35 Winchester

[ligonierbill]

My safes are full and I'm way behind on my loading plans, so why not buy a "new" old gun and start another loading project. Actually, I am taking the opportunity to scrub out my collection, but yes, setting up to load 35 WCF for a Winchester 1895. Why this round? Well, the most common 1895 caliber is 30-40 Krag. I did consider that, as brass, dies, and of course bullets are readily available. They made them in 30-06 and a few in 30-03, but I've seen reports that early ones were not quite up to '06 pressures and suffered stretched frames. (True or not, experts?) Of course, TR's .405, but good originals are pricey, and only Hornady, I think, makes bullets. My brother has an original 40-72, but those are rare. I think I've seen one 38-72 on GB. But I have enough BP rounds. Anyway, I load for my brother. I've not seen one, but a bunch were made for Russia in 7.62x54R. I've seen one in .303 British. So, process of elimination. And I didn't have any 35 bore rifles. Thanks to the .35 Whelen, appropriate 0.358 bullets are available. Found some Redding dies and reformed brass at Buffalo Arms. (They are headstamped 30-40 Krag. Understand you can use .405 brass as well.)

That's my story. Now, is anyone out there shooting this round? If so, what can you tell me?

[taylorce1]

You could make the brass as well from .303 British if needed. I don't shoot .35 Win, just the Krag. I took some old .303 and used it in my Krag.

[Bob Willman]

I have a Model 95 in 35 WCF. The serial number indicates that it was made in 1922. I got several boxes of ammo with the rifle and bought a few more boxes at an auction a number of years ago. Also have loading dies and some .358 bullets for reloading.
I took it deer hunting in PA. years ago and was stopped by several hunters wonder what kind of rifle is that. It has a custom stock made by my father-in-law that is outstanding.

NRA Benefactor Golden Eagle Looking forward to Indianapolis

[Scorch]

I had a 1895 in 35 Winchester for a very short time, never shot it because didn't have ammo. Yes, it's a cool round, you could call it the precursor to the 35 Whelen. Plenty of power for anything you want to go for here in N America. It disappeared with the 1895 because it's rimmed and hard to make feed through modern bolt actions. I consider it on par with the 9X57 and just a little behind the 35 Whelen. And of course, the 1895 is one of the coolest rifles of that transition period.

[44 AMP]

Barnes rated the .35 Win as less powerful than the .348 or the .358 Win (in his book Cartridges of the World). He also noted that 95 Win rifles should be held to 45,000psi pressures.

Factory load given was 250gr with a velocity of 2195fps. Barrel length was not given.

[Scorch]

Factory load given was 250gr with a velocity of 2195fps

That's not bad, its about 2700 ft-lbs of energy.

[Paul B.]

I've only seen one real M95 Winchester close enough to hold in my hands. Dunno if it had been a .35 Win. or more likely a 30-06 that had been rebored to .35 Whelen. Dunno what they were running for loads but it was so loose that it rattled when I shook it a bit. Price on it at the gun show wasn't all that bad but I figure that gun has been beat just about to death.

I did find a Browning clone of the M95 in 30-06 and although I think I probably paid too much for the gun, it did come home with me. Doesn't shoot too badly either. I also have a Browning B78 single shot that is one of my favorite cast bullet shooters. I'm thinking of trying cast in the M95 clone as well. Sholf be fun and will keep me put of the local bars.
Paul B.

[ligonierbill]

Reportedly, all the 35 (and 405) '95s had 24" barrels. Ken Waters got 2,232 with a 250 Speer SP. Lyman 47th Edition reported 2,295. Waters did best with IMR-3031, which I have. That's where I'll start. No sense in pushing it. Even with a good aperture sight, I'm good to 150, maybe 200. At that range, this thing should be a real hammer.

[ligonierbill]

I loaded a few 200 Hornady, backing off a bit from Ken Waters before I picked up the gun Monday. Ran a couple patches through; clean. So, Tuesday to the range. Previous owner had installed a replica of the old Lyman side-mount aperture, but left the rear sight in place, so when I got the elevation right, the front sight was of course blocked. No problem. It's in a baggie now, and I have a dovetail blank on the way. But I couldn't really group it. I did get 2,445 fps/12.2 Std with 2 grains less IMR-3031 than Waters used. Hornady 250s are up next.

This is the first 1895 I've ever handled, and I like it. It's certainly not as handy as a '94 carbine, but it shoulders quickly and feels balanced. Not quite as powerful as the newer 35s, especially the Whelen, but certainly outruns the 35 Remington (still common in my native PA). Action is smooth and fast. If she'll keep 'em on the proverbial pie plate at 150, I might take her hunting.

[eastbank]

i have taken just about all my older rifles hunting(most need reloading to shoot them) and have killed alot of deer with them. a heavy lead bullet thru the lungs means meat on the table.