Chapter 26: Winchester Company

After George finished modifying the car that day, he had the driver take it out for two laps around the block, then turn it off, restart it, and drive two more laps, continuously testing it.

He aimed to verify the practicality of the car battery and electric start.

The next day, George was on the phone with Woodruff from Georgia.

Woodruff told George that they had now changed their advertising slogan to the one George had suggested, and it was getting a good response—at the very least, it was catchy.

He also invited George to his ranch for an autumn hunt during the fall and winter.

However, upon hearing about hunting, George immediately remembered a famous arms company that would go bankrupt and be sold off within two months at the latest.

Connecting this with the firearms knowledge from Deadshot in his mind, George felt he could certainly try to seize the opportunity.

Then George asked Woodruff on the other end of the phone, "Do you know anyone from the Winchester Company?"

"You mean that Winchester? Then you've found the right person.

I've met their old patriarch, Mr. Thomas Gray Bennett, who is now at the helm, a few times.

My first Winchester was made in their workshop.

This kind of hunting rifle shows one's status when custom-made."

"Yes, that's right.

Could I trouble you to introduce me?

I plan to visit in the next couple of days." George didn't tell Woodruff his true purpose, as there was no point in doing so.

"Alright, wait for my call.

I'll call you back in a bit."

"Thank you, Mr. Woodruff." With that, they hung up.

Half an hour later, Woodruff called back, saying he had already introduced him to Thomas Gray Bennett and that George could just mention his name directly at the Winchester Company.

George quickly thanked him, and then they hung up.

After hanging up, George considered how to handle this matter.

Winchester Company was undoubtedly a legendary name among arms manufacturers, but with the aging of the older generation of Winchesters, there was no capable successor to take over.

The current patriarch was already 80 years old and still handling company affairs, which showed the decline of the family.

Moreover, with the decline of the Winchester family, the company's innovation capabilities also suffered, gradually falling behind in the competition among domestic U.S. arms companies.

George wasn't too worried about this, as he had countless classic firearm designs in his mind; he just needed to choose a suitable type and bring it out.

After giving it some thought, George took out two blank sheets of paper in his study, considering the era.

It would definitely be inappropriate to bring out anything too advanced.

After a moment more of thought, George began to draw.

An hour later, one sheet displayed the overall shape of a firearm, and the other outlined its mechanical structure.

The gun George chose was the M1 Garand rifle, originally named after its designer, John C. Garand of the Springfield Armory.

Of course, it was no longer designed by Garand in this life, so George decided to rename the gun the M1 Orwell rifle.

This firearm had been the standard service rifle of the U.S. military during World War II in George's previous life, and was Garand's most famous product from the Springfield Armory.

From January 1, 1936, through World War II and the Korean War, nearly 10 million M1 Garands were produced worldwide by 1957.

Its development took years: the original design began in 1921, and after the initial prototype, it took over a decade to refine various design details to meet the U.S. Army's stringent and shifting requirements.

After extensive modifications, the rifle was finalized and mass-produced in 1936. Yet even after production began, another major revision was implemented, and it wasn't until 1940 that it became the M1 Garand rifle known today.

Its official designation was: "U.S. .30 Caliber Rifle, M1."

The M1 rifle was highly reliable, accurate, easy to disassemble and clean; it proved to be a dependable, durable, and effective firearm.

It successfully passed all tests under extreme conditions and was widely recognized as the best rifle of World War II.

It was even praised as "the greatest battle implement ever devised."

Moreover, based on the M1, additional accessories like a 2.5x scope, muzzle flash suppressor, and cheek pad could be added, forming the M1C/D sniper variant.

It could replace the M1903A4 sniper rifle.

Most importantly, it also had successors, including the M14 automatic rifle, and eventually, the M16.

Winchester Company even invented a gun called the M1 Carbine during World War II, for which George also had detailed specifications.

This gun had been developed to provide U.S. Army second-line troops with a self-defense weapon to replace pistols.

Compared to the M1 Garand, the M1 Carbine had replaceable magazines with larger capacity, a high practical rate of fire, low recoil, and better accuracy and penetration than submachine guns using pistol rounds.

With a selective fire switch and large-capacity magazines, the M2 version had firepower almost equivalent to an assault rifle ("almost" because its effective range was still relatively short).

Thus, during World War II, the M1 Carbine and its variants were quite effective in close combat.

George had already prepared additional rifles to follow this design. This meant he had a complete series of firearms ready for Winchester.

This series, even under a new company, would surely perform impressively.

George's interest in Winchester stemmed from multiple reasons:

If needed, he would also bring out pistols, sniper rifles, and more, but there was no rush-no need to overload the market immediately.

First, the company held a legacy, offering an advantage in marketing. Second, it had valuable connections within the U.S. military that George couldn't easily match. And third, it already had functioning production lines and skilled workers.

With George's financial backing, acquiring Winchester wouldn't be an issue.

He just hoped there were no unexpected complications because, in his previous life, the Winchester family had sold the company to Western Ammunition Company around this time.

Thinking of this, George immediately informed Paul to meet him first thing the next morning.

They would drive to the Winchester Company together.

Fortunately, it was in New Haven, Connecticut, quite close to New York, so the drive would be manageable.

The next morning, Paul arrived even before George finished breakfast.

After George quickly ate a few bites, he had the driver take Paul's car, while Paul drove the newly modified car.

The purpose of bringing two cars was to test the modified one on a longer journey, while the unmodified car served as a backup in case of breakdown.

After informing Paul of their destination, the two cars set off.

On the way, George explained the purpose of the trip to Winchester.

However, he didn't reveal the company's internal situation, as that was based on his previous life's knowledge. Only after a personal visit could he confirm anything.

After all, relying too heavily on past experiences could backfire; George always reminded himself of that.

Leaning back in the rear seat, George rested his head on the headrest he had installed, far more comfortable than the old, unsupported design.

This set of headrests had been modified by George himself, though still with many imperfections.

After chatting for a bit, George began reading Of Mice and Men in the back seat—a book Paul had brought.

Yes, George's book had finally been published.

According to Paul, it sold over 200 copies on its first day.

The publisher also wanted to arrange interviews and signings, but George told Paul to inform them that he would only attend events in New York. Travel was too inconvenient otherwise—a trip from the East to the West Coast by train took a full week.

Paul agreed to contact the publisher.

In this era, entertainment was limited, and people often passed the time reading newspapers or books.

Americans had excellent reading habits; reading in their spare time was common.

Through his engagement with the newspaper industry, George also learned that most newspapers of the era thrived on violence and yellow journalism, led by outlets like Minions.

Structurally, the press was regional. Cities, states, and counties each had their news groups.

There was no true national newspaper yet.

Originally, George had planned to acquire stakes in some newspaper groups during the economic crisis.

However, buying into these groups wasn't so easy, but if the opportunity arose, he would try.

This line of thought brought George to his television project.

The first image-capable television wouldn't be demonstrated until 1924, and even then, the true inventor remained disputed in his previous life.

But this life would be different. George kept it in mind—once the Winchester matter was resolved, he would start laying the groundwork for it.

Time passed as George pondered.

By the time he snapped out of his thoughts, they had already arrived at Winchester Company in New Haven.

After Paul spoke with the front desk, an assistant led them to a reception room.

After serving two cups of coffee, the assistant informed them that Mr. Thomas Gray Bennett was currently meeting another guest and asked them to wait.

After forty minutes, four people emerged from a side door in the reception room.

From what George observed, they appeared to be from two different groups.

The elderly man, accompanied by the assistant Mr. Thomas Gray Bennett, was he man George came to meet.

The other two were led by a tall, middle-aged man.

As the four exited, they noticed George and Paul. The old man smiled and nodded at George.

The other two remained expressionless, offering only a glance before turning to the old man.

"Mr. Bennett, please seriously consider our company's proposal.

I believe only our Western Ammunition Company can offer you such generous terms now."

"I will consider it carefully.

Please give me a little more time. An old man always thinks more slowly," the old man replied with a smile.

Although his circumstances were less than ideal, the old man's composure far exceeded that of a nouveau riche like George.

George also had a good idea of who the other two were—likely representatives from Western Ammunition Company, the firm that had acquired Winchester in his previous life.

It seemed George had arrived just in time.

Had he been a month later, the deal might already have gone through, and Winchester Company would have been reduced to a mere contract manufacturing plant.

After exchanging handshakes, the Western Ammunition representatives left without another glance at George.

George didn't mind. He wasn't self-important, and whether others acknowledged him meant little.

They hadn't offended him, so he had no reason to be upset.

Truthfully, if this visit succeeded, he would be stealing the deal out from under them, disrupting their plans entirely.

End of Chapter 26

Translator Notes:

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