The Winchester Model 1910 (also known as the Model 10) is a blowback operated

semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-act ...

produced by the

Winchester Repeating Arms Company The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American manufacturer of repeating firearms and ammunition. The firm was established in 1866 by Oliver Winchester and was located in New Haven, Connecticut. The firm went into receivership ...

beginning in 1910 with production ending in 1936. This rifle is fed from a 4-round capacity, detachable

box magazine A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges withi ...

located immediately forward of the

trigger guard A trigger guard is a protective loop surrounding the trigger of a firearm designed to prevent unwanted contact with the trigger, which may cause an accidental discharge. Other devices that use a trigger-like actuator mechanism, such as inhalers, c ...

. Winchester only chambered the model 1910 in the

.401 Winchester Self-Loading The .401 Winchester Self-Loading (also called .401SL or .401WSL) is an American rifle cartridge. Description and performance Winchester introduced the .401SL in the Winchester '10 self-loading rifle as a supplement to the Winchester '07 a ...

or .401 WSL

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...

. The basic design for the Model 1910 is covered by * issued August 27, 1901 and assigned to

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

by Thomas Crossley Johnson, a key firearms designer for Winchester. This patent was initially used to protect the design of the rimfire

Winchester Model 1903 The Winchester Model 1903 was the first commercially available semi-automatic firearm made by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. History The Winchester Model 1903 was designed by T.C. Johnson, who had joined Winchester in 1885 and had become ...

, but came to be applied toward the

centerfire Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A centerfire cartridge is a firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i.e. "case head"). Unlike rim ...

Winchester Self Loading rifle series, which includes the Model 1905, Model 1907, and Model 1910.

Variants

In addition to the standard or "plain finish" model, a deluxe or "fancy finish" model was offered with checkering on the forearm and wrist of the

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

. The plain finish rifles were offered in 1910 at a list price of $30.Winchester Repeating Arms Company 1910 Guns Catalog Reproduction by Cornell Military Publications. Brighton, MI 48114

World War I Orders

Winchester factory records show an order placed in 1915 for 150 Model 1910 rifles, spare magazines, and 25,000 cartridges of .401SL ammunition by the firm of Andre, Schaub & Pioso as an agent of the French government. A subsequent December 7, 1917 order of 400,000 .401SL cartridges is believed to indicate additional Model 1910 rifles were acquired by the French Republic through other means.Houze, Herbert G. (2003) Winchester's First Self-Loading Rifles National Rifle Association, American Rifleman 151(5): Washington. p. 51Schreier, Konrad F. Jr. (1990) Winchester Center Fire Automatic Rifles Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Armax III(1): Cody, Wyoming. p. 84 They were carried by aircraft observers to ward off fighters, a step between pistols and dedicated aircraft machineguns. They were later gradually replaced from 1916 onward by the .351-caliber

Winchester Model 1907 The Winchester Model 1907 is a blowback-operated, semi-automatic rifle produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company beginning in 1907 with production ending in 1957. It fired a cartridge of intermediate power, cycled through a semi-automatic ...

s. The Model M1907 rifle won out because it had been adopted in larger numbers and because it was also adopted by Britain's Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. Winchester records show orders of about 500 Model 1910 rifles by the Imperial Russian government dating to 1915 and 1916. Further details are not available regarding orders of .401SL.

References

External links

The Vintage Semi-Automatic Sporting Rifles Forum - Winchester Model 1910 - http://vintagesemiautorifle.proboards105.com/index.cgi?board=win10 {{Winchester Cartridges Firearms Semi-automatic rifles of the United States Winchester Repeating Arms Company firearms Police weapons