Hi there,

Has anyone had any experience with the Winchester M1910 rifle? Are they reasonably reliable and accurate, or are they just trouble? I know that putting together ammo is "interesting", but is it worth the effort?

Thanks

I will be able to tell you in a month or two. There will be one waiting for me when I get home from the slope this hitch. I picked one up on GB last week and it is in shipment now. I also lucked into a set of new Redding dies reasonable and ordered 100 of the Qual Cart brass. Should have some Hawk bullets waiting for me as well. Being a recoil operated semi auto rather than gas operated, it will shoot cast bullets without any issues. As soon as I can slug the bore I'll order a mold for it.

I've always admired the vintage semi autos, both the Winchesters WSLs and the Remington 8/81's.

You should check out the Vintage Semi Auto Rifles web site. It has some good information on the WSL's.

I'm excited to try out the new toy. I'll keep you posted on the process.

Mart

Best of Luck with your new rifle. I have a 1907 .351 S.L. that was built in 1923 and I have killed a coyote and two deer with it.

To me all the Win. S.L.s are interesting rounds and used within their limitations are effective.

I think I have a couple boxes of Barnes bullets for it if interested. This was a caliber I always wanted but never found a gun in good shape. I think the Winchester self loaders are neat guns.

srose,

PM sent.

Mart

I've had one many years ago. I wish I could have found a 10 shot magazine for them but was unsure if the 10 shot was made in .401. I know they were offered in .351. Back in those days (1980s) brass was rare and expensive so I always watched where the spent brass landed. Great deer and black bear rifle. Would be fun on mountain lions. Africa, too,except no semi autos there.
Post a pic when it's in hand. You're on the slope? I'm in Willow if you get down this way.
Cal

Cal,

Would love to stop by. I just live in Wasilla. I do the slope two on/two off gig. I'll dropp a line when I get back in.

Mart

Mart:
I will be in Africa June 8-26.
In Australia July 13-22.
Give a call and stop by.
Cal

I have a first year production 1907. It's fun to shoot. I still watch the brass when I break it out on occasion.

Can we have some photos please?

I make brass from 35 Remington (I recycle the cracked necked stuff from the Model 8 and 81).
7.62x39mm (AK-47 caliber) works nicely too. There are others,,but those two I've used.

You can load with standard 41Mag dies.
If you look at the .401 case dimentions and then at the 41Magnum,,you'll see that the .401 isn't much more than a longer 41Mag (the rim and extractor cuts aside)
I just picked up a set of .401 dies this past month, but have been using a standard steel set of 41Magnum dies to load the caliber.


Starline offers the .414 Super Mag (414 Gates) brass which is a lengthened version of the .41 Magnum (perfect!) But at $140+/ 250 cases it's a bit more than I really need.
They would need a bit of trimming at 1.600 (.401 is 1.500) and the rim and extractor groove still needs attention. But for someone that doesn't want to play with old caliber brass, this may be a good source, if it's 'in stock'... a problem we seem have with most any reloading component common or otherwise.

You can also find NOS ammo and reuse the brass of course. The ammo will be pricey at probably $70 and up per box. Usually up.
It's not exactly new brass either.

A couple of the specialty reloaders offer the caliber & or brass. It's usually made up on 7.62x39mm brass.
Take your pick I guess.

It's not like I need several hundred cases. Just a box or two of ammo to shoot for fun and reload. So making up the cases isn't all that much of a chore.

It takes a bit of lathe work to trim the base down after swaging the 35Rem down to size. I use 41Magnum FL sizer for the job.
The last little bit at the base needs trimming to the correct diameter and then I recut/enlarge the ejector groove on the brass at the same time.
I haven't found any need to inside neck ream on the cases made from 35Remington, but I imagine that is something that may be an issue with some brass.

The .401 is actually a semi-rimless. The 35 Remington has the same rim dia as the 401, so that's a nice feature.
You need to cut & trim to length of course.


7.62.39mm brass makes up into 401WSL brass easily and quickly.
Just the right size. Even the length is just a touch over the .401 OAL so the opened up AK case needs just a light trimming once formed.
It is a rimless version though. If you are careful and aware of that and load accordingly
, they work very nice. MAny 401 shooters use the AK brass. Boxer primed cases are made by Winchester,,& others I assume.
No lathe work needed, but some still enlarge the extractor groove so the part isn't damaged on the rifle.

.407/.408 is what the groove diameters will slug out to on most rifles.
I use cast bullets only and use .410 dia 41Magnum bullets w/o any problems as many shooters do. Don't try it with jacketed bullets though.
A cast bullet .002" oversize is standard fare in loading and shooting. As long as your brass will accept the bullet w/o problems and the chamber is large enough to release it upon ignition so there are no chambering and then pressure problems, they work fine.
You take it easy on these anyway as far as I'm concerned.
Loads just enough to make them work. You'll have to chase the valuable brass anyway.

4227 powder has been the go-to powder in loading the 401 for a long time but others have been used.
Fun shooters and even with their considerable weight, they still push back quite a bit upon firing.

The 5 round magazine was it AFAIK. I don't think a 10rd was offered by the factory for the 1910.
Don't loose it,,they are expensive and hard to find.

I traded for one when I was in high school, it came with 4 boxes of ammo...I had to try it out on deer and shot two bucks and I think two or maybe 3 does with it..It sure killed them quickly, but shots were all 100 yards or less..They are real handy but heavy for such a small compact gun..Back then lots of police officers and Sheriffs Dept.s used them and the .351..I had a deputy friend that shot quite a number of deer with his issue .351, he didn't like it much, but it seemed to work for him?? I swaped my .401 off because ammo was a real problem. Traded it foe a Win. 38-55 and I loved that old gun