Amazing, inasmuch as most of the .404s, some of which are still in use in Tanzania by gamescouts are commercial Fabrique Nationals (FNs), and they still work....I have had several FNs in .404 but alas they are very collectable and I sold them, they all worked fine...I have also owned a Mauser in .404 but again sold it to a collector, and low and behold Wesley Richards produced the 416 Rigby in a standard mod. 98 action and Paul Zorn, a Zimbabwe PHs has carried one for years..It is to die for....

I have built about half a dozen 404s on standard mod 98 and FN actions based on the above and they are all still performing flawlessly in the African veldt...I am building another as we speak in 404....

The prolem is the unavailability of a proper box magazine, but a blackburn or Weisner can be cut and tigged and scolloped inside to duplicate the original std mauser for the .404..Mine were done by Rick Stickley and Dennis Olson or Jack Belk and they worked fine. Harold Wolf has built a number of .404 on the standard actions and did some nice write ups in Hatari Times...

That said the best route today and the least expensive route is to buy a 300 ultramag in a M-70 classic if you can find one and use it for a .404 or buy the same in a Montana action, they work fine with the .404...

At any rate, I don't want a 404 on a huge bulky magnum action thats more suited for a 416 Rigby, 505 Gibbs are the like...I prefer the smaller, sleeker, trimmer, lighter action on a rifle I have to pack 10 miles a day...

Strictly my opine, but my head is made up!

.

I have read in many journals what you report and to some extent it is theroretically true...

However in practice I have not found it so and I have owned, built and shot a lot of FNs...

I agree they should be opened up in the rear not in the front, that is a good practice but the FN like the Whitworth express has never developed headspace in any calibers other that the hot shot RUMS and ULtramags and perhaps some of the Wby calibers, albiet there sure are a lot of those old FN Weatherby floating around the states that have been shot a lot and mostly in 300 Wby, bringing a premium price...

As to the C ring compared to the double cut, I personally think that is a croc, I have owned both and built guns on both, I suppose I would opt for the single C ring cut if I had a choice, but thats just hedging my bet I guess, My present .404 is a double cut and I shoot the same loads in it as I did a C ring...based on the number of FN Weatherbys that survived and are out here in Idaho, tells me that perhaps other reasons may have been the culprit and the fact that the Whitworth and old FN that are opened in front never blow up in 375 and 458 must have some bearing on this delima we face. As to the split locking lug, well thats just a false assumption, its as strong as a solid one IMO and a lot of well known gunsmiths that I have talked to about FNs...

I doubt that the FN is as strong as a good 98 but its one of those "who's counting" differences....

Much can be said about theory, most gun nuts are et up with it, I think it feeds their egos!

Danke Herr Alf,
I learn a lot from you and it is greatly appreciated.

Even though you are the youngest member of the Royal Order of Curmudgeons (ROC), that in itself is notable and surely due, in part, to your Honorary PhD in Gunology, bestowed here by the Royal Order of the Outer Circle (ROOC), presided over by Saeed, its founder.

ROC membership is the highest honor attainable within ROOC.

Ray Atkinson and MacD37 did not attain full ROC status until after age 70.

Alf, you have done yourself proud, and all of us of the ROOC thank you.

I am also happy to report that my .338-06 Argentino Modelo 1909 is indeed a shooter, and I would never turn a milsurp M98 into a .404 Jeffery ... the thought is in my head no more forever.

I went through the exercise of getting the Recknagel catalog; dated 2003 with no pricing. It is also all in German.

Pages 30, 31 and 32 show Mauser type actions. Page 33 shows magazine boxes. On page 30 is a African magnum action ( double square bridge ),
page 31 has Mauser Magnum Action labeled "Systeme Mauser Magnum reproduit" which I am translating (poorly) reproduction Mauser Magnum.

Page 32 is my prime interest I will type as listed:

"mit Flintenabzug; Stahl-Gehause, Magnum-Abzug" with 2 PN's:

System mit Magnum-Magazin-kasten fur 4 Patronen pn: 30405-4300

System mit Magnum-Magazin-kasten fur 5 Patronen
pn: 30405-5300

Pg 33 has magazines and I am sure the Kal. .404 effery 4 Patronen is the part I am interested in.

SO any good translators? And any idea of what the magazine on page 33 costs or the action on pg 32.

Last quaestion is will that mag box fit a standard action like a FN? I see no dimensional data.