The .405 and .348 Winchester Cartridges: Historical Lookback

I previously surveyed old lever-gun cartridges that, in their day, were considered appropriate for very large game. There are two that, with the .45-70, survived the “Great Dying” of big lever-gun cartridges after World War II. Both were Winchester developments, and both were quite impressive for the time. I’m referring to the .405 Winchester and the .348 Winchester.

The .405 Winchester

Winchester’s first box-magazine lever gun, the Model 1895, was initially chambered for existing .30-caliber deer-class cartridges like .30-40 Krag and .303 British. For larger game, Winchester created two new heavy-caliber cartridges for the Model 95. Handicapped by blackpowder and low velocity (about 1,400 fps), the .38-72 and .40-72 cartridges were little more than throwbacks to the 1880s, and they failed to  thrive. Winchester replaced the two underperformers with potent smokeless cartridges in 1903/1904—the .35 Winchester and the .405 Winchester. They shared roughly the same case head diameter and cartridge overall length (COL) of the .40-72 but sported a .30-40 Krag rim diameter and, most significantly, power not expected from lever guns. The .35 Winchester impressively drove a 250-grain bullet to 2,200 fps and nearly 2,700 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. However, Winchester discontinued the .35 Win. cartridge in 1936 along with the Model 1895. The .405 Winchester launched a 300-grain bullet at a nominal 2,200 fps, making 3,200 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. That’s 30 percent more than Winchester’s massive .50-140, the company’s most powerful blackpowder cartridge. The .405 was one of the most powerful purely American commercial rifle cartridges through the first half of the 20th century. African hunter and writer John Taylor discounted the .405 for large African game based on low sectional density, but it was used there anyway. It was likely the best option at the time for large, even dangerous, North American game. The .405 was cataloged until about 1955, then resurrected in 2001 to service replica Model 1895 rifles.

The .348 Winchester

In 1936 Winchester modernized its heavy-frame Model 1886 lever gun, calling the new variant the Model 71. The company also introduced a potent new cartridge exclusively for it: the .348 Winchester. Until about 1962, the .348 was offered with 150-, 200-, and 250-grain bullets, all putting it in the same power class as the .30-06 and .35 Whelen. The 250-grain factory loads were rated at 2,350 fps with over 3,000 ft-lbs. The Model 71 rifle survived until 1958, but the .348 is still around, which is impressive for a cartridge that was offered in only one rifle model. The rimmed .348 has a rather fat case compared to other lever-gun cartridges. Speculation about its ancestry varies, but case dimension tables show a simple explanation. Compare the .348’s rim and head dimensions to the 19th-century .50-110 Winchester cartridge, and they are “too close to call.”

What about today?

Primarily due to replica offerings of the Model 1895 and Model 71 rifles, both cartridges are still listed as “active” by SAAMI at the time of this writing. The .348 Winchester has a maximum average pressure (MAP) of 40,000 CUP and a guideline velocity of 2,505 fps with a 200-grain bullet. It has no transducer standard. Bullet diameter spec in inches is 0.3495-0.003 inch; recommended twist rate is one turn in 12 inches (1:12). Winchester and Hornady catalog 200-grain factory loads; Hornady loads its modern FTX LEVERevolution bullet. The .405 Winchester has modern transducer standards. Its MAP is 46,000 psi, in the same pressure class as the .444 Marlin and the .450 Marlin. Guideline velocity remains 2,200 fps with a 300-grain bullet. The bullet spec is 0.4115-0.003 inch; the recommended twist rate is 1:14. Hornady is the only “major” maker that currently catalogs the .405, listing a 300-grain InterLock pointed SP. Wait! Pointed? Yes, the Model 1895 has a box magazine. Buffalo Arms lists a 1,400 fps cast bullet load for Cowboy Action Shooting.

So what is the component situation? Not great. Panic buying of popular cartridges’ components has trashed the availability of older, less-popular cartridges and their components. Still, we can survey what is cataloged today. The .348 is better off for case offerings with two. Winchester still catalogs new unprimed cases, although MidwayUSA flags it as out of stock. Starline currently lists .348 cases on its website but says they’re “on backorder.” Some .348 jacketed hunting bullets are listed by major bullet companies. Swift shows a 200-grain A-Frame FNSP. Barnes lists 220-, 250-, and 300-grain FNSPs in the “Original” series. All are shown out of stock or on backorder. The .405 starts out with a handicap. Although Hornady catalogs loaded ammo, it no longer shows unprimed cases for sale. Only Bertram catalogs new .405 cases, but they’re out of stock.

Hornady and Barnes catalog 0.411–0.412-inch bullets. Hornady lists the same 300-grain SP it loads in the ammo, and Barnes has a 300-grain TSX all-copper bullet. There is another bullet source for both cartridges. Recently, Bill Noody at Northern Precision Custom Swaged Bullets sent me samples of .348 and .405 bullets. Noody does not want to be a mass producer, preferring to do small orders, often for bullet styles, weights, or diameters not available elsewhere. He sent 200- and 250-grain .348 Winchester bullets and 225- and 300-grain samples for the .405. The website shows 0.348-inch bullets from 160 to 300 grains, and from 200 to 350 grains in 0.412-inch diameter. By the way, the .405’s performance can be duplicated today with the .444 Marlin. Safe handloads with 300-grain bullets can do 2,150 to 2,200 fps, depending on the bullet make. I don’t declare these two old cartridges reborn. Both are struggling in the current buying environment. My intent here is to help those who use them enjoy their rifles more and to help others more deeply appreciate the rich history of our sport. After all, 3,200 ft-lbs from a lever rifle was a seismic event for hunters 120 years ago.

---