Lee Jurras

Posted on July 27, 1934 by gwebs

1934 – 2017

Invented the first commercially successful hollow point ammo “Super Vel”

1963 founded Super Vel ammunition
– Shelbyville, Indiana
1974 – Super Vel closed
1975 involvemed with the Auto Mag
– in New Mexico
co-authored several books on firearms
published the Auto Mag Newsletter
L.E. Jurras Custom Model 100 Auto Mags
– offered in all three calibers
– with serial numbers with an LEJ prefix
co-authored the book Handgun Hunting

July 27, 1934 – April 24, 2017

Bill Woodin

Posted on December 16, 1925 by gwebs

December 16, 1925 – March 18, 2018

William Woodin III
His grandfather (also named William Woodin) was President Franklin Roosevelt’s first treasury secretary
Bill’s Step-Father was a founder of the American Quarter Horse Association
bachelor in zoology at the University of Arizona
master in zoology at the University of California, Berkeley
1950 kingsnake species named after him: lampropeltis pyromelana woodini
volunteer for the Desert Museum before it opened
1954 to 1971 – Executive Director Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
called “the most promising young naturalist in the United States” by Roy Chapman Andrews, a former American Museum of Natural History director
1955 – co-founder International Ammunition Association
active in European Cartridge Research Association
compiled “one of the great collections of ammunition in the world,”
1973 Woodin Laboratory built
3,000-square-foot underground vault
1975 – Consulted on the Kennedy assassination research
160,000 cartridges tracing the evolution of small arms ammunition
1998 co-authored three volumes A History of Modern U.S. Small Arms Ammunition
Technical Advisor to and Distinguished Life Member of AFTE
(Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners)
Consultant to the U. S. Army Armament Research and Development Command (Armament Concepts Office)

Posted on April 27, 1922 by gwebs

April 27, 1922
in Anoka, Minnesota

April 27, 1922 Charles L. Horn founded Federal Cartridge Corporation in Anoka, Minnesota
– four factories
– 700,000 square feet
1941 Federal won an $87-million contract from the U.S. government
– to build and operate the $30-million Twin City Ordnance Plant (TCOP)
1977 William B. Horn introduced Federal’s Premium line of centerfire rifle and shotshell ammunition
1987 – 2020 worked with a local non-profit group to employ people with disabilities
Premium line with projectiles from Nosler Partition and Sierra boat-tail
2014 built modern water-treatment plant
February 2015 owned by Vista Outdoor
2019 started selling directly to consumers through online store
customers can order hand-loaded ammunition customized for their needs

Posted on January 1, 1898 by gwebs

founded in 1898 – 1944
East Alton, Illinois

Cartridges made by Western are stamped WCC

1886 Franklin W. Olin received an engineering degree from Cornell University
1892 one of several investors in the Equitable Powder Company in East Alton, Illinois
1893 they made blasting powder for coal mining in southern Illinois
1898 Olin formed Western Cartridge Company
– manufactured rifle powder and shotgun shells
1900 Union Cap and Chemical Company (UCC)
– formed with the Austin Cartridge Company (Ohio)
1907 purchased the Alliance Cartridge Company
forerunner of the Olin Corporation (1944)
1931 Western Cartridge Company acquired the Winchester Repeating Arms Company
1935 formed Winchester-Western
World War II produced 3 billion rounds of ammunition
1944 Olin businesses were brought together as Olin Industries, Inc.

Western Cartridge Company

Posted on January 1, 1894 by gwebs

founded in 1894
Westfield, Massachusetts & Canada

1892 Arthur Savage designed a rifle for Colt
– magazine in the stock, not under the barrel
– but contract was won by the Krag–Jørgensen
1894 Savage Arms founded by Arthur Savage in Utica, New York
1895 Model 1895 the first hammerless lever-action rifle
– Savage invented the rotary magazine rifle
one of six companies to participate in the United States Army trials for a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol
1897 – 1999 Model 99 lever-action rifle made for 102 years
1908 invented the removable box magazine
– but his patent expired in 1942
.300 Savage. Savage
merged with the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company
World War I
– produced Lewis machine guns in Sharon, Pennsylvania
– produced Model 1899 muskets
1919 approached by Chief Lame Deer to buy rifles for his tribe in New York
– Lame Deer offered Savage to use his image as its logo in exchange for discounted rifles and an annual fee
1091 – Arthur Savage moved to Duarte, California, and formed the Savage Tire company, he invented radial tires
1920, Savage Arms bought Stevens Arms of Chicopee Falls, MA
1929 Savage acquired the A.H. Fox Gun company of Philadelphia and moved production to Utica, New York
1939 Model 24 combination gun
World War II
– made most of the Thompson submachine guns used in World War II
– produced the British No. 4 Lee–Enfield bolt-action rifle
1969 Canadian operations began called Lakefield Arms
– Lakefield, Ontario
2002 the AccuTrigger
2018 Savage Arms is still paying the annual fee to Lame Deer

Posted on January 1, 1866 by gwebs

founded in 1866
New Haven, Connecticut

1855 the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company
– Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson partnership
– Norwich, Connecticut
– largest stockholder was Oliver Winchester
1856 moved to New Haven
1856 Volcanic Repeating Arms Company went bankrupt
1857 Winchester and partner John M. Davies purchased the assets
– New Haven Arms Company
1860 Benjamin Henry perfected the .44 Henry cartridge
1860 Henry rifle based loosely on the Volcanic to use the new ammunition
– manufactured by the New Haven Arms Company
1866 reorganized as Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Model 1866
Model 1873 the first Winchester center fire cartridge, the .44-40 WCF
“Gun That Won the West”
December 1880 Oliver Winchester died
1881 his son William Wirt Winchester died
– his widow , Sarah Winchester, built the Winchester Mystery House.
1883-1898 John Browning worked with Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Winchester had borrowed heavily to finance its massive expansion
1931 went into receivership
December 22, 1931 bought at bankruptcy auction by the Olin family’s Western Cartridge Company
1944 reorganized as the Winchester-Western Division of Olin Industries
World War II produced the M1 Garand rifle
post-war first civilian manufacturer of the M14 rifle

Winchester Repeating Arms Company