Long Range 404J Accuracy?

[enysse]

If I had a .404 Jeffrey, I would zero it for 100yds and then use hold over for long distance or buy a scope with reticles.

 

[DB404]

Old post but wanted to add my 2 bits.
I haven’t seen any factory loaded ammo under 400 grains with a spitzer shape, and there aren’t many pointed sub 400 gr slugs for reloading, either. The original 300 gr load offered by Jeffery back in the first part of the 1900s went out of the end of the barrel at 2600 fps. With todays powders it would be easy to push that slug well over 2700 fps safely. I would bet Atkinson has done so already. The mechanical accuracy would easily be there; the human factor is the question. Not many people like to box.

 

[Scrumbag]

What about a high-BC monolithic? Something like the Peregrine VRG4 320gr bullet. According to Peregrine it's good for 2550f/s and with a G1 BC of 0.418 you should get 10" of drop at 250yds with a 100yd zero. I suspect that with American powders, there'd probably be another 50-100f/s of muzzle velocity to be squeezed out.

Yes, it would require handloading.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, do you have the load data?

Scrummy

 

[colorado]

I have a 500 Jeffery, shoot Barnes 570g at 2300 fps. I sight it in 2 1/2" high at 100 yards. It's dead on at 25 yards and 175 yards, about 16" low at 300 yards. Got a cow elk two years ago with it at 225 yards, easy.

 

[krish]

I don't think 404j is recommended caliber for 350 ads. More over you are not going to change ammo from 400gr to 350 or 300grains in the middle of DG hunt. That is why they make 340 WBY. As long as it is not one gun do it all. That where 375 WBY comes in. Unless one is willing to shoot 2 to 3 ft of hold over. Even then wind deflection plays another role. Idea is to take a clean shot with clean kill.
Krish.

 

[ActionBob]

@Just Gina 's CZ 550 in 404 Jeffrey will shoot unde 1" accuracy ar 100 yards. So the gun is capable of the accuracy required. It is then just up to whatever peanut in the gallery wants to dope the scope for what distance.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

You can get a ballistic turret to add to the z6. Accuracy and flat trajectory are two different things. People shoot black powder cartridge rifles very consistently at quite long distances and compared with those, a 404 is a laser beam. But the drop tables speak for themselves: you have essentially no margin for range estimation error once you get out there a ways, so a rangefinder is going to be important. It’s not a point-and-shoot gun at range

 

[Ontario Hunter]

You have to be fair to the 404. I am comparing 400 grain factory bullets in the 404 to handload 250 grain in 375 that were loaded for very flat shooting (relatively speaking)

I am sure if you dropped the weight on 404 bullet and reloaded you could get some serious efficiency.

Maybe someone has some other suggestions.

I tried 307 gr Hammers in my 404 and couldn't get them to group at all. Perhaps if I'd ordered more bullets and had more info re loading data, I might have made them work. I'd like to try 350 gr. If the OP doesn't reload, he's stuck with factory ammo that as far as I know is 400 gr minimum.

 

[colorado]

I would just shoot your normal load and get used to the holdover. It's not going to be a 270 (flat shooting wise) It will hit like a truck as far as you're good with it.

 

[ActionBob]

I know Gina's gun can shoot to 200 yards accurately. Haven’t tried it farther. That CZ like Hornady ammo, which is clocking faster than the 404 was really intended for. However I'm sure that gives it a flatter trajectory.

If you have a klipspringer at 280 yards. Try to close the distance. I've been on a stalk for klipspringer where I got within 25 yards. That is too close as it took off as soon as the rifle barrel cleared the rock but it sure was fun sneaking up to him

I have been on several klipspringer hunts and I don't recall a need to shoot over 200 yards. For eland and leopard you might as well served with the old standard Hornady DGX factory ammo. Take along some DGS for that klipspringer and tuskless. Maybe a box of DGX if you might encounter buffalo, and possibly for the eland. All 3 should regulate but I would zero the DGS. If the DGX is within an inch at 100 yards, you should be perfectly set up for leopard as that should be a 40 to 60 yard shot.

 

[ActionBob]

I know Gina's gun can shoot to 200 yards accurately. Haven’t tried it farther. That CZ like Hornady ammo, which is clocking faster than the 404 was really intended for. However I'm sure that gives it a flatter trajectory.

If you have a klipspringer at 280 yards. Try to close the distance. I've been on a stalk for klipspringer where I got within 25 yards. That is too close as it took off as soon as the rifle barrel cleared the rock but it sure was fun sneaking up to him

I have been on several klipspringer hunts and I don't recall a need to shoot over 200 yards. For eland and leopard you might as well served with the old standard Hornady DGX factory ammo. Take along some DGS for that klipspringer and tuskless. Maybe a box of DGX if you might encounter buffalo, and possibly for the eland. All 3 should regulate but I would zero the DGS. If the DGX is within an inch at 100 yards, you should be perfectly set up for leopard as that should be a 40 to 60 yard shot.

Meant to say DGX Bonded for Buffalo.

 

[RayAtkinson]

As long as you know the trajectory of "your" rifle there is little difference, why do folks want to make a long range rifle out of a 375 and up! If you want a 400 yard gun get a big bore Weatherby or some such beast..The longest shot I ever made on buffalo was 225 yards and that worked but was a foolish shot...I also dont agree in the one rifle do it all, for other than big DG I loved the 30-06.

 

[colorado]

My longest shot on an elk so far with my 500 Jeffery was 225 yards. Worked like a charm but I would never shoot that far at dangerous game. If you're going to hunt dangerous game you want it to be up close and personal, at least I do.

 

[DB404]

Happy New Year gents!

It’s been a long while since I’ve dipped my toes into the muddy waters of the .404 vs .375 debate, and every time I do it seems like the same things are getting thrashed out and the same things are getting left out or misunderstood. Let me say up front I have both a.375 H&H and a .404 Jeffery, but do like the .404 better. Perhaps it can be explained by cognitive-dissonance theory, as it cost much more than the .375.

Everyone has their theories as to which is best and why. Here are mine: first, the .375 H&H became available in the US in the Winchester model 70 pre WW 2, along with the .300 H&H. Both of which took 4 down at that time. A relatively inexpensive rifle made in the USA, with Elmer Keith touting it as the perfect elk rifle, it naturally got a lot of press in the gunzines. For years.

Not so the .404. No one wrote much about it in the states other than the very occasional article in Guns and Ammo by Tom Siatos or similar.

The perpetual drum beating for the .375 inspired new projectiles, new powders and higher velocities than when it first came out. Meanwhile, the .404 limped along on the anemic British loading of a 400 grain bullet over enough cordite to get up to 2,150 fps, generating 4,000 ft pounds. Not much to brag about. Heck, my .338 Winchester, my 9.3x62, and my 300 Weatherby can all be loaded to generate 4,000 ft lbs at the muzzle. That single anemic British loading was all most of us ever knew about the .404.

On the continent, the 404 was listed (at least by Mauser) as the 10.75x73 Eley. The 400 grain load put out by DWM was loaded over flake powder and produced a velocity of 2,350 fps, for a muzzle energy of 4,906 ft lbs. Quite a bit stouter than the anemic British loading, But no one over here had ever heard of it. (The Hornady factory load is essentially the same thing, 90 or so years later.)

Accuracy in a well made rifle in either caliber is the same, depending on the shooter’s skill. Most of us could use more time behind the gun than behind the lap top.

Weight of the two is essentially the same, though most 404s are built heavier due to wieners at their controls. If the gun fits you, and you practice with it, either will do what you want. If you’re looking for a rifle to shoot antelope way out there, why take either? Want something unique? Then put together an 8x68 - faster than either the .375 or .404.

If you’re worried about charging buffalo or whatever, reread Bell on his Buffalo experiences.

As Bell discovered, the key isn’t the foot pounds, it’s the placement of them that counts.