I'm having a hard time locating any detailed loading data for this round or even what its standard specs are. Any info will be much appreciated.
Bill,
Hoyem's third edition,lists versions by Purdey,Westley Richards,Fraser and William Evans.The Evans version was loaded the same as Purdey's,40 grains of cordite and a 300 grain bullet.Mr. Hoyem also states that the Evans case is shorter than the others,not by much,I can't see the difference in side by side photo.
Flemming lists the case length at 2.746" max and the OAL 3.504" max, rim .520 to .528", rim thickness at .043" to .045", base .468" bullet diameter .359-.360". I hope that is helpful.
Wrights book, Shooting the British Double Rifle shows a load of H4350/54 grns, a 215 primer. Basicly the Purdey Load.
Thanks to all for the cartridge data. Now, does anyone out there have a spare set of loading dies? I can't locate any in stock and hate the thought of waiting out a special order.
Call Dave at CH4D and I'll bet he'll have a set ready to go. BUT with the wide range in chamber sizes back then, 'pre-standardization', he'll want chamber casts to measure.
Congratulations if you have one. Please tell us about it.
I've had two Evans 400/360s and still have one. Cabelas sold my other one a while back. They are great rifles in a great caliber. The 400/360 was designed to be a better hunting round than the 303 and it is. It's a 300 gr bullet at 1950fps vs 215 grs at 2000fps for the 303. For reasons mainly related to bullet construction John Taylor maligned the catridge while heaping praise on the 400/350 which was Rigby's offering. They are essentially the same round with similar ballistics.
Based on the # of 400/360s that come up it was a very popular round.
I got my RCBS dies from Huntingtons and would recommend you try there for the dies. I went in with a couple of guys and had Horneber make us a run of 400/360 brass that has worked great. Of course you can use cut down 9.3x74. The load that I settled on was 54 grs of IMR 4350 with the 286 Woodleigh soft.
Good Luck
When was the 400/360 introduced?
According to Hoyem it was introduced around the turn of the century.
JBG:
Thanks. I'm planning on restoring a Swinburn Martini from the mid-1880s and I'm looking for a cartridge that would be usable on elk and isn't .45 caliber. The .450-400 3-1/4 BPE is probably too long for the action. Steve Bertram suggested the .303, which is feasible but not particularly sexy. I keep looking for ideas, but still haven't found the answer.
Rem
Iam in the process of regulating a40-65 winchester an find it a very poweful round when freebored .350 and fireing a 300gr. Hornady at 2000fps. Brass is cheap as are the dies and reamer. Rich
Try the .375 2 1/2" that BSA used to build on Lee Speed actions. Basically a .303 Brit necked up to .375. Good woods elk/moose/deer/bear ctg. And brass is easy-peasy.
I now have dies and cases on hand to load for the 400/360.I had planned on using Hawk 300 gr .367" bullets but found they're a special order, 3- box item. I guess now I'll start with some regular 9.3 bullet. Does anyone have a suggestion about bullet selection? Thanks.
Well, I found Bill Fleming's book. $727.00, another for $652.45, finally I found a cheap one for $399.49.
The only gun related Book I could find by Hoyem is THE HISTORY OF SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION Vol 4 (1999). If this is the one referred to here I can get a used copy for only $299.99
Geesh! I think I'll just stick with god old Graeme Wright.
keep looking and be patient, they show up more reasonable eventually.
I just googled it and found 3 for under $100. Cheapest was $66.50. That's the one I bought.