I put some money down on one today! It is one of the limited edition ones with the case colored receiver. It has only been fired 10 times comes with box and papers. The only down side is it has a scratch on the butt. Apparantly a fellow bought it and a box of shells, fired half of them and brought it back and said it kicked.

It has been calling my name as I drive past the gun shop for several months now. The asking price was $1400. How did I do?

I think you should enjoy your new toy. I don't think you got hurt.
Bill

If you are happy what difference does it make? New case harden are listing for around $1600 on Gun broker. So if it were me I'd be happy.

I hqve one like you describe and it shoots very well and functions flawlessly. I would not hesitate to shoot cape buffalo w/ it and hard cast gaschecked bullets. This rifle makes a lot of power and is a real pleasure to shoot and operate. Dr.C

The magazines like to get locked down ie not raise the cartridge high enough for the bolt to push it into battery. Also the tang safety can be a PIA as it tends to accidently engaged during recoil. Not a DG rifle in my book, but fun to plink with nontheless.

Oacl is important to the '95, can't say that I have ever had a problem w/ the safety but being a purist I wish it didn't have one. Dr.C

jealous...

i would love to have one...then make it to a real lion medicine gun by taking 45-90 brass and necking it down to 411 and maybe turning the rims a bit if it didnt feed well but hey...get 450/400 ballistics out of a lever gun!

either way have a blast!

doccash,

The COL is not any bigger an issue with a 95 than any other box magazine fed repeater. The issue with the 95 magazine is that the follower gets hung up, by design I might add. The solution is to aggressively work the lever through it's full stroke. The "advantage" of this design feature is that is allows single loading while maintaining a full magazine. It is nothing my than the ever popular magazine shut off feature so popular in the later 1890's and early 1900's on US military rifles (M1892 though M1898 and M1903 for example). The problem with this feature on the 95, when chambered in 405 Win, is the recoil can be enough to engage it. This could be extremely problematic if a quick second shot was required, as can be the case when hunting DG. So as I said before, not a DG rifle, but a fun plinker.

I too have one just like it.

I do not find the recoil bad at all. I am using the 300gr North Fork with 54.5gr of IMR 3031 if I remember correctly.

quote:

Originally posted by fivebigbores:

has any one considered this cal for buffalo or such ?

I believe Boddington and/or his daughter used .405 on water buffalo.

Here's the article.

You see doubles in .405 for sale from time to time.

CAVEAT: I am not expressing an opinion on the suitability of the round for buffalo of any kind!

I paid $1750 for mine, plus taxes, FFL transfer fees etc... and I don't believe it's a Take-Down model. I haven't seen the gun yet...

I'd say for $1400 and Take-Down model you did very well.

I've been around '95s for a long time and never heard of shooting it as a single shot w/ a full magazine? As previously mentioned, never had a feeding problem. Dr.C

love the 1895 use the 405 and never look back!!

doccash,

Not that I trying to be argumentative, but there is a catch in the back of a M1895 Winchesters magazine well designed to latch onto the rim of the top cartridge and hold it down below the bolt face so as to stop cartridges from being stripped from the magazine by the bolt. Every 95 has it. To engage it one simply must push the top cartridge down low enough to engage that catch.

This isn't something one would "hear" about. It is something one with experience with M1895 Winchesters would know about.

ElCaballero,

Enjoy that M1895 you ordered. They are fun as hell to plink with.

I've got one also, except it's not the take down model. Never had problems with the magazine not feeding.
I've had the safety slip into the on position due to recoil. One of these days I'll pin it into ready position and leave it like that.
A suggestion get a pair of thin calf skin gloves, otherwise the middle finger on your shooting hand is going to get thumped.
For the protection of your dental work get a recoil pad.
Go on Ebay find a Redfield reciever site. A major improvement over the factory buckhorn.
Keep an eye peeled for the blemish sale from Hornady. You can buy one heck of a lot of bullets for little bit of cash.
I bought 500, then decided to shoot nothing but cast bullets. Both NEI and Moutain Molds make great bullet molds. The powder for getting the max is IMR 3031.
Every once in a great while you'll find brass on Ebay. I found a life time supply of once fired.
I hope one of my four grandsons has enough size to want this rifle and the 1886.
Have fun, shoot it a bunch.
Jim

1895 405 win take down model ,i have one.i got it for 1295.00.it is one of 1000

While I'm not arguing that there aren't better options... The Roosevelts used, admittedly, probably exceptionally well made examples, to shoot a tremendous amount of African game.

If one reads Roosevelts book, you will see that both of them wounded a hell of a lot of animals for whatever that is worth! I think they were both half blind....

Judge G took a different approach on his .405 he had the chamber lengthened and maybe some action work and was able to seat the bullets out enough to get the original 450-400 balistics out of it without overloading it, that was about 2000 plus FPS..

The addition of a quarter rib, barrel band swivel and front sight really dresses these guns up..I would love to have the Judges gun and I would shoot a Cape Bufalo with it, but not with a std. .405, that would come under the stunt catagory and I have seen M'Bogo at his worse/best?, and it has imprinted my mind. In all honesty I have shot them with less, but that was in my mispent youth where daring do was just something else to play with, no more the tiger.

I just took my 95 carbine (new issue) out and looked for a 'catch' in rear of magazine, can't find it but as I said this is a carbine and is 30/40. I then looked at my 405 and cannot find the catch in it either. But to be fair it is a Kreiger model and was made from a 270. Neither are takedown either. I have owned several new model and original 95's over the years and have never heard of this 'magazine cut off'. Have never owned a take-down model so don't know about them. My intention on having the first 405 built by Kreiger was to use it in Africa. Could not get velocities I thought necessary with 400gr solids (Woodleighs). I then got a Ruger No1 and it presents no problem with the throat modified slightly. The ballistics pretty much duplicate the 450/400. If I could have found some 350gr solids I would have had no qualms using the 95 on Buffalo. Never had a problem with the new safties except I don't particularly like them as they are just an extra gimmick and detract from the looks.

ScottS: I've truly learned something today,for one thing you know what your talking about and for another I know less about the functioning of my '95s than I thought I did. Thanks guess I owe you a Big Orange. Dr.C

doccash,

I bet I have learned a lot more on this thread than you have. Once again the internet has proved itself invaluable! Thanks to all for the enlightenment. I could take pictures to post, but what is the use?

doc - good luck using cast bullets from your win 405 on buffalo.

hope we are not attending your wake after that african experiment......

I would expect the rifle will work as well for you as it TR about a hundred years ago. The fact that you will have four quick shots if needed and a competent PH with a really BIG double to back you would make me happier than not.

Rich
DRSS

Many people do not understand cast bullets and that they behave much like a solid w/ very deep penetration. Also, historically, they almost made the American Bison extinct. I know a fair amount about bovine anatomy and think a man w/ a.405 Win. would be well armed even if he made the bullets himself.

doccash,

I know a gentleman who will most likely be taking a bison this year with my 405. Probably will be using 400gr Woodleigh SP @ 2080 fps. Should work as well as the old 400 Jeffery I would think. It still isn't my idea of a true DG rifle though. Been trying to get him to use a more appropriate rifle, but he is just too worried about recoil (of course he hasn't shot that 405 yet ).

the 405 is great round, especially for north america....

Scott S has a pipebomb load for the 405, that he SAYS will go 2200fps with a 400gr woodleigh in the same rifle...

never head if it will work from the tube, but I bet that pipebomb load is why he recoils his gun into non-functional status...

Long throating the gun will reduce pressures a bit. I have still found no way to get length out of the mag box to accomodate the only safe loads I know of that will hit 2100 fps with a 410 woodleigh in a M1895 at 45- 55Kpsi. I have no idea what load scotts is using but he probably uses a string and a tire to fire it.-Rob

I don't use a string and a tire Rob. Jeff, there is NO WAY I would shoot a 2200 fps, 400 gr bullet load in a 405!!!!!!!

Quickload says 60500 psi for the load I was referring to. The 30-06 is loaded to 60,000 psi, and the 270 Win is loaded to 62,000 psi. Both the 30-06 and 270 have been commercially chambered in the M1895, even in the originals.

quote:

Originally posted by ScottS:
I don't use a string and a tire Rob. Jeff, there is NO WAY I would shoot a 2200 fps, 400 gr bullet load in a 405!!!!!!!

yeah... okay scott...

2160 seems to be okay with you though

quote:

Originally posted by ScottS:
...The loads you are referring to, at least the ones I think you are referring to i.e. 405 Win, 400 Woodleigh, 2160 fps, are in the 64500 to 66500 psi range! I have stated this NUMEROUS TIMES. ...Scott

Jeff,

The load you quote from LONG LONG ago and prior to pressure measurements, exhibited no high pressure signs. That is a real danger with the rimmed case.

The new load of 2080 fps is well within the pressure design envelope of the M1895. Even the data published by Hodgdon supports this. They say 50.5 gr of H4895 for 1945 fps and 44,900 PSI. I add a few more grains (which matches almost exactly to the Hodgdon data fps/gr) and get 2080 fps @ what QuickLoad says is 60500 psi, but is more likely lower than that (Quickload does have a major issue with straight walled cases).

So F!@*-off Jeff. You know not of what you speak! By the way, NO I am not upset and crying about the things you have posted to me.

Hey don't you feel that Hook in Mouth feeling.

I always told my kids if they couldn't play nice together then don't play at all.

I'll probably just shoot factory loads at Whitetails and charging milk jugs.

Paul,
point taken... i'll be nice
jeffe

I would love to have an 1895 in 25-06. Would be great for pulling down 3 deer from a herd at a sitting.

Scott- I own original M1895's in both 30-06 and 405. Folks have been warned for 50 years or more NOT TO SHOOT MODERN 30-06 loads in original M1895's. If your not using a string and a tire perhaps you might consider it. -Rob