Academic literature on the topic 'Winchester firearms'

Purpose This paper aims to present a visually documented brand history of Winchester Repeating Arms through a cultural analysis of iconic Western images featuring its lever action rifles. Design/methodology/approach The study applies visual culture perspectives and methods to the research and writing of brand history. Iconic Western images featuring Winchester rifles have been selected, examined, and used as points of departure for gathering and interpreting additional data about the brand. The primary sources consist chiefly of photographs from the nineteenth century and films and television shows from the twentieth century. Most visual source materials were obtained from the US Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and the Internet Movie Firearms Database. These have been augmented by written sources. Findings Within a few years of the launch of the Winchester brand in 1866, visual images outside company control associated its repeating rifles with the settlement of the American West and with the colorful people involved. Some of these images were reproduced in books and others sold to consumers in the form of cartes de visite, cabinet cards and stereographs made from albumen prints. Starting in the 1880s, the live Wild West shows of William F. Cody and his stars entertained audiences with a heroic narrative of the period that included numerous Winchesters. During the twentieth century and into the present, Winchesters have been featured in motion pictures and television series with Western themes. Research limitations/implications Historical research is an ongoing process. The discovery of new primary data, both written and visual, may lead to a revised interpretation of the selected images. Originality/value Based largely on images as primary data sources, this study approaches brand history from the perspective of visual culture theory and data. The research shows how brands acquire meaning not just from the companies that own them but also from consumers, the media and other producers of popular culture.

A History of the Small Arms Made by the Sterling Armament Company: Excellence in Adversity Reviewed by: Jack Shanley Peter Laidler, James Edmiston & David Howroyd. Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2020. ISBN 978-15-26773-30-2. xv + 352 pp., 32 col. illus., 350 b. & w. illus. £40. Winchester Model 1895: Last of the Classic Lever Actions Reviewed by: Danny Michael Rob Kassab & Brad Dunbar. Boca Raton: Buffalo Cove Publishing, 2019. ISBN 978-0-578-46655-2. 432 pp., numerous col. illus. $89.99. Firearms of the Texas Rangers: From the Frontier Era to the Modern Age Reviewed by: Patrick Senft Doug Dukes. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2020. ISBN 978-1-574-41810-1. 640 pp., 182 b. & w. illus. $45.

While firearms designers have for many decades explored ways to prevent the accidental discharge of firearms that are dropped or that otherwise impact another object, such discharges continue to occur, sometimes resulting in injury or death. Although there are a multitude of mechanisms that can cause a drop fire, one particularly dangerous situation is that of a blow to an exposed hammer spur in a firearm with the hammer down on a chambered live round. In some firearms, a drop of only a few inches has been shown to result in a discharge. This paper will present examination and testing methods for the forensic engineer evaluating cases involving actual or alleged discharges of firearms due to a blow to the hammer spur. Examination of the firearm, mechanical function of safety mechanisms, and evaluation of primer indents will be discussed. Experimental results will be presented, along with an actual case study involving hammer spur discharges of the pre-1984 Winchester Model 94 rifle. Design factors that have been employed as a means of preventing such discharges will also be explored.