America's First African Cartridge Feature - HuntNetwork

1985 in .405, thereby
prompting factory
loaded ammunition
from one or more of
the major manufacturers.
However,
this was not to be.
Jacketed bullets
can be purchased
from Barnes Bullets
in several varieties:
spitzer, semi-spitzer,
and round nose, in
jacket thickness of
.032 and .049", in 300,
350, 400 grains. Solids
of 350 grains and 400 grains are available
also, as well as Barnes’ famous X bullet. A
low velocity target and plinking load can be
used with 41 calibre handgun bullets of 210
grains at 1000 to 1200 feet per second.
Cast bullet moulds can be purchased
from LBT of Moyie Springs, Idaho and
NEI of Portland, Oregon. Antique moulds
(for the purists) of Winchester or Lyman
make, may be located through collectors.
Wheelweight alloy is satisfactory for those
not wanting to go to the time and trouble
to mix batches of tin, lead, and antimony,
and is suitable for velocities under 1600
fps. Drop the hot bullet from the mould
into a bucket of room temperature water
and 2300 fps is possible with gas-checked
bullets, lubed with LBT Commercial Blue
bullet lube. It will take 24 hours for the
hardness of the lead to come up to
specifications, so wait a day before using
a lead hardness tester.
Manton’s 1927
catalogue featured a
double rifle
chambered for the
.405.
Brass cases can be made by stretching
.444 Marlin brass or blowing out and
stretching .30-40 Krag cases to the correct
length of 2.583 inches. Robert Pomroy of
Corinth, Maine has been my supplier in
the past. .30-40 Krag cases seem to work
best in my rifle. However, the primer pockets
loosen after a few loads at full throttle. It
may be possible to find BELL brass in .405
basic and trim to length. Due to the
excessive amount of brass that needs to
be removed, I would suggest a power
case trimmer from one of the major
manufacturers.
Primers and Powder are readily
available, but may I suggest magnum
primers? While they may not be needed,
I use them to ensure maximum powder
ignition in all my shooting, but I drop the
powder charge one-half a grain on
maximum loads.
MATETSI WILDLIFE
2/5P
F/C
REPEAT 4 - 3
(STEWPOT)
Gas checks for 40 calibre are available
from Lyman and reloading dies can be
purchased from RCBS and CH Tool.
Because of the popularity of the .40
calibre in the C. Sharps single shot rifles,
both C. Sharps Arms and Shiloh Sharps in
Big Timber, Montana, are excellent
sources for moulds, gas checks, and brass
as well as other reloading and shooting
supplies for the 40 calibres.
My personal .405 is a semi-deluxe model
with sling eyes, checkering, recoil pad,
and above average wood but lacking any
burl quality. The bore is near perfect and
an unusual rear sight was married to the
barrel long ago. The shotgun butt and recoil
pad decrease the felt recoil a great deal.
The original recoil pad was hard as a
rock and in very poor condition. The
excellent gunsmiths of Griffin and Howe
in Bernardsville, New Jersey replaced it
with a correct solid rubber pad with a
leather cover. The underside of the original
pad had the following: “Jun 14, 1912” was
stamped in ink and “W.K. 7.20.12” was
hand printed in ink. The dates on the
recoil pad are two years prior to the 1914
production year of the rifle.
PLEASE NOTE: Since Mag-Set
Publications and the author have no control
over the use of the loading data listed in this
article, or of the condition of the firearms it
may be used in, Mag-Set and the author
disclaim any responsibility for use thereof. The
author has only used a few of the loads listed
here in his personal rifle so it is also the
responsibility of the reader to check the
original references of the loading data.
African Hunter Vol. 4 No. 4 Page 13