404 Jeffery Build on a standard action ??

[Ontario Hunter]

I seem to recall one former member Von Gruff put a lot of gas behind his 404 handloads and never had issues with his standard action failing. Hornady supes up their factory ammo to 4300 fps and I haven't heard any complaints about rifle failures. As @SwampTrooper indicated, it is possible to lap the lugs enough to activate the third safety lug but consensus seems to be it's unnecessary unless one is playing with wildcat cartridges meant for killing tanks.

I knew nothing about "bolt thrust" till this thread so I did some homework. Interesting that it's estimated using clean ammo and a dry chamber will reduce bolt thrust 40% or more. Lubricated ammo will deliver full thrust to the bolt face. But before I go wipe down all my 404 cartridges, I'm wondering if firing dry ammo doesn't shorten brass life by causing cases to stretch more ( = more brass lost from mouth of cases due to trimming)? Perhaps I'll try an experiment with my 30-06. I have lots of brass for that rifle.

Typo. That should read 2300 fps. I doubt a 404J case could pack enough powder to push a 400 gr bullet at 4300 fps.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

Typo. That should read 2300 fps. I doubt a 404J case could pack enough powder to push a 400 gr bullet at 4300 fps.

I was just about to query that
All good
Gumpy

 

[SwampTrooper]

Just goofing around but a .375 sits not too badly in a standard action. When you push it in, the rails capture it.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Just goofing around but a .375 sits not too badly in a standard action. When you push it in, the rails capture it.

View attachment 751375

Interesting. You have the barrel off so try this just for kix. Remove the extractor from bolt and fill the bolt face with spacer. Then cycle bolt forward with 375 under the rail. I'd be interested to know when the cartridge jumps the rail. I am surprised you could get one cartridge to stay under the rail without cutting into the ramp.

 

[SwampTrooper]

Interesting. You have the barrel off so try this just for kix. Remove the extractor from bolt and fill the bolt face with spacer. Then cycle bolt forward with 375 under the rail. I'd be interested to know when the cartridge jumps the rail. I am surprised you could get one cartridge to stay under the rail without cutting into the ramp.

The ramp its just below the nose of the round and would definitely need to be relived to actually magazine feed the rifle just like the 404 build. By measurements it’s barely longer than a 404 round but even barely longer, the geometry is technically harder than a 404 conversion. The belt also fights with the rail. It’s not quite a fair comparison without the barrel because the bullet can behave in impossible ways, like nosing very high and jumping later than it would if forced into a chamber. However, I’ve added a photo of where it jumps.

 

[SkullKeeper]

There’s no issue with using a standard FN action for a 404 build - no relieving needed either. I load my 404 cases to 3.54-3.55” just to give a slight bit more space in loading. Rail work is definitely required and best to use a custom magazine box although the standard mag box can be used if lengthened. My FN 404 …

 

[SwampTrooper]

There’s no issue with using a standard FN action for a 404 build - no relieving needed either. I load my 404 cases to 3.54-3.55” just to give a slight bit more space in loading. Rail work is definitely required and best to use a custom magazine box although the standard mag box can be used if lengthened. My FN 404 …View attachment 751477View attachment 751476

Interesting so you deep seat your cartridges? Beautiful rifle as well.

 

[SkullKeeper]

Interesting so you deep seat your cartridges? Beautiful rifle as well.

We if you call 0.05” deep seating then yes sir I do lol!! And thank you - Bruce did a great job on this rifle!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Deep seating the bullets can be self-defeating. The more room in the box, the greater potential for bullets to become seated even deeper due to recoil which can alter zero. Certainly debatable how critical this would be for gun and ammo designed for less than 100 yards.

I modified my loading ramp, rails, and follower to cycle standard length 404 cartridges with 400 gr spitzer bullets ... precisely. Might have trouble loading 450 gr solids or even 400 gr round nose solids. Absolutely no interest or need to shoot the former but I would like to pick up a 400 gr round nose bullet to see if more adjustments would be needed. Anyone want to send me one?

 

[SwampTrooper]

We if you call 0.05” deep seating then yes sir I do lol!! And thank you - Bruce did a great job on this rifle!

I’m not a reloader so I have no idea what I’m talking about with deep seating or not lol. Unfortunately for building a 404, it seems to definitely be a reloader’s gun as buying factory ammo hurts a lot…

 

[Ontario Hunter]

There’s no issue with using a standard FN action for a 404 build - no relieving needed either. I load my 404 cases to 3.54-3.55” just to give a slight bit more space in loading. Rail work is definitely required and best to use a custom magazine box although the standard mag box can be used if lengthened. My FN 404 …View attachment 751477View attachment 751476

What mount and rings are you using? I note the forward ring is extended. Not sure why extended ring would be needed with a straight tube scope? I could not find anyone who made extended quick detach rings.

 

[SkullKeeper]

What mount and rings are you using? I note the forward ring is extended. Not sure why extended ring would be needed with a straight tube scope? I could not find anyone who made extended quick detach rings.

Those are EAW pivot mounts. No reason for the extended front ring with that particular optic but it gives me options of using a Leupold 1.5-5 or a Zeiss Diavari C 3-9.

 

[SwampTrooper]

Those are EAW pivot mounts. No reason for the extended front ring with that particular optic but it gives me options of using a Leupold 1.5-5 or a Zeiss Diavari C 3-9.

I think it looks sick