94 Trapper

[jtex54]

I spotted this NIB 94 Trapper 30-30 at a LGS and just had to have it. It had never been fired or even handled much that I could tell. I most likely paid too much but it is a sweet little rifle. When I got it home, I found that it was made in 1980, just prior to USRAC taking over the company and immediately applying all the lawyer stuff to the guns like barrel warnings and safeties.

This little gun has a super smooth action and just feels as solid as my pre-64's and maybe better. I think these pre USRAC (1965-1981) rifles are going to become collectable as well. Like Colt, Winchester has had many generations of guns.

In 1866, Oliver Winchester reorganized the New Haven Arms Company and changed its name to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. In 1931 Western Cartridge Company (later Olin Corporation) purchased Winchester Repeating Arms and combined with it to form Winchester-Western.

In 1965, Winchester was the largest employer in New Haven and moved its main production line to East Alton, Illinois.

In 1981, The U.S. Repeating Arms Company was formed by Winchester employees to purchase the rights to manufacture Winchester brand rifles and shotguns in New Haven, Connecticut, under license from Olin Corporation.

In 1989, after bankruptcy of the employee organized corporation, USRAC was taken over by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN), a Belgium based international group. Many models began production overseas.

In early 2006, it was announced that the plant in New Haven would close and production of several Winchester rifles would cease and some models would be continued in plants outside the United States.

So if you all see one of these pre-USRAC's laying around, you ought to consider grabbing them.