the banks of the Little Bighorn River. I don't think that marked "the winning of the west."
Now, in 1894 Winchester came out with the famous rifle that would be chambered in the ubiquitous .30-30 cartridge that is still with us, and has probably taken more deer than any other caliber.
I think by 1894 most historians would probably agree; the west had been won.
But, by my way of thinking, the first Winchester came out long before that.
But .... I could be wrong.... I suppose ....
Perhaps you could elaborate?