05/03/2021
It is that time of the year again. Lots of rain, moderate temperatures and the Lowe’s home improvement shuttle is in operation. My wife knows the proper nomenclature for the pictured flowers. She selected them from aisles and aisles of potted flowers and shrubs. She mapped the planting arrangement, defined the soil mixture, metered the fertilizer, and set the moisture content. All I see are pink flowers, yellow flowers and little white flowers in a wooden tub.
A garden, out of frame to the left, has been turned over and new plants have been added. The mock owl needs to be placed in the front woodlot to stand guard against pileated woodpeckers. The deck and porch ceiling need to be scrubbed and resealed. Insecticide needs to be sprayed. The lawn needs to be de-thatched and chem aerated…. For now, my wife is happy. She was able to get her first flowers of spring planted. So maybe we will just enjoy this moment.
Firearms
So much related to firearms has changed during my lifetime. Yes, muskets are not as common in the military as they once were and black powder is no longer the de facto propellant. Still, the changed are something much greater. People have changed, society has changed and so it follows that the nature and objectives of the modern gun owner have changed. I suppose I have been left behind.
At one time, most gun manufacturers chambered within common group of cartridges and differentiated their products from those of competitors with level of embellishment and quality. In fact, Browning still offers these types of special firearms within the John M. Browning Collection with the Browning B15 Beauchamp in Grades A, B, C, D, and E and the Hi Power FN in a number of highly ornamented configurations. All all assembled, fitted and finished by Browning craftsmen in Liège, Belgium, each gun a customer’s special order. It is a place where many firearm daydreams live… the best of the best, the not often attainable.
Unfortunately, the lifelong dream firearms I’ve owned were rarely used. Not that I didn’t enjoy them, or that they could not be used in a practical application, but my fear was that their value might be diminished by use and/or handling. Eventually, all were sold as it became obvious my enjoyment of firearms remains in their use rather than in collecting. Certainly not a case of St. Francis syndrome, just a lesson in personal value learned.
“A deer doesn’t know the price of a bullet” – Plato
The sale of one used .350 Rigby, Deluxe Quality Model bolt action rifle could finance the purchase of a sub-compact tractor with loader, backhoe and snow blower. The empty space in a gun safe could result in the excavation of a patio’s, a rain water recovery system, a topped and aerated spring lawn, surrounding woodland cleared of brush, and driveways free of snow. Very real gains and things to enjoy routinely. But what about that missing firearm?
Inexpensive firearms fill the firearm void; lower cost, more robust and often more accurate. Trips to the range take on a different tone and tenor. Instead of a few rounds of expensive and difficult to obtain ammunition fired down range, inexpensive and widely available ammunition spawns broader social groups of family and friends and all day shooting sessions.
Value based firearms, durable in construction, with high functional reliability and sub MOA accuracy encourage many days of hunting and getting out in the woods and breathing fresh air. Wildlife menus grace the dinning room table and broaden life’s experiences and conversations. Perhaps this is where the “value” lies in value firearms.
The Winchester XPR Stealth SR
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Winchester XPR Stealth SR |
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| Manufactured | Viana, Portugal |
| Item # | 535757296 |
| Type | Short Action 60° Bolt Lift |
| Caliber | 350 Legend |
| Mag Capacity | 4 |
| Barrel Length | 16 1/2″ |
| Rifling | 1:16″ |
| Weight – Actual | 6 Lbs 8 Oz |
| Overall Length | 36 1/2″ |
| Composite Stock | Dark Green |
| Hardware Finish | Perma-Cote Black |
| Length of Pull | 13 3/4″ |
| Drop at comb | 1/2″ |
| Drop at heel | 3/4“ |
| Sights | Clean |
| Scope Mount |
D&T Plus Talley Rail |
| Trigger – M.O.A. | Adjustable – 3.5 Lbs Nominal |
| Safety | Thumb – 2 Position |
| MSRP | $669.99 |
The 350 Legend chambered Winchester XPR Stealth Suppressor Ready is a Winchester carbine without a lever. In fact, this XPR weighs the same as a Winchester Model 94 Carbine and is 1 1/2″ less in overall length.
The XPR Stealth is a fast tracking rifle with excellent balance. Seen here with a scope, its rail can also be home to any number of red dot and other optical sights. Its accuracy greater than that of a lever action rifle.
Winchester XPR family DNA
The Winchester XPR scope base fasteners are 8-40 rather than the typical 6-48. Until the recently, 8-40 threads were often reserved for bolt action tactical rifle duty where large, heavy scopes were anticipated. The oversize fasteners make also sense on a light rifle where recoil velocity in more pronounced. Recoil moves the rifle rearward what the scope want to remain where it is.
Inexpensive, lightweight aluminum rings that interlock with the cross slots in the Picatinny rail stay put. In the past, I always used Warne steel rings. This time around, finding permanent mount Warne steel rings priced at $50 a set and aluminum as high as $100 a set, I went with a set of Monstrum Precision Picatinny scope rings, $15 on Amazon. They are well made from aluminum, hard anodized black and the same price in 1″ or 30mm and in any height.
All sorts of things going on in a subtle manner at the rear of the Winchester XPR’s action. All meaningful to anyone familiar with firearm safety and/or the Hunter’s Safety Course.
I took the Hunter’s Safety Course at the Allwood Community Center in Clifton NJ in the year of our Lord 1957. I learned about wildlife conservation, maintaining a positive public image for hunters, safe firearm handling, field safety. For the sake of enlightenment, I took the course again this year. It was pretty much the same, perhaps more elaborate in field gun handling safety and a master’s degree level presentation of tree stand safety, particularly why it is bad to fall out of one.
The XPR has a 2 position thumb actuated safety (1); forward off, back on with a red dot indicator covered. The bolt is locked when the safety is engaged unless the Bolt Release Button (2) is depressed. The Bolt Release Button permits the bolt to be cycled to empty the rifle’s chamber with the safety engaged. In all cases, when the action is cocked a red indicator is exposed (3)
The magazine will no doubt be a little off putting for some tastes. As an example, it doesn’t project downward to hold 30 rounds and get in the way of a proper shooting hold. The magazine is single stack. While it holds only four rounds, it does position each perfectly for a smooth, reliable feed. Finally, constructed of durable poly, the magazine will look and work like new… forever.
Over the years I have prided myself on the ability to produce very light triggers on target rifle and triggers with slightly more resistance on hunting rifle. Polished contact surfaces, minimal engagement surfaces and just enough spring to keep all of the parts under tension until sear release was desired. The XPR has a better trigger than any hunting rifle trigger I’ve refined and it is a good deal safer in handling. Winchester’s MOA three lever trigger has virtually zero take up, zero creep and zero overtravel. Pull is adjustable but leaves the factory at a nominal 3.5 lbs.
Proper headspace is essential to accuracy and a safe operation of a firearm. The XPR receiver is made from a bar of Chromoly steel, machined and then through heat treated. Fitting a conventional barrel; lathe cutting shoulder position, threading and reaming proper chamber depth to set headspace, requires a skilled machinist, costly machinery and tooling. Running a volume production operation requires many multiples of the same. Installing a barrel with a barrel nut requires only a trained assembler, a headspace gauge and hand tools.
The poly stock is heavily ribbed for reinforcement. Action fasteners pass through the stock at two reinforced bosses, perpendicular to the rifle’s bore for the greatest action to stock stability. An embedded steel recoil lug locks into a cross slot CNC machined into the forged steel receiver. For me, the stock dampens recoil, but the rifle always holds zero for shot to shot point of impact consistency.
The full diamter bolt body is CNC machined from chromoly steel bar stock, hardened through heat treating and then nickel Teflon coated to smooth operation and corrosion resistance. The three front locking lugs and recessed bolt face, enclose a cartridge’s case head for added safety and provides a short 60° lift for improved scope clearance and faster cycling. The full-diameter bolt body increases columnar strength and provides improved guidance during bolt travel. The bolt contributes to a more rigid assembly and, again, accuracy.
The barrel, another chromoly – bar stock piece, has a sporter contour which contributes to the rifle’s light 6 1/2 pound weight. Button rifled for a burnished interior finish, flared and terminating in a target crown with 11/16″-24 .750″ threads, the XPR SR accepts industry standard muzzle devices, including silencers. The Perma-Cote finish looks good, handles wear and tear and is more corrosion resistant than conventional oxide bluing.
The 350 Legend
There is good ammunition catalog support for the relatively new 350 Legend with 13 factory loads, of course subject to the same ammunition supply shortages limiting virtually all civilian ammunition supply: Browning (1), Federal Premium (3), Hornady (2), Winchester (7).
With bullet weights from 124 grains to 255 grains, supersonic and subsonic velocity, full metal jacket, hollow point and soft point bullets, the 350 Legend is prepared to cover numerous applications. From the three factory loads on hand…
| Cartridge | Bullet Grains |
Rated FPS |
Recorded FPS |
100 Yard 3 Shot Group “ |
| Win Target | 145 | 2350 | 2273 | 0.6 |
| Hornady | 170 | 2200 | 2307 | 0.8 |
| Win Super X | 180 | 2100 | 2094 | 0.6 |
The SAAMI test barrel length for the 350 Legend, used as the standard to determine factory ammunition velocity is 16″, or 1/2″ less than the Winchester XPR’s barrel.
During this period of tight ammunition supply, there is always the option of handloading expended ammunition. Additionally, Winchester, Starline and Hornady catalog brass for the 350 Legend subject to the same supply fluctuation. If there is a challenge to handloading, it would be in a component bullet supply of bullets made specifically for the 350 Legend; one type, the 165 grain Horndy FTX.
350 Legend bullets are not the typical .358″ rifle bullets 0.3590″ +0.000″/-0.0030″, but rather 0.3570″ +0.000″/-0.0030″, splitting the difference between the rifle bullets and the 9mm pistol bullets 0.3550″ +0.0000″/-0.0030″. The XPR’s rifling twist rate is 1:16″, as would be found on a rifle chambered for the 35 Remington, 350 Remington Magnum or 35 Whelen.
A number of 0.358″ rifle bullets, and several 357 Mag bullets, appear in the Real Guns handload data for the 350 Legend All 0.358″ bullets were passed through a 0.356″ bullet sizing die before use. If left the original 0.358″ diameter, the bullets expanded the case mouth when assembled into cartridges and either did not fully chamber or would not reliably chamber. Once bullets were sized, feed was 100% reliable and accuracy of the sized bullets was excellent.
Examples of bullets handloaded with the 350 Legend, left to right: Hornady FTX 140 grains 0.357″, Winchester TC 145 grain 0.355″ Cast Performance (pre-lube) 180 grain 0.357″, Speer Hot-Cor 180 grain 0.358″, Winchester 180 grain SP 0.355″, Hunters Supply 190 grain 0.357″, Hornady SP 200 grain 0.358″, Speer Hot-Core 220 grain 0.358″.
Multiple reloading 3 and 4 die sets dies are available from Hornady, Lee and RCBS. A bullet sizing die is available from Lee. Reloading is straight forward.
So what does this all mean, in a non- transcendental manner of speaking?
As proven from the latter part of the 1800s through much of the 1900s before the country got a case of semiautomaticitus, Americans like to deer hunt, hog hunt, black bear hunt with compact rifles, lever or bolt action, and shooting distances inside 150 yards. Yes, I am aware of pronghorn hunters, sheep hunters, big bear hunters, elk hunters, moose hunters, and musk ox hunters. But if I were a manufacturer interested in building a slick, low cost firearm to supply the masses, the Winchester XPR Stealth SR is a good example of what I would produce.
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