|
Post by Lee Martin on Feb 25, 2012 17:50:20 GMT -5
I had one of my favorite Ruger rifles on the bench today. It's the stainless .405 Winchester #1 they did years ago: The load was 54.0 of 3031 with a 300 grain Hornady RN. Accuracy, while not world class, was good for a round like this. In fact, most 5 shot groups @ 100 yards were just under 2". -Lee www.singleactions.com
|
|
|
Post by Gary @ R&G on Feb 25, 2012 18:03:58 GMT -5
We like that caliber.
|
|
COR
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,522
|
Post by COR on Feb 25, 2012 18:16:50 GMT -5
Big Medicine
|
|
|
Post by nolongcolt on Feb 25, 2012 21:21:19 GMT -5
I had the blue version 405 No.1 a few years ago and wrote about it in Gun World magazine when I was a semi regular contributor. Great rifle, shot very well and got some pretty impressive velocities. Seemed to like 400 gr bullets pretty well too. Also had the .450-400 No. 1 as well. It too shot well but kicked the hell out of me on the bench. I got recoil headache from that gun so peddled it. Now have a CZ .404 Jeffery, pretty much the same round but a heavier rifle with a much better recoil pad on it. Love the No. 1, have 3 right now.
|
|
hairy
.30 Stingray
Posts: 319
|
Post by hairy on Feb 28, 2012 21:53:35 GMT -5
Lee, I am starting to worry about you. You are starting to think like I do. That .405 Winchester is one of my favorites as well. My S/S is a Winchester falling block. Sometime I will have get a photo for you fellas. Back in 1980, a tall lawyer friend of mine went to Africa with his 1895 take-down model. We were both much younger then, he is gone now and his son now owns the .405.
|
|
|
Post by Lee Martin on Feb 29, 2012 9:58:52 GMT -5
Hairy....we do seem to flock to the same calibers. Pretty neat really. Speaking of original take-down .405's, do you know that less than 100 exist? My dad has one he bought for $650 back in 1979. It's was in excellent condition, so we grabbed it. $650 was a lot of money back then but it turned out to be a good investment. In fact, I recently saw one in similar condition go for $9,500. -Lee www.singleactions.com
|
|
hairy
.30 Stingray
Posts: 319
|
Post by hairy on Feb 29, 2012 13:13:05 GMT -5
That is about the same time frame that Rolf bought his take down model ... about the same price, too. I did not know there were less than 100 of them made. I wonder how many of those had the factory bolt mounted peep sight? Look closely at the photos to see one.
Before going to Africa, Rolf was experimenting with levergun loads. He started with a .444 Marlin lever action. His last loads were so hot that he needed a hammer to get the bolt open. That is when he decided the .444 would not develop enough horsepower for the tusker. So, he kept looking for a levergun to use. Then, one day he was reading African Game Trails by TR, then the search and a subscription to SHOTGUN NEWS was on!
Before he passed away, he allowed me to scan all of his Safari photos and gave me permission to use them as I see fit. I posted these same pictures a couple of years ago on Paco's Levergun Forum so the fellas over there that were talking about Africa and wanting to use a levergun would know it could still be done.
Reloading for the .405 sure got easier since Hornady came out with loaded ammo and brass cases for it. There was a fellow in Australia that was machining them years ago. Case walls were very thick and hard to resize, if you could do it at all with the presses that we had. It still makes me wonder why Winchester brought it back? Perhaps it was the letter to them from Rolf explaining how they would be missing the boat if they didn't produce it again! He would write them every six or eight months, this went on for ten maybe twelve years ... then one day we saw the announcement.
Unbeknownst to each other, we ordered one from the same store within an hour of each others call. I was first. When the first one came in, the boys at Scheel's in Mankato called me, I was out of town at the time and I am quite certain they didn't want two of those sitting on the rack. So, they called Rolf, he promptly dropped everything and went to get get it. When I got back into town he told me he had something to show me. A few days later he informed me that it would have been mine if would have been home when Scheel's called. The salesman confirmed it. Anyway, mine showed up a couple of weeks later. And just in time I might add. I had been having trouble with elephants trampling my strawberry patch ...No longer a problem!
|
|
|
Post by sixshooter on Feb 29, 2012 21:26:24 GMT -5
Always heard that 405 '95's kick like a mule. How bad are they?
|
|
hairy
.30 Stingray
Posts: 319
|
Post by hairy on Feb 29, 2012 22:03:14 GMT -5
The recoil is nowhere near a 4 gauge muzzle loading elephant gun! I have a single shot 1885 and the 1895 in the .405 Winchester. I also have the 1886 Extra Light in .45/70. Shooting the Hornady factory loading for the .405 and the 405 grain factory offering from Winchester in the .45/70. Based on others watching and my "felt recoil" I think the .45/70 in the 1886XL rocks a fellow more than the .405 does. That being said, I am 6'3" and 340 pounds, your mileage may vary. Now, that 4 gauge is in a league all by itself! ;D
|
|
|
Post by Lee Martin on Mar 1, 2012 9:36:52 GMT -5
Sixshooter: crescent butted .405's aren't pleasant to shoot. On the other hand, my #1 is very easy on the shoulder. Hairy: I agree, reloading the round has gotten much easier since Winchester and Ruger re-introduced it. Back in the 1980's my dad built a shooter grade 405 on an original 1895 (basically re-barreled a 30-40 Krag). We had some original brass, but didn't want to shoot it due to its collector value. RWS (or one of those companies) offered high-end hulls at $2 or $3 per. Not wanting to spend that sort of dough we re-formed 30-40's and shot "short" 405. Worked fine, but I was really glad when Hornady released their version. -Lee www.singleactions.com
|
|
|
Post by 38 WCF on Mar 4, 2012 23:33:31 GMT -5
I just sold a nice Browning 1886 SRC because it kicked the snot out of me. My 1895 of recent Mfg. is not a problem for me at all. I actually ENJOY shooting it. Always heard that 405 '95's kick like a mule. How bad are they?
|
|
|
Post by rjm52 on Mar 7, 2012 14:19:25 GMT -5
Being a .41 Magnum fan, when I found out that .405s were actually .411s I bought one of the Ruger #1s in stainless....then a Bowning 1895...then a TC Encore barrel...and then finally a 1885 Sporter... Replacing the flat steel butt plate on the 1895 with a very slim Pachmayer Decelerator pad made all the difference in shooting that rifle... Now to do some reloading...I have tons of jacketed and cast bullets to work with.... Hairy...do you know what loads your friend used for the African hunt??? Bob
|
|
hairy
.30 Stingray
Posts: 319
|
Post by hairy on Mar 8, 2012 8:03:11 GMT -5
Bob,
That is a lovely rifle you have there, I really like the for-end. My 30-06 has the Alex Henry type, too.
I wish I could help you out on the loads he used. Back when he was getting ready to go to Africa (late '70's) there was very little data available and virtually nothing for the powders that were of current manufacture. He was bound and determined to use solids on the trip, (for good reason) and about the only fellow at that time making them was Fred Barnes. So, he ended up writing to Fred about procuring some bullets, as well as possible recipes. Next thing you know Fred sent the bullets and a handwritten note back with some of his favorite loads for the .405. I do not know if these were ever published or not.
I do remember that when he built a .505 Gibbs, I did do some loading for him, because his press did not have enough travel and the dies would not fit the press either. I had to remove the threaded bushing on my RCBS RockChucker for the dies to fit the larger thread. It worked OK except when you did the bullet seating. The O.A.L. was more than the ram travel, as a result once the bullet was seated I had to remove the seating die to get the loaded cartridge out. If my memory serves me, the .505 needed 120 grains of IMR 3031. I can't remember how big the bullet was except that my thumb was dwarfed by it.
|
|
|
Post by zac0419 on Mar 8, 2012 9:27:29 GMT -5
Great history here fellas. Hairy and Lee, thanks for sharing.
|
|
|
Post by rjm52 on Mar 8, 2012 18:30:08 GMT -5
hairy...then they were probably some of the old 350 grain solids that Barnes once made...
I took the above Ruger and a TC Encore with the same scope to the range today with some factory ammo. Recoil is stout especially with the TC.
Sighted in 2" high at 100 the round nose Hornady factory load printed 4.5" low at 200....
Your friend must have been very "TALL"...he is the only person I have ever seen who makes a Camp Buffalo look like a calf.....
Bob
|
|