.404 Jeffery pondering. . .

[Rare Breed]

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

Tipton Burns was fantastic for me! He now gets all my bolt action work while JJ gets my DR work

 

[Jefferry404]

FWIW,
i decided to build both. Being a retired engineer, I use numbers to help my indecisions,
which usually does not help but it is fun...As below, hat warm 404J is similar to the 375HH
From my reload files:

 

[ve7poi]

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.

On the win 70 on insert you need to remove the spacer bumps on mag well then it fit 3 down no problem. org in 416 rm still have barrel never fired

 

[Rare Breed]

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

I can’t say anything about conversion but I can say beware a light rifle weight shooting the 404 caliber…don’t do it. It will be miserable to shoot

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I can’t say anything about conversion but I can say beware a light rifle weight shooting the 404 caliber…don’t do it. It will be miserable to shoot

I agree. What makes your potential donor rifle lightweight? Synthetic stock? Short barrel? Both can be quick fixes. Change to wood stock and you'll have to change the barrel anyway. I built my 404 on standard action 98 Mauser with 24" #5 profile barrel and walnut stock (14" LOP). It weighs ten pounds empty and balances in hand at front half of floor plate. This gun shooting 400 gr bullets dishes out about as much recoil as I can handle and I'm 190 lbs and 6'1". Not a giant but not puny either.

Edit: The stock I used was picked up second hand and much thinner through the wrist than standard stock for military Mauser action. Note the modified shoe of Timney trigger to fit inside the trigger guard. I suppose a thinner stock design shaved a bit of weight from this gun.