Lets talk 401 Winchester

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BenT
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Lets talk 401 Winchester

Post by BenT »

Ok New Year , new options. I was saving money up for an AR this spring, well that will be going on the back burner. So before Christmas I seen a 401 Win at a gun shop , which of course gets the wheels turning.

Basically it's about the same ballistics as a 44mag in a levergun. But this is what I know so far. Cases can be made by blowing out straight 7.62X39 cases and trimming. From what I can tell I can use 41 mag dies , just like I use 357mag dies for my 351 Win. The bullets are the hard part, at .406 . I was looking at sizing down 41 mag bullets. But I was at a gun show Friday and a gentlemen selling cast bullets says he has a 212 gr Lyman mold and would make bullets for 12 cents a piece.

I like shooting the 351 and it is more accurate than I thought it would be. So I'm thinking I would like get a 401 and whack a deer with it.

So does anyone here have any experience or stories with the 401 Win. ? Pros? Cons?

I ask anybody to talk me out of buying it , but I know that won't happen here.
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Hobie
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Re: Lets talk 401 Winchester

Post by Hobie »

BenT wrote:I ask anybody to talk me out of buying it , but I know that won't happen here.
You've got that right. :wink:
Sincerely,

Hobie

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hfcable
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Re: Lets talk 401 Winchester

Post by hfcable »

here is a link to a forum with lots of discussion of the 401

http://vintagesemiautorifle.proboards.c ... oard=win10

wish i had one, some day i will :)
cable
Nath
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Re: Lets talk 401 Winchester

Post by Nath »

Our good friend crs has one don't he?

Done alot with it and loves it.

Dump the AR, modern rubbish :roll:

N :)
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Because I wish I could!
Trailboss
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Re: Lets talk 401 Winchester

Post by Trailboss »

I have enjoyed owning and shooting many different firearms over the years, Winchester's 401 and 351 were two of them. On the plus side both were a hoot to own and shoot. They did have a downside however. The design was known for cracking the forend and butt stocks and it lived up to it's reputation. I've seen few in my lifetime with uncracked wood. A second issue I discovered was the factory loaded ammo had a very reliable loading ball type bullet, but it was not reliable for whitetail deer. It had little expansion and poked holes right through. After shooting a half a dozen deer with my 401 I was pretty well over it. Moved on to a Ruger .44 carbine before moving onto something else :)
Mainehunter
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Re: Lets talk 401 Winchester

Post by Mainehunter »

It's not the same cartridge but back in the day I was loading up for my 401 Powermag and was using cast bullets for the 40-60 or 40-65 Winchester but they were on the heavy side for the case. I switched over using 41 mag bullets, sized them down and worked out fine but I noticed when I sized down the SWC bullets they tend to get distorted.

Mainehunter :wink:
tman
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Re: Lets talk 401 Winchester

Post by tman »

Babe Ruth hunted with a 401WCF. 8)
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Sixgun
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Re: Lets talk 401 Winchester

Post by Sixgun »

Ben,
'Ya know, you hit a nerve on that one. Back 30+ years ago I read this true story (happened in the 1920's) (still have the book) on this guy who was mauled by a grizzly bear and had to walk something like 10 miles back to his cabin with his face and scalp hanging to the side. He recounts in the story how the bear was on top of him and he had his Model 1910 in .401 wedged in between him and the bear, with the muzzle in the bear's gut, fumbling for the safety. Can't remember the details but the guy did kill the bear.

I've wanted a .401 since then. I have had my hands on many, but there was always "this excuse or another", so I never did connect. Up until 10 or 15 years ago, .401 brass was very hard to get and in the old days, I did not have the knowledge on how to get a .401 running with cast, so its been a "back burner" project since then with no real initiative to move it to the front burner.

I say, go for it. NEI most likely makes a mould for it. A RNFP would work fine, along with a dose of 4198 to push it 1800 or so.------------------Sixgun
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Gobblerforge
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Re: Lets talk 401 Winchester

Post by Gobblerforge »

The 38WCF is .401. Heck, Son, I don't think you can do any better than that. :wink:
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Molasses
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Re: Lets talk 401 Winchester

Post by Molasses »

Gobblerforge wrote:The 38WCF is .401. Heck, Son, I don't think you can do any better than that. :wink:
Gobbler
Except that the .401 Winchester uses a .406" bullet... :wink:

-------------------------------------------

I've got one. Complete with the cracked forend. I forget the mould number, but I've been using a Lyman bullet that's worked out pretty good. Since I was already shooting .40-65 with long heavy bullets out of a rebarrelled Ballard, I already had that size lubrisizing die.

Turns out that you can make .401 brass from 7.62X39: it's pretty much just a matter of opening them up straight. I didn't know that until I bought a quantity of them from a reloading supply outfit that wore that headstamp.

Funny this thread was waiting here when I got on. I mentioned to a co-worker over the just-ended workweekend that I need to thin the herd some more and the Model 1910 was a likely candidate. BenT, before you go doing anything rash about that one you were salivating over, send me a PM.
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Nath
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Re: Lets talk 401 Winchester

Post by Nath »

Sorry guy's I got the wrong gun!

N.
Psalm ch8.

Because I wish I could!
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