.401 Winchester Self-Loading

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.401 Winchester Self-Loading
.401 Winchester Self-Loading Rifle with .45-70 and .308 Win.JPG
.401 Winchester Self-Loading (Center) with .308 Win (left) and .45-70 (right).
TypeRifle
Place of originUSA
Production history
DesignerWinchester Repeating Arms Company
Specifications
Case typeSemi-rimmed, straight
Bullet diameter.4065 in (10.33 mm)
Neck diameter.428 in (10.9 mm)
Base diameter.429 in (10.9 mm)
Rim diameter.457 in (11.6 mm)
Rim thickness0.05 in (1.3 mm)
Case length1.50 in (38 mm)
Overall length2.005 in (50.9 mm)
Rifling twist1 in 14 in (360 mm)
Primer typeLarge rifle
Maximum pressure37,000–39,000 psi (260–270 MPa)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/typeVelocityEnergy
200 gr (13 g) 2,141 ft/s (653 m/s)2,037 ft⋅lbf (2,762 J)
250 gr (16 g) 1,875 ft/s (572 m/s)1,952 ft⋅lbf (2,647 J)
Test barrel length: 20 inches (510 mm)
Source(s): Whelen, Townsend. The American Rifle. Century Co. 1918 p. 266

The .401 Winchester Self-Loading (also called .401SL or .401WSL) is an American rifle cartridge.

Contents

Description and performance

Illustration of a .401 Winchester Self-Loading rifle cartridge (1918). 401 Winchester Self-Loading.JPG
Illustration of a .401 Winchester Self-Loading rifle cartridge (1918).

Winchester introduced the .401SL in the Winchester '10 self-loading rifle as a supplement to the Winchester '07 and the .351SL in their offering of hi-power, self-loading rifles. The only chambering available in the Winchester Model 1910, the .401SL was used by France, Russia, and American company security forces in the First World War. [1]

The .401SL proved powerful enough for both deer and other large game at ranges under 150 yards. [2] Both 200gr and 250gr bullet weights were offered by Winchester and other ammunition manufacturers as factory loadings. With extra available detachable magazines holding 4-rounds each, the Model 1910 could provide substantial firepower for the big-game hunter. This feature helped promote the use of the .401SL on dangerous game such as moose and grizzly bear in spite of the lack of controlled expansion bullet designs, which doubtlessly would have improved game-taking performance and the subsequent reputation of the .401SL cartridge. [3]

The .401 Winchester Self-Loading cartridge. 401 Winchester SL cartridge hr metallic.jpg
The .401 Winchester Self-Loading cartridge.

The .401 SL is of similar size to the later .41 Remington Magnum; but the longer self-loading rifle cartridge produced a muzzle energy of 2,000 foot-pounds force (2,700 J) with a 200-grain (13 g) bullet, [4] while the magnum revolver is credited with a muzzle energy of 790 foot-pounds force (1,070 J) with a 210-grain (14 g) bullet. [5] The .41 Remington Magnum revolver comparison is not entirely fitting, however, as a cartridge will often produce twice the muzzle energy when fired from a carbine as it does from a typically much shorter revolver barrel.[ citation needed ]

Dimensions

401 Winchester SL dimensions mm vertical.jpg

See also

Related Research Articles

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This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.357 SIG</span> Pistol cartridge designed by SIG Sauer and Federal Premium Ammunition

The .357 SIG is a bottlenecked rimless centerfire handgun cartridge developed by the Swiss-German firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer, in cooperation with ammunition manufacturer Federal Premium. The cartridge is used by a number of law enforcement agencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.45 Colt</span> Revolver cartridge designed by the U.S. Army

The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as an official US military handgun cartridge for 14 years, before being replaced by the .38 Long Colt in 1892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.44 Magnum</span> Revolver cartridge designed by Elmer Keith and Smith & Wesson (S&W)

The .44 Remington Magnum, also known as .44 Magnum or 10.9x33mmR, is a rimmed, large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers and quickly adopted for carbines and rifles. Despite the ".44" designation, guns chambered for the .44 Magnum round, its parent case, the .44 Special, and its parent case, the .44 Russian all use 0.429 in (10.9 mm) diameter bullets. The .44 Magnum is based on the .44 Special case but lengthened and loaded to higher pressures for greater velocity and energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.38-40 Winchester</span> American pistol cartridge

The .38-40 Winchester is actually a .40 caliber (10 mm) cartridge shooting .401 in (10.2 mm) caliber bullets. The cartridge was introduced by Winchester in 1874 and is derived from their .44-40 Winchester. This cartridge was introduced for rifles, but in its reintroduction for cowboy action shooting it has seen some popularity as a revolver cartridge. It is not particularly well suited to hunting larger game, but it was popular when it was introduced, along with the previous .44-40 Winchester, for deer hunting. It can be used successfully on smaller game animals, and for self-defense. Current loadings are intended for revolvers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire</span> Rimfire cartridge

The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, also called .22 WMR, .22 Magnum, .22 WMRF, .22 MRF, or .22 Mag, is a rimfire cartridge. Originally loaded with a bullet weight of 40 grains (2.6 g) delivering velocities in the 2,000 feet per second (610 m/s) range from a rifle barrel, .22 WMR is now loaded with bullet weights ranging from 50 grains (3.2 g) at 1,530 feet per second (470 m/s) to 30 grains (1.9 g) at 2,200 feet per second (670 m/s).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildcat cartridge</span> Custom cartridge for firearms

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">.243 Winchester</span> Rifle cartridge

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">.17 HMR</span> Rifle cartridge

.17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, commonly known as the .17 HMR, is a rimfire rifle cartridge developed by Hornady in 2002. It was developed by necking down a .22 Magnum case to take a .17 caliber (4.5 mm) projectile. Commonly loaded with a 17 grain projectile, it can deliver muzzle velocities in excess of 775 m/s (2,650 ft/s).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7mm-08 Remington</span> Necked down .308Win

The 7mm-08 Remington is a rifle cartridge that is almost a direct copy of a wildcat cartridge developed around 1958 known as the 7mm/308. As these names would suggest, it is the .308 Winchester case necked down to accept 7 mm (.284) bullets with a small increase in case length. Of cartridges based upon the .308, it is the second most popular behind only the .243 Winchester. However, the .308 is more popular than both. In 1980, the Remington Arms company popularized the cartridge by applying its own name and offering it as a chambering for their Model 788 and Model 700 rifles, along with a limited-run series within their Model 7600 pump-action rifles during the early 2000s.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">.700 Nitro Express</span> Big game rifle cartridge

The .700 Nitro Express (17.8×89mmR) is a big game rifle cartridge. The cartridge is typically charged with around 250 grains of powder, in addition to a two-grain igniter charge. The cartridge was introduced in 1988 by the boutique gunmakers Holland & Holland (H&H) of London. It was developed by Jim Bell and William Feldstein and built by H&H. Feldstein had tried unsuccessfully to get H&H to build a .600 Nitro Express for him, but they had already ceased production. However, when Bell and Feldstein produced an entirely new .700 Nitro Express cartridge, they were able to attract the interest of H&H, which was looking for a new big-bore cartridge. After production began, the backlog of orders was so great that it continued to 2007 and H&H restarted the production of .600 Nitro Express guns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.300 Winchester Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .300 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked Magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a magnum cartridge designed to fit in a standard rifle action. It is based on the .375 H&H Magnum, which has been blown out, shortened, and necked down to accept a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) bullet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.444 Marlin</span> Rifle cartridge

The .444 Marlin (10.9×57mmR) is a rifle cartridge designed in 1964 by Marlin Firearms and Remington Arms. It was designed to fill in a gap left by the older .45-70 when that cartridge was not available in any new lever-action rifles; at the time it was the largest lever-action cartridge available. The .444 resembles a lengthened .44 Magnum and provides a significant increase in velocity. It is usually used in the Marlin 444 lever-action rifle. Currently, Marlin, who is now owned by Ruger Firearms, does not offer the .444 chambering in any of their rifles. It remains to be seen when or if they will bring the chambering back into production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.338 Winchester Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .338 Winchester Magnum is a .338 in (8.6 mm) caliber, belted, rimless, bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1958 by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is based on the blown-out, shortened .375 H&H Magnum. The .338 in (8.6 mm) is the caliber at which medium-bore cartridges are considered to begin. The .338 Winchester Magnum is the first choice among professional brown bear guides in Alaska to back up clients where a powerful stopping caliber is required on charging bears. It is also the most popular medium-bore cartridge in North America and has the most widely available choice in rifles among medium bore rifles. The action length is the same as a .30-06, and most major rifle manufacturers in the United States chamber rifles for the cartridge including the semi-automatic Browning BAR Mk II Safari, making it a very powerful combination against charging dangerous game. The cartridge was intended for larger North American big-game species and has found use as for the hunting of thin-skinned African plains-game species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.280 Remington</span> US rifle cartridge

The .280 Remington, also known as the 7mm-06 Remington and 7mm Express Remington, was introduced in 1957 for the Remington model 740, 760, 721, and 725 rifles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7mm Remington Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The 7mm Remington Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced as a commercially available round in 1962, along with the new Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle. It is a member of the belted magnum family that is directly derived from the venerable .375 H&H Magnum. The original purpose of the belted magnum concept taken from the .300 H&H Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum, was to provide precise headspace control, since the sloping shoulders, while easing cartridge extraction, were unsuitable for this purpose. Improved cartridge extraction reliability is desirable while hunting dangerous game, in particular when a fast follow-up shot is required. The 7mm Remington Magnum is based on the commercial .264 Winchester Magnum, .338 Winchester Magnum, and .458 Winchester Magnum, which were based on the same belted .300 H&H Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum cases, trimmed to nearly the same length as the .270 Weatherby Magnum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.351 Winchester Self-Loading</span> Rifle cartridge

The .351 Winchester Self-Loading is an American rifle cartridge designed in 1906.

The .500 S&W Magnum or 12.7×41mmSR is a .50 caliber semi-rimmed revolver cartridge developed by Cor-Bon in partnership with the Smith & Wesson "X-Gun" engineering team for use in the Smith & Wesson Model 500 X-frame revolver and introduced in February 2003 at the SHOT Show. From its inception, it was intended to be the most powerful handgun cartridge to date, with the capacity to harvest all North American game species. While more powerful handgun cartridges, such as the .500 Bushwhacker, have emerged since, they are only available in custom firearms, and the .500 S&W remains the most powerful production handgun cartridge.

References

  1. Houze, Herbert G. (2003). Winchester's First Self-Loading Rifles. 'American Rifleman' Vol 151(5) p.84.
  2. Whelen, Townsend. The American Rifle. Century Co., 1918. p.274
  3. Stebbins, Henry M. Rifles, A Modern Encyclopedia. Stackpole Co., 1958. p.274
  4. Sharpe, Philip B. (1953). Complete Guide to Handloading (3rd ed.). New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 425&436–437.
  5. Ramage, Ken (2000). Gun Digest 2001 (55th ed.). Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. p. 208. ISBN   0-87341-924-3.