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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!
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.
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!
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.
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