The Gun that Won the West is Going out of Business?

The end of the Winchester rifle, yes, the gun that won the west, is near. Winchester's New Haven, CT plant will be closing March 31st unless a buyer comes forward. According to an article:

The announcement touched off a lobbying effort by city officials and union leaders who hoped to find a buyer for the plant before it closes March 31. If no buyer comes forward, it could spell the end for nearly all commercially produced Winchesters, said Everett Corey, a representative of the International Association of Machinists District 26.

(snip)

Since the plant opened in 1866, tens of millions of Winchester rifles have been produced, the bulk of which came between the late 1800s and the end of World War II, said firearms historian R.L. Wilson, who has written books about Winchester. More than six million copies of the Winchester Model 94, the company's most popular rifle, have been produced.

It is going to be an end of an era. The gun that Teddy Roosevelt made famous in his African Safari may never be built again.