Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire anyone know much about the .35 WSL?

Does anyone have any info on the .35 Winchester Self Loading rifle? my great grandpa had one and my great aunt now has it. I expressed interest in buying it and would like to know more about it, and I'd really like to know about reloading for it.
I believe it is a model 1905.

You can get brass at about $40+ per 20. Then you'd have to either find a bullet mold to cast bullets or get a bullet swaging die. Bullets are .351 diameter.

It's about a bastard 357 Mag.

You might also be able to shorten 351 brass. It would be pretty much a PIA, but what the hell.

Old Western Scrounger has .351 Winchester SL ammo for $4.00 each.

Sweet, but that's not 35 WSL ammo.

learn something every day Scott. I looked it up, and there is a fairly big difference between the two. Thanks.

That is one cartridge we could use a modern version of.
Wish they'd come out with a rimless .357 Maximum and chamber it in ARs.

I have my Great-grandad's 1905 (2 digit sn) and am also interested in making it bark again.
Has anyone BTDT?
I intend to inquire with Hoch moulds (Colorado Shooters Supply) in Roswell, NM about cutting a mould for mine, just haven't got it done yet.

It's a little brother to the mighty .351 SL

Midway can special order brass from QCC, $68 for 50, and one month delivery.

Hawk Bullets does sell .351 diameter bullets, but they are intended for the .351, which can make 1700-1800 fps with 180gr bullets. I've carried my .351 deer hunting but I am not sure I'd use a .35 on deer, unless I knew the bullets would expand okay.

The 1905 was introduced, and underwhelmed everyone, which brought about the more powerful Model 1907 a couple years later. The 1907 stayed in production for a number of years, and was pretty well liked. There was a book published called The Forgotten Winchesters which covers these models. 1905's will be fairly uncommon in comparison, but I don't know if the rarity equates value in this case. The guys on the Winchester Collectors sub-forum may have more info.

I have two 1907's, both from the first year - one in decent shape, with a tang sight. The rifles were popular among police and prison guards. So far mine shoots minute of escaped convict for three shots, then starts stringing upward as the barrel warms, thoughtfully raising the trajectory as your quarry gets further away

The 1907 is not easy to disassemble. I was glad I took mine apart as the firing pin was stuck due to dried oil. I suspect that's why mine was for sale at a low price. I've never taken a 1905 apart, but if it has the takedown feature on the rear of the action, use that to access the internals and make sure the firing pin, and rest of the action is free of dried oil. These are blowback operated actions, and hot-rodding of the loads is unwise.

Hope this is helpful. I too would like to see a .223 case blown out & necked to .357 caliber, and chambered in AR's.

I'm very grateful for all the info! I wish I knew more about brass forming to try and make some for this fairly easy. I would ultimately like to reload a mild load for this and be able to pass it down to my son one day (if I can buy it) it does have a cracked forearm (they were notorious for that) and the stock was cut down, then lengthened with a shim piece. not sure how that impacts the value, I'm guessing a bit. no idea on condition of the metal. what would be a ballpark value of it?



I too would like to reload for it and cast my own bullets. if you inquire on one, I'd be willing to buy a mould as well for it if they aren't too expensive

My father in law had one.
I think the brass came from Ol West Scrounger
It was expensive. I had a neighbor who said he could make it on a lathe with a forming tool. He was all talk though.
The dies were expensive too.
I think I used 180 Speer bullets.
They are almost a 357 magnum. The rim is smaller. Velocity with 180 grain bullet is 1440 fps. I would sell my dies if you are interested. RCBS three die set.
whelennut

here is the 1907 in .351, you could use 351 brass and trim it, but its a pia. I made some brass from 5.56 brass ,also a major pia. Grafs and son had brass for mine. I got bullets from Midsouth shooters supply.
my advise on disassembling the rifle is DON"T. the recoil spring is a sob to get back in. to clean the rifle I'd take the wood off and drench the metal in lacquer thinner.
value of course depends on condition. with a cracked forearm (and almost every one I have seen is cracked) I have seen them SELL for 450-500 range. have seen them listed as high as 1200. those didn't sell. I acquired two magazines for the 35 and sold them on line for 180.00, they are rare and sought after.

this is a 50 yard target, they can be accurate and are fun fun fun to shoot. mine throws brass a country mile.

It is described in Cartridges of the World 7th Edition under Obsolete American Rifle Cartridges page 116
whelennut

They just look so damn neat...

When I get home later this week I'll post a scan of a page of reloading data for the .35 WSL from an old Lyman manual I have.

My father in law used one to help feed his family.
They went out at night with a spotlight and he told stories about following bloodtrails in the swamp.

Can you post the particulars of your loads?
Brass, bullets, and all?

Jamison Brass also makes both .35 and .351 brass. The .35 is out of stock according to their website, but they do have .351 in stock at the moment - $12.84/20

One other tip - RCBS dies are a special order only item, for either the .35 SL or .351 SL. Midway has Redding .351 SL dies in stock at the moment, for 1/2 the cost of the RCBS special orders I would check, you may be able to use them for the .35 SL.

Hi Ryan,

I did a Google search, "how to make 35 WSL brass" and found this on realguns.com

"The 35 WSL has the same procedures as the 32 meaning that a lathe is the best tool to make quality cases. You can use a 38 special case to start the project with. You will trim the case to 1.14 and chamfer the case mouth. The rim should be turned to .405 then thin the rim to .05. Like the 32 an extractor groove needs to be cut to insure proper functioning. The groove should be cut so that the extractor fits over the head without excess brass being removed. The head diameter is .380. You need the correct sizing die as the bullet diameter is .351. I don�t recommend 356 or 357 diameter bullets as they will probably cause difficult chambering and excess pressures."

I have thousands of 38 empties and you're welcome to hundreds of them. And I would even be willing to do the lathe work but will first have to locate one to use. It sounds to be a very simple process. I have a power trimmer so we would only need to machine the heads. Just let me know when you get the rifle.