Winchester

Oliver Fisher Winchester founded Winchester Repeating Arms Company on 22 May 1866.^{2, 1} He had started in the clothing trade, and in 1857 he bought a controlling interest in the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company.³ That predecessor business had moved its offices to New Haven, Connecticut, in 1856.^{4, 5} In 1931 the ammunition maker Western bought Winchester, giving it capital for new firearm models.⁶

In 1981 Olin sold most of its Winchester firearm manufacturing assets to U.S. Repeating Arms Company but kept ammunition manufacture.⁷ The new company made and sold Winchester firearms under a trademark licence from Olin.⁷ In 1987 FN acquired U.S. Repeating Arms and the licensed Winchester firearm business.⁸ FN Browning Group's 2024 activity report names Olin as the owner of the Winchester brand and the group as its licensee for product design, manufacture and marketing.⁹

New Haven housed the predecessor business's offices from 1856.^{4, 5} U.S. Repeating Arms ended Winchester firearm production there in 2006.¹⁰ Winchester describes its later manufacturing arrangements as a network of associated factories around the world.¹¹ Its account of where its guns are made, archived in 2025, placed over-and-under manufacture at its partner factory in Belgium and further assembly at its factory in Portugal.¹²

Browning Viana, founded on 12 April 1973, stands in S. Romão de Neiva, Viana do Castelo, Portugal.^{13, 14} The factory produces rifles and shotguns under the Browning and Winchester names.¹⁵ Winchester's archived account placed SX4 manufacture and assembly there.¹⁶ In 1995 Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company bought the Winchester Custom Shop for the Model 21, under a contract that also covers repair work.¹⁷