I've been wanting a M1895 lever action for some time, and I missed out on the last run of them. Winchester is now cataloging this rifle, albeit in limited quanities, in .405 Winchester. I've seen some data on the cartridge, but I'm curious if any of you know how well it performs, if feasible to reload, with the pointed spitzer bullets that are available for it. Is the fit and finish of the current rifles you've seen good? The recent 1895's I've seen have all been in other calibers but appeared to be well made. Is there any great difficulty in having a receiver sight fitted to the rifle other than having the holes drilled in the reciever? It's to be a hunting rifle, so whatever value the holes remove will be made up in utility. I would imagine a good recoil pad would be a very good idea on this rifle, in place of the steel buttplate. Any input on these rifles in general will be greatly appreciated.

Any tips on cast bullet shooting in this cartridge would also be great. Performance, moulds, etc.

Thanks,

Steven

A friend of mine has one in 405 and it is a nice rifle. Nice wood, nice fit and finish. He has never shot it, I keep telling him I will take it out for him and break it in, but he wont let me. :(

Steven,
I believe FA18CUB has one of the new 1895's in 405. The rifle I rebarreled to the 411 Hawk is one of the new ones, also. I was really surprised with quality of the rifle, I don't know why. They are made for Brownchester by Miroku in Japan. I had three beef's with the original rifle.

First, is the tang safety. I hate that thing. I find it ridiculous on an exposed hammer rifle. I think Dave Scovill did an article on how to disengage it a few months ago in Rifle or Handloader.

Second, the buckhorn rear sight. Mine was replaced when I rebarreled, but I just don't like the type of buckhorn they put on the 1895's.

Third is no recoil pad. When I had the work done on mine, I had Z-Hat to just cut the stock and add a Pachmyer Decelerator recoil pad (stock with pad was cut to my LOP). Even shooting the 400 grain Woodleighs around 2,000 fps, recoil isn't that bad. While not a rifle you would want to shoot from a bench all day, it is nowhere near the class as the 500 Jeffery. It rolls or shoves more than my 338, but isn't anywhere near as sharp.

The action is very strong. I had a complete case failure in mine, a load running right at 60,000 psi. The rifle suffered no ill effects. The case failed horizontally in the midsection, completely. The rifle took it in stride. I didn't know anything had went wrong until I extracted the case (normal extraction) and only the rear portion came out. It took a chamber cast to get the front portion out.

The wood on these rifles appears to be exceptional on the ones I've seen. The wood on mine (originally a 270 Win) is wonderful. The finish isn't too shiny, a dull luster is the way I would describe mine.

One other thing, is the rifle doesn't have sling swivel studs. I would recommend a barrel band sling swivel for the forward one. There just doesn't seem to be a good place to put one on the schnabel forearm.

http://www.shootersforum.com/attachment.htm?attachmentid=96
http://www.shootersforum.com/attachment.htm?attachmentid=97

Dave,
there you go making me druel with those pictures again!:)

I was looking at the .405 as the ballistics seem sufficient for the intended purpose. My .416 will get the job done, but I'm too much of a wuss to stand up to it for extended practice sessions, so I decided on the 1895 for a faster follow up shot if the "medicine gun" can't get it done with one. Although I really like the CZ, I just can't see taking the abuse that would be required for regular and proper practice. I'd imagine adding weight, aka recoil reducers, would tame it, but I've no desire to carry them around or worry about taking them out and replacing them as the shooting situation warrants. I don't know what the effect, if any, would be on POI. Muzzle brake is out of the question.

I'm happy to hear your rifle was good in the fit and finish department, as I intend to order my .405 later this month. What was your turn around on this with ZHat? I'd like to have him do the receiver sight and sling swivels. How do you like the express sight? Does it have a 300 yard blade? Since I would typically only shoot paper beyond much more than 200 yards with iron sights, I was thinking of an aperature sight with a thin square front blade. The same thickness as my hi-power match rifle would be about ideal, provided it will show in low light.

Big Medicine & Alyeska, thanks for the insight.

You could do a 300 yard rear sight, but a tang mounted peep or ladder type rear sight (that could be folded down in the rear sight blank) might be better for those purposes. For 300 yards, it would have to be a very tall rear sight.

As for the barrel band sling swivel, you might check out the Uncle Mike's barrel band "pinch" swivel.

The front sight might need to be changed out, its a post with a bead.

Unless you are wanting to put a different sighting system on it, I'd try to get a local smith to do the work. Zeglin is very good, I really liked what he did with my rifle, but he is busy. Took about 16 months for my rifle.

The 405 is certainly a grand cartridge. There are no flies on it at all. It would be a great compliment to the 416. Least that's my take on things.

I just HAD to post and say WOW!! What a beautiful rifle! The Winnie's never really lit my fire, but that is gorgeous! WELL done! I'm just an easy mark for the classic express rifle barrel setup. Could you describe what the .411 Hawk round is?? Thanks for a GOOD drool...LOL!! Lee.

Snook,
Thank you for the compliments. That rifle was designed by Fred Zeglin of Z-Hat and myself. Mr. Zeglin's cartridge, and my wishes on the rifle. It's for hunting in conditions where shots will be limited to 200 yards or less, with an odd shot out to 250 or so, on moose and deer where the big brown bears roam here in coastal Alaska. The cartridge doesn't only have to handle the intended game well, but must short, fast, and quick handling for the bears in the thick stuff.

The cartridge is the 411 Hawk. It's kind of an improved version of the 400 Whelen. It's a 30'06 based wildcat, with the case blown out to .454" at the shoulder, and the shoulder is moved forward. It's pretty much the maximum cartridge that can be developed on the '06 casehead. The shoulder is minimal, but with care in cutting the chamber, headspace does not seem to be a problem.

Currently testing loads with the 400 grain Woodleigh, 350 grain Swift A Frame, and 360 grain North Fork. All are spitzer shaped, except the heavy Woodleigh. The fixed leaf rear sight is cut for the 400 grain Woodleigh, dead on at 100 yards. After load development, I'll cut the folding leaves for the North Fork (provided the rifle likes them) for 100 and 200 yards.

The rifle started off as a Winchester (Miroku) chambered in 270 Winchester. I had to rebarrel for the 40 cal Hawk.

If you do a search for "411 Hawk" here at Beartooth, you'll find all the particulars and more images. I'll try to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks for the reply! You mentioned .400 Whelen, and the big lightbulb lit.....a lever action .35 Whelen!!!!! Ohhhh, baby!! OR... a .338/06! Where's my bib...I'm droolin' again!! LOL! Thanks, Lee.

You might want to check Zeglin's website. He does some takedown '95's so you could have a barrel for the 30-06, 338-06 (or 338 Hawk), 35 Whelen or any of its variants, 38 Whelen or any of its variants, and the 400 Whelen or any of its variants. Could neck it down to 270, 280, 6.5, 6mm, etc...

It wouldn't be cheap, but could be done.

Here's his website, make sure to check out his Hawk line of cartridges.
http://www.z-hat.com/
http://www.z-hat.com/HawkContents.htm
http://www.z-hat.com/takedown.htm