need info on a model 95 winchester in 35 wcf

[trickyasafox]

I know nothing about the gun or the cartridge, could some one point me in the right direction on this? My buddy's father inherited one and wanted to know if there was still factory ammo available. At first i thought it was a 35 Remington, but it is defiantly marked 35 WCF.

I didn't get a chance to check the serial number, but it is an older model with the steel buttplate.

[45nut]

the 35WCF is based on the 405Win,,I believe C&H can provide reloading dies. Maybe navy arms/ old western scrounger for ammo but I would find it unlikely.
Its a hammer, enjoy the history of it.

[NickSS]

Try Buffalo Arms for brass and dies they are on the web and have everything you need to shoot that rifle

[stocker]

When I was a tad growing up in a mountain mining town there were some old timers who hung around on the fringes of town (off company property). They had been prospectors, trappers , guides and general bush rats. To a man they had a 35WCF and swore by them as being great grizzly protection. Over time I acquired a couple or three of their rifles and was able to put them to the test. They were absolutely right. Even at the speed generated by the 35WCF those big 250 grain round nose bullets were effective stoppers. They could break bones , do extensive soft tissue damage and frequently exited leaving a base ball size exit hole. Although I moved on to 35 Whelens there is little if any difference in their effect on game. A bit different in trajectory though. It has always irked me that Winchester when doing their reproduction 95's did not do this cartridge in them and do another run of ammunition and brass. Even Elmer Keith thought quite highly of the cartridge and rated it as a "proper" elk cartridge.

[Bent Ramrod]

Trickyasafox,

I have one of the subject rifles. In full power, it comes in just under the .358 Winchester, the way a .30-40 Krag is just shaded by the .308. Ammunition is available from OWS, but it's just as easy to make your own. You can use .30-40 brass, although it comes out a little short.

I take the Hornady .405 brass and size it in a .375 H&H die with the expander plug removed. This bends the mouth over for better flow in the next stages. Then I run it into a 9.3 X 74 sizing die, with no expander. Finally I size the cases in a .35 WCF sizing die, with expander, and trim to length of 2.406". I used the miscellaneous dies I have lying around rather than springing for a case-forming set; other combinations of standard dies ought to work as well. I annealed after the first step and the last one, more out of a sense of duty than anything. That Hornady brass is top-notch stuff; haven't lost a case yet.

The .405 has all the Teddy Roosevelt glamor, but the .35's long suit is versatility. It'll handle the 200-gr softpoints for the .35 Remington, but it is best with a 250 grain soft point. You can use any .357" JHP/JSP revolver bullet as well as any of the multitude of cast pistol and rifle boolits in the .35 shell for sub loads for casual shooting, varmints or plinking. When a water-filled PET bottle is plinked with one of those .357 Mag bullets, it stays plinked.

[Frank46]

1st generation 95's had slab sides no scallop. second generation had scalloped receiver and gave more support to the bolt. Do a web search on google "model 1895 winchester" you'll have a bunch of information at your fingertips. Frank