W1895, 405W and recoil

[Old Shatterhand]

A long time I have been considering to extend my arsenal with a Winchester mod 1895 in .405 WCF. However, having read some texts about it, there are some comments on strong and unplesant recoil, to some part due to the bent stock design. What are your opinions ánd experiences?

Perhaps I should add, that I'm not very recoil sensible. Firing the Win 94BB .375W 255 grs full house load from the bench is quite manageable or a well stocked .375 Holland. On the contrary the .338 WinMag is a real annoyment with its hard and brutal blow. The .405 WCF ought to be in the former category with its straight cylindric case - strong and heavy push but no brutal blow.

As always grateful for your inputs!

Pete

[JFE]

I cant comment about the original 1895's but the modern repro's in 405 have a fairly sensible stock design. Subjectively I'd rate the recoil of the 405 in a modern rifle as fairly similar to a full house load in a 375BB. The 1895 weighs quite a bit more than a 375BB and has a 24" barrel, both of which go some ways to taming the recoil.

[KirkD]

My experience is with an original 405. Recoil with factory loads is not pleasent from the bench. Standing up is not so bad. It is not a caliber that I would enjoy an extended shooting session with.

[Shasta]

I have one of the reproduction Winchesters in .405, and recoil with full power jacketed bullet loads is indeed substantial. A box of 20 rounds is about all I want to shoot in a single session. The rifle is much more pleasant to shoot with reduced cast lead bullet loads. I have even loaded black powder ammunition for it, which makes for some fun shooting!

In hunting situations, I don't think the recoil would be much of an issue as few shots are taken. The jacketed bullet ammunition is definitely more accurate, but in order to enjoy extended shooting sessions, I prefer the lighter recoil of cast lead bullet loads.

Using the "search" feature at the top of the page type in "1895 .405" and you will find some good reading on this caliber from previous posts on this site.

SHASTA

[Don McDowell]

With the new made 95's the recoil is managable, but stout, after about 10 rounds I'ld start to getting a "recoil" headache. I'ld rate the recoil right in the vicinity of a 300 wby.
I also had a bit of problem with the length of pull being just a tad short, and would get fingernails implanted into my lip ....
Keep in mind we're talking about a 300 gr bullet at 2200 fps from an 8lb rifle..
I installed a limbaver recoil pad and that along with lenghting the pull also took most of the sting out of the recoil, altho I still wouldn't want to shoot the thing from a bench for very many rounds and do most of my load testing sitting off of crossticks.
I load northfork 300 gr ss bullets to 2350 fps in my rifle for excellent accuracy and powerful hunting loads.
But I shoot more cast bullets at around 1600 fps for fun and enjoyment than anything else these days.

[Hawkeye2]

I was up in Maine over Christmas and went shooting at a range in north Augusta with a friend. New Years Day was in the 40s with an overcast sky and about 10" of melting snow on the ground. He had a Browning 95 in .405 and I shot it off the bench and offhand too. The recoil off the bench was substancial but survivable. I would not want to shoot more than a box full. The ammo was Hornady factory at the max level for a .405 and it flattened the primers against the bolt. I fired a few offhand and was amazed at how far back it pushed my upper torso but these were much more comfortable. There isn't much need for loads to this level and it would be more than managable if downloaded. It generated a fair ammount of interest with shooters comming over and saying they had heard there was a .405 over here but nobody asked if they could try it.

[crs]

What Don said +1 WRT the Limbsaver. My 300 grain handloads at 2250 fps are a tad lighter that his for the same bullets. I have taken several head of game with my .405 and have never noticed the recoil when hunting, whether sitting, kneeling, or standing. Like Don, most of my shooting of full power ammo is NOT from a bench, where the recoil is more noticeable.

Further, My 400 grain loads at 2050 fps do move the Lead Sled around a bit, but I do not expect them to be too bad when shooting offhand. If they are no worse than my .45-90 450 grain Kodiaks at 2150 fps, that will be OK for hunting.

[O.S.O.K.]

Here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SMY7BOIT2I

That's a half-speed video of me shooting my 95 with factory Hornady 300 grain rounds. As you can see, I do have a recoil pad in place which makes it comfy.

[Don McDowell]

It's sort of interesting to see the changes. Back in 2001 when I got my rifle, there was only 1 other person on here that had a 405, several wanted one, but not much reloading data and stuff was available.
Come today there's a good number of bullets and data and people using the cartridge and that's a good thing

[O.S.O.K.]

Well, I surely wasn't going to buy one until they came out with a repro

Not unless some uninformed seller had one available for a fraction of the actual price...

[Old Shatterhand]

Thanks for your answers! Now I have some new views for my planning.

And thanks for the tube: nice shooting!

Regards,

Pete

[Old Shatterhand]

Plans can change swiftly: I ran into a Winchester mod 71, and bought it for a decent price.

Pete

[Bill in Oregon]

Pete: Good on you for that 71!

OSOK: Very nice Youtube!