Birthday Gift From Granddad

[CoElkHunter]

Thanks man Didn't see that one coming , did ya ?

No Hoss, you blindsided me! That Winchester lever .405 would be very cool to shoot a few times. No, I was just expecting something much more obscure with both rifle and ammo. Teddy Roosevelt was also my favorite president. I really enjoyed his book “Tales of a Ranchman.” Anyway, when you go to Africa and shoot some or most of the Big 5 with that Winchester like Teddy Roosevelt did, I hope you will post lots of photos here on AH! Bruce Moulds can go with you and back you up with a .465 h and h! Ha! Ha! Ha!
CEH

 

[meigsbucks]

Congrats on your new toy. I too am a TR fan, as both an outdoorsman and president. I hope you get your feeding issue worked out,

 

[CAustin]

As an American who loves Sporting Arms and Sustainable Hunting , it should come as no shock that President Theodore Roosevelt , is my Favorite President of ALL TIME . A man born in an era when politicians were still real men. It was , in fact, President Roosevelt's excellent book " African Game Trails " which introduced a 9 year old Hoss Delgado to the beautiful , atistic world of African Hunting. I wanted to be just like him. 31 years later , on August 25th , 2019 , l learnt that my Loving Grandad , bought me a Magnificent ... .....
Winchester Model 1895 in .405 Winchester
I have spent the last 10 days shooting it , analyzing it and trying it out. Now , the gun is a true American Classic. It was the first American Answer to the British Double barrelled rifles in Nitro Express Calibers of the Day. And l respect it for what it is Grandad got an assorted bunch of Ammunition boxes for this Rifle . Given the randomness , l would speculate , he bought them online . There were some Kynoch , some Hornady . But ALL were 300 grain Soft Nosed bullets . All together , l got 52 rounds for this gun I expended 24 cartridges till now.
I am happy with it . I read on Wikipedia that the gun also uses 400 grain Ammunition , but even though l asked everywhere ( locally AND Online ) , l haven't found any so far
Now , l AM unhappy about a few certain things with this gun. I have bashed Remington Model 700s for jamming in the past , and l would be a hypocrite if l didn't mention this Winchester's flaws :
Firstly , for the life of me , l can't seem to find any solid FMJ Ammunition for it ANYWHERE ( let alone Monolithic meplat brass Solids ) . For soft nosed Ammunition , The only place , l can get fresh ammunition from is Kynamco ( which l have ordered already and should reach me soon ) . I know l hate Hornady Bullets , but Hornady bullets are better than NO bullets at all . I got good 2 inch Groups from this gun using Hornady Interlocks . Groupings with the Kynoch bullets are about 1.7 inches at the same distance .
There is , however , a serious problem with the gun . If you load it to full capacity ( 4 rounds in the Magazine and 1 in the chamber ) , you start experiencing Jams if you work the lever too fast. I was able to circumvent the problem by loading only 4 rounds into the gun and working that lever SLOWLY. I have tried EVERY available trick l know to get that gun shooting properly with all 5 rounds in it. It's NO GOOD !
As disrespectful as it may sound to President Roosevelt , l do not agree with him that this is a dangerous game rifle. Of course , he was a far better shooter than l ever can hope to be. But to me , anyway , far better choices exist for Dangerous game . Maybe , if l got the gun jam - free with 5 rounds in it even when l am working the lever fast , and found some solid FMJ rounds for it , l could use it for Australian Water Buffalo . But that's a pretty big IF. Maybe , if l cut some Solid Brass Bullets from Brass Bar Stock and loaded them into my expended cartridge cases with handloaded Propellant.... There ARE possibilities if you want to do something bad enough , in theory.
Would l recommend this gun for Dangerous game ? Not really . No. Not from my experiences anyway. BUT l think it would be lovely for Moose , Elk , Caribou . Would be lovely on Australian Feral goats. Maybe a Black Bear , now and then. Definitely nothing large and capable of charging at you. A jam caused by working the lever too fast under stress , can have dangerous consequences , l believe. I have been hit by a Wild Boar's tusks in the leg , as a Teen ager. It wasn't pretty
There are times when you look for the right gun to use on Game. This was a Case of the right game to look for the gun. While it is a welcome addition to my Battery of now seven guns ( four rifles and three shotguns ) , l also conclude that my chosen battery for Botswana will be my BRNO ZKK - 602 in .375 HH Magnum and my 12 gauge BRNO Over Under modified choke shotgun . A perfect two gun battery for Dangerous game and plans game and winged game , if you're using the right loads .
What a classic piece of American engineering !
PS : Ignore the shadows on the pictures of my IPAD . My editing skills aren't good


View attachment 304773 View attachment 304772

WOW that is a nice rifle.

 

[bruce moulds]

No Hoss, you blindsided me! That Winchester lever .405 would be very cool to shoot a few times. No, I was just expecting something much more obscure with both rifle and ammo. Teddy Roosevelt was also my favorite president. I really enjoyed his book “Tales of a Ranchman.” Anyway, when you go to Africa and shoot some or most of the Big 5 with that Winchester like Teddy Roosevelt did, I hope you will post lots of photos here on AH! Bruce Moulds can go with you and back you up with a .465 h and h! Ha! Ha! Ha!
CEH

if you go yo Africa with a 405 you will need backup.
guys have tried it here in oz on buffalo, with consistently bad results.
to a man, the ones I know of went out and bought proper rifles.
bruce.

 

[CoElkHunter]

if you go yo Africa with a 405 you will need backup.
guys have tried it here in oz on buffalo, with consistently bad results.
to a man, the ones I know of went out and bought proper rifles.
bruce.

Like my CZ .458WM? Ha! Ha! I’m kind of joking, but some here on AH have “implied” it wouldn’t be adequate for any buffalo? Don’t know, but if I make it to Africa I’m bringing it! In the meantime I’m inquiring about Bison hunts here in Colorado or Wyoming and will use it. Yeah, I know they’re not Cape Buffalo, but I would be looking at the penetration aspect.
Anyway, you could maybe back up Hoss with his .405 in Africa? I’m now wondering who backed up T.R. On his African hunts, AND with what caliber(s) rifle(s)?
CEH

 

[Hoss Delgado]

WOW that is a nice rifle.

Thank you ! I bought the LAST Northfork Solids available on their site for this gun

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Congrats on your new toy. I too am a TR fan, as both an outdoorsman and president. I hope you get your feeding issue worked out,

It's still there I circumvent the problem by loading three in the Magazine and one in the chamber and working the lever SLOWLY .

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Like my CZ .458WM? Ha! Ha! I’m kind of joking, but some here on AH have “implied” it wouldn’t be adequate for any buffalo? Don’t know, but if I make it to Africa I’m bringing it! In the meantime I’m inquiring about Bison hunts here in Colorado or Wyoming and will use it. Yeah, I know they’re not Cape Buffalo, but I would be looking at the penetration aspect.
Anyway, you could maybe back up Hoss with his .405 in Africa? I’m now wondering who backed up T.R. On his African hunts, AND with what caliber(s) rifle(s)?
CEH

Well , l do know that TR used to own a .500/450 Nitro Express Double Rifle made by Holland and Holland which he vocally preferred for Elephant and Cape Buffalo His " White Hunter " was Bill Judd , if my memory serves me right Bill used to use a .577 Nitro Express Double rifle as his heavy. Bill's light rifles were a .350 Rigby Magnum Mauser , a .256 Mannlicher Shoenauer rotary Magazine rifle and and Army and Navy .450 Nitro Express Double Rifle

 

[bruce moulds]

ceh,
take your 458 and be happy.
the gun and the case are just delivery systems for the bullet.
you don't hear too much bad about the 450 x 3 1/4 nitro, and the 458 equals that.
leaves the 405 in the dust.
bruce.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

if you go yo Africa with a 405 you will need backup.
guys have tried it here in oz on buffalo, with consistently bad results.
to a man, the ones I know of went out and bought proper rifles.
bruce.

Bruce , l will stick to my .375 HH Magnum BRNO ZKK - 602 for the African Stuff !
Can you imagine an animal charging at you and you jam the Model 1895 by working the lever too fast ?!
This does make a good Black bear gun and elk gun , though

 

[crs]

"It's still there I circumvent the problem by loading three in the Magazine and one in the chamber and working the lever SLOWLY ."
Hoss, that is not typical of the Winchester 1895 rifle in any caliber.

If this problem exists when loading hand loads, please switch to Factory Hornady ammo. If the Hornady ammo also jams when the magazine is loaded properly, then you may need the services of a proven gun smith.

The only jam I have ever had with my 1895 .405 was when I tried to reload while trotting after my guide to put down a wounded critter. As you know the rimmed cartridges must be loaded in the manufacturers specified method or you will always get a jam (and that is difficult to clear with a pocket knife when trotting after a jogging PH).

If you do not have access to a proven levergun gun smith, you could try posting such a query on Leverguns.com where there are several VERY experienced M1895 shooters. There is an outstanding such smith in Houston though I have never needed a him on my personal battery.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

"It's still there I circumvent the problem by loading three in the Magazine and one in the chamber and working the lever SLOWLY ."
Hoss, that is not typical of the Winchester 1895 rifle in any caliber.

If this problem exists when loading hand loads, please switch to Factory Hornady ammo. If the Hornady ammo also jams when the magazine is loaded properly, then you may need the services of a proven gun smith.

The only jam I have ever had with my 1895 .405 was when I tried to reload while trotting after my guide to put down a wounded critter. As you know the rimmed cartridges must be loaded in the manufacturers specified method or you will always get a jam (and that is difficult to clear with a pocket knife when trotting after a jogging PH).

If you do not have access to a proven levergun gun smith, you could try posting such a query on Leverguns.com where there are several VERY experienced M1895 shooters. There is an outstanding such smith in Houston though I have never needed a him on my personal battery.

Crs , l don't handload ( yet . Though l will learn ) . The mishap happens with Hornady Interlock and also the Kynoch ammunition l have for it .

 

[CAustin]

Thank you ! I bought the LAST Northfork Solids available on their site for this gun

The President used this rifle well. The Natural history museum in Washington DC is full of the proof!

 

[crs]

My "shooter" with recoil pad, peep sight, extended chamber which is compatible with 400 grain Woodies crimped at cannelure (makes room for more powder and lowers peak chamber pressure).
Looks to be the same grade as yours Hoss.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

My "shooter" with recoil pad, peep sight, extended chamber which is compatible with 400 grain Woodies crimped at cannelure (makes room for more powder and lowers peak chamber pressure).

Beautiful rifle I put a recoil pad on mine too. That steel butt plate hammered one of the nickel clips on one of my pairs of silk suspenders

 

[Shootist43]

Hoss, where does your grandfathers "adoption line" start? I'd like to get in it.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Hoss, where does your grandfathers "adoption line" start? I'd like to get in it.

Ha Ha Ha !
Amazing guy . He's got some pretty interesting views on certain guns , though. He considers the 3.5 inch Chamber 12 gauge to be a Mistake !
HE LOATHES the .460 Weatherby and he uses a puny .22 WMR Browning T Bolt rifle for hunting gator .

 

[Scrumbag]

Hoss,

I hope you find the gun slicks up. Have a look at the magazine follower and the magazine box. Are there any obvious signs of wear on the box or follower? It might be worth smoothing any high points or rough corners and edges on the follower with some fine grain glass or maybe sandpaper. Another trick I found with a rifle I had was I turned the magazine spring around. For some reason, the spring one way made the follower cant so the bullets did not feed due to being at an odd angle.

Do you know what is causing the jam? Bullets not coming out of mag? Angle wrong on feeding from mag so hit receiver?

And are you loading those rimmed cases into th mag correctly (thinking rim jams)? With 3 in the mag / slowly working the lever, you might have enough follower travel for the rims to ride over each other but with speed and a full mag you might not.

(See here from roughly 4 mins:

)

If "teaching granny to suck eggs", my apologies.

Scrummy

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Hoss,

I hope you find the gun slicks up. Have a look at the magazine follower and the magazine box. Are there any obvious signs of wear on the box or follower? It might be worth smoothing any high points or rough corners and edges on the follower with some fine grain glass or maybe sandpaper. Another trick I found with a rifle I had was I turned the magazine spring around. For some reason, the spring one way made the follower cant so the bullets did not feed due to being at an odd angle.

Do you know what is causing the jam? Bullets not coming out of mag? Angle wrong on feeding from mag so hit receiver?

And are you loading those rimmed cases into th mag correctly (thinking rim jams)? With 3 in the mag / slowly working the lever, you might have enough follower travel for the rims to ride over each other but with speed and a full mag you might not.

(See here from roughly 4 mins:

)

If "teaching granny to suck eggs", my apologies.

Scrummy

No apologies necessary I need all the help l can get !

 

[crs]

Link to great new book on Winchester 1895

https://www.amazon.com/Winchester-Model-1895-Classic-Hardbound/dp/0578466554/