Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Question for the .400 Whelen Crowd

Dang, skip a day here and things get interesting.

MadMooner,

No problems at all with accuracy of .410-cal JACKETED BULLETS
in the Shilen barrels with .404" bore, .411" groove, and 1:14 twist.
In the .400 Whelen-B with skinny No. 4 stainless, 25"-long barrel and longer throat,
the 210-gr/.410 XTP shot a tiny cloverleaf group at 100 yards, 3 shots into 0.309" on centers,
2731 fps with 58.0 grains of H4198 at 69 degrees F.



That is 5-yard uncorrected chrono velocity, average of 20 shots fired from offhand and bench.
That was my fireforming load after necking down and trimming the QualCart brass.
That made a good sharp shoulder, and a good plinking and varmint load.
No bullets vaporized on the way to the target.
That load should also work well for fireforming in the "standard" .400 Whelen as by Petrov/JGS/G&H.

I prefer to use the backward-loaded 210-grainer to fire-form .35 Whelen to .400 Whelen.
COL = 2.777" in standard .400 Whelen jams the bullet base into rifling.

On initial fire forming of Qual Cart brass the meplat forward, usual loading direction of the bullet is reliable,
in either standard .400 Whelen or .400 Whelen-B.
COL is 2.950" for normally loaded bullet in both standard .400 Whelen and .400 Whelen-B.



The proof load was tested only in the longer-throated, 3.6" COL .400 Whelen-B.
400-gr Woodleigh at +2400 fps.
Primer fell out when the action was opened.
The .400 Whelen-B survived proof.
I did not "proof" the standard .400 Whelen.
I will not recommend that load for service in any .400 Whelen. LOL.

As for magazine, 3.4" versus 3.6" in my M70, same can be done with Ruger M77 MkII and Hawkeye by
substituting an M77 RSM .375 H&H box in the shorter action, and then shorten the bolt-stop/ejector to .375 H&H timing.
Dave Scovill did that and Phil Shoemaker has that .375 H&H Ruger M77 MkII now.
I used a Duane Wiebe XRM box in my M70 and got one extra round down
versus what can be done by unblocking the standard box.