A family friend gave me a Winchester 351 that had belonged to his dad then passed on to him. It is possible that it was his dads before that (i.e. 3 generations). He knew nothing about the gun, and I am having some problems locating info on the gun itself. I have been able to find enough info on the ammunition, but the rifle eludes me. Can any of you point me in the right direction or tell me more about this (even what model it is)? Thanks for the help guys.
Winchester .351
- Thread starter ahenry
- Start date
Steven Mace
New member
I believe the rifle you're refering to is the Winchester Model 1907. Hope this helps!
Steve Mace
Winchester Self-Loaders
Back at the turn of the last century, Winchester had an entire family of self-loading rifles. They were all straight blowback actions. There was the Mod 1903 .22 (not.22LR), then there were the Mod 1905, 1907 and 1910 centerfire guns in .32 WSL (Winchester Self Loading), .351 WSL and .401 WSL calibers respectively.
The 1903, introduced in 1903, was a rimfire that fed trough a tube in the buttstock. The '05, '07 and '10 were centerfire and fed from a 'normal' detachable magazine. All calibers were straight-walled cases and of medium velocity. I don't know of the ballistics of the other calibers, but the .401 expelled a 210grain .405" dia bullet at around 1900fps. I still have a half a box of Remington JSPs.
My father had a Mod 1910 he had used for deer as a teen back in the '40s.
As an interesting aside, the .32WSL caliber was the rough basis for the .30 Carbine round, also developed by Winchester.
Back at the turn of the last century, Winchester had an entire family of self-loading rifles. They were all straight blowback actions. There was the Mod 1903 .22 (not.22LR), then there were the Mod 1905, 1907 and 1910 centerfire guns in .32 WSL (Winchester Self Loading), .351 WSL and .401 WSL calibers respectively.
The 1903, introduced in 1903, was a rimfire that fed trough a tube in the buttstock. The '05, '07 and '10 were centerfire and fed from a 'normal' detachable magazine. All calibers were straight-walled cases and of medium velocity. I don't know of the ballistics of the other calibers, but the .401 expelled a 210grain .405" dia bullet at around 1900fps. I still have a half a box of Remington JSPs.
My father had a Mod 1910 he had used for deer as a teen back in the '40s.
As an interesting aside, the .32WSL caliber was the rough basis for the .30 Carbine round, also developed by Winchester.
Mike Irwin
Staff
The 1905 was also chambered for the .35 Winchester Self Loading cartridge, a less powerful round than the .351. Same bullet, though.
The .32 and .35 WSL cartridges are really top contenders for the most useless cartridges ever developed.
The .32 and .35 WSL cartridges are really top contenders for the most useless cartridges ever developed.
The .351 Model 1907 was at one time very popular with police (including security guards, prison guards, armored car guards, etc.), and 10 (and I think 15) round mags were made for it. At the time of the 1970's riots in Washington, I saw a couple of GSA guards with armloads of those guns. I wanted to make them an offer, but nobody had a sense of humor at that time, so I didn't say anything. They have probably been long since scrapped.
Jim
Jim
Weren't some of these rifles purchased by France just prior to WW2? It seems to me that there were problems getting the MAS36 into production, so they bought these, in .351, to issue to some troops. Saw a 1907 in .401 sell at an auction a few weeks back. Fair condition at best. $1450....Never any reasonable gun prices on auctions around here!
Mike Irwin
Staff
I sincerely doubt if the Winchester 1907 was ever used as a military rifle to arm cavalry troops in the US.
The French didn't buy the 1907s prior to World War II, but during WW I. Some were apparently issued early in the war to aircraft observers prior to machine guns being routinely mounted.
After the war the French experimented with the rifle, and its case, marrying the 8mm Balle D bullet to the .351 case (slightly bottlenecked) as a means of improving its short range performance.
Nothing ever came of it.
The French didn't buy the 1907s prior to World War II, but during WW I. Some were apparently issued early in the war to aircraft observers prior to machine guns being routinely mounted.
After the war the French experimented with the rifle, and its case, marrying the 8mm Balle D bullet to the .351 case (slightly bottlenecked) as a means of improving its short range performance.
Nothing ever came of it.
Mike Irwin
Staff
Here we go...
It was called the 8mm Ribeyrolle, and was developed between 1917 and 1918. Apparently the round was developed for an experimental automatic rifle also known as the Ribeyrolle.
It was called the 8mm Ribeyrolle, and was developed between 1917 and 1918. Apparently the round was developed for an experimental automatic rifle also known as the Ribeyrolle.
winchester 07 351
i have a seller who is holding a mint 07 for me...it is an expensive round to shoot but so what...when i croak all my money stays here anyway...it shows fine manufacturing from earlier days...it is a compromise for deer class game...but keep range to 100 yds. and take a good shot...for those who say it is useless are too blinded to see it's usefulness...
i have a seller who is holding a mint 07 for me...it is an expensive round to shoot but so what...when i croak all my money stays here anyway...it shows fine manufacturing from earlier days...it is a compromise for deer class game...but keep range to 100 yds. and take a good shot...for those who say it is useless are too blinded to see it's usefulness...
Mike Irwin
Staff
"for those who say it's useless are too blinded to see its usefulness"
Read again, boyo.
No one has said that the 07 or its cartridge is useless.
The two cartridges for the 05? They were useless. Even Winchester agreed, dropping them from production and manufacture faster than any other cartridges they ever produced.
Read again, boyo.
No one has said that the 07 or its cartridge is useless.
The two cartridges for the 05? They were useless. Even Winchester agreed, dropping them from production and manufacture faster than any other cartridges they ever produced.