Winchester Self-Loading Model 1910

About the Winchester Self-Loading Model 1910

The Winchester Self-Loading Model 1910 was a heavier, more powerful evolution of the Model 1907 designed by T.C. Johnson. Chambered exclusively in the proprietary .401 Winchester Self-Loading cartridge, it was marketed as a hard-hitting medium-game rifle capable of taking moose and bear. Like its smaller siblings in the Self-Loading family, it operated on the simple blowback principle and fed from a 4-round detachable box magazine forward of the trigger guard.

The Model 1910 was Winchester's attempt to push their proprietary self-loading cartridge family into true big-game territory - but the heavy-recoiling .401 WSL was the end of the line. By the time production ceased in 1936, the more conventional .30-30 lever guns and bolt-action sporters had eclipsed Johnson's clever blowback designs entirely.

Winchester Self-Loading Model 1910 specifications

Total production was 20,786 rifles between 1910 and 1936, making it the rarest of the Winchester Self-Loading family. The .401 WSL cartridge offered ballistics roughly comparable to the modern .35 Remington but failed to attract a lasting following.