doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com WTB 400 Whelen brass

Does anybody have any Quality Cartridge 400 Whelen headstamped brass laying around they are willing to part with. Would like to get 40 or 60 pieces if I can scrounge them up.

Thanks,
Bryndon

some guys have had good luck with similar ads in the For Sale/wanted to buy section.

Is Graf out?

https://www.grafs.com/catalog/product/productId/75487

They're easily made from 30-06 or 35 Whelen.

Thanks Daryl!

The grafs ad states Out Of Stock under availability. I’ve looked in all the usual spots and quality cartridge didn’t return my call. Petrov created quite the following of the 400 Whelen here and I thought I’d see if anyone had some extras.

30-06 and 35 Whelen have a smaller shoulder diameter. The original 400 Whelen was made from cylindrical basic brass and has a shoulder diameter of .458. Don’t remember the shoulder diameter of 30-06, but forming 400 from 30-06 is the basis for the much talked about headspace problems that plague the 400.

See Michael’s articles on the 400 Whelen, they are comprehensive.

QC has not produced any for some time that I know of. I check frequently never any luck. While the shoulder is an issue it is not a big issue. I have both 35 Whelen and QC 400 both without issues. I suggest you use the Whelen brass, open up and resize in your die to the base of the shoulder, seat the bullet out to the lands and fireform.

My 'smith formed Whelen brass by using a shop built die/punch to bring it up to '06 basic and then back to .400. It gives a bit of a 'wasp waist' below the shoulder but only until fired. I am sure he annealed first as well.

This is all great information. Thanks for the help!

There's a video on Youtube, fireforming 400 whelen brass with cornmeal, that might be of some help to you.

Tim

Thank you Tim. I’ve been watching a few YouTube videos. That may be the most useful website for do-it-yourself folks and learning obscure tricks like up sizing brass!

Bryndon,

I have always had good luck blowing out brass to the chamber size on 400 Whelen plus many other calibers. I use about 10 gr of bullesye and then fill the case with corn meal. Just shoot it and the brass then fits. I then load a cast bullet long enough that it engraves and make the final case forming. I have found trying to expand the necks with expander plugs, the necks don't end up very even, the blowing out is much easier and faster and more consistent.
Dan

My experience is pretty much the same as Dan's, but I have better results if I manually put the extractor over the rim and hold the rifle straight up when fire firming. The shoulder seems to be located better when the cartridge is held back against the bolt face by the extractor.
Mike

My experience was with cream of wheat making bumblebee loads for a .38. I didn't get any, but shooting at pop cans showed they would work. They are also pretty good at removing lead from barrels. You fellows have better advice than me.

Tim

Thanks to all who have helped!

I’ll get pictures of this project as it comes along.

Fully engraved Kornbrath / Swensen 1903 receiver, original new old stock Krupp octagon to round full rib 400 barrel, Kornbrath engraved Elk pattern bottom metal, Kornbrath stock bolt, vintage correct express sights and Rigby bolt peep, engraved grip cap, original G&H trap butt, etc.

My plan is for it to be remake of Col Whelens original 400 which is featured in Mr Rifleman in its current rebarrelled state as a 35 Whelen. Steven Dodd Hughes photographed the rifle a few years back and pictures can be found on the web. That rifle has an engraved receiver in the same pattern as mine.

Should be an adventure!

Well I left another message at Quality Cartridge a couple weeks after this original post and they called me back. I ordered a few boxes and they arrived last week.

Thought I’d post an update

Midway shows in stock as well

I don't know if you're aware of it, but Starline sells unformed straight 06 basic brass, they are showing $180 for a box of 250. I'd have posted this sooner but I was logged out and couldn't find my password.

Tim

Thanks for the update and got me thinking as I am looking for cartridge solutions for the 375 Whelen Ack Imp I am working on. I will contact Quality and see what they can do to help.

Tim,

I looked all over the web for 30-06 basic and didn’t find anything until I just searched upon your recommendation. I wonder if this is something they have recently started offering?

I had hoped to find basic and engrave the cartridge designation on them.

Thanks for the tip!

Bryndon

As part of this conversation. The starline brass is not marked on the head. Seems I remember a discussion some time ago about head stamp tools or marking correct cartridge headstamps on unmarked brass. Does anyone recall and/or maybe able link the discussion to this thread, I suck at finding old discussions on this site. Any help would be appreciated. Got to be an easier way than hand engraving.

Agreed there are any number of ways easier than engraving. I have access to a cnc laser engraver, a dot peen machine, etc but I’m also working on learning to engrave and this would be a good way to practice lettering. I would be the customer so if the first few look bad I’m the only one who has to look at them. Or I can throw them away.

I got 100 pieces of proper headstamped brass from quality cartridge. I wasn’t aware of star line basic when I ordered or I probably wouldn’t have ordered it.

I found this, sheer luck. www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=332786

prairie ghost'
Your link didn't come up.
When trying to make cases with the correct headstamp, if you take the original headstamp off and deepen the primer pocket (with primer pocket uniformer) before establishing the headspace by fireforming, it shouldn't cause a problem. For belted cartridges, you should set the dies up to headspace on the shoulder. In my experience, removing about .015" will take the original headstamp off. Removing less than this may be enough to make the original headstamp inconspicuous.
Mike

Sorry about the link. It was about headstamps and others problems/limited solutions. I have 3 that I would like to be able to mark for posterity's sake including 400 whelen. Seems easier than a bunch of notes. Will solider on.