.40/82 and .40/65 Winchester accurate loads in 1886 Winchesters

[Paul Barber]

If you go on line you will find that many people state that .40/82 not to be a very accurate caliber, well to me this is just not the case at all. Having read Mike Venturinos book "Lever Guns" he aludes in there to an accurate recepie for .40/82 1886 Winchesters.

Any way a lot of people purchase Lymans plain base mold to load for these two old calibers and would seem only to enjoy mediocre results with smokless powders.

Well I enjoy tack driving accuracy fom both of my .40/82 rifles. What is the secret to success? well buy a custom 260 grain triple cavity mold from Steve Brooks molds. Ask him to make it just the same as he did for Mike Venturiino many years ago except in my case I asked him to cut it for Hordandy rather than Lyman gas checks.

.40//82 is very sensative about brass thickness at the mouth of the case. I haver found that only Bertram and Jamison brass will chamber easily in my rifles with bullets sized to .408" not .406". This combinationd using IMR SR4759 and CCI magnum rifle primers is my recepie to success. Give it a try and SR4759 is no longer available although I bought lots before it was discomntinued as its the best powder for the big black powner llever gun cartridges firing smokless, is not volume sensative and burns well even with large air gaps. Also XMP 5744 works almost as well but you do get some unburnt powder.

Hope this helps.

 

[Ian]

Getting a bullet that fits the rifle properly usually makes a big difference in any case.

 

[fiver]

that is some good information.
it's usually the brass being too thiin in the neck area that causes many problems in the accuracy dept.

 

[RicinYakima]

Thanks for the post. I wish I had read it before starting to reload for my 40-50 Sharps Straight.

 

[Paul Barber]

Thanks guys. My 1886 in .40/82 shoot 2" groups at 100 yards, not bad for a caliber that is considered inacurate. Truth is like Mike Venturino says, the .40/82 is the best 1886 caliber if loaded properly.

 

[smokeywolf]

Wish I had the 40-82. In the 40-65, I can tell you I've had results near to yours with 4198 and 5744 and the Ideal 240 grain 403169. Because I stay very near BP velocities the 5744 does leave a lot of unburned kernels behind.

I would be very inclined to try 4759 if I had a good supply of it.

 

[Paul Barber]

Yes I have two .40/82"s but no .40/65 I sold it some years ago. The .40/82 is very picky about brass if you cut down 3 1/4" basic brass it will not chamber with a .408" bullet as the brass at the neck will too thick to chamber I found.

I also have the Lyman 403169 but do not use it as I found that you can only use very light charges because it is a plain base rather than a gas check design which limits velocity. The Brooks mold has a gas check which I have found aids good accuracy and enables you to drive the bullets a little faster without unduly affecting accuracy. If you so wish you can use IMR 3031 powder and get the velocity up to 1600 - 1700 FPS still with good accuracy and low pressures. Also the .40/82 is a big case and you need to fill with sufficient powder to prevent poor ignition and large amounts of unburrnt powder.

SR4759 fits the bill completely, I use it in .40/82, .45/90 and .45/75 exclusively in my Winchester and Uberti large caliber rifles. No unburnt powder , good accuracy and consistency.