Winchester ???

[barnabus]

I have heard by several folks that Winchester will not be selling reloading supplies to the public going forward.Is there any truth to this?

[charlie b]

Olin was the owner of the Winchester ammunition side of things. They also do a few chemicals. They have been selling off stuff over the past 20yrs or so. The latest that I knew of was selling the powder business to Hodgdon. I think they also sold off the brass business. Not sure what has happened to the ammunition production or if they make their own primers anymore. The sure is a lot of Winchester white box ammo on the shelves recently.

[mr surveyor]

I'm kinda' hooked on Winchester Primers .... so, are we at the end of that now, too?


jd

[Brimstone]

I heard the same thing but couldn't find a source. The new plant in Texas supposedly will only be supplying small pistol and rifle primers with no ETA on large pistol and rifle.

[BattleRife]

I have heard by several folks that Winchester will not be selling reloading supplies to the public going forward.

I don't have any personal knowledge of the situation, but I will throw out a caution about Winchester that people seem to often misunderstand. There is no company called "Winchester". It is a brand name, owned by Olin and licensed out to different vendors for different purposes.
If you buy a Winchester rifle, some Winchester ammo, a can of Winchester powder and finally a Winchester ball cap to show off your brand loyalty, those products were all made by unrelated businesses that in no way share any facilities, personnel, vision or marketing strategies. There is no way there could be an all-out decision to suspend component sales, as at a minimum, brass and powder are made by different companies. I don't know who does the bullets and primers.

[Green Frog]

I don't know about reloading components, but I get advertisements almost daily from Winchester ammunition telling me how I ought to use their product and buy all their advertising stuff (like T shirts, patches, etc) at inflated prices. They are really pushing their shotgun ammo hard, but I haven't seen any of their 209 primers on sale for a long time!

Froggie

[charlie b]

That might be because the Winchester who makes ammunition is not the same Winchester that makes primers.

[Thin Man]

Well, someone is still marketing new Winchester brass in the soft plastic bags. By example, Gunbroker has multiple ads for Winchester 32-20 brass, all at mixed prices.

[Nueces]

"There is a tide in the affairs of Winchester components." They've ceased offering them before and later resumed, powder and primers but not bullets. Another good reason to stretch to fill your personal coffers when the goods are available.

[beechbum444]

just my 2 cents from hearing things............When Winchester went belly up 20 years ago...General Dynamics (Part of the Military Industrial Complex) bought up all the component division of Winchester that produced powder, primers and bullets, for some reason , they were not interested in the IMR powder lines and sold them to Hodgdon...............with a war going on and being owned by the MIC, why only produce small pistol primers and small rifle primers...9mm and 556 ammo....and why not sell to the public.........because there is no capacity left on the machines to sell to the public for what foreign and domestic governments are paying for the items .......

[ACC]

I don't know about reloading components, but I get advertisements almost daily from Winchester ammunition telling me how I ought to use their product and buy all their advertising stuff (like T shirts, patches, etc) at inflated prices. They are really pushing their shotgun ammo hard, but I haven't seen any of their 209 primers on sale for a long time!

Froggie

I have a rule. I don't buy shirts, caps, or cups, or any such item ( I diffidently won't buy some book a politician has written) that will advertise a brand that is a multi-million dollar company just to make them richer.

Also I have all my favorite loads worked up with different powder, primers, and brass and since I cast all my bullets I don't need to worry about some company stopping production of a favorite bullet.

ACC

[BattleRife]

That might be because the Winchester who makes ammunition is not the same Winchester that makes primers.

Since primers are a hot topic right now I decided to put in a couple of minutes effort to see who owns the primer business and turns out it is Olin. So in fact the primers, brass and ammunition are made by the same company. Probably they manufacture at least some bullets, too.


just my 2 cents from hearing things............When Winchester went belly up 20 years ago...General Dynamics (Part of the Military Industrial Complex) bought up all the component division of Winchester that produced powder, primers and bullets, for some reason , they were not interested in the IMR powder lines and sold them to Hodgdon...............with a war going on and being owned by the MIC, why only produce small pistol primers and small rifle primers...9mm and 556 ammo....and why not sell to the public.........because there is no capacity left on the machines to sell to the public for what foreign and domestic governments are paying for the items .......

I'm afraid this is off base in a few directions. Winchester did not go belly up 20 years ago, it's getting close to 100. I think it was 1931.
General Dynamics owns the St. Marks, FL powder plant, yes, but not the rights to the Winchester name on powders. Hodgdon has ball powders made to order at St. Marks and then applies the Winchester brand. And as mentioned above General Dynamics does not do the primers, and I doubt the bullets, either.
None of this has anything to do with IMR powders.

[charlie b]

Not sure this actually took place or not as I cannot find a press release anywhere.

"Olin announced the sale of its Brass Division in October 2007 to Global Brass and Copper (losing $140 million in the sale), which merged in 2019 with Wieland Group."

I did find this on the Wieland site
"Successfully merged: Global Brass and Copper joins the Wieland Group. "

Don't know if this means Wieland makes brass for Olin or they supply the brass material for Olin to make cases and such.

The only definitive announcement I could find was about Olin moving ammunition mfg to Mississippi. If someone had a definitive release it would be better.

[charlie b]

The Winchester web site has this. Since they say that Hodgdon supplies the powder it could be assumed (dangerous word :) ) that the other components are made by Winchester (Olin).

Components
Winchester makes the highest quality ammunition components available to the ammo reloader. And each and every component is made to meet and exceed the most demanding quality control and performance standards in the industry - Winchester's!

Bullets
Bullets are custom-designed and manufactured to precise specifications to deliver specific on-target performance characteristics. These characterisics vary depending on bullet design. Winchester carries a variety of component bullets for both centerfire rifle and handgun ammunition.

Cases
Shellcases for handguns and rifles are engineered to precise tolerances to ensure smooth-feeding and positive chambering. Winchester carries unprimed rifle shellcases and both primed and unprimed handgun shellcases.

Muzzleloading
Winchester W209 Muzzleloading Primers are ideal for in-line muzzleloading.

Powder
Winchester Powder is now supplied by Hodgdon. For information see the Winchester Smokeless Propellants web site developed by Hodgdon (913) 362-9455.

Primers
Non-corrosive, all weather primers deliver fast, dependable ignition under any shooting condition. Winchester works to make sure all primers are reliable, instant and precise. In Winchester testing labs, primers are constantly and rigorously tested for consistency and sensitivity at temperatures and conditions far beyond the range of normal usage. Winchester guarantees better sensivity for more positive firing in all guns, carefully-controlled weights of primer mixtures, consistency in size and quality, precise measurements and tolerances for anvil heights, and stability in extremes of temperatures and humidity.

Wads/Shots
Reloaders seldom give wads the same critical attention given to other components. Often the result is poor performance - due entirely to the wad. Paper cup and fiber wads provide effective gas pressure seals inslug loads. Plastic shot cups protect buckshot pellets and provide improved pattern performance for new low recoil buck shot loads. And of course the reload wouldn't be complete without Winchester shot. Winchester's uniform, chilled lead shot provides consistent shot patterns and better penetration. Strict quality control throughout the manufacturing process assures the ultimate in performance.

[jailer252]

The answer is yes and no. Winchester is currently putting all the primers they make into loaded ammunition. Hogdon makes winchester powder available for consumer sales. It is still available for sale. Vista recently announced that primers would not be sold to consumers for the remainder of the year (Federal, Speer, Remington). Winchester dealers have not been able to order primers this year unless under special circumstances. Hope this helps. :)

[jailer252]

To address the above, Winchester makes both their primers and loaded ammunition.

[Texas Gun]

Winchester is the only primer I don’t really like in my Press they turn sideways
But with that said they were the cheapest

[gc45]

Who is Vista and how do they control the sales of Primers? No sales to consumers? why?

[jailer252]

Vista owns, Federal, Speer, and Remington. They are using their primers to make their ammunition for consumer sales as well.

[BattleRife]

Who is Vista...

It's a name you should know.
https://i.postimg.cc/T2kGdPtS/vista.jpg