More than 100 years ago on April 21, 1909 President Theodore Roosevelt began an 11-month safari in Africa. With him was a Winchester lever-action rifle chambered in .405 Winchester, and Roosevelt soon deemed it Big Medicine for animals that might bite back—lions in particular. The president knew that he needed a hard-hitting and fast-firing repeater to deal with animals with an attitude. It is no different today, but now we have a rifle that retains the reliability and fast-firing capabilities of Roosevelt’s famous Winchester chambered in a cartridge with even more attitude than the one the president used.
However, if Roosevelt was alive today, there’s a good chance he might have taken Big Horn Armory’s Model 89 rifle with him to the Dark Continent. Chambered for the bone-crushing .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum, this American-made rifle is tailor made for hunting big animals at moderate ranges. When fired from a 22-inch barreled Model 89, the .500 S&W Magnum has 10-percent more velocity than the .405 Winchester and 11-percent more energy. The Model 89 churns up some 38-percent more velocity and 45-percent more energy than the time-honored .45-70 Government factory load.
The Model 89 is a hybrid of the Winchester Models 86 and 92 rifles. It features the inherent slickness of this design combined with superb American craftsmanship and modern metallurgy to produce a 21st century rifle with 19th century style and class.
