I see that Winchester has come out with a new cartridge, the 400 Legend, a straight-wall cartridge designed fot those places that require such things. Still, it might be useful. It will run through an AR platform, or a light handy bolt rifle.
Winchester claims that the new cartridge has no parent case, but digging though SAAMI drawings tells us that it may be related to the 6.8 SPC. This makes sense. The military is playing with the 6.8 SPC, and I'm sure that Winchester has a contract for ammo.
If I were looking for a parent case for this new whiz0bang, I might settle on a cut down 6.5 Carcano. It's pretty close. But, if I were reloading for the 400 Legend, I'd probably buy new brass. I don't have any 6.5 Carcano laying around, and I'd have to buy brass anyway. Starline doesn't show it in stock yet, but if this thing takes off, they will make brass for it.
It looks like it would be a good cartridge for deer and hogs under 200 yards, which is where most of us do our hunting, anyway.
6 comments:
It will also make one heck of a house carbine with ~220 grain HPs (or, maybe SWCs) at ~2200FPS. Or, at least it will, when we get rid of the ATF's @&$% arm brace crap or the NFA.
Sounds like a natural for a single shot break open carbine, but I'm not sure that creature is made anymore. Maybe Henry could be convinced to give this a chance in their single shot. The 350 Legend is already listed in that model.
jrg
400 Legend.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.400_Legend
401 Winchester Self-loading.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.401_Winchester_Self-Loading
The more things change, the more they look alike.
What can it do that the .405, a favorite of Teddy Roosevelt, can't do? Oh, shorter OAL but at considerably higher pressure? Oh, it's rimless? Gosh. And with a thousand or so in aftermarket parts, you can mount it on your AR. Wow. Yawn. Because you want to fire off 8 or more rounds that make 27lb.ft recoil quickly in a light rifle where only half the buttstock is in contact with your shoulder. mmmm ... no.
The .405 did what a warmed up .45-70 can do, with a slightly more aerodynamic bullet: 300grains at 2200fps at the muzzle. (Actually a real hot rod .45-70 can exceed that safely by nearly 350fps, but it had better be a really strong rifle)
Winchester is saying that their 400 Legend makes 2250fps, with a flyweight 215gr rifle bullet. You can get 10mm auto with 180gr bullets, exactly the same diameter, so this isn't much lead for a rifle. Calculate the Sectional Density yourself ... it's poor. 0.198. Generally you want at least SD = 0.230 for deer. Hogs are tough, you might want SD a bit higher for them. That old .405 Win was throwing a .275 SD bullet, which will shoot through about anything on this continent.
PS Henry makes a very nice single shot break open rifle, and you can get a carbine length barrel in it ... God knows why you'd go under 20" in a rifle with such a short receiver, but you can. 22" is probably optimum for this new cartridge.
Don't forget, the .401 WSL ran at high blackpowder pressures, well below the rather anemic 43K psi that the .30-30 runs at. Run the right powder to make an efficient 50K psi in a modern .401, and you're looking at another 600fps from heavier bullets.
Yeah, it's going to kick. No kidding. They call them heavy rifles for a reason; run with the big dogs and you want mass. Leave the flyweight guns for the .243 crowd.
You know, it sounds like the cartridge the metal cased .410 shotgun you wished was. Having the option of the 400 Legend and .410 in same gun - THAT could be something fun.
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