what would a fella do with a Winchester M-1907 in .351WSL? Being a 35 caliber nut, I am attracted to this one for the obvious reason. Every printed account claims it to be 'too light for deer' but we don't hesitate to take a .357 levergun out in the woods. So I wonder what would be done with it if a guy picked one up.

Brass is easy. Bullets, not so much. Dies are spendy but a one-time expense.

Talk me in to/out of this.

Thanks!

Super nice guns. You may not like the balance. Double check the forend, it will split if you look at it cross-eyed. The fix for that seems to be a layer of fiberglass cloth on the inside, preferably before it cracks.

I don't see why it wouldn't perform as well as a .357 on deer, but I've always thought the version in .401 would be smashing.

Otony

I almost never see them here'bouts.

I Know where there is one here and I was going to take it on just for the challenge. Ballistics do not measure up to the 357 from my memory. I heard too much bad to pay the price required when all was said and done I would have a 800 dollar tin can shooter. J.Michael

ballistics seem to be about the same.
.351 WSL 180gr @ 1870 per Wikipedia (trustworthy?)
.357 Mag 180gr @ 1381 per Hodgdon's site although some folks seem to push them to ~1800 or so.

There's still something appealing about that family of Winchesters.

North-West. they were Just coming out of service with the local LEOs. Some were issue, most were private purchases. M1 Carbines, Minim 14s and ARs where taking over in local patrol cars.

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I had one years ago, about the same time I finished up my Model 8 Carbine. It was cool having two of the first successful auto loaders to play with. I lucked into a bunch of brass on eBay and also found a set of C-H dies and a guy who cast bullets specifically for it. I did contact Lee and they would make a custom sized press mounted push through sizer for a decent price. I was planning on sizing down jacketed and cast .357 bullets. Inshot mine a decent amount and had no troubles with it. I want to say I used 2400. I think my older manuals have load data for it. I can see no reason it wouldn't put a deer down just fine. I am/Was on a Facebook page that posted vintage hunting pictures and I sealers I've seen old times gents with winchesters and dead elk and moose. Again, not my first choice but it obviously did the job! They are a straight blow back gun so you can only push them so hard before you start getting funny looking, unsizable brass!!

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I believe it was in the February 2016 Handloader. An interesting read. Never see those rifles around here but I remember as a boy seeing a number of them as well as .401s at Dixie Gunworks when we'd stop by while visiting Tennessee relatives in the '70s and early '80s.

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Aw heck, Hoot. Build your knowledge. Buy it. I'll envy you in Clarksville.

Thanks!

Which manual is that?

I'll have to dig through my stack.

I've got two older, popular Lyman manuals. This is the newer one, it was in the back under 'obsolete calibers'

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