Good afternoon from East Texas

Stan Smith

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I was introduced to this site by a friend. He is planning a trip to Africa for he and his Dad. He was looking for a DG rifle and knowing I have an assortment of "stuff", he asked about such a rifle. I have a 404 Jeffery that I showed him, as well as, a the 416 Ruger. I did not show him those less than 40 cal, even though 375 & 300 H&H have always been favorites of mine.

I have hunted my entire life and Africa was always one of those places that had an attraction for me. I bought the Jeffery because of what it represented in African hunting history. I planned the trip, but my Dad passed away during that planning stage. My mother passed away a few years later and the fire and passion I had for making that hunt, just burned out. My wife has asked me the last few years if I still want to go, but the answer is always, I don't think so. It is not a sad answer, life happens and we make adjustments. WOW that was DEEP.

I still love to hunt, most of it locally for whitetail, hogs, coyote, dove, and quail. I will never get over my love for hearing tales of "The Dark Continent" from the likes of Capstick and Selous. I still enjoy watching a "Good" African hunt w hen they air. I particularly enjoy the ones where the hunter, PH, trackers and others involved in the hunt, give homage to the animal that was harvested.

During my 35 year career as a private Fisheries Biologist, I have often joked with folks about spending 50-60 hours a week growing BIG bass for other people to catch, so I could spend "my time" in the woods hunting.

I look forward to reading about some of the adventures here. Life is in the journey and who you invite to go along, not the destination.

404 Jeff pic 6.jpg
404 Jeff pic 1.jpg
 
Hello and welcome!
 
Welcome to AH.
 
Welcome! I split time between Houston and Shreveport. Worked in Kilgore a long time ago. Where abouts in East Texas are you? Your 404 Jeff needs to go hunt in Africa and it should take you along too!
 
Welcome, looks like you did everything to that MRC rifle that they should have done from the start! Barrel band front sight, island rear and barrel band sling! Nice rifle!
If you make it to Houston after this drama is all over with, bring your rifle along and you can shoot with a couple of us that will put that fire back under your a$$!
Cheers,
Cody
 
Giday Stan and welcome to the A H forums
 
Welcome to AH, I think you should renew your plans to take that 404 Jeff to Africa. If not stick around and join in.
 
Welcome, I suspect then this is all over they're will be some deals that are too good to pass up. Never say never.
 
Welcome sir..... North Central.... East’ish Texas here!
 
Welcome to AH!!
 
Welcome to AH sir!
 
Welcome my friend! Be careful on this forum. If you get too involved you might find yourself planning a trip soon. And that would be a good thing. And I agree that gun needs to go to Africa!
 
Welcome from another Texan!
 
Thank you for the welcomes. In the Tyler area. I hope the Jeffery makes it to Africa, as that is why is was built. Not sure I will be the one to take to there, but now that I have taken it out of the safe I think I need to shoot it again. The friend who put me onto this site wanted a blued rifle and got a 404 Jeffery from a member here. Once his comes in, I think we will take the two Jeffery's out for a run. It is fun gun to shoot. Actually my wife shot it a few times and really liked it and shot it well.

Which is the best forum to read about African adventures?
 
Welcome to AH! If you're just over in Tyler, you need to come for next year's Dallas Safari Club convention. We have an annual dinner there on Friday evening. We've had about 200 attendees the last two years, so it's a great party.
 
Thank you for the welcomes.

Which is the best forum to read about African adventures?

Hello Stan Smith,

Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris of Namibia, welcomes you to the greatest forum on earth.

Best place to read about African adventures ?
Have a look into the forum section known as “Hunt Reports”.
I guess it’s obvious that I would suggest hunt reports about Namibia.
However, there are many countries in Africa that offer splendid hunting these days and therefore, some excellent stories are posted by forum members about them.

I’m +1 with those who say that, it seems only right for you to bring your .404 to Africa.
I once had fired an original, pre-war Oberndorf, single square bridge Magnum Mauser ‘98.
Since then, I have made unsuccessful offers on more than one .404 Mauser, over the years.

After several frustrating years of searching in vain, for a reasonably priced .404, I ended up buying a CZ 550 Magnum, in .416 Rigby, for $800. new in the box.
Then, I had it modified to my liking (23” barrel, Model 70 type “safety”, barrel band swivel, stock reinforced, etc., etc).

To keep recoil tolerable for my sissy shoulder, I hand load my Rigby down to the original .404 ballistics, by means of putting a spacer between the powder charge and the base of the bullet.
Blah, blah, blah, whatever.

Anyway, we’re all glad you joined up.

Best regards,
Paul.
 
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Thank you for the welcomes. In the Tyler area. I hope the Jeffery makes it to Africa, as that is why is was built. Not sure I will be the one to take to there, but now that I have taken it out of the safe I think I need to shoot it again. The friend who put me onto this site wanted a blued rifle and got a 404 Jeffery from a member here. Once his comes in, I think we will take the two Jeffery's out for a run. It is fun gun to shoot. Actually my wife shot it a few times and really liked it and shot it well.

Which is the best forum to read about African adventures?

Probably hunting reports: https://www.africahunting.com/community/hunting-reports/

Since you are in the Tyler area, have you ever been to Kiepersol, a taste of South Africa, just south of Tyler. My in-laws will drive 90 miles to go over there for lunch once a month. https://kiepersol.com/
https://texashighways.com/travel/its-a-keeper-kiepersol-estates-tyler/
 
Welcome aboard Stan. To answer one of your questions, AH is the best place to read and learn about hunting in Africa. BTW what load do you use in your 404 Jeffery? The load a number of us uses produces MOA or slightly better groups at 100 yds. Is yours equal to that or better?
 
Welcome to AH and its never to late to hunt Africa my dad made his first trip to Africa when he was 72 and again when he was 74
 

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