Unknown 404 Caliber 1903a3

hperk9.3

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Hello all,

This may be a long shot but I figured I’d ask. This rifle is supposedly a 404 Jeffery. Here are the facts:

- 404 Jeffery does not chamber, stops a good inch or more before the bolt closes
- 10.75 x 68 Mauser fits the chamber, but will not extract from the chamber.
- The bolt face fits the case head dimensions for the Jeffery
- both the Jeffery and the 10.75 Mauser fit in the mag box.

The only other “404” round I can think of is 404 Hoffman. I looked through my loading manuals but was unable to find it. Questions:

-could someone send me the case specs for the Hoffman?
- do you know of another 404 wildcat I should look into?

I plan to get a chamber cast, but in the mean time, I wanted to see what some of the options are.

IMG_4069.JPG
IMG_4070.JPG
IMG_4071.JPG
 
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Possibly 425 Express? Takes 404 bullet on a 300 Win Mag case. The 300 has rim that's 0.532" and 404 rim is 0.543". 425 Express would fit on a 404 bolt face with a little room to spare but a bit of slop would not be terribly unusual. 425 Express definitely would not close as it is blown out without 404 tapered shoulder. If you can find a ridge in the chamber for belted cartridge, that might indicate 425 Express.

See how a 300 Win cartridge fits on that bolt face.
 
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Possibly 425 Express? Takes 404 bullet on a 300 Win Mag case. The 300 has rim that's 0.532" and 404 rim is 0.543". 425 Express would fit on a 404 bolt face with a little room to spare but a bit of slop would not be terribly unusual. 425 Express definitely would not close as it is blown out without 404 tapered shoulder. If you can find a ridge in the chamber for belted cartridge, that might indicate 425 Express.

See how a 300 Win cartridge fits on that bolt face.

375 h&h fits okay on the bolt face and the bolt goes into battery with it in the chamber
 
I blacked out the serial number in the photo!
Heh, heh. I should have figured that out. I shoot an 03A3. Mine was made by Remington. Who made that one? The partial lettering doesn't make sense.
 
Heh, heh. I should have figured that out. I shoot an 03A3. Mine was made by Remington. Who made that one? The partial lettering doesn't make sense.

Says national ordinance but all original markings have been removed then stamped back in
That’s why it looks so odd!
 
Can we see what the rifle looks like? I am curious why the brand of maker was defaced and then an attempt to restore. Perhaps someone filled the holes tapped for scope and then ground the brand off? Apparently there is nothing stamped on the barrel for cartridge. Perhaps that was also obliterated. You certainly have acquired a mystery. Hopefully not too buggered up. Springfield is a wonderful action. I agree with above, the only safe course is to make a mold of the chamber.
 
I know some has cut down .404 brass to 68mm also , but chamber cast and see .
 
Why do you think that it is 404 (.423)? Where did you acquire the gun. Did you mean .404 Dakota? George Hoffman had a .416, but I don’t think he ever did .423.
 
You might want to Google "National Ordnance 03 receivers", they don't have the greatest reputation.
 

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