Which .40 ?

[Hiwall55]

I need some suggestions as to which 40 caliber works the best, I always wanted to build a 40 straight ever since the avalibility of .405 Hornady brass. I have a Hiwall and am leaning towards a Green Mountain barrel in 1 in 14.5 twist, my questions are:40 Sharps straight or 40 winchester?,will my 415 to 430 custom moulds stabilize?,and where is the best place to get a reamer for my gunsmith to use with the Hornady brass or is there someone who specializes in these calibers? Thanks for all your help,Bill

[Nobade]

I believe Dave Kiff (PTG) has a reamer for 40-70SS that is designed around the Hornady brass.

Me, I want a 40-50SS. They're just so cute!

[drcook]

The .40 based on the .405 Win case seems to be very popular within the BPCR crowd right now from what I read on the Shiloh board and other sites.

I have a 40-82 Crossno on a 13 twist Lilja barrel that I am almost ready to start oil finishing the stock, but the brass for it are harder to form. The 40-70 is a pretty much load and go, the 40-82 uses cases formed from 45-90 cases and you have to anneal, form some, maybe anneal some more, final form (I am going to try the interrim annealing to see if it helps) and then trim to length because the brass grows.

Hornady makes some pretty nice cases in .405. I form a 38-70 cartridge from 405 Win brass and the hornady is good stuff. I got mine from Midway.

[Don McDowell]

What are you going to use it for? If the NRA regulated matches are in the mix, then go with the 40-70 SS reamers built for the 405 brass. Or if the NRA matches aren't necessarily in the mix, just ream it with a 405 reamer and go for the gusto.
But I don't think going faster than 16 twist is necessary, unless you're going with shorter bullets and smokeless powder

[Chill Wills]

One thing I think I know is the faster you twist it the fussier it will be to find a load for. I have 40-60 Maynards' and 40-70s' SS in 16T, 14.5T and 13T and in each case, the faster the twist the harder it is to find an accurate load.

[Hiwall55]

It will definately be used for registered matches as well as all other shooting. Black powder only, I have several 40/65's,just want something different in .40 cal. that will knock Rams down . also has anyone tried a barrel liner in a .40?

[Nobade]

The next step up in bottlenecks is the 40-70 Gov't. It IS a wildcat using full length 45-70 cases run into a 4-50BN die to form the shoulder and neck. I shot one for a while and found it very accurate, and didn't foul.

That's a neat idea. I hadn't heard of anybody doing that. Do you know who is making the reamers? I might have to build something like that in the future. The long neck should give plenty of space for whatever wad column you wanted.

[Hiwall55]

40/70 Govt. reamer and dies? where would you get them?

[Don McDowell]

It will definately be used for registered matches as well as all other shooting. Black powder only, I have several 40/65's,just want something different in .40 cal. that will knock Rams down . also has anyone tried a barrel liner in a .40?

Probably the 40-70 ss on the 405 case then if you're wanting a straightwall.
Bottleneck I got the real bad wants for a 40-90 bn...:holysheep

[Hiwall55]

I agree Don,I want the straight case and will probably be the 40/70SS using 405 Brass and after reading a few posts it will most likely be 1 in 16 twist Thanks for the Help,Bill .I think I will give Jim Kriegbaum a call and get his opinion too.

[Lead pot]

http://www.pacifictoolandgauge.com/reamers2.htm