Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots High Wall In 405 Winchester.

i have always wondered way the .405 win. is not more popular? there's a 45-70 under every bush,and they are great shooters, but i like my .405 win. a lot more, its real easy to load for 300-400 gr. bullets kills every thing i point them at. and for me the .405 win. has been more accurate than some of the other 4's. rio7

I thought I'd let you know that the Skinner sight arrived yesterday. I installed it last night. Today was range day. After a couple shots adjusting the sights, the last shot, with a 6 o'clock hold, hit one inch high and dead on line at 100 yards. I think that'll work! Thanks for the input on the Skinner sights.

Tom

T O M ,great to hear, Skinner site's have worked well for me.the more you use your rifle the more you will like them, they are real handy in the field. rio7

[quote=RIO7]i have always wondered way the .405 win. is not more popular? there's a 45-70 under every bush,and they are great shooters, but i like my .405 win. a lot more, its real easy to load for 300-400 gr. bullets kills every thing i point them at. and for me the .405 win. has been more accurate than some of the other 4's. rio7 [/quote

Other than a few High Walls and one or two doubles built on the Model 21 frame, the .405 was only chambered in the 95 Winchester and was never all that popular. In its day, the .405 was regarded about like we now think of something like a .375, not something that the average guy really needed. Also, due to the crescent butt on most of the original 95s, they kicked like hell.
The second wave of .405s began with the reproduction 95s, and then the Rugers and Miroku High Walls. I could be wrong, but I believe all the new 95s chambered in .405 "feature" that miserable and completely unnecessary new safety on the tang, and of course, aren't suitable for scope mounting, both of which are deal killers for some folks. It's also pretty well established that a good way to squander a bunch of money is to bring out a lever-action rifle chambered for a medium bore cartridge, as except for a few Loonies, there's just not much of a market.
In a single-shot, I think the .405 really shines. As you mentioned, you can use .41 mqg bullets for light stuff, and load 300 and even 400 grain bullets, turning it into a poor man's .450/400. The trouble is, most folks still don't have much use for that kind of rifle and velocities in the 2000-2300 fps range aren't very exciting to the average shooter. The .45/70 is available in a whole slew of rifles, and appeals to a wide spectrum of shooters, from BP cartridge competitors to professional guides that use it for a stopping rifle for bears and such. There's also a wide range of factory ammo available, from mild to real thumpers. Factory .405 loads are all full power, but definitely fall short as stoppers compared to the hot .45/70s.
You've got a fine rifle. Enjoy it.

pappy 348, thank you for your response, every thing you say makes sense, i have 2 .405 win. ruger # 1, and a british double that's great fun to hunt with, both shoot very well. you would be suprised at the large size animals, and number of animals i have taken with my .405 win's. rio7

I wouldn't be surprised at all; I watched a guy on TV whack a Cape Buffalo with an original 95 a while back.

I am surprised that you have a British double in .405. I have read that they made some for the American market, but I never heard of someone that actually had one. Very slick.

My intro to the .405 was via a Winchester 95.

Mine was different than other '95 I've seen. It didn't have the normal dark blued finish, it was very much lighter like the finish didn't stick to the steel. It wasn't corroded or pitted, that's how it was made. The wood was of much higher grade than any other '95 I've seen. Instead of the crescent steel plate, it had a rubber recoil pad like a shotgun pad but thinner. It was very old and had hardened a lot. Didn't provide much cushion but at least it spread the recoil out over a wider area.

Tom

T O M,my double is a Cachior, it was built in 1928 in Brussels,Belgium. Cachior, was a well known master gunsmith of the late 1800's and early 1900's, my rifle was exported to England New, and spent its life on an English estate, but as far as i can tell was never used in Africa, who knows, would like to have more of a history.but haven't been able to come up with much more on this rifle. it has beautiful wood and some great engraving in a flower pattern,bluing shows some wear from use it locks up as tight as a new gun, has 25" barrels, bore is bright and looks new. with 3 leaf sites 50-100-150 yrds and shoots about 1 1/2" at with both barrels at 50 yrds.metal butt stock,with a little bit of a half moon shape, but recoil has not been a problem for me, but i don't shoot off the bench with it just use it to hunt with. rio7

RIO...that sounds like a very nice rifle.... I have seen 3 .405 double rifles in person. All of them handled like a 28 gauge bird gun. Hope you will post some pics of it one day...and maybe a history of what it has taken and with what ammo...

If Cabela's did one of their Sabatti (sp) double rifles in .405 just like their 45/400 I would buy one....

As to cartridge only being available in the 1895 Wichcester, I have seen several original 1885 Winchesters in .405 also... The problem with the round is that is just too long for most tubular magazine rifle actions like the Winchester 1886 or Marlin 1895.

If you look at the old relaoding manuals, the .405 Winchester was the most powerful cartridge of it time in North America...

RJM, i have seen a couple of the old win, lever guns, and they are nice rifles,but i have always liked the feel and the history of the double guns,the big bores starting with the 45's are just a little much for me,recoil! the .405 win. is just about as close to a big banger as i can shoot and enjoy,i have taken whitetail,mule deer,pronghorn,black bear, brown bear, bison,elk,moose, aoudad,black buck,axis, coyote,bobcat,and a couple of truck loads of pigs.i have used 310 gr cast , 300 gr. hornady sp, 400 gr. woodleigh, with 3031 powder, all have worked well for me, but i like the 300gr. sp the best for all around use. rio7

Not a High Wall, but I was surprised to see this one as cheap as it is:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=415348590

The last .405 Model 1895 I saw in person was $3k, and that was 20 years ago.

The .405 was available in the original High Wall, but I cannot find a production numbers reference. I doubt many were made in it.

That is a nice one. About 5 years ago at the Amoskeg Auction in NH there was an original 95 that had been slightly customized... I bid on it but even customized it brought over $2K.

I have a 1885 Sporter, new model 1895 lever and a TC Encore barrel that I had cut down to 20". Also had a Ruger #1 Stainless but sold it.

RIO..as to recoil...you and I agree...the .405 is the limit of my endurance... That is also why I also shoot .41 Magnum...it also is the limit of my endurance when it comes to handguns.

Bob

tex n cal, Pat, that's a nice rifle, there was a high wall on gun broker last year in .405 that sold for $5000.00, i watched it till it sold, but couldn't make myself pull the trigger,it was a beautiful rifle looked to be in great condition, don't seem to be many .405 fans out there in the world, but the few that are out there, love them. rio7

Picture #5 looks like there may be a crack starting in the stock, near the tang. That would need some attention to stop it.

RJM, interesting comments, why would you sell a ruger #1 and keep a T.C. in .405? i have 3 T.C. rifles .204-.243 Bullberry, and a .270, i like them all.but my .405 ruger #1 is the cats ass, just asking, rio7