Winchester rifles no more.

[Doc]

It's a sad day. My dad is a huge level gun fanatic, he has dozens and dozens of 1866s, 1873s, 1894s, Whitney-Morses, Whitney-Kennedys, and various other models in every caliber you can imagine. Still there have been (if memory serves me) over 5 million model 94s made to date, so they won't become terribly rare any time soon, but it's a shame to lose such an American icon.
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Only somewhat true.

All of the modern era 94s are #$%&. Bad safety issues, the quality, while still good, simply does not compare to the older models. There is a point where you can clearly see the bean counters took over and instead of a work of art, you got a plain Jane serviceable rifle. On some I have seen, the lever is merely brass plated, if it is even brass at all. Still a very good gun, still reliable, but the older models have soul.

Very old models have the much desireable octagon barrel. It is more than a cosmetic issue... The thicker heavier barrel and componates made from higher quality stuff make the gun heavier. Has a more comforting heft. It's solid, and would never feel delicate or out of place in a real man's hands. And if you had to, as a last ditch effort, you could heft the gun and start cracking skulls with it... Something I doubt you could do as well with some of the modern models. I would be to afraid of something breaking or bending with the moderns.

I love older guns. They have soul. It is why I favour revolvers over the more modern day pistols. Better quality. Better made. More heft. More of a psychological factor. You point some dinky Colt 45 or a 9mm at somebody, it is entirely to generic looking. People become desensitised to those. Point a big honking revolver at somebody... I mean a real gun... a nice .357 or even better, a 500. With a barrel big enough to roll a train in to, point that at somebody and they take notice.

No matter, old revolvers or old rifles, having one is a distinction. And people notice. And people generally have it on common sense that anybody with those sorts off firearms tends to know how to use them. The gun speaks for you. Conflict can be ended peacefully sometimes.