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July 10, 2005
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Hello everybody! It has been awhile since I last posted. I would like to acquire a good history book of Winchester firearms and am looking for opinions, as there are a few out there. Thank you!
Cheerio!
GMC(SW) - USN Retired 1978 - 2001
November 7, 2015
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Herbert Houze; Winchester Repeating Arms Company, its History & Development from 1865 to 1981. Books by Madis and Williamson and several others have a less in-depth but useful section on company history.
Mike
November 1, 2013
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TXGunNut said
Herbert Houze; Winchester Repeating Arms Company, its History & Development from 1865 to 1981. Books by Madis and Williamson and several others have a less in-depth but useful section on company history.
If he’s interested in the GUNS, chiefly, & not corporate history, here are two I’ve never seen but might be good general surveys of the subject, & are (best of all) cheap:
November 19, 2006
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It depends heavily on if you are interesting in the company history – vs. just the guns. Many books cover both, but the depth of what they cover varies a good bit.
July 10, 2005
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Thanks for the tips! I ordered Mr. Houze’s book and will also get Mr. Boorman’s book.
Cheers!
GMC(SW) - USN Retired 1978 - 2001
November 1, 2013
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Roundsworth said
Thanks for the tips! I ordered Mr. Houze’s book and will also get Mr. Boorman’s book.
Most technical books of this kind usually have some bit of data lacking in the others, but I’d be interested to know which of the two you find, in general, most useful.
May 23, 2009
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clarence said
Roundsworth said
Thanks for the tips! I ordered Mr. Houze’s book and will also get Mr. Boorman’s book.
Most technical books of this kind usually have some bit of data lacking in the others, but I’d be interested to know which of the two you find, in general, most useful.
Not to spoil the ending but Houze’s works far exceeds anything Boorman and Kirkman wrote, in my humble opinion. Boorman is simply the broad strokes, where Houze gets way down in the details and innerworkings.
Sincerely,
Maverick
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November 7, 2015
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Maverick said
clarence said
Roundsworth said
Thanks for the tips! I ordered Mr. Houze’s book and will also get Mr. Boorman’s book.
Most technical books of this kind usually have some bit of data lacking in the others, but I’d be interested to know which of the two you find, in general, most useful.
Not to spoil the ending but Houze’s works far exceeds anything Boorman and Kirkman wrote, in my humble opinion. Boorman is simply the broad strokes, where Houze gets way down in the details and innerworkings.
Sincerely,
Maverick
I haven’t perused Boorman’s or Kirkman’s work but I have enough coffee table books, thanks. I’m also a fan of Williamson’s work but it’s a tough read. To further spoil the ending Winchester was a much larger company in the early days than many of us realize and there was quite a bit going on that most of us will never learn about. One book can’t possibly cover it all but Houze’s book is a great start, wish I’d found it years ago. Madis’ book is also a great foundation even with all its faults. It takes a reference library as described in another thread to begin to understand the company that built the guns we collect. None of them get it 100% right but many are very useful.
Mike
March 31, 2009
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George Watrous wrote The History of Winchester Firearms 1866-1966. This book has a copyright by the Olin Corp. It Has a Winchester Western Press stamp. It was edited by Thomas Hall and Pete Kuhlhoff. So this is by Winchester on Winchesters. This book is more about the guns than the Company. Has some info for most of the guns. It actually starts with the Hunt rifle. Not a lot of detail but is a quick reference.
November 1, 2013
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Chuck said
George Watrous wrote The History of Winchester Firearms 1866-1966. This book has a copyright by the Olin Corp. It Has a Winchester Western Press stamp. It was edited by Thomas Hall and Pete Kuhlhoff. So this is by Winchester on Winchesters. This book is more about the guns than the Company. Has some info for most of the guns. It actually starts with the Hunt rifle. Not a lot of detail but is a quick reference.
I think I use it more often than any other I’ve got, for checking such things as dates of production & model variations; don’t know why I didn’t think of this one myself.
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