cmk
AH enthusiast
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2018
- Messages
- 423
- Reaction score
- 536
- Location
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Media
- 27
- Hunted
- Sweden, Mauritius, Namibia
Hi all,
New member to this forum (though I've been browsing on and off for a few years), and new to the 404 Jeffery as well. I have recently had a rifle rebarreled to this venerable calibre, but I have yet to fire it for the first time.
Actually, I've only fired 3 rounds of 404J ever in my life, in an old Westley Richards rifle with a rather stout Silvers pad on. The cartridge was the Norma PH 450gr, so it was not really a plinking round
Pulling the trigger, the feeling was similar to taking a too large gulp of whisky, or sitting yourself down on a too hot bench in a sauna, i.e. an abrupt wake-up (what the h*ll just happened?), followed by a burning sensation that receeded rather quickly, leaving a warm glow in the shoulder. It was definitely easy to tell difference between a misfire and the real thing.
So after reading up here and elsewhere, I decided to go forward with getting my own rifle. As I am of the left-handed persuasion, it was rather hard to find a 98 action (or a derivative) that cost less than a small car, so I had to make do with what was (in my opinion) a good alternative. All my other rifles are Sakos (6.5x55, 30-06 and 9.3x62), and it seemed wise to stay with the same action to have the same feeling for how the gun works. Also, the Sako long action comfortably handles the cartridge length. Therefore I bought another Sako AV in 6.5x55 and sent it to the gunsmith. I also managed to find a second-hand barrel so I didn't have to wait months for it being delivered from the manufacturer.
Now the barrel has been screwed in (a blued gloss 26-inch Lothar Walther with what I was told is an H&H profile(?) - basically a slow taper down to .65 in at the muzzle. The action was adapted to facilitate feeding and a 'new' wider magazine box was fabricated from something the smith had lying around. Also an extra recoil lug is mounted under the barrel, a couple of inches out from the action, and the system has been bedded. Banded sling swivel, front and rear sights.
The stock is still the same old Sako 'Hunter' Monte Carlo stock in without any figure or charisma, and I think I'll swap that out for a custom stock in the future. I did put on a Pachmayr Old English pad (red), but even without having fired it, I believe that it may bee too soft.
So far the cost of the build has been around $2000, with probably another $1000-$1500 coming for a new stock. But then I also got a spare barrel in 6.5x55 in bargain. Altogether, I consider this rather ok for a custom made rifle.
I'll let this serve as my introduction, and I'll probably come back with questions regarding 404-related matters in the future.
/cmk
New member to this forum (though I've been browsing on and off for a few years), and new to the 404 Jeffery as well. I have recently had a rifle rebarreled to this venerable calibre, but I have yet to fire it for the first time.
Actually, I've only fired 3 rounds of 404J ever in my life, in an old Westley Richards rifle with a rather stout Silvers pad on. The cartridge was the Norma PH 450gr, so it was not really a plinking round
Pulling the trigger, the feeling was similar to taking a too large gulp of whisky, or sitting yourself down on a too hot bench in a sauna, i.e. an abrupt wake-up (what the h*ll just happened?), followed by a burning sensation that receeded rather quickly, leaving a warm glow in the shoulder. It was definitely easy to tell difference between a misfire and the real thing.So after reading up here and elsewhere, I decided to go forward with getting my own rifle. As I am of the left-handed persuasion, it was rather hard to find a 98 action (or a derivative) that cost less than a small car, so I had to make do with what was (in my opinion) a good alternative. All my other rifles are Sakos (6.5x55, 30-06 and 9.3x62), and it seemed wise to stay with the same action to have the same feeling for how the gun works. Also, the Sako long action comfortably handles the cartridge length. Therefore I bought another Sako AV in 6.5x55 and sent it to the gunsmith. I also managed to find a second-hand barrel so I didn't have to wait months for it being delivered from the manufacturer.
Now the barrel has been screwed in (a blued gloss 26-inch Lothar Walther with what I was told is an H&H profile(?) - basically a slow taper down to .65 in at the muzzle. The action was adapted to facilitate feeding and a 'new' wider magazine box was fabricated from something the smith had lying around. Also an extra recoil lug is mounted under the barrel, a couple of inches out from the action, and the system has been bedded. Banded sling swivel, front and rear sights.
The stock is still the same old Sako 'Hunter' Monte Carlo stock in without any figure or charisma, and I think I'll swap that out for a custom stock in the future. I did put on a Pachmayr Old English pad (red), but even without having fired it, I believe that it may bee too soft.
So far the cost of the build has been around $2000, with probably another $1000-$1500 coming for a new stock. But then I also got a spare barrel in 6.5x55 in bargain. Altogether, I consider this rather ok for a custom made rifle.
I'll let this serve as my introduction, and I'll probably come back with questions regarding 404-related matters in the future.
/cmk
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