I joined the 404 Jeffery Club today

[tarbe]

Ok - sounds to me like you need some bullets!

 

[Shootist43]

Tim, do you own a 404 Jeffery? I don't recall you ever mentioning it previously. Is this yet another "cart before the horse?" Those solids may see limited hunting use but they would make an inexpensive way to punch paper.

 

[tarbe]

Tim, do you own a 404 Jeffery? I don't recall you ever mentioning it previously. Is this yet another "cart before the horse?" Those solids may see limited hunting use but they would make an inexpensive way to punch paper.

Me? Cart before the horse??

Oh yeah baby!

 

[Custom]

Tim, can't read the label - what make are those solids? And why do you keep buying this stuff?

 

[Dirtdart]

Tim, can't read the label - what make are those solids? And why do you keep buying this stuff?

Those are Barnes flat nose .422 diameter 400 grain solids. My experience has been that if your rifle will feed them well then it will feed damn near anything with no problem

 

[tarbe]

Yup. Barnes Banded Solids for the 404J.

I buy them because I am an enabler!

They were a smoking deal and I didn’t want them to escape.

 

[Custom]

Tim, I am interested if you are looking to sell. If so, PM me. I think I had Hendershot's load some of these for me and I think they fed, but I need to check my notes. I have yet to load a single 404 J round, but I am stocking up for it!

 

[cmk]

Yup. Barnes Banded Solids for the 404J.

I buy them because I am an enabler!

They were a smoking deal and I didn’t want them to escape.

That's 50 in each bag, right? For a calibre you don't own (yet?). Must have been a helluva deal.

I wish I could find such deals from time to time....but as I don't really expect that to happen, I decided to start casting my own.

Still waiting for some gear for sizing, but I hope to start trying them out in the next few months.

Is it worthwhile? Well... not if I put any value on my time I rather see it as a hobby within the hobby.

/cmk

 

[Shootist43]

cmk, send Von Gruff a PM, I believe he cast and shot lead bullets out of his 404 Jeffery. He may have some tips and or load data to share with you. Good luck.

 

[tarbe]

That's 50 in each bag, right? For a calibre you don't own (yet?). Must have been a helluva deal.

I wish I could find such deals from time to time....but as I don't really expect that to happen, I decided to start casting my own.

Still waiting for some gear for sizing, but I hope to start trying them out in the next few months.

Is it worthwhile? Well... not if I put any value on my time I rather see it as a hobby within the hobby.

/cmk

I have about 1,200 pounds of alloy in ingots, numerous molds, a luber sizer, two 20 pound pots....yup, you gotta be ready for anything!

 

[nztimb]

I have all my cast bullet data if needed. Was able to run the 370gn bullet to 2365fps with more than exceptable accuracy and a real humdinger of an accuracy load at 1900fps

 

[schalkp]

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 several PMs to other AH members, getting their opinions and input. In late January, I found a Win Mod 70 Super Grade in 300 RUM on Gunbroker. It had a reasonable "Buy Now" price on it, so I hit that button and about a week later I was holding a very nice rifle. The Super Grades do have nice wood!

View attachment 260471

My initial plan was to send the gun off to Hill Country Rifle. They advertise a $1500 accurizing package deal to rebarrel, bedding, trigger, etc. I called them up and they told me they didn't do 404 conversions any more, citing the difficulty of getting a 100% reliable DG gun. Okay, so moved onto plan B as soon as I figured out what exactly plan B was.

I called Wayne at AHR and he too declined, citing his CZ work took priority. I talked to 2-3 other GS and they were either reluctant to take the project on or extremely expensive.

I then gave Dennis Olson in Plains, MT a call. I first learned about Dennis in a RealGuns.com article on coverting a CZ 550 FS in 9.3 to 375 Ruger. I had saved that article and doing a Google search on Dennis learned that he had a well earned reputation for being a very good, full service gunsmith.

I shipped the gun to Dennis in early February. These were the details:

ITEM DESCRIPTION
1 Fit the new barrel
2 blueing so everything matches
3 stamping the barrel
4 Feed
5 Barrel recoil lug
6 Cross bolt
7 Inlet the barrel
8 bedding
9 NECG front and rear sights
10 drill and tap scope mounts and receiver for larger screws
11 barrel ring

Contact info for Dennis Olson. His wife, Glenda, handles most to the email communication.

DENNIS OLSON GUNSMITH
PO BOX 337
PLAINS MT 59859-0337

Physical address for UPS or FedEx deliveries
Dennis Olson
500 First St
Plains , MT 59859

Email: dgolson@montana.com
Phone: (406) 826-3790


Next thing, I ordered a barrel from Krieger and they would ship it direct to Dennis. I was told it would be about a 6 month delivery and it ended up being 8 month.

I also ordered some Tally QR bases and rings in 30 mm and also a box of 404 ammo (400 gr Swift A Frames) and sent them directly to Dennis. The ammo is needed for checking the feeding and also to test fire once all the work is done. Once Dennis received the barrel from Krieger, he had the rifle done in about 2 months. The box of ammo was returned with the rifle and there were four fired cartridges in the box.

While waiting the bulk of 2018, I started thinking about the scope for this rifle. I have Leupolds on most of my rifles, but I came across a good deal, here on AH, with another member selling a Swarovski PH 1.5 x 6 x 42 scope for a good price. When I received the scope, it was in the original box and looked brand new. The scope has the #4 reticle, so it's an ideal scope for this rifle.

Today, I mounted and bore sighted the scope and took a few photos. I hope to get it to the range on Wednesday and report back. For now, enjoy a few photos. BTW, once the scope was on, the rifle weighed in at a little over 10 lbs. It balanced (unloaded) at the hinge of the floor plate.

View attachment 260472

View attachment 260473

View attachment 260474

View attachment 260475

View attachment 260476

Very nice looking rifle and a great caliber. I hope you are going to take it on an African adventure soon.
I have owned one for years now and it probably is my favorite.

 

[Wheels]

Very nice looking rifle and a great caliber. I hope you are going to take it on an African adventure soon.
I have owned one for years now and it probably is my favorite.View attachment 270763

That's a proper buff.

You can tell a lot about an outfitter and his area by the buff photos they post.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Very nice looking rifle and a great caliber. I hope you are going to take it on an African adventure soon.
I have owned one for years now and it probably is my favorite.View attachment 270763

Great trophy and legendary rifle in the legendary caliber.

 

[tarbe]

That's a proper buff.

You can tell a lot about an outfitter and his area by the buff photos they post.

Proper buff, proper rifle!

 

[TOBY458]

Very nice looking rifle and a great caliber. I hope you are going to take it on an African adventure soon.
I have owned one for years now and it probably is my favorite.View attachment 270763

Love this picture! It's posts like this that make me want a 404!

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Proper buff, proper rifle!

+1

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Wow, like someone else said Jelous, I love .404j & I love M-70. I have heard good things about your gunsmith. May I ask one question how many rounds does the magazine hold? One possible recommendation I would purchase a spare extractor. I do not know if yours was opened a bit or not, but it is the only spare M-70 parts I keep. I have seen two break in 60yrs., although I have never had one break myself. Cheap insurance.

 

[Rob404]

I have some Jeff stuff I'm putting up for sale, Brass,Bullets,dies etc, contact me if you have an interest

 

[AZDAVE]

PM sent