“model 1894”

This year in honor of the 200th anniversary of Oliver F. Winchester’s birth, Browning/WRAC has produced a commemorative Model 94.

In case you hadn't heard, the Winchester brand as a whole is celebrating 150 years of history at SHOT Show—and throughout the entirety of 2016, for that matter. And if you're going to celebrate your history, it makes sense to show some of it off.

The Winchester brand has had no shortage of new surprises for its consumers—like the new Varmint X shotshell—but, as SHOT Show 2016 kicks into high gear, the company will also begin a year-long celebration. Oliver F. Winchester introduced his now legendary brand to the world in 1866—and so, in 2016, Winchester celebrates 150 years of success.

In this modern era of hunting rifles and cartridges, common sense would indicate that a cartridge with the performance level of the .30-30 would long ago have faded into obscurity. Why won’t it go away?

As we've mentioned a few times before, 2016 marks the 150th Anniversary for the cumulative Winchester brands. As you might expect, commemorative product releases are coming—some have already dropped, like the 150th Anniversary Model 73 we saw at SHOT Show 2016. Next up on the list is Winchester Ammo's recently announced custom-built, collectible cartridge-firearm boards. There will be five in all.

Winchester's turning 150, and we've got to say—the company is looking pretty good for its age. As such, it's celebrating the landmark anniversary by bringing an array of legendary firearms to the 145th NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Louisville this weekend.

In this, its 150th year in business, the history of Winchester firearms is well known. After all, “The gun that won the west” was a Winchester, the Model 1873. The Winchester Model 70 is known as the “Rifleman’s Rifle” and the Model 1894 is perhaps the most successful sporting rifle in history. The company also shook up the scattergun market with classic shotguns like the Model 1897, Model 21 and Model 12. The raw truth, however, is that none of these guns could have made their mark in history without ammo to shoot out of them. It’s kind of the red-headed stepchild in terms of glory and glamor, but Winchester has been in the ammo business as long as they have been in the gun business.

It was 150 years ago that the name “Winchester” was first stamped on a rifle. But Winchester’s narrative began well before that, and it is a tale tied to the American West, to the wars of the 20th century, to big personalities such as John Browning and John Olin, and to the manufacture of billions of cartridges and millions of rifles and shotguns beloved by generations of Americans.

Everyone loves a lever gun. Here are five of the finest ever made.