Lawndart's 404 thread got me back to scheming about a .400 again.

If you're sitting on the fence about a .400, I called CH4D this morning and they're stocked up on die sets. The G&H version works perfectly with the Whelen Petrov chamber.

I have their dies for my 400. I've been please with them. I have or have had several sets of theirs for some wildcats and obsolete rounds (401 Herters Powermag, 6mmx222, 8x56 MS, 375 Whelen, 10.75x57, 400 Whelen) and have not been disappointed in any of them. Great customer service also.

I too vouch for the CH4D dies for the 400 Whelen "G&H" version.
That is the "400 Whelen-Petrov of 2003."
JGS and Dave Kiff of PT&G make proper reamers for it.
I cannot tell any difference between them and the RCBS dies I also have for the 400 Whelen.

Those CH4D dies do fine for my ".411/400 Whelen-Petrov-Berry of 2013" also, Dave Manson reamer.
I re-barreled and stretched the box length of a 270 Winchester M70 for that puppy:



I am thinking of making a ".410/400 Whelen-Petrov-Berry of 2017" also.

Townie's original Springfield M1903 "400 Whelen of 1923" used the .409"-diameter barrel groove and bullet.
We are making progress!

There is more than one way to skin a wildcat!
Riflecrank Incurable Permanente

Tempting! Would a .412 barrel work? I see bullets range from 410 to 412.

Sure, a .412-grooved barrel would work.
But .412-caliber bullets would be a tight fit in the throat of the "standard G&H chamber" to which the OP refers, regarding CH4D dies.
Here is the standard 400 Whelen-Petrov of 2003 chamber,
reverse engineered by Michael Petrov from his original Griffin & Howe rifle, dimensions are maximums for chamber:

http://finegunmaking.com/page33/page51/page51.html



I think a better idea is use the standard reamer in a .410"-grooved barrel and then you can use any properly handloaded bullets from .408 to .411-caliber.
Size-down anything bigger than .410?
Even .416 to .410 is easy.
That really opens up some territory!

But if you really want to use a .412"-grooved barrel, get a bit of .413"-diameter parallel-sided free-bore added to the above chamber.

The .412"-diameter PSFB on Michael Petrov's reamer is 0.200" long.
Same length of .413"-diameter PSFB would work well for a standard magazine, 3.4" box length.

On my bucket list is a .410/400 Whelen that will be same as the Petrov version out to the .458" shoulder diameter at 2.001" length from bolt face.
Same shoulder angle, but neck-1 is reduced to .438"-diameter instead of the shoulder-wasting .441".
That makes for a .003" stronger shoulder.

Then neck-2 (at end of chamber) is increased by .001" to .438" instead of the .437" of Petrov.
Plus: The overall chamber length will be increased from Petrov's 2.501" to 2.515".
This will allow for a worry-free max brass length of 2.500" (or more).

Then it really gets good.
PSFB will be reduced to .411"-diameter and lengthened to .400" long.
This will finally allow me to load any bullet I want, out to +3.6" long,
whatever will fit in the Duane Wiebe XRM box on an M70 Winchester.
This is an excellent use for all the shot-out 270 Winchester M70's lying around and needing re-barreling to .410/400 Whelen.
They make a nice 5 + 1 sixshooter.

Use the .410"-grooved/.400"-bored, 1:14" twist, 8-grooved barrel from Douglas, #4 sporter contour or heavier to suit weight and balance.

I assure you that the same CH4D dies of OP will work well for loading ammo for the .410/400 Whelen described above.
And with a "true .400-bore barrel" like the Douglas,
that will truly put the decimal of ".400" back into the ".400 Whelen."
Then a man can honestly include the decimal and call it a "Four Hundred Whelen" named for bore size.

There is more than one way to skin a wildcat.
Riflecrank Incurable Permanente

quote:

Tempting! Would a .412 barrel work?

As RIP said shouldn't be an issue.

quote:

Originally posted by ramrod340:

quote:

Tempting! Would a .412 barrel work?

As RIP said shouldn't be an issue.

Excepting maybe the throat if wanting to use .412-caliber bullets.
Easily fixed with a new throating reamer.

And if Duane Wiebe quit making the XRM box for all those shot-out 270 WCF M70's,
and you still want some extra magazine capacity,
consider the Sunnyhill-McMillan drop-floor-plate-and-stock combo, .375 H&H length, or not.

There is more than one way to skin a wildcat.
Riflecrank Incurable Permanente

I was curious because i know where there is a .412 barrel ready to go, and I've got a spare Ruger boat paddle I had planned on reboring. Unfortunately, I bought the gun before reading the SS Ruger barrels are not good for a rebore, so its either sell/trade to a dealer for a loss, try and sell privately to break even -ish, or....rip it apart and build something else!

Oh, and I would almost certainly use .410 bullets, as they're much more plentiful. Only 412 is a Woodleigh and cast bullet on midway. 411/410, many more options.

Shilen is ON IT! Placed an order for a #5 SS .411/.404 barrel on 4/31 and they sent me a tracking number yesterday.

Time to organize some brass and a reamer...

PWS: That's interesting. I e-mailed Shilen recently asking about a No. 4 contour chrome-moly .411/.404 1:14 and they said 5-6 weeks.
Is there a reason you didn't go with the No. 4 contour, as I am thinking that is what Mart used for his .400 build?

Bill, I asked about a #4 contour but they said the #5 was as small as they'd go for a 41cal. Their #4 would leave .120" a side at the muzzle (.650") and I've always understood .125" to be a prudent minimum. This is also for a stainless barrel.

I, too, was informed that it would be 6-8weeks but was pleasantly surprised with their turnaround!

Good to know! I'll check availability of a No. 5 with Douglas tomorrow.