Winchester 100 in .358 caliber

I suggest contacting Winchester at 800.333.3288. They should have the final answer as to what caliber your Model 100 was originally chambered in from the factory. My guess is someone took a Model 100 and had it rechambered & rebarreled to .358 Win. Just my $0.02.

Steve

1967 gun. Is that the only making on the barrel? Doesn't have "Winchester Repeating Arms Co." on the barrel?

Both the Model 88 lever-action and Model 100 semi-auto were factory chambered in .243, .284, .308, and .358 Winchester.

rc

rcmodel said:

Both the Model 88 lever-action and Model 100 semi-auto were factory chambered in .243, .284, .308, and .358 Winchester.

rc

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If the 100 was chambered in 358, it must be a rare bird indeed. I've been a 358 fan for years and have never heard of one. A search for "Winchester 100 358" on Gunbroker, Auction Arms and Guns International doesn't show any, including closed auctions.

All Model 100s (and Model 88s) are fed from the same type of detachable box magazine. This holds 4 cartridges in .243, .308 and .358 Win. (the latter a Model 88 caliber only) and 3 in .284 due to it's fatter case.

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http://www.chuckhawks.com/winchester_100_rifle.htm

Unfortunately, I'm out of town and don't have access to my history of Winchester books. So can you provide a citation that the 100 was factory chambered in 358?

Never take anything Chuck Hawks says for granted.

RhinoDefense said:

Never take anything Chuck Hawks says for granted.

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I hear what you're saying. I'm not basing my post on the Hawks citation, but it was the best I could find. When you're trying to establish that something doesn't exist, citations are few and far between.

OTOH, if Winchester did indeed produce Model 100s in 358, it shouldn't be too difficult to provide a solid citation to that effect.

Note to the OP:

How about some pictures? Send me a PM if you need help posting them.

I do believe I was wrong in post #6.

I just dug out all my old Winchester catalogs and could find no reference to a Model 100 in .358 Win caliber.

Also, see this:
http://www.wisnersinc.com/additional_info/winchesterl_88_100.htm

I do trust Wisners info much further then Chuck's info.

But then there is this:
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Detail.aspx?pid=223410-01A&catid=7374

rc

My Winchester book, an American Legend, by Wilson, states that the 100 was chambered in .243,.284 and .308, The 88 was chambered in .243,.284,.308 and .358 cartridges.

That sounds right.

That is what all my old Winchester catalogs reflect anyway.

rc

The barrel sounds like a commercial barrel; some were made in .358 at the time the Model 100 was popular. If it is a Winchester barrel, it would have the full company name and the WP Winchester proof mark. If it doesn't, it isn't Winchester.

Not knowing why Winchester didn't make the gun in .358, I never liked the idea of modifying it to that caliber, but it was done. I suspect Winchester may have tried to use .358 and encountered headspace problems, since the .358 (like the old .35 Remington) doesn't have a lot of shoulder to provide case support and a semi-auto can drive the cartridge into the chamber hard enough to create excess headspace.

Jim

I'm no authority but that looks like a genuine Winchester barrel to me. Who knows maybe you got collector's piece there.

I'd say no shade tree mechanic did that barrel roll mark with a claw hammer and a center punch!

Looks absolutely 100% real to me.

I kept running across references to them in Goggle where someone said they owned one way back when.

I don't think we can get any better proof they actually did make at least one then those two photo's of yours right there though!

rc

It certainly seems to exist despite the lack of documentation. It's possible it was from a limited run for a distributor or a prototype.

In any case a rare bird indeed!

One point I notice that is interesting. The marking seems to be put on with a roll stamp, all EXCEPT the caliber marking, which appears to have been engraved (note that the "5" is smaller than the "3" and "8".

Questions in my mind would be whether Winchester roll-marked all its barrels on the same machine, with the caliber blank, then added the caliber later, or whether they might have made up a special order and used a rollmark with the caliber removed then added the caliber.

Or, someone took a standard .308 barrel, had it rebored and re-rifled, then had the original caliber marking (or at least the "0" filled in and replaced with a "5". That kind of work wouldn't sound to me like just a custom job, but like fakery. Am I wrong? Wouldn't be the first time, but I would really like to see that barrel "in the steel" and take some measurements.

Jim

they made over 35000 358 in the model 88, any chance someone put a 88 barrel on a model 100 ???

The photos clearly say Winchester - Model 100 - CAL .358 WIN - on them.

Still doesn't look like it has been tampered with to me.

rc

The circumstances can sometimes tell something. If the gun was on a rack at the going price for a .308 Model 100, I would tend to think it is OK and a lucky find. If the price was super high, based the rarity of the gun, then perhaps the difference was enough to justify someone "tampering" with the barrel.

Or maybe I just have a suspicious mind when I encounter an example of something that "doesn't exist". Sort of like someone claiming he found a Rembrandt in the attic; it has happened, but I wouldn't buy the painting without a lot of folks eyeballing it.

Jim