405 Win

What new-manufacture guns are you finding chambered for .405 Win? Ruger single-shots are very stout, but I'd not ever exceed published loads.

Oh my yes!

That's the old school, Teddy-Roosevelt-on-safari, quintessential .405! I'd love to own one someday, though I've no use for it.

I think I'd stick with original equivalent loads, personally.

The .405 Winchester is SAAMI rated at 44,000 PSI Max pressure.
New guns or the old ones are the same strength.

The brass case is the limiting factor.

rc

It rivals original .450/.400 ballistics. What more does one need?

ExAgoradzo said:

Does anyone use this for hunting?

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Not me, but only because I have a Browning BLR in 358, a 71 in 348 and a Marlin 1895 in 45-70. If I had a 405 I'd certainly use it.

ExAgoradzo said:

Are the reproduction rifles able to take a 'bigger' charge than original (like the Marlin 1895 .45-70)?

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The 45-70 has several levels of loads because it was originally a black powder load and many of the original guns were much weaker than guns made today. OTOH the 405 is a lot newer and originated with the Winchester 1895 lever action. There won't be much difference in strength between an original 1895 and a new one. Stick to the factory load level.

ExAgoradzo said:

I notice that there are only 'seasonal runs' for this ammo. I don't have any guns like that (should rectify that? ). How do I find out when the 'season' is? Do you just need to keep on looking?

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There isn't a specific season. "Seasonal run" means sometime after hunting season, when things are slower and we can spare the time to take down the production line, change the tooling and crank out some of this low selling ammo. It can mean every spring or a run every few years.

The problem is that nowadays with the huge demand the factories are swamped, selling 308, 223, 9mm etc as fast as they can make it. There is a good explanation of how this works here. It may be quite a while before they have any "slow" periods to dedicate to seasonal run ammo. 405 ammo is NOT on Hornady's current production list.

ExAgoradzo said:

Does anyone use this for hunting?

Are the reproduction rifles able to take a 'bigger' charge than original (like the Marlin 1895 .45-70)?

I notice that there are only 'seasonal runs' for this ammo. I don't have any guns like that (should rectify that? ). How do I find out when the 'season' is? Do you just need to keep on looking?

Any input on this would be appreciated. I've done some reading on the net, but I always like THR input...

Peace,
Greg

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You really can't get more powder in the case, so there's no need to try and hot rod the thing.
Do not use the Hornady bullets for anything tougher than a light skinned deer, the jackets are to fragile, the only elk I shot using those bullets, out of three rounds fired, I didn't recover enough shrapnel to make the weight of 1 bullet.
Barnes, or my favorite the North Fork 300 ss are to be preferred.
The discontinued RL12 powder will hurl 300 gr bullets at 2350 fps and hold groups to less than an inch.
You can also make a pleasant cast bullet shooter out of it, with 5744 and various 300 gr cast bullets.

I fired half a box of original WW loads out of an original 1895 and maybe it was the crescent butt but man oh man that thing kicked very sharply, certainly much more than an 1895 Marlin with 300 grain loads or even a full on 300 grain .375 or ......

Yep!

They kill on both ends!

Don't need no more pressure or power after you shoot one a few times!

rc

I added a limbsaver recoil pad to mine, that let me shoot more than 10 full house loads at a session without getting a recoil headache, and it also gave enough length of pull to keep my finger nails out of my lips.. My 95 is one of my favored rifles, it's the only rifle that uses smokeless powder that I shoot much these days.

The 95 is a very nice handling rifle, but that 7.5 or 8 lbs is just a touch lite weight for that much recoil, not the ideal rifle to go out and burn 100 rounds in an afternoon's range session.

the win 1895 is just plain cool!!!!

mgm make a 405 win for the encore. unforunatly, i'm waiting on the 444 marlin.

Do not use the Hornady bullets for anything tougher than a light skinned deer

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I don't even use them for deer any more. Not after having one blow up on a little doe's shoulder.

I've never had an issue with the recoil. As long as I'm not shooting it from the bench.

Though this thread is dated it still has some relevance IMO.

I don't know anyone personally who uses a .405 Winchester for hunting on a regular basis but one of the clerks at a semi-LGS I used to frequent, did. He said they preferred using the .405 on deer because he didn't want to track them down but rather, DRT. I don't hunt myself but if I did I would not hesitate to use it, if only for the nostalgia.

There are certainly a number of cartridges available today that are more efficient with less recoil (and the .405 lacks NONE in the recoil department!), but the .405 is just plain fun in my opinion. Subtle as a freight train.

It's just about the only rifle cartridge I reload for.

I've been a fan of the writer Sam Fadala for many years. He states that the 405 is superior to the 444 and 45-70 for hunting truly large game animals. This is based upon both paper ballistic charts and actual hunting experience.

I suggest asking your local shop to call his Distributor about ammo availability.

TR

Captec/Jamision brass now has 405 component brass available.

Back in 1980 an old friend went to Africa on Safari. For a number of years before he went he was experimenting with the .45/70 and the .444 because he wanted to use a lever gun. In the end he acquired a .405 chambered 1895 Winchester take-down model. Barnes was making some solids at the time and Fred graciously passed along some loading data in a letter with his order.

The PH said he had never seen a lever gun in Africa or even heard of one. The .405 performed very nicely back then as it did for T.R. earlier in the century. I am sure it will do the same today with the proper projectiles.

Hairy Clipper said:

...The .405 performed very nicely back then as it did for T.R. earlier in the century. I am sure it will do the same today with the proper projectiles...

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That's the key, proper bullets. I use cast bullets from the Lyman 412263 mold. For most game, I use a 30/1 alloy and it holds together fine, never recovered one but I have recovered the meat. If I were to go after bigger stuff, I would alter my alloy to something stiffer.

I try to keep the velocity around 1500 fps to save my shoulder but do have some rounds that get me into the original ballistics.

The 405 replaced my dependence on the 45-70, the more I use it, the less I use the 45-70. I get flatter trajectory and more penetration with the 405. If I need anything more, I step up to the 50-70.

The original cartridges, unfortunatley were built with poorly constructed bullets in them. The technology of the time did not allow them to build a proper jacketed expanding bullet. Several hunters died because of their mistaken belief it was "...the medicine gun... ".

Kevin

I failed to state that I have two firearms chambered for the .405 Winchester: an original Model '95 that I've never shot (yet)- it was Mom's gun and I was a good little boy; and, a Ruger No. 1-H Tropical that I shoot a few times a year.

My favorite load using the Hornady 300-grain pills, is 58.0 grains of IMR 4320. It is amazingly consistent IMO. I have the Lyman 412263 mold but I've never cast any lead for it; a very interesting load would be using W748 as it runs very, very low pressures in this cartridge with lead bullets (per Lyman's 49th).

I shoot the No. 1-H more than any other rifle at the range- I just LOVE the .405!

25 grs of 5744 with that Lyman bullet cast from #2 alloy is a good load. Have also had some respectable groups using that bullet and the Hornady bullets with 4895 and the 60% youth load.