Early autoloaders, anyone?

[bobbo]

I've been musing about the early autoloading rifles lately (Winchester 1905/07/10 and Remington 8/81, etc). I don't know what it is, but they seem more interesting than the plain-jane lever actions of the day. They intrigue me, much like the Browning Auto-5 seem more interesting than a Rem 870.

I have my C&R, and I've been itching for my first purchase and a new project now that I have my latest two pretty much wrapped up (a '73 jam-o-matic 10/22 to a reliable carbine with Tech Sighs, and a completly overhauled, peep-sighted Mossberg 185D). I'm really getting into this gun refinishing thing. I'm thinking a beat-up example of one of the first autoloaders as a new project, as well as a deer rifle in the thick woods in my section of NY. I've done some research on loading supplies and magazines, and both seem to be available with some hunting around.

Does anyone out there shoot the older autoloaders anymore? Anyone want to show theirs off in this thread? Any groups out there dedicated to these rifles I may want to join?

 

[TIMC]

I have an older auto loader that is great, my old M1 Garand!
1956 issue...

 

[TonyRumore]

These are cool, but hard to find with the detachable 15 round magazine.

Remington Model 8 Police in 35 Remington.

 

[husker]

Very nice ^^^^

 

[cat9x]

If you want to get into early Remington Autoloaders, come check us out...

www.thegreatmodel8.net

Here's an example of a custom 1908 Model 8 carbine in .35Rem (vs. an M1 Carbine) and a Model 81 "Special Police" formerly of the Nashville, TN Police Dept. 15 rounds of 35 Rem.

 

[rcmodel]

Ammo for the WSL calibers are getting very hard to come by.
Even reloadable brass is very scarce.
Something to consider.

rc

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

+1 on what rc said. If one has a lathe brass can be made from .357 max. for the .351 or the .35sl can be made from .357 mag. They are definitely not cheap and with full power loads they will throw their brass a country mile.

 

[bobbo]

Hmm... I was looking at the Winchesters, but there's something about the Remington 8's that I like... probably the factory .35 Remington still available. Will have to look more into those.

 

[Sam1911]

Wow, as many times as I've seen a Model 8 sitting on a rack somewhere (granted, that's not MANY times), I never noticed the Kalashnikov-predecessor safety! How cool is that?

 

[Captcurt]

I have a buddy who collects Rem 8/81 and 121s. He has about a dozen of them. Neat old guns.

 

[Onmilo]

I have a Model 63 Winchester which is the rimfire version of the 05/07/10 rifles.

A writer named John Henwood put out an exceptional little book concerning the centerfire version and I suggest you obtain a copy if you are really interested in these guns.
It covers the history as well as reloading tips for these neat old rifles.

 

[Molasses]

Ammo for the WSL calibers are getting very hard to come by.
Even reloadable brass is very scarce.

True enough, but useable .401 WSL cases (for the Model 1910) can be made by opening up 7.62X39 brass. I bought .401 brass a few years back from Buffalo Arms based off that case. Saw a post not too long ago (forget where) in which a fellow claimed success via a series of expanders, going in steps and there was a thread over on GunBoards forums awhile back where a fellow was putting up drawings and dimensions for a "string of beads" expander he'd made up to do it in one pass.
_______________________________

Personally, while the early Remington and Winchester autoloaders are interesting, the one from that timeframe that I find most intriguing is the Standard Model G. A rifle that could be used as either a manually-operated pump or gas-operated semiauto from a company that went out of business before WWI.

This place is all about the kind of rifles this thread is about:
http://vintagesemiautorifle.proboards.com/index.cgi?

 

[airedaleman]

Forty-odd years ago I had a Model 8 Remington and a Standard Model M (a manually operated version; a pump gun!), both in .25 Remington. They were both fun to shoot. The Model 8 had no recoil at all (they are NOT light-weight rifles), and you could feel and hear the long-recoil action cycle quite distinctly. The Standard ejected out the top, and worked fine - all the time - unlike the Model G...

 

[XxWINxX94]

Love the early autoloaders, just wish they were in more popular cartridges.
I have a Winchester model 07 dating to around 1951.

It is .351 Winchester caliber, and has an 8rd mag. You cock it by pulling the rod that comes out of the front of the gun near the end of the barrel. It was a blast to shoot, but I don't reload so the shooting was limited. I haven't seen ammo anywhere for a long time.

The story with these guns goes like this:
The autoloaders like the Winchester model 07 were used by prison guards patrolling the high walls of the prison.
You can also see this gun in the movie "Public Enemies" starring Johnny Depp (I think). Several of the guards and agents have them.

Great guns!