Great posts guys, appreciate the interest. I've spoken to Ernest about his 405 and he indeed used the 400gr NFs for his 405. On a Ruger #1 you can seat the bullet out much farther plus it is a stronger action and you can push the 400gr pill enough to make a difference I would think. The 405 uses a .411 diameter so the GS bullet would not would I don;t think.
As to the steel butt plate, I guess I'm impervious to pain because I can shoot that rifle all day off the bench with no issues. It's really pretty mild, the only think one needs to be careful is not to "pinch" your armpit meat between the buttplate and the bottom of the bench. That hurts!
Tony Makris did take a buff at close range with an original 405 and factory Hornady ammo, one shot kill between the eyes. Anyhow, from everything I've seen about the TSXs that 300gr I think will penetrate sufficiently to offset the lousy SD. Hell, if another FEMALE took a 2500lb Water Buffalo with a factory 300gr Horndady with one shot, certainly *I* can do it as well with the added benefit of the TSX!
