Oliver Fisher Winchester (November 30, 1810 â December 10, 1880) was an American businessman and politician, best known as being the founder of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.
Repeating rifles were used to some extent in the American Civil War. However, the United States Army at that time did not use many repeating rifles as they represented a new, untested technology. Repeating rifles were not widely used until after the war when they became increasingly popular with civilians. Military authorities concentrated primarily on perfecting breech-loading single shot rifles for many more years. With thousands of rifles in the hands of the average pioneer, the Winchester repeating rifles gained a reputation as “the gun that won the West”.
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