405 Winchester

[pls1911]

Anyone use /cast shoot the .401?
Am I the last old .401 fan?
NOT .401... my error.
Should have read .405.

[444ttd]

i'm still trying to find 401 wsl that is affordable. (yes, i am cheap) the win m1910 makes me shiver with joy.

[richhodg66]

I want one. I have a 1907 and load cast in it, killed two deer with cast in it a few years ago.

Seems like just about any .41 magnum cast bullet would work. I've heard brass can be formed from 7.62x39 brass.

[Battis]

I have one. I call it "The Big Ouch."
I make brass out of 414 Super Mag brass. I use a 208 gr. lead plain base bullet (Accurate Mold #41-208L) and IMR 4227 (22 grs minimum).
I don't cut an extractor groove in the brass.
I actually saw some loaded rounds for sale today in Maine. 2 boxes, 20 rds each box, $2.00 per round. I passed.

I've also used these:
https://www.westernbullet.com/lyman410426.html

[richhodg66]

How difficult is it to form those cases? Is .414 brass commonly available?

[444ttd]

How difficult is it to form those cases? Is .414 brass commonly available?

easy peasy
https://www.starlinebrass.com/414-super-mag-brass

[Battis]

I cut the 414 Super Mag brass to length (1.495").
I do not cut an extractor groove.
Reduce the head diameter (.460") with a drill press and file (the most difficult part). A lathe would be good.

Lee sells a factory crimp die that I don't have.
https://leeprecision.com/factory-crimp-die-401-wsl.html

Dies are available.
https://www.buffaloarms.com/401-wsl-redding-3-die-set-red80471
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/2108?

[pls1911]

Ok gents, I have to apologize... I just caught my typo.
I intended to ask for 405 Winchester!
However I am pleased to see the efforts to keep the 401 WSL going.

[PositiveCaster]

OP, can you get a mod to fix it? You’ll lose a lot of responses with the incorrect title, probably better to start a new thread...




.

[444ttd]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..............drool......drool. ..........drool.................the 405 winchester..............drool....drool............ winchester m1895.............drool.......


when i was wanting a tc encore MGM barrel it was either the 405 win or the 444 marlin. i chose the 444 and i'm thrilled i did. i "want" an old win m1895 in 405 win and 30-40 krag, but want in one hand and poop in other, see which fills faster. i've seen two old m1895 in 30-40 krag from two different gun shops. i have seen one in a 405 win but the 1895 was modern.

i have an extra 1898 spr armory action that i "could" do a 405 win, but what i've read is a no go. the 405 JES (trim down a 444 marlin and put it thru a .411" die) is close enuff to 405 win to somewhat please me.;-)

[jonp]

405 is one of my Grail Guns

[444ttd]

405 is one of my Grail Guns

mine too.

[elk hunter]

I have 1914? vintage 1895 in 405 Win and I do shoot it some with both cast and jacketed. It looks like Hornady has dropped production of the brass and the bullet that they made. So, if you have the rifle or are planning on getting one and don't already have the makings, you best find some soon. Fortunately I have a good supply of both so I should have enough to last as long as I'll be shooting it.

[Blkpwdrbuff]

Looks to me Grafs has the Hornaday bullets instock. $34.69 per box of 50

[ammohead]

I used mountain moulds website to design a 350 gr plainbase .300" flatnose with 2 diameter ogive with 3 lube and 1 crimp grooves cast at 8-9 bhn. What Veral might call a LFN. I put a cardboard wad over 45.5 gr of imr 4895, then a .150" grease cookie I made from felix lube, then seat with no air gaps and a heavy crimp. This gives me 2.5 moa at 1850 fps from a 24" bbl takedown japchester. You can't shoot all day without leading, but for hunting volumes (say 10 shots) it stays very accurate, and cleans up in a couple passes with a tight patch.
It has a 250 lb black bear to its credit, 50 yds pass clean thru, 60 yd blood trail a blind man could follow.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
We shoot both so I will address the 405 (Big Stick) first in this post.
405...
We shoot only cast. Why bother spending big $$$ on a product that I actually do not need. We use FN slugs in 95 % of all our shooting as we are always looking at hunting first. So might as well always be ready to hunt.
We view the 405 as an under 100 yards caliber so that is where we look at performance. Thus a large FN and a velocity of 2000 + fps at 100 yards. Muzzle velocity we look for is 2200+. Some we push faster it just depends on accuracy. If we need a heavier slug then out comes the 50 Alaskan.

We powder coat and use GC mostly as our chamber pressure is not max but generally on the upper stages. Plus we cast as soft as practical as we want expansion. 50-50 WW- Range scrap works very well. If we ever get the opportunity to hunt a griz we will most likely go to straight WW.

A 270 grain is our plinker and a 325 grain is our all around hunting cast. We also have a 345 grain load that we would use for out to about 50-65 yards. Our accuracy with this slug shows it to be on the borderline (yaw) at 100. We can push it faster but accuracy by then is getting to 5 inches. Our real life hunting is 50 yards in river bottoms and thicker brushy woods so again 50 yards is a long shot.... If we feel we would need a 400 grain loading we have 45-70- and the 50 Alaskan. But I doubt we will really ever need the on Mid-American critters.

Brass is the biggest issue. Not loading to 98% power does help longevity. Our 5x shot brass becomes plinkers and have not lost any yet. Anneal each 5 loadings and they may last a very long time.

I guess I should mention we have 41 magnum, 414 Supermag, 405 JES and the 405 in lever action rifles. I cannot imagine any critter we will ever see out in the areas we hunt would ever need more that what we have at hand just in the caliber 41 rifles.
Mike in Peru

[missionary5155]

401 Winchester
If Winchester had named this for the real groove diameter it may still be a real viable caliber today. But the simple blowback very heavy bolt design puts weight right up there with an 1895 without much large game capabilities. But I like it a bunch !
Think of a 41 magnum +. Not quit a 414 Supermag but outruns a 41 Mag carbine with a 255 grain cast. We get to 1900 fps with a FNGC powder coat with less pressure. Basically 41 mag load info works good but you must run it with hot heavy cast loads if you want positive cycling.
Rifle was designed for guard duty. So the 250 grain slug was the most sold ammo. Out to 100 yards I would shoot most any corn cruncher broadside or quartering. But we hunts river bottoms and thick brushy stuff so 35 yards is our reality. Supreme rifle for those conditions.

Any .410 mold probably will work. But I read the stories about the lighter weight slug load and was not impressed. We started with a 255 grain mold we already had and never have loaded anything else. We were not looking for a varmit rifle but a carbine for larger critter bashing.

Brass... I prefer to make brass from 7.62x39. Happily our rifle has no issue with the slightly smaller rim. So all we do is anneal the neck and in stages open the neck to .412. Cut the mouths square and load.
BUT we also installed a brass catcher on the receiver. Our rifle firing our 255 grain load (1680 works very good) will throw brass about 7-10 yards with our most accurate 255 grain load. Thus the cheap catcher made for AR's. Sure saves alot of time brass searching.
Biggest drawback is the 4 round mags that cost mucho much !!! We have two. Hunting if we need more than 4 shots we are not hunting.