Casting for the .405 Winchester...???

[Crashbox]

I am gearing up to cast projectiles for my two .405's, an original '95 and my Ruger No. 1-H. I have the Lyman #412263 mould and enough WW/Pb/linotype to put my shoulder on Pluto via recoil. I'm probably not going to drive these more than 2200 FPS, but I notice that Lyman's 49th and their CBH specify No. 2 alloy which IIRC runs about 15-16 BHN or so- that seems quite soft to me for such velocity. This bullet is not gas checked, either.

So, I was wondering if there are any others who have cast for the .405 Winchester, and if so:

* What alloy (approximate is fine) do you cast them with? Do you water or oil quench them?

* Do you use a GC'd projectile? If so, where did you obtain your mould and which size of GC do you use?

* What type of lube do you install in the lube grooves?

As for powder, I plan on sticking with 748 for the original '95 as its published pressures are VERY mild with cast; the Ruger- it doesn't matter as much...

I know I'm asking an awful lot at once, but *any* and all advice/input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much in advance.

[fouronesix]

I have a 95 made in 1904. It is in excellent condition with excellent bore. It has factory installed Climbin' Lyman peep. It shoots the Hornady 300 gr Jbullet with medium load of 4895 at about 1800 fps extremely well.

It has a groove diameter of .414. I found no regular factory mold to my liking so I designed a Mountain Mold. It drops a 320 gr regular GG gas checked bullet of about 12-14 BHN at .416. I size to .415 and use a fairly soft BP type lube. I load to velocities in range of 1300-1500 fps using either 4895 plus dacron filler or 5744 plus dacron filler. It averages circular cluster groups of 3/4" at 50 yards with those loads. I have other bolt guns that shoot high end loads if I need to do that so I have no recommendations about any hotter loads in the 405.

Oh.. I use the standard gas check for the 416 by either Hornady or Gator.

[Bullshop]

The RCBS 350/416 FNGC for me has been an outstanding off the shelf design for the 405 Win.
I have several custom designs but none work any better the the RCBS.
For my rifle 4895 did the trick.

[451whitworth]

as per Bullshop, I've shot that same RCBS bullet out of my 405wcf. I never bought the mould, someone gave me a sample and it worked great. I use a LBT 350gr. LFN @ .414" with Hornady .416 gas checks. I use wheel weights oven heat treated.

[trk]

Crash -

I shoot 300 and 400 gr bullets (plain base) for 200 yd off-hand competion. One is RCBS the other Lyman. Both shoot about the same, the 300 easier after 40 rds on the shoulder. Using 10 - 10.5gr of Unique (light accurate load) with a 0.02gr wad of closed-cell LDPE to keep powder near primer. No leading with several lubes, pan lubed. Lubing 2 grooves is best, 3 leaves too much lube in bore. Alloy is WW with a bunch (5-10%) of tin (tin for me is cheaper than lead). Using a stainless Ruger #1.

[trk]

and - lube started with 50/50 orignal Alox and beeswax. Added a bit of carnuba and a bit of ATF. Blended several batches. They all shot about the same.

[Crashbox]

Thanks y'all for the great responses so far- please keep 'em coming, folks...

[Don McDowell]

I have the Lyman 4112263 and it works well in my new manufacture 95, also Buffalo Arms 413-300 gc bullet shoots well. Have also messed around with a bit of long range shooting with the rifle and the Parts Unknown climbin lyman using the RCBS 400CSA bullet.
5744 for the cast bullets, and Rl 12 for jacketed.

[ammohead]

I have a 350 gr mountain mould that I worked up for myself. It has a round/flat nose with two loob grooves (bought from waksupi at a discount price) and a thick plain base. Under the boolit goes a wax wad made from boolit lube and under that goes a cardboard wad. I fill the rest of the space with 45.5 gr surplus IMR 4895. I cast them almost dead soft and still get good accuracy and 1850 fps. I took a black bear in WA on the Quinalt res. in Sept 2010 with this load. Rifle is a replica takedown model.57143

[muskeg13]

I can echo Bullshop and 451. The RCBS .416-350 FNGC works well for me at 2200 fps. My alloy is air cooled ww with ~2 percent tin, which comes in between 1:20 and Lyman #2 in softness. Boolits weigh about 360gr depending on the specific batch of alloy. To prevent leading, match your sized boolit to your slugged bore size and use a good lube. My Miroku 1895 slugs at .4125, and I size to .413 and use Hornady .416 checks. I use a home brewed Alox type lube or Javelina Alox in the lubrisizer, and then tumble lube with Lee Liquid Alox after sizing. I don't have my load logbook at hand now, but I've used Varget, 4895, Benchmark, H322 and Reloader 7. I believe 4895 gave the best velocity with accuracy.

[303Guy]

So brass for the 405 Win is readily available? It sounds like this cartridge should be a lot more popular! And that rifle looks like it should be a lot more popular too!

[krems]

Perfect timing for this post as I was just looking at my original Winchester 95 in 405 caliber last night. I have never shot this rifle yet. I think i'll look for one of the above mentioned gc moulds and give her a try. Might as well start the year off right with a new gun project

Krems

[Crashbox]

So brass for the 405 Win is readily available? It sounds like this cartridge should be a lot more popular! And that rifle looks like it should be a lot more popular too!

Yep. Hornady makes new .405 brass and I have found it to be of pretty good quality so far (250 casings in stock here).

I agree, the .405 cartridge and the rifles should in fact be much more popular than they are, if only for nostalgia. I think they are flat-out fun to shoot.

I think my Ruger 1-H .405 is the best training rifle I have EVER used; for example, it is amazing how quickly it has taught me how to properly place it against my shoulder.