Any experience with 400 corbon?

[Mbaker78]

I have a 1911 I'm debating changing over to 400 corbon, does anyone have any experience with this caliber or conversion?

I have a few hundred pieces of small primer 45acp brass that I'll likely use for conversion if I go for it.

Any input would be appreciated.

[Happyguy]

Just buy the 10mm, you don't have to form the brass. Aren't you forming enough calibers at this time?

[SafetyJoe]

I don't have the barrel yet, but I'm planning on getting one for my 1911 in the near future because free 45 acp brass is 1000 times easier to find than free 10mm brass. I know the 400 corbon has around 15% lower energy than what 10mm is capable of achieving, but 400 corbon does have a few advantages especially if you already own a 1911 because all you need to do is change the barrel and recoil spring. If you make 2 loads that have the same muzzle energy in both 10mm and 400 corbon the chamber pressure in the 400 corbon is 20% lower than 10mm which means the brass will last longer and there will be less wear on the gun. I'm not saying 10mm and 400 corbon are equal. I'm just saying if you download 10mm to 400 corbon muzzle energy the 400 corbon will have 20% lower pressure.

[SafetyJoe]

Here's an example with 178 grain hard cast lead 10mm and longshot powder in a 5 inch barrel getting 1204 fps. Notice the estimated chamber pressure is 31,732 psi
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Now compare that with this 178 grain hard cast lead 400 corbon and longshot powder in a 5 inch barrel getting 1205 fps. Notice the estimated chamber pressure is only 26,550 psi
That's 16.37% lower pressure.
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[Happyguy]

Or you can go with the 10mm and 9x25 Dillon and have 2 speedsters in one gun. You can also load the 40 Short and Wimpy to close to 400 Corbon specs.

[gandog56]

I tried it...ONCE! I had a .400 Cor-Bon barrel for my Springfield Armory 1911A1 GI. I just never, never, could get that thing to load right. It had constant failures to feed. Now it may be that I just got a bad cheap barrel. But I DID have a gunsmith put it on. It would have multiple failures to feed, I would take it back to him, he would find nothing wrong. I would shoot it again and experience the same problems. .45 ACP brass was easily converted to .400, just necked it down. I finally gave it up as a bad job and sold the barrel and the dies to a different board member that thought he could fix the problem. He never posted me back he couldn't, so maybe he did get it to feed. Anyways I finally just bought a 10mm. I liked it so much I now own two others and a Mechtech CCU to make one of them a carbine.
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[Mbaker78]

I was originally trying to avoid getting another gun, but I know how that will end up going...

And I'm only forming 2 calibers at present, 300aac and 6.5 Grendel. They're both pretty easy conversions.

Maybe I'll just save up for the 44mag instead...

[Happyguy]

Now you are talking.

[Mbaker78]

Now you are talking.

Looking for a 2.5 to 3" for concealed carry ;)

[gandog56]

It's like I said, .400 Cor-Bon is really easy to convert, but my .45 just did not seem to like it.

[Happyguy]

I had a 3 inch model 29 and with full power loads it was something to behold.

[SafetyJoe]

Ruger is coming out with a 3 inch 44 special GP100 that looks good for carry.

[SafetyJoe]

Here's a link https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2016/12/19/tested-ruger-gp100-44-special-revolver/
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They are also going to make an 8 shot Redhawk in 357 magnum. I wonder if the next step will be a 10 shot in 327 mag.

[Mbaker78]

Ruger is coming out with a 3 inch 44 special GP100 that looks good for carry.

I'm going to go full on for the magnum if I get one. As my father says, "if you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly"

He also has a model 29 that shoots like a dream.

[SafetyJoe]

Well, you can't go wrong with a model 29. It worked for Clint Eastwood.

[Mbaker78]

I'm actually eyeballing a 4" Taurus tracker. They're about $630 from what I'm seeing. I have a couple months until profit sharing, time to start looking for 44mag components.

[gandog56]

Looks like I just bought a 6" stainless Ruger Redhawk .44 mag from somebody on one of my numerous gunn message boards. If I likes the double action too much I might have to sell my stainless Ruger Superblackhawk.

[Happyguy]

Matt, are you going to need dies etc?

[Mbaker78]

I'm not certain that I'm getting the 44 just yet. But the wind definitely looks like it's blowing that way ;)

[gandog56]

Thought I had a big pile of .44 mag cases, I don't. What I have a great big pile of is .44 Special cases. Oh well, I shoot them from the same pistols.

[DukeInFlorida]

I haven't spent a whole lot of time looking into it, but.............
The 400 CorBon is a lot like the 357 Sig.

It's a necked down case to take the next smaller bullet size. The 357 Sig is a 40 caliber case, necked down to take a 9mm bullet. And, the 400 CorBon is a 45 caliber case, necked down to take a .40 bullet.

Unfortunately, you cannot use a .40 S&W case, and just neck it down to make a 357 Sig. And, even dealing with a 10mm case doesn't get the final dimensions right.

The same is likely true for the 400 CorBon. I doubt that the reduced neck on a 45 ACP case will result in a true dimensioned 400 CorBon, hence your issues with feeding. And, the grip length for the bullet would be wrong, as it was for the attempt to convert .40 S&W to 357 Sig.

My edition of Book of Conversions predates the development of the 400 CorBon. However, Wiki suggests that some trimming is required: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.400_Cor-Bon

I love my Sig P229 in 357 Sig, and have enough brass to serve me a lifetime. I don't see much 400 Cor-Bon brass out there. So, good luck with your project.

[SafetyJoe]

I haven't spent a whole lot of time looking into it, but.............
The 400 CorBon is a lot like the 357 Sig.

It's a necked down case to take the next smaller bullet size. The 357 Sig is a 40 caliber case, necked down to take a 9mm bullet. And, the 400 CorBon is a 45 caliber case, necked down to take a .40 bullet.

Unfortunately, you cannot use a .40 S&W case, and just neck it down to make a 357 Sig. And, even dealing with a 10mm case doesn't get the final dimensions right.

The same is likely true for the 400 CorBon. I doubt that the reduced neck on a 45 ACP case will result in a true dimensioned 400 CorBon, hence your issues with feeding. And, the grip length for the bullet would be wrong, as it was for the attempt to convert .40 S&W to 357 Sig.

My edition of Book of Conversions predates the development of the 400 CorBon. However, Wiki suggests that some trimming is required: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.400_Cor-Bon

I love my Sig P229 in 357 Sig, and have enough brass to serve me a lifetime. I don't see much 400 Cor-Bon brass out there. So, good luck with your project.

Actually yes you can convert 45 acp brass into 400 corbon with just using a cheap lee 400 corbon sizing die. That's one reason why it's called the poor man's 10mm. The other difference compared to 40 S&W and 357 sig is that 357 sig is high pressure, but 400 corbon is almost 10mm power, but still low pressure so the gun wont wear out and the brass will still last a while. The power is about half way between 40 S&W and 10mm. So it could be called a hot 40 S&W or a weak 10mm. Either way I think it's kinda cool if you have a 1911 and a bunch of 45 acp brass because all you need is a 400 corbon barrel and a cheap Lee die set. There's other 45 acp guns you can get the conversion barrel for too. 45 acp brass is 1000 times easier to find for free at local shooting ranges than 10mm. I have probably three full 5 gal buckets of 45 acp brass, but only a few handfulls of 10mm brass. I have a commander sized 1911, but all the 400 corbon conversion barrels I've seen are only for the 5 inch govt. versions. I'm liking that new 5 inch Ruger SR1911 Target version that just came out a few weeks ago. If I ever get one of those I'll get the 400 corbon barrel for it, but doing the conversion on a glock is easier than a 1911 so maybe I'll do that instead. Here's that new Ruger 1911
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eqXNthKeOQ

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[gandog56]

I consider a .400 Cor-Bon a .40 S&W on steroids. But I also consider a 357 SIG as a 9mm on steroids.
But once I got my first 10mm after my .400 Cor-Bon fail, I was very happy. As a matter of fact, I now own 3 10mm pistols, and a Mechtech CCU to make one of them a carbine.

[Mbaker78]

Yeah, after careful consideration, I'm relatively certain I'll just go with a 44mag instead... I've always wanted a revolver ;)

[gandog56]

I just bought a Ruger Redhawk .44 mag revolver, and am waiting delivery on it. If I like it too much I may sell my Ruger Superblackhawk. Would much prefer a DA over an SA.

[Mbaker78]

I just bought a Ruger Redhawk .44 mag revolver, and am waiting delivery on it. If I like it too much I may sell my Ruger Superblackhawk. Would much prefer a DA over an SA.

My budget doesn't allow for a bird or a snake, so I'm going to have to go with a Taurus.

[gandog56]

My Taurus's are both a .357 Mag, and a .454 Casull. Oh wait, also have a Taurus 1911.

[Pacomdiver]

i kicked around the 400 cor bon idea for my glock 21, ive seen a few barrels for it around and at one of our larger gunshows, a guy has 3 boxes of loaded ammo hes been lugging around to the last few shows. but then again, the 50 GI is just calling my name

[gandog56]

Like I said, tried them, and decided to just go with a 10mm instead.