Notable users of Winchester 07 .351SL

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DustyGmt

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Hey folks,
Just came into possession of a pretty cool gun, you guessed it. Winchester 07 .351SL

I paid $100 for this old relic and while at first I just bought it because I have a compulsive disorder that disallows me to pass up any gun for sale I started to really check this gun out and found it pretty cool.

I got a box of 50 with it and only shot 5 rds because apparently you have a better chance of seeing a leprechaun than finding ammo for this gun but the 5 I shot just made me want to shoot 5-10-15-20 more....

I also got two 5 rd mgs with it for which I didn't know to purchase second hand would require the sale of a kidney. I would like to know who notable users of this rifle were. A search yielded few results and I just wanted anybody with knowledge about these guns to chime in. Very cool gun, very fun to shoot. Would love to come across a 10 rounder in an old bargain bin :D
 
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Very cool gun, very fun to shoot.
Yeah, I'll bet it is! Because it's such an oddball, and I love loading oddball ammo, for me it would be a blast to load for too. I'm jealous!
I don't know of any "notable" shooters of the 351WSL. In fact, I've only seen one in my whole life - a buddy of mine's dad has one. But I see in my "Cartridges of the World" book that the 351WSL is "notorious as one of the guns used in the killing of Bonny and Clyde.":)
 
I like my carbine .351 alot ! I have a 5 round and a 10 round mag and a 15 "police" mag that doesn't work well. A 180 grain .35 bullet going 1800 FPS (or so ) is gotta be a good deer gun to 150 yards and a bit more against bad guys. These guns were noted for their reliability and I can see why . I bought 40 rounds of new ammo from Buffaloe Arms for less than $60 on sale a year ago. FWIW mine shoots 2" rested at 50 yards and probably my eyes on the sights were the problem.
 
I like my carbine .351 alot ! I have a 5 round and a 10 round mag and a 15 "police" mag that doesn't work well. A 180 grain .35 bullet going 1800 FPS (or so ) is gotta be a good deer gun to 150 yards and a bit more against bad guys. These guns were noted for their reliability and I can see why . I bought 40 rounds of new ammo from Buffaloe Arms for less than $60 on sale a year ago. FWIW mine shoots 2" rested at 50 yards and probably my eyes on the sights were the problem.
I would like to see a picture of that 15 round magazine.
 
We tested the .351 in ballistic gel. It's the only video that The Brassfetcher put to music on youtube. Check it out.
 
Winchester made over 58,000 Model 1907 rifles, stopping production in 1958. Interestingly, one of the first uses of this rifle were Allied aviators shooting at the enemy with it in cockpit-to-cockpit gun battles. Texas Rangers carried the Model 1907 and it was popular with correction officers manning the walls of many penitentiaries.
 
Thanks for the link to the brass. I made my own from 357max brass a couple years ago. Found a guy online that sold repro mags cheap, seems like the name was "Bob's". Used to be a guy on gunbroker that sold .351 lead bullets by the hundred.

Looks like he only has 10 rounders left: http://www.gun-parts.com/winchesterrifle/
 
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Shame you have to sell it.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/wts-winchester-m07-351-sl.818225/

However I do hope you get the more than 4X+ profit you are asking for it.



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I'm sorry, is there something ethically and morally questionable to you about selling a gun for more money than what someone paid. What I paid and what it's value is to me are two opposing factors.

It wasn't lost on me that I posted the price I paid in a different thread, but the price I would need to get to rid of it is a different matter, my business anyhow. I'm not a dealer gouging customers and if I get a good deal I'm not obligated to ask substantially less than what it's value is....
The gun is for sale though and if you like it, buy it. If not, thanks for passing by.....
 
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Interestingly, one of the first uses of this rifle were Allied aviators shooting at the enemy with it in cockpit-to-cockpit gun battles.

That's pretty interesting, the rifle seems a little heavy for that application but in that era everything had a pretty good heft to it........
 
A late friend who was a lineman for the electric company was a part time deputy in Estes Park, CO. In 1960, he and a number of others were issued Model 07 rifles and stationed on roads to await a motorcycle gang that was heading in from CA. A scout for the gang saw one of the lookouts and turned around.

I handled on in a pawn shop decades ago. Too heavy for me.
 
I'm sorry, is there something ethically and morally questionable to you about selling a gun for more money than what someone paid. What I paid and what it's value is to someone else are two opposing factors.

It wasn't lost on me that I posted the price I paid in a different thread, but the price I would need to get to rid of it is a different matter, my business anyhow. I'm not a dealer gouging customers and if I get a good deal I'm not obligated to ask substantially less than what it's value is....
The gun is for sale though and if you like it, buy it. If not, thanks for passing by.....

The way I look at it, if both you and the seller were happy with the price you bought it, that's good enough for me. If you as the seller and the future buyer are both happy with the price you're selling at, that's also good enough for me. To me it looks like a good way to bootstrap a collection. :D

I'd love to have one, but that particular rifle is down the list a little ways.

Matt
 
However I do hope you get the more than 4X+ profit you are asking for it.



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I do know that if you were in certain gun shops that I know of and you tried to call attention to a potential customer as to what the dealer had paid they'd walk you out right by your nose, it's just in poor taste.
The way I look at it, if both you and the seller were happy with the price you bought it, that's good enough for me. If you as the seller and the future buyer are both happy with the price you're selling at, that's also good enough for me.

I agree.... ;)
 
I think Frank Hamer had one, or one of the deputies that took down Bonnie and Clyde. Wouldn't surprise me if Askins shot somebody with one.
 
It's been awhile since I've seen it but I vaguely recall a scene in public enemy when Christian Bale (purvis) says to Johnny Depp (dillinger) "just so you know, wherever you go my boys are gonna be right around the corner and they'll be coming with .351 Winchesters, Browning BAR's and Thompson machine guns". It could have been the other way around but it was something like that.....
 
Those were all that the Austin PD had when Charles Whitman went to the Tower. Not the best deal for the problem, given how far away one had to be to have any sort of decent chance for a hit on him.
 
Other people will correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Frank Hamer was known for carrying a Remington model 8 in 35 Remington. This is the rifle that most sources report that he used against Bonnie and Clyde.
 
I just found this text about hamer and the guns he carried, thought it might be interesting, turns out it was a Remington.....


***Rangers Hamer and Gualt patrolled on horses before they got cars. History records numerous examples of Ranger adaptability with the most famous being called Patterson and Walker. When Lee Simmons and Ma Ferguson put Frank Hamer on the trail of Bonnie and Clyde, the Ranger not only changed his car but his guns. The legendary lawman always carried a rifle and a .44 Triple Lock Smith and a C engraved single action .45 Colt called "Old Lucky". Frank Hamer believed justifiably that he could hit any target and had proved on numerous occasions that he could kill any target that was shooting at him. Given that Hamer had supreme confidence in his ability to equal anyone in a gunfight, the formidable lawman would not have changed the guns he was comfortable with without a very good reason.

Since he kept "Old Lucky" and changed the other two guns, I believe that he had a very good reason and that reason was penetration. I believe that the savvy Ranger knew that Clyde's thick bodied V8 Ford was, to all but high powered guns, an extremely fast and bullet-proof car. Hamer may have suspected body armor. Hamer chose guns comfortable to him that would pierce the body of the V8 Ford and the bulletproof vests sometimes worn by lawmen and outlaws of the day. The two guns Hamer bought were both semi-automatic. Given his mission and the level from which it was launched, Capt. Hamer could have had any weapon he wanted. He selected for his rifle a Remington Model 8 in .35 caliber. For his pistol Hamer chose what has often been described as a .45 Colt automatic. Heres the link to the rest of it, good reading material. http://vintagesemiautorifle.proboards.com/thread/40/article-on-guns-frank-hamer
 
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20170225_154003.jpg Anyway, here's a pic of mine. I typically shoot and collect more modern era stuff but when I come across cool oldies like this I can't resist, they just represent a golden era that I sometimes wish I could have been apart of....
 
I have had one for over 30 years. They are fun guns to shoot. That one has definitely been refinished, not much use putting a scope in it though.. That cartridge has the trajectory of a slow pitch softball........
 
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