End Of An Era In New Haven In an effort to strengthen Winchester Firearms, U.S. Repeating Arms Co. announced last week that it will close its plant in New Haven, Conn. Many efforts were made to improve profitability at the plant, USRAC said, and the decision was made after exhausting all options. With the plant’s closure, production of the Winchester Model 94 and Model 70 rifles and the Model 1300 shotgun will cease. The company said it will concentrate on growing its current line of other Winchester shotguns and rifles and has plans to introduce new models. Winchester guns have been manufactured in New Haven for 140 years. During World War II, more than 19,000 people worked at Winchester’s New Haven factory. That was about 11 percent of the city’s population at the time. In Friday’s Washington Post, columnist Stephen Hunter offered a salute to Winchester’s iconic level-action rifles