Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only 411 Hawk Input

I have a friend who is adamant about a 400 Whelen. I have directed him to a 411 Hawk as a possibility for a chambering, as I will be the fortunate one doing the loading.

Any thoughts or advice good or bad would be appreciated pertaining to powder choice, speeds, favorite bullets or hunting experiences.

For the most part, bullets are limited and I'm looking at using expanded 35 Whelen cases. I'm aware of the case making details.

Thanks in advance!

I can't provide any first-hand experience, but I've always been intriguied by the 411 Hawk. If the published numbers can be safely reached through hand-loading, to my mind, it would have to be considered one of the better medium bore chamberings.

You noted the lack of bullet selection and it is certainly limited but, recently, there have been some new offerings from Barnes and Hornady in this diameter. Woodleigh and Hawk still have some premium grade bullets as well. (It's too bad that North Fork closed, as they had developed a .411 bullet specifically for this chambering.) I'm a Vihta Vuori and Norma fan so I would look at something like VV N-150/N-550 or Norma 203-B/MRP, or anything that you'd load 35 Whelen with. According to the website, they're getting a legitimate 2400-2500 FPS with 300-gr. bullets. You can also use 41 Mag. bullets for plinking, varmints, etc.

I'd heard that Fred Zeglin (cartridge developer) preferred using .30-06 basic brass when forming the 411 Hawk. Supposedly there are less steps involved and it's easier to get the shoulder properly formed. Please don't take that as gospel and I'd definitely recommend consulting him if you had some concerns. It's a cool concept.

HawkI, I have a 411 Hawk. It is a great cartridge. Its very efficient. I used 06 basic brass to from the cases. Had to built a little Jig to saw them off; then trim; then size; and finely fire from. It sounds like alot of work, but wasn't that bad. My rifle is built on a charles daily 98 action with a 26" barrel. It shoots very well and is accurate. For testing loads i used hornady 300gr fP and SP. I tried two or three kind of pounder,Get off the top of my head. BLc2 and H4895 and i think one other but i can't remeber and I don't have my data handy. But H4895 was the best pounder. I get 2600fps chronographed and a 3/4" group at 100 yards. For hunting i have a couple boxes of northfork 300 gr bullets that should last me awhile. after that i'll probably shoot woodliegh. I also developed a 400gr load, using i think it was accurate 2520. It shoot about 1" at a 100 and chronied at 2200fps. My dies are RCBS and Fred test fired it with a couple loads from the dies and sent the brass with. He was great to deal with, and answered all questions. You can also buy brass from him an skip the cuting and trimming. He has a loading manuel out on all the hawk rounds, that was very helpfull. Recoil isn't that bad especialy with the 300gr bullets. Get one you won't regreat it. I'll ckeck back if you have any other question. 358mt

Thanks gentlemen!

It (the 400 Whelen) sounded like a neat idea, but fireforming and making sure there was always a decent shoulder did not appeal to me. Not that you don't for any other case, but that one is scary!

I have some data from Ken Waters' Pet Loads on the 416 Express and can use 405 Win loads for starting data. Its good to know that Fred Zeglin is good to deal with; I should probably seek his advise and give him a line.

358mt,
Thanks for the info on your powder selections and how well you enjoy the cartridge. The gun is not for me, so I do not lust for it per se, but it seemed intrigueing, and I getta load it! A 300 gr. X seems impressive at 2,500! I also have a 375gr. 416 LBT mould, which I'm going to tinker with as well.

The slave rifle is a Rem. 700 and he's looking at a 22" bbl.

pinotguy and 358, Thank You.