.404 Jeffery Build

[Kevin Peacocke]

When you guys finish a stock do you attempt the chequering yourselves, or send it out? I made a stock once and my chequering was so bad I stippled over it. Now I am about to begin a teak stock for my Ruger No1 and there is nobody here to send it out to, gets me nervous!

 

[arizonajake]

When you guys finish a stock do you attempt the chequering yourselves, or send it out? I made a stock once and my chequering was so bad I stippled over it. Now I am about to begin a teak stock for my Ruger No1 and there is nobody here to send it out to, gets me nervous!

I have finished 3 stocks, learning as I have gone along. My latest effort produced very good results, so I have a good amount of confidence to do the finishing. PATIENCE and attention to the little details are the keys to success.

However, I will NEVER attempt to checker the stock I just ordered. I might start learning at a later date, using the stock from the donor rifle, which was un-checkered, using YouTube videos as guidance.

 

[Gert Odendaal]

I will be installing a Leupold Vari-Xi, 1.5-5X scope. That should do it.

arizonajake, great to see you are building a great caliber, the best there is for sure ..the 404 Jeffery ...I would suggest not fitting a Leopold Vari 3 1.5 -5 x 20 ...I had the exact same scope on my Mauser 404 Jefffery..in open sunshine terrain it works just great..when starting to hunt in thick foliage bush where sunlight is obscured it just is not clear enough...that is the only reason why I took it off...I now have an old Schmidt&Bender scope I want to fit to my 404 Jeffery..here are images of the same Schmidt &Bender I want to fit to my 404 Jeffery

 

[arizonajake]

Update - for reference, if you are looking for sources:

I obtained:
60 pcs. .404 brass from Grafs & Sons. at ~$45 / 20
Hornady reloading dies from Midway USA ~$105.
50 Woodleigh 400 gr. SP Welcore bullets were ~$63 at Midway USA
50 Hornady 400 gr. Bonded DGS bullets were ~45 at Powder Valley

I will be using Federal 215 Magnum primers and Hodgdon Varget (ADI 2208) powder, since I have plenty of the stuff.

 

[nztimb]

Update - for reference, if you are looking for sources:

I obtained:
60 pcs. .404 brass from Grafs & Sons. at ~$45 / 20
Hornady reloading dies from Midway USA ~$105.
50 Woodleigh 400 gr. SP Welcore bullets were ~$63 at Midway USA
50 Hornady 400 gr. Bonded DGS bullets were ~45 at Powder Valley

I will be using Federal 215 Magnum primers and Hodgdon Varget (ADI 2208) powder, since I have plenty of the stuff.

I found 2208 /Varget to be too fast for the 404 but 2209/H4350 is about perfect with 84gn giving the 400gn bullet a very good 2300fps and in most cases where this laod is used, excellent accuracy

 

[Boardwalk72]

I have nearly the exact same project going on, barrel also from Pac-Nor. Have you done any receiver modification work yet on yours?

 

[arizonajake]

Other than replacing the original cocking piece and replacing the original trigger with a Timney, no other modifications have been made.

I am waiting for the stock to arrive so I can ascertain its forearm dimensions and confirm the contour with PacNor. I will then send the action to them so they can fit the barrel and coordinate the bolt face and feed rail modifications with their gunsmith. I will be finishing the stock in the mean time. The surfaces adjacent to the metalwork not be completely finished until the barreled action is fitted to the stock.

 

[Boardwalk72]

I'm interested to see yours develop as it progresses. I'm sure it will be an amazing build when it's completed. I'll be sending mine off to Pac-Nor for them to fit the new barrel, but I'm tackling the rest of the work. I'm looking at a late February to early March return of my action with the new barrel installed.

 

[arizonajake]

I'm interested to see yours develop as it progresses. I'm sure it will be an amazing build when it's completed. I'll be sending mine off to Pac-Nor for them to fit the new barrel, but I'm tackling the rest of the work. I'm looking at a late February to early March return of my action with the new barrel installed.

Same here!

 

[arizonajake]

Build status:

DISAPPOINTMENT.

I contacted PacNor barrels and ordered a .404 Jeffery barrel in mid-October of last year. Their website at the time stated delivery would be 12-14 weeks. Barrel dimensions were discussed at various dates over the telephone.

Well, I contacted them last week - after a 24 week wait - and was told they were waiting on tooling and would not be getting the barrel done by the end of April. The 1917 Action is at the gunsmith waiting and probably collecting rust by now. I seriously doubt the rifle will be ready for load development and function testing before my scheduled trip to the RSA in August. While is is disappointing, it is not the end of the world, since I can always take my Winchester M-70 in .375 H&H Mag.

Lessons learned:
Be weary of manufacturer's claims
Always have a back-up
If you want to make God laugh, show Him your plans

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Build status:

DISAPPOINTMENT.

I contacted PacNor barrels and ordered a .404 Jeffery barrel in mid-October of last year. Their website at the time stated delivery would be 12-14 weeks. Barrel dimensions were discussed at various dates over the telephone.

Well, I contacted them last week - after a 24 week wait - and was told they were waiting on tooling and would not be getting the barrel done by the end of April. The 1917 Action is at the gunsmith waiting and probably collecting rust by now. I seriously doubt the rifle will be ready for load development and function testing before my scheduled trip to the RSA in August. While is is disappointing, it is not the end of the world, since I can always take my Winchester M-70 in .375 H&H Mag.

Lessons learned:
Be weary of manufacturer's claims
Always have a back-up
If you want to make God laugh, show Him your plans

Where are you going to hunt in South Africa? My 404 Jeffery is available to you any time. Just organize with your PH to make use of RAM courier to enable me to courier te rifle and a pack of 404 Jeffery Hornady soft 400gn loads. You are more than welcome to use my 404 Jeffery

 

[Wheels]

Where are you going to hunt in South Africa? My 404 Jeffery is available to you any time. Just organize with your PH to make use of RAM courier to enable me to courier te rifle and a pack of 404 Jeffery Hornady soft 400gn loads. You are more than welcome to use my 404 Jeffery

You're a good man Gert!

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Wheels, it is just important to me that a person need to follow his dreams , it is his dream to hunt Africa with an old 404 Jeffery with a beautiful history I will want hin to do it...sorry for the spelling I had eye surgery today and are usining only one eye to type ..my 404 Jeffery, .458 Mannlicher Schoenauer is available to any forum member who wants to use it in South Africa . I can courier it with the RAM courier for the hunter forum member who needs is , no charge ...no favor in return Gentleman

 

[arizonajake]

Where are you going to hunt in South Africa? My 404 Jeffery is available to you any time. Just organize with your PH to make use of RAM courier to enable me to courier te rifle and a pack of 404 Jeffery Hornady soft 400gn loads. You are more than welcome to use my 404 Jeffery

Thank you very much for your kind offer, Gert. I have my trusty .375 ready to go, so I will be using that. I have already taken 6 animals with it and know it is as reliable as possible. I will be hunting near the Limpopo river, north of Dendron.

Regards.

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Arizona jake, I can personally bring you the 404 Jeffery, I did take my 404 Jeffery to the Maasstroom region Limpopo two years back also for a member of the forum and friend to use ...It will give me some time to drive around in that beautiful area...let me know when you will be coming to SA..really I would like it if you use a 404 Jeffery in Africa to hunt with so you can realize what great caliber it is ,,it will be a pleasure to bring it to you for sure..

 

[arizonajake]

Status update:

After waiting 8 months, Pac-Nor finally delivered my 1917 Remington action, fitted with one of their barrels. Barrel contour is No. 6 (.750 inch diameter at muzzle), length is 24 inches and rate of twist is 1 turn in 14 inches. I then reviewed the rest of the work that still needs to be done:
Fitting of NEGC front and rear sights, barrel sling swivel band
Modification of the magazine and bottom metal to fit the length of the .404 J loaded rounds
Bluing
Bedding and finishing of the stock
Installing a sling swivel in the buttstock

Since I had already decided to forgo rushing things to get the rifle ready for my hunt in August, I contacted Randy Selby (a.k.a. The Real Gunsmith of the Youtube videos) and after exchanging a few e-mails, I sent the components to him so he can finish the job. It will NOT be cheap and the rifle should be ready in less than a year.

I did a little research on Mr. Selby and his gunsmithing practice before contacting him, and received nothing but praise for his work and his experience with rifles chambered in .404 Jeffery, as well as cartridges he has designed, based the .404.

I will post again, hopefully with pictures, when I receive the rifle next year.

 

[arizonajake]

Status update:

After waiting 8 months, Pac-Nor finally delivered my 1917 Remington action, fitted with one of their barrels. Barrel contour is No. 6 (.750 inch diameter at muzzle), length is 24 inches and rate of twist is 1 turn in 14 inches. I then reviewed the rest of the work that still needs to be done:
Fitting of NEGC front and rear sights, barrel sling swivel band
Modification of the magazine and bottom metal to fit the length of the .404 J loaded rounds
Bluing
Bedding and finishing of the stock
Installing a sling swivel in the buttstock

Since I had already decided to forgo rushing things to get the rifle ready for my hunt in August, I contacted Randy Selby (a.k.a. The Real Gunsmith of the Youtube videos) and after exchanging a few e-mails, I sent the components to him so he can finish the job. It will NOT be cheap and the rifle should be ready in less than a year.

I did a little research on Mr. Selby and his gunsmithing practice before contacting him, and received nothing but praise for his work and his experience with rifles chambered in .404 Jeffery, as well as cartridges he has designed, based the .404.

I will post again, hopefully with pictures, when I receive the rifle next year.

Please see my later post on Randy Selby's sloppy workmanship.