Got that .351sl...

[ageingstudent]

One thing I like about these older guns chambered in obsolete calibers is that a guy just learns a lot more about loading. Forming and tweaking brass and cross referencing available load info can be tedious, but by necessity I have learned a ton about headspacing and tolerances. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I have. Really, both the .401 & .351 are not tremendously difficult to load for once you get rolling. Straight-wall case that Headspaces on the rim makes it more straightforward I think.

 

[Drm50]

I shot a deer with one once, kilt it. Still have box of ammo left.
Around 1980, the old Prison in Moundsville, WVa, had gotten
M-16s from some government deal. They had 28, 351s and a lot
of ammo. Most of the guns were pretty beat up from guard duty.
There were 5-6 that were near mint. Captain of guards told me
those were used by Warden and his cronies for hunting purposes
in the old days. I had to pass on the deal, it was a package, all
or none. The one that I owned was civilian model. Up to a few
years ago any of the Win SLs were hard to sell unless collector
grade, including the 03. Now everybody wants one.

 

[DWalt]

One consideration in reloading for the old Winchester self-loaders is that you must stick closely to factory ballistics in order for the action to function correctly and safely. One of the older Gun Digest editions from maybe the 1970s had a very detailed article on reloading the .401. I always wanted to have one of the Model 1910s in .401, and have only seen one of them, ever. There were relatively few of them made, but they are probably the best of the bunch for hunting use, certainly the most powerful. I once saw one of the .32 WSL rifles at a gun show which had been converted to fire .30 Carbine. I have read that the .32 WSL cartridge was the inspiration for the .30 Carbine.

 

[ageingstudent]

One consideration in reloading for the old Winchester self-loaders is that you must stick closely to factory ballistics in order for the action to function correctly and safely. One of the older Gun Digest editions from maybe the 1970s had a very detailed article on reloading the .401. I always wanted to have one of the Model 1910s in .401, and have only seen one of them, ever. There were relatively few of them made, but they are probably the best of the bunch for hunting use, certainly the most powerful. I once saw one of the .32 WSL rifles at a gun show which had been converted to fire .30 Carbine. I have read that the .32 WSL cartridge was the inspiration for the .30 Carbine.

I have only tried the 4227 in the .401 that belongs to my step dad. I was surprised at first that the starting charge cycled it so easily. Then I realized that it's an older one and the recoil spring is probably worn out. It did shoot quite well though. Even with the pitting in the barrel it was able to put all the bullets in one fist sized area at 50 feet even with me shooting off-hand. I'll put more testing into the .351 since it's mine. This .351 is much tighter than that .401. It's about 30 years newer in fact. From what I have read 160 to 200 grain cast bullets sized to .352 should make it work. I'll be starting out with 4227 in this project as well. I have 15 cases made up and 15 bullets sized up. Hope to get an initial function test in this weekend.

 

[6GUNSONLY]

Lovely old rifle, so much fine machine work in those. I recall a .401 that hung on the wall in my favorite LGS back in the mid to late 70s, seemed like it stayed there for years at a reasonable price, but apparently nobody wanted one then.

 

[glenwolde]

It's been decades, but as I recall those things are a ton of fun!

 

[Troystat]

On a lark I looked on gunbroker at 401WSL ammo and a seller had several full boxes of ammo and wanted 200 bucks a box. Don't know if they will sell but it would seem that there might be a market for somebody like Starline to do a run of that and the 351WSL. Interesting rifles that's for sure.

 

[2152hq]

Let us know how the range session goes.

What did you make your .351 cases up from? or did you have some factory brass.

IMR4227 seems to be the go-to powder for reloading these two (351 & 401.

 

[ageingstudent]

Let us know how the range session goes.

What did you make your .351 cases up from? or did you have some factory brass.

IMR4227 seems to be the go-to powder for reloading these two (351 & 401.

So just to update this for those interested...

I had another bout of diverticulitis that slowed me down for awhile, but the weather was nice here today and I got out for a function test.

I made up 15 cases out of .357 mag brass (backyard engineer style on the drill press. I have a small lathe on order.) and loaded them up with IMR4227. The case is .09 short doing it this way but I couldn't find any .357 max brass around here. It worked splendidly actually, the cartridge headspaces on the rim and I have lots of .357 mag brass.

Charges ranged from 14.2 grains to 15.4 grains with a (locally cast by some guy lol) 158 grain ~18bhn lubed with Saeco Gold and sized to .352. The projectile is similar to a Lyman #358665. As far as I can see down the barrel with a bore light there is no leading. I can't really see down by the leade though. I'll watch for lead when cleaning.

I just did a bare bones function test firing off-hand at a 12" x ½" hanging steel plate at 30yds. I was pleasantly surprised that all of these loads functioned the action and ejected. Also surprised that my decrepit carcass got all 15 rounds on the steel. One of my groups was about 3" and I'm totally new to that gun and it's trigger is super heavy so I'm encouraged by that. With this specific set up it felt like the 15.2 grain load performed the best, so the next batch I will probably do a work up starting at 15 and working up to 15.5 doing 10 rounds each firing off of a rest and over a chrony.

Funny note, my dad kind of poo poo'd the gun but he was visiting this weekend and went with me to shoot. When the first shot smacked the plate and the empty case rocketed out of the ejection port he was already asking me if I wanted to sell it to him. I suppose I'll have to find one for him now?

 

[DWalt]

Even though .357 Maximum brass seems to be readily available (I think the .357 Max is fairly popular in the T-C single shot pistols), if I had one of the WSLs in .351, I'd try to use .357 brass first, possibly with the bullet seated out a little further to get the standard .351 COAL. Should be easy to make cases if you have a small lathe, to modify the rim. I do, and use it a lot for that purpose.

 

[ageingstudent]

Even though .357 Maximum brass seems to be readily available (I think the .357 Max is fairly popular in the T-C single shot pistols), if I had one of the WSLs in .351, I'd try to use .357 brass first, possibly with the bullet seated out a little further to get the standard .351 COAL. Should be easy to make cases if you have a small lathe, to modify the rim. I do, and use it a lot for that purpose.

Yes. Effectively, I've just modified a .357 mag case to fit the .351 chamber and put a .357 mag carbine load right out of the cast bullet handbook in the case. I thought I might have more trouble with functioning or leading with the shorter brass and oal but so far it's running them just fine. I'd like to try some coated 180 grain projectiles but I still need to gather some equipment to get that rolling.