Winchester Self Loader

[Bridger]

Anybody have one of these? I know where a .351 is that could be had for $600-$700 and for some reason.....I want lol. I'd prefer the .401, but I've never seen one of them. Any thoughts from you guys that have experience with them?

[Malamute]

I don't have experience with them, but they had a good reputation for reliability.

Brass can be made, I believe from 357 mag, or perhaps max.

Edit: just read this, http://forums.handloads.com/archive/for ... ?TID=16775

[ollogger]

I am looking at a 401 in about 90% condition but it has no mag for it, the mag is as much as the gun



ollogger

[Molasses]

I've got a Winchester M1910 in .401SLR
Brass can be made from 7.62X39. It's supposed to be fairly simple, if you've got a battery of mouth expanding dies to take it up in steps. I'm sure that annealing would be a good idea, too. Over in the Winchester section of the GunBoards forums some years ago, someone even put up a drawing and dimensions for a stepped expander plug that supposedly did it all in one go.
Me, I bought a couple of hundred pieces of brass from Buffalo back when I got the rifle and I'm still working with that stuff. It's headstamped 7.62X39.

.351 is a whole 'nuther story and I'm thinking that there's a bit more work involved, if you're doing it yourself.

[Bridger]

It comes with an extra mag, and half a box of ammo. I'm interested in hearing more about the ammo making difficulties.....sounds like it could be a pain.

[airedaleman]

Check out http://vintagesemiautorifle.proboards.com

LOTS of info there about the rifles, ammunition, and reloading dope..

[OldWin]

I made a lathe bit for a friend a long time ago to make .351SL out of .357's. You just need to turn the rim down to the correct diameter for .351 (can't remember the number). Also, the extractor groove will need to be formed.

If you find the cartridge case drawing for .351 you can get the dimensions and have someone grind a lathe bit to them. You can turn them out fairly quickly in this manner.
I believe they only need to be trimmed to length otherwise.

[AJMD429]

I'm surprised Starline or someone doesn't produce a few runs of those cases....

[EdinCT]

Kittery trading post had several for around 400.00 a few years ago. My neighbor had a 401 and called it Thor's hammer

[Molasses]

Kittery trading post had several for around 400.00 a few years ago. My neighbor had a 401 and called it Thor's hammer

Your neighbor probably got that from the old Winchester ads that said as much about that model...

[BenT]

The 351 should be under $500 unless it is in excellent condition, maybe because they are more common around here . New 351 brass can be bought from Buffalo Arms. I form brass from 223 and it works fine. 357 brass rim has to trimmed down but it doesn't need an extractor groove. It's a direct blow back , the brass is coming out. Grafs sell's bullets very reasonable, but are not a hunting bullet. They are fun and accurate. I have some postings on my 351 on this site. The forearm wood tends to crack, check for that to get the price down. They are very fun, I would pursue it but shop around to compare.. Good Luck!