405 Winchester???

[micky_blue]

Anybody here build one or know someone who might have?

Ohio just changed the rifle laws again to a more sensical, straight walled cases with a .357 min bullet diameter. I think a 405 would be a rather effective deer round. Anyone have any experience with this sort of lunacy?

[J.Baker]

Wont work, it's a rimmed case. Better idea would be a .450 Marlin or .450 Bushmaster. You'll still have to solve the feeding issue though as no factory magazine will work with either round without modifications. Just do what the rest of us Buckeye's have done, go buy a good lever gun in .44 Mag, .45-70, .444 Marlin, .375 Win, .38-55 Win, or .450 Marlin. You can even go .357 Mag in a lever gun, but personally I think it's inadequate once you get past 100 yards unless loaded really hot or you're using a premium factory load (Hornady Leverevolution or Buffalo Bore's "Heavy .357" for example).

If you insist on a bolt gun, you'll need to find one that was designed to work with rimmed cartridges. The old Savage 340 was offered in .30-30 so you could rebarrel one of those to a .38-55 or .375 Win quite easily. Again though, you're going to have to make modifications to the magazine to get it to be anything more than a single-shot.

[RustyShackle]

My first thought is to modify a .223 case, cut it at the shoulder and use that as a basis for a custom cartridge. This would be a rimless .357 super max! A 223 magazine would(should) work perfectly.

Downside, headspace off of cartridge mouth, so keeping cases trimmed to tight tolerances.

edit: I suppose if you were gravitating towards a real thumper you could always start with a belted magnum as the parent case.

[strut64]

If a savage 110 can handle a belted magnum like 7mm Rem Mag or 300 win Mag why can't they feed a 405? I started with a 110 that was a 7mm Rem Mag and now have 2506, 270 and 3006 barrels in addition to the 7mm and all feed fine. The only difference is the mag had notches cut for the belt. If you start with a 110 set up for a belted mag you should be good.

[Blackthorn]

So if I understood the regulations written on Ohio DOW's website they mention specific cartridges and I did not see a 405 listed. Am I missing something?

So if you are not restricted to a particular caliber why not use a 458 Win Mag? The cartridge will fit in any long action Savage and is easily hand loaded to match the ballistics of a 45-70. Otherwise I agree with Mr Furious and just use the 450 Marlin or Bushmaster. Personally I would use the 450 Marlin as it is a belted case and easier to headspace along with being more tolerant on overall case length....

[micky_blue]

Ohio announced changes to the rules. It will be this fall, any straight walled case 35 cal and above.

Seeing how I have two 450 Marlins, two 375 Wins, a couple 44 mags, a 45 colt and 357, I thought a 405 would be fun. Do I need it, obviously not. But I like to tinker.

[J.Baker]

The .405 is a RIMMED CASE. The Savage bolt head, extractor and magazines will NOT WORK with a RIMMED CASE. This is why Savage has NEVER offered a rimmed cartridge in a Savage 110-series rifle.

To meet the Ohio Reg's you're going to need a belted-magnum straight-wall cartridge like the .450 Marlin. These will work with the magnum bolt heads, extract properly, and with a little work on the feed lips you should be able to get it to reliably feed from the magazine. The .450 Bushmaster will also work - and on a short-action to boot, but will also need modifications made to the magazine feed lips to feed properly.