“1866”

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.

Although the ammunition and gun businesses split up years ago, the two entities—Winchester Ammunition and Winchester Repeating Arms Co.—this year have teamed to celebrate the brand’s 150-year-old legacy.

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.

What a difference Nelson King's patented loading gate makes. The Henry was cool, but the 1866 was the first of the Winchesters. Although they stopped making the 1866 more than a century ago, Winchester brought them back this year—but others have made them since the 1960s.

America’s oldest gunmaker celebrates its 200th Birthday.

The final Winchester 150th anniversary bullet board is now up for auction.

Our latest #SundayGunday features one of the most famous rifles ever made—or rather, a replica of said rifle: the Uberti 1866 Yellowboy.

If you haven’t yet heard of Bergara, it's time to start paying attention. Granted, the company has been making rifles for only about three years, but its growth during that time has been nothing short of phenomenal. Let’s use the B-14 Timber as an example.

Get a closer look at the Stevens 555 Enhanced, the latest addition to our #SundayGunday series.