.404 Jeffery pondering. . .

[HardTimes]

As I kill time waiting for my first safari (June 2027. . Buffalo/Plains Game) I inevitably get drawn into constantly looking for and evaluating rifles. A certain amount of nostalgia and romance is a necessity for me in rifles in general, especially those I plan to take to Africa. I have an old Browning Safari Grade in .375 H&H that I really enjoy. It's an original, non saltwood gun that fits me nicely and shoots really well. However, as I spend more time here and elsewhere reading, I've found myself more and more drawn to the idea of a .404 Jeffery. I don't have a desire to spend new custom rifle money on one and hence they are hard to come by. I've read several times that Model 70s in .300 RUM were an easy rebarrel/conversion to .404J. I recently was able to buy a newer CRF Model 70 chambered in .300RUM, nice rifle although pretty light. How difficult a conversion is this? Is the time and effort worth it or should I be content to carry only my .375? as the title states. . Just pondering. Would appreciate any input or insights on the matter

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Should be a very easy conversion. Action and magazine are long enough. Bolt face and extractor should require no modification. My only concern MIGHT be the shoulder width of magazine MIGHT be too narrow. If you can caliper your box widths, I will compare to dimensions of my 404J with 416 Rem bottom metal. The feeding rails might need some modification but should be plenty of metal to work with. I suspect the follower may work with little or no modification. And that's it. If you need to change to a wider mag box (which I think is unlikely), that would require opening the stock. Does your rifle have two crossbolts?

 

[Captain Munro]

Lol I am hunting a 404 Jeffery as well and for the same reasons!

 

[deewayne2003]

Beware what smith you use and the timeline.

I sent a .375 to a gunsmith in Arizona and 2 years later I got back a box of parts; I then sent it to a Smith in Montana where it has been for 3 years and counting.

 

[Berettaco]

I’ve hunted buff with 375H&H and 404J with the same result. Unless you absolutely have the desire for a 404J and it’s keeping you up night, I’d use the money for more hunting and carry that 375.
Use a 300 grain A frame (or similar) and you’re set for about anything. If you don’t think that’s enough, try a 350 gr in your 375 and you’re in the 404J territory.
I know there are varying opinions on this - and that’s great, just sharing my thoughts.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

This should not be that complicated even if the bottom metal has to be changed. I built my 404J on an 8mm standard length 98 Mauser and got it done in four months. That project was immensely more complicated than building 404 on magnum length action in 300 RUM. I don't believe OP will need a top flight gunsmith to screw a barrel on and maybe trim the rails. Even adding a wider box wouldn't be that difficult.

 

[Flewis]

You can own 10 375s but it won’t scratch that 404J itch.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Convert a M70 in 300 RUM to 404J a few years ago. Getting the barrel is the ling lead item.

Thread 'I joined the 404 Jeffery Club today'

Dec 17, 2018

For the last couple of years, anyone that's a regular on this site knows there has been a lot of positive comments and chatter on the 404 Jeffery. To be fair, that same statement can be made for..........pick a caliber. However, the 404 seemed to have a special place in African history and fills the spot in my gun battery for something bigger than my 375.

As many of you know, the two popular ways of achieving 404 nirvana is the CZ-550 or find a Winchester Model 70, preferably in one of the RUM cartridges, and have it re-barreled and a little other tweaking from a gunsmith.

I sent...

• 375 Ruger Fan
• Replies: 116
• Forum: .375 & up

• 

 

[Tintin]

I used a Lothar Walther barrel for mine (on a CZ) - lead time was not too bad then (about 6 years ago), don't know what wait times are like now. PacNor also do them from memory.

I love the .404. It is great, nostalgia fuelled fun to shoot,

 

[Flipper Dude]

Beware what smith you use and the timeline.

I sent a .375 to a gunsmith in Arizona and 2 years later I got back a box of parts; I then sent it to a Smith in Montana where it has been for 3 years and counting.

Dammit @deewayne2003 I’ve used both those guys and had good luck. I believe you asked me about one if not both of them concerning my experience. Was good for me, but I feel bad about leading you wrong.

Best of luck on the 404 from now on.

 

[deewayne2003]

Dammit @deewayne2003 I’ve used both those guys and had good luck. I believe you asked me about one if not both of them concerning my experience. Was good for me, but I feel bad about leading you wrong.

Best of luck on the 404 from now on.

No worries

Dan Pederson of Arizona - Turned out to be a liar, drunk and as far as I'm concerned a con man; I actually think he's in prison now.

Dennis Olson - The man had a stroke so I'm sympathetic to the ordeal but patience is wearing thin when I hear of people who sent him rifles after I did getting them back months ago.
I recently called Dennis and told him that I'm looking to get this rifle over and done told him to forget the bluing and wood....sent him a B&C stock weeks ago and told him to cerakote the damn thing and be done with it ASAP - I'll give it a 3 more months before I tell him to send me the parts back.

 

[Flipper Dude]

Damn, that’s a shame. Dennis built mine from a rough barreled action and a blank in about a year and eight months. Sorry to hear that. I never dealt with Dan Pederson but I know my local smith used him to convert my 458 WM to a Lott. No issues I know of, but I have read that he went off the deep end.

 

[deewayne2003]

Damn, that’s a shame. Dennis built mine from a rough barreled action and a blank in about a year and eight months. Sorry to hear that. I never dealt with Dan Pederson but I know my local smith used him to convert my 458 WM to a Lott. No issues I know of, but I have read that he went off the deep end.

Well I sent Dennis the barreled action, completed wood stock that needs finishing and chase the checkering back in early 2022.

Dan Pederson - He had a scam where he would promise people 6weeks and then ignore them until he needed money and then pull guns out of his safe that had been there for years and slap the work together...... The local detectives were flat out sick and tired of taking complaints and I had to force his hand by taking his WIFE to court - you see she actually held the FFL and business in her name.

Last I heard Dan was in jail because he got drunk and shot his own house up.... with his wife inside!

Positive note - Tipton Burns of Texas Sporting Arms is my new gunsmith; he's a man of his word and does great work!

If/when I get the parts back from Dennis - I'll be sending them directly to Tipton

 

[HardTimes]

Should be a very easy conversion. Action and magazine are long enough. Bolt face and extractor should require no modification. My only concern MIGHT be the shoulder width of magazine MIGHT be too narrow. If you can caliper your box widths, I will compare to dimensions of my 404J with 416 Rem bottom metal. The feeding rails might need some modification but should be plenty of metal to work with. I suspect the follower may work with little or no modification. And that's it. If you need to change to a wider mag box (which I think is unlikely), that would require opening the stock. Does your rifle have two crossbolts?

Thanks, just one crossbolt on my Model 70 I believe. I will try to get an opportunity to caliper the box widths to compare.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Thanks, just one crossbolt on my Model 70 I believe. I will try to get an opportunity to caliper the box widths to compare.

It should have two crossbolts. I added two Winchester crossbolts to this second hand stock I used for my 404 build.

Dennis Olson put the barrel on my action but I was there and that may have expedited things. I brought the gun down to him as 30-06 to get around gun parts export restrictions. Lilja down the road from him made the barrel. This was summer 2023. Sorry to hear he's had health issues.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I checked dimensions of cartridges and I'm sure you are okay with your existing magazine box. 416 Rem bottom metal worked fine for my 404 build so your existing 300 RUM magazine should be plenty wide enough. Shoulder widths of cartridges are:
300 RUM = 0.525"
404 Jeffery = 0.530"
416 Remington = 0.487"

I calculated that 416 Rem box would be too narrow for 404 per Paul Mauser's cos 30° formula for magazine width but it was close as I could get without ordering a custom box ($$$!). My intention was to carve out some metal in the shoulder area but it worked fine without modification. I think it was a tight fit but cartridges stay put and cycle very nicely, probably better than Mauser's formula as the bullet tips are pushed a bit closer to center. 300 RUM is slightly narrower than 404 so I'm sure your existing box will work fine. Rails likely will not require modification.

 

[coreydb]

Your .375 is enough for what you want to do. Sounds like "want" is taking over from "necessary" If so, get your 404J but keep your 375. You can never have enough guns.

 

[Javaman]

Friend encourage friends to use enough gun … why run a .375 H&H when you can run THE .404 Jeffery!

 

[roklok]

Sounds like a pretty easy conversion. The bolt face may need to be opened up just a hair, the 404s rim is about .009 larger than the 300 RUM. I am not sure how tight the tolerances are on the M70 bolts. I am in the process of building a 404 for the same reasons as you stated, just a cool vintage cartridge with a lot of history, need has nothing to do with it. I am surprised how expensive 404 stuff is though, specifically brass and dies.

 

[deewayne2003]

I will say, when I hunted with a .404J in the NT of OZ; it hit with authority!