Black friday

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Duke looks worried. He should be.The fretful expression on the 8-foot statue of John Wayne matches the somber mood these days at the U.S. Repeating Arms Co., where Wayne's larger-than-life figure stands watch in the lobby, his left hand clutching the company's most famous firearm--a Winchester rifle, the "gun that won the West."Unless frantic, 11th-hour efforts to find a buyer for the factory bear fruit, the plant will shut down Friday. With that, an American legend with a history that stretches back more than 140 years will come to an end.And 186 employees, a shadow of the 19,000 people who once filled the now-decaying Winchester factory complex here, will be out of jobs.

A marvel of Yankee ingenuity, the lever-action Winchester was a product of America's early Industrial Age that went on to a second career as the rifle of choice in countless westerns starring Wayne and others. But the weapon that could spit out a blazing volley of fire with withering accuracy stands on the verge of being felled by declining sales and globalization.Last year the plant produced 80,000 guns, about a quarter of its capacity.Since the plant closing was announced in January, a sense of loss has spread through the ranks of hunters and gun collectors and sport shooters.