40/82 wcf or 40/82 crossno

[gunsofliberty]

What is the difference between the two cartirdges? 40/82 Winchester and the 40/82 Crossnos?
thinking building one on remington rolling block 1897

[Dragoon 45]

The .40-82 Crosno is a .45-90 tapered down to .40 cal, like the .40-65 Win is a .45-70 tapered down to .40 cal; and is a relatively new cartridge less than 15 years old. The .40-82 is a rimmed bottleneck case introduced in 1885 with the Highwall and phased out of Winchester's ammo line in 1936. According to Cartridges of the World the .40-82 Win can be formed from .45 Basic cases and I suspect that the .45-90 is all you really need as the cartridge length is 2.40". The Winchester is an obsolete caliber and the last I checked dies were running around $180 from RCBS, while the Crosno dies are under $80 from Dave. Dave Crosno has a shop in Arcadia, Ok, and makes occasional Gun Shows here in the state, he is very pleasant to talk to.

I considered the Crosno before I screwed up my shoulder. From what I can tell from talking to local BPCRS shooters here in Oklahoma, the Crosno is a very accurate round when loaded correctly, but has a reputation for heavy recoil. No one that I know shoots the Winchester round.


What is the difference between the two cartirdges? 40/82 Winchester and the 40/82 Crossnos?
thinking building one on remington rolling block 1897

[sharps4590]

In lne with what Dragoon said, and he is right, I do shoot a 40-82 WCF in an original 1886 Win. Obviously not for BPCR. Good cartidge but not a lot of "oomph" for its size. Chambered in a modern rifle with a longer throat and heavier bullet I believe it would be more than adequate but the original loading of a 260 gr. bullet at about 1400 makes it almost a glorified 44 mag. The Crossnos is more than likely a better way to go.

[kokomokid]

I think D Crossno was reaming some crooked chamber 40/65 to the 40-82 with good sucess.

[Dragoon 45]

I bought a rear sight from Steve Baldwin earlier this year. While talking to him, he told me he was going to shoot a Crossno this year in IIRC a CPA rifle. He had good things to say about it.

One advantage the Crossno has it that it is a very easy rechambering job from the .40-65. The profile of the .40-82 Win cartridge needs a blank barrel to start from according to what I have been told, it is very hard to convert from a different .40 chamber to it.


In lne with what Dragoon said, and he is right, I do shoot a 40-82 WCF in an original 1886 Win. Obviously not for BPCR. Good cartidge but not a lot of "oomph" for its size. Chambered in a modern rifle with a longer throat and heavier bullet I believe it would be more than adequate but the original loading of a 260 gr. bullet at about 1400 makes it almost a glorified 44 mag. The Crossnos is more than likely a better way to go.

[sharps4590]

You got me to wondering Dragoon. I went out to the shop and pulled out a fired 40-82 WCF case to measure and if what I know of the 40-65 is right I think you're correct. The 40-65 is basically a 45-70 tapered and necked to 40 cal., correct?

I know my tastes and ideas run the gamut from unusual to downright silly but I always thought a double rifle chambered in 40-82 WCF to accept a 370-400 gr. bullet would be a dandy, shooting black of course.

[Dragoon 45]

Yes that is true, Winchester developed the .40-65 from the .45-70.

I don't doubt the .40-82 Win is a good round. I am not sure how well it will shoot with larger 400 grn bullets as it was orginally designed around a 260 grn IIRC. From what I have seen the neck looks a little short for the big bullets, but that is just conjecture on my part. It may shoot those big bullets very well.

In regards to a double in .40-82 Win, I would say if that is what you want, go for it. It sounds like a fun project.

If my shoulder would take the pounding and I could afford it, I would like to have a Shiloh in .40-90BN. I have read that it was an excellent LR match cartridge in its day.


You got me to wondering Dragoon. I went out to the shop and pulled out a fired 40-82 WCF case to measure and if what I know of the 40-65 is right I think you're correct. The 40-65 is basically a 45-70 tapered and necked to 40 cal., correct?

I know my tastes and ideas run the gamut from unusual to downright silly but I always thought a double rifle chambered in 40-82 WCF to accept a 370-400 gr. bullet would be a dandy, shooting black of course.

[SSShooter]

Not a horribly old thread, so I'll comment. The 40-65 is exactly as stated above....... the 45-70 reduced to 40cal. And, the 38-56 is also based on the 45-70 reduced to 38cal in a bottleneck case. All three have a nominal 2.10" case length. So, guess I can say that I shoot a 45-70. But one (the Hepburn) is reduced to 40cal (40-65) and the other (C. Sharps High Wall) to 38cal (38-56). Shoot a 450gr bullet in the 40-65 with 62gr of 1 1/2F Swiss and 340gr in the 38-56 with 57gr of 2F Goex. Both are <2moa rifles and great fun to shoot. Especially when I do my part (which isn't always).