400 WHELEN

Research notes

The .400 Whelen cartridge was developed by Colonel Townsend Whelen while he was commanding officer of Frankford Arsenal in the early 1920s when he necked up the .30-06 to .40cal. In sportingclassicsdaily it was noted ”Whelen’s .400 suffered from a dearth of .411-inch bullets. It is also out of step with the current trend to slender rocket-shaped bullets for shots spanning zip codes. Still, it’s an efficient round and, with 300-grain bullets at 2,250 fps, adequate for any beast. While reformed 30-06 cases have enough shoulder to headspace, the original shoulder diameter was .458-inch, not .441, per the 30-06.”