GSC has a .423/320 grain HV that they are supposed to be producing ... again.

Will they deliver?

I will keep my fingers crossed that the black holes in shipping have been stoppered.

We have the 380 grain North Fork at 2525 fps.

We have the 340 grain North Fork at 2700 fps.

Will we have the pointy-boat-tailed 320 grain GSC HV at 2800 fps???

Here is African Sheep Rifle Numero Uno, poor photos, but at least I included some wood for the sentimental curmudgeons:

RIP,

I am speechless, its like the Mona Lisa painted in florescent poster colors.



Edit: for spelling, me and a keyboard: its a pitiful sight to behold.

schromf,
Here are some flowers to go with the wood. I figured the fellers who insist on wood stocked rifles wood like some flowers too:


Since cycling the rifle the first time through these forums, it has had a front sight added, NECG Masterpiece, to go with an NECG peep, and of course a tight military sling will aid in shooting African Sheep offhand at any range or angle.

Of course the front sight makes it weigh over 8 pounds now. Bare: 8# 2oz.

3 down and one up, if I can't hit that sheep in 4 shots, he deserves to get away.

Wouldn't Jack O'connor approve of an M70 African Sheep Rifle?

As a tie-in to the "Abortion" thread, this is a Brown Precision stock. It does not have stick-on grip panels, but molded in "checkering." The only stick-ons on the stock are of JB Weld epoxy camo, including a bas relief map of Africa, so I won't get lost when sheep hunting.

I am still looking for a Grateful Dead decal to stick on the cheekpiece.

HEE he HEE he, you said wood!

To quote the irrefutable words of the masters of knowledge, Beavis and Butthead.

That looks like it's be a fine Grizz gun to me!

quote:

Originally posted by surestrike:
HEE he HEE he, you said wood!

To quote the irrefutable words of the matres of knowledge, Beavis and Butthead.

That looks like it's be a fine Grizz gun to me!

Thrilled him silly!

BTW, that is genuine oak veneer on the table shots, and pine kickboard on the floor shot.

It is easy to be thrilled silly by this rifle, as it is indeed superior in every way. All it needs is some 320 grain GSC HV bullets to push out the barrel ahead of some Varget Extreme.

.

To your health, Alf!
This is an eight pounds bare rifle, well, eight pounds and 2 ounces, well balanced and points like my index finger.

I can carry it myself and shoot it from any position, and it is quite gentle, thank you.

Here was the blooding run against bison. One North Fork and one dead bison:

I hiked about on some hills like you see in the background:


It carries light as a feather when slung like this:


Or like a toothpick in one hand:



And shooting prone, here is full recoil:

.

Here's your sticker RIP:

.

quote:

Originally posted by ALF:
RIP:

Just when you think you came up with something new a 404 Sheep gun ?

I was paging through some history and happened across a character who shot at the time ( 1935) the then world record Stones sheep with a 404 Hoffman ????????????????

Now what was this? a 404 Hoffman in 1935, any ideas? I have reference to some Harry S Hoffman wildcatter of some years ago?

Alf, that was Mr. Chadwick shooting a .404 Jeffery built by Hoffman Arms.

That is still the Number One stone sheep in B&C last time I checked. Supposed to be the most outstanding North American trophy of all time.

Mr. Chadwick used 300 grain bullets in his .404 Jeffery and he was apparently a lousy shot, shooting many times to down the sheep.

Actually Mr. Chadwick's story is the inspiration for the African Sheep Rifle. Did you think I was an original looney? Just a copycat looney.

How about our 5.5# Kimber Montana's in .308 or is the .300WSM too heavy?

I've got a 5.75# Weatherby Ultralight in .270 Winchester.

Here is a .375 H&H African Sheep Rifle in Botswana, on a kopje overlooking RSA from the Tuli Block on the Limpopo. No sheep. But I was ready:



Really, my 6.75# Pre-64/Brown Pounder in .375 H&H will do, but Mr. Chadwick is my inspiration.

lawndart,
I can print that out and laminate it on the cheekpiece, maybe write the trajectory around it in a gray paper circular border, for that "Touch of Gray" don't you know. Thanks.

RIP,
You need to finish painting that sum na buck! its all blotchy...

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
RIP,
You need to finish painting that sum na buck! its all blotchy...

Yoda-Ray,
At least you got me shooting a .404 Jeffery. You will not change my taste in gun stocks though. I will not mask and sand and paint this baby! I only hope to chip and scratch the existing paint (what little that is not covered by JB Weld and Grateful Dead stickers) to give it more character and memory spots.

Tough as nails.

RIP,

I'll send you some Grateful Dead stickers. You can clear coat over them. If they are too garish (ha, ha) for the animals you can hit them with a light spray of temporary bow camoflage paint that will come off later with denatured alcohol.

lawndart

Bro'dart,
Mucho Garcia, er uh mucho gracias! Being bastard half brother to the welp of Yoda ain't half bad! Now go put on a Dead CD and get to sleep! Me too!

Best Regards,
RIP

.

Nice RIP!

Rusty,
Your opinion is highly valued. It is great to find an independent thinker who can express his honest opinion without fear of being different from the herd of sheep.

The sheep rifle is also a pun on the herd mentality of mindless sheep. A sheep rifle, for killing the mindless sheep mentality.

Don't get me wrong, I like wood. But let us not pun about that! And congratulations on your wood for the pair of .404's on Montana Rifleman 1999 actions, a suitably long and strong action. Superb. You will be right at home with any loads you want to shoot in those rifles. Maybe one for buffalo and one for sheep?

My CZ with fancy wood (not as pretty as your wood, but let us not pun about that either) shoots 400 grainers at 2200 fps (using H4831SC Extreme) right on the express sight settings. The sheep rifle loads (with Varget Extreme) are hotter.

I lke fiberglass, kevlar, graphite, and even some milkjug stocks when the rifles that wear them are good shooters, and when they are, I wouldn't change them. Like Phil Shoemaker said, its a handle, the handle for a hard use tool that can take tough use with no worries. A fancy stock could always be substituted for showing off purposes, or a synthetic stock for beater purposes, no pun intended there either.

RIP,

Now that I have had time to recover from your electric cool-aid acid test ( still get shivers if I actually look )

You built that on a new model 70 is that correct? What donor Winchester action did you start with?

And no the synthetic stock didn't phase me, practicle, light and stable makes sense. Too bad you painted it up to look like a 67 Chevy out of east LA, but its your rifle and whatever floats your boat, its what we all get out of our guns anyway.

schromf,

I built mine on a Model 70 300 ultra mag action.
McGowen barrel and black McMillian stock. I think less feed problems with the 300 ultra mag as a starter as the magazine box is already designed for the 404/ultramag cartridge.

BigB

schromf,
Like BigB says, I used a Classic Stainless M70 Winchester that was originally a .300 RUM.

McGowen stainless 10" twist .423 caliber barrel 24 inches long.

Last time I priced them, the Brown Precision Stocks were getting up there. With my modifications, one of those stocks would run you well over $1000.

BigB, RIP,

Thanks, unfortunately Winchester has decided to quit chambering these in anything reasonable priced, and the only thing I still see them chambered in is high dollar custom shop versions.

I'll take a look in used markets?


Thanks again.

quote:

Originally posted by ALF:
RIP:

You the man !

The way the article was written the author made it look like a cartridge called a 404 Hoffman but then off course Hoffman arms were inporters and modifiers of Mausers. Sad indeed that the old Hoffman arms and the likes of Abercrombie and Fitch had to go by the wayside.

I looked up the Records of BC and there it stands under a 1936 entry and not as 1935 as my original aritcle put it.

A monster, guess he needed a 404 to put down such a big sheep

I seem to recall that the cartridge was in fact called the 404 Hoffman. Anyway, you can look at the actual Rifle, the actual Mount, the actual map of the hunt, as well as some original photos at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody Wyoming. while you are there, you can see well over 5000+ rifles of all makes and descriptions. And when you are done you can walk a block or two to the Home of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep. It is well worth the trip.

quote:

Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody Wyoming

Don't they have all the old WInchester records also, I heard its housed their. WOnder if there is public access to that stuff.

In my limited experience with the world it seems that a picture of Benjamin Franklin opens all doors.

LD

22WRF,
It was a .404 Jeffery. There has never been a .404 Hoffman, .416 Hoffman by George Hoffman yes, .404 Hoffman no!

It was common sloppy-speak to refer to a Hoffman Arms Company rifle as a ".375 Hoffman" when in reality it was a .375 H&H built by the Hoffman Arms Company. Theodore Junior and Kermit Roosevelt did that in their book, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, about their Eurasian sheep hunting adventure. They thought the .375 H&H was a great sheep rifle.

I have read several accounts about the Chadwick Ram. All specify a .404 Jeffery if not written in sloppy-speak. Here is just the first one I could locate in my massive library of dusty tomes:

Jack O'Connor, Sheep and Sheep Hunting:

"... it was a long pack from the jumpimg-off place at Fort St. John to the head of the Prophet River. Chadwick's trip lasted sixty days. ...

"... They saw a mature ram at considerable distance and Chadwick took a shot at him with the rifle he used for everything -- a .404 Jeffery Magnum built by Hoffman Arms Company. I have a picture of the rifle somewhere sent me by Chadwick. ..."

Jack new his cartridges.

Thanks for the pointer on the Cody Museum. I did not get down to that much detail in my half-day-pass-through-town sojourn there in 1994. I need to go back and book a hotel room in Cody.

schromf,
I bought a Winchester M70 Classic Stainless RUM box, follower, and spring, action screws, trigger guard and floor plate from Jack First parts company in Rapid City, SD when I was working up there. I just walked in and snagged them from their store. That is where I found the reloading dies and some old .404 Jeffery ammo by DWM.

I used these parts to replace parts on the M70 Classic Black Shadow 300 RUM that I converted to .416 Dakota.

They do a big mail-order business, and maybe Brownells has them too?

Maybe if you show Lawndart a picture of Benjamin Franklin he will tell you how to convert any Winchester Model 70 magnum action into a .404 Jeffery. Any will do. It doesn't have to be a RUM. I would happily get the parts to convert a .375 H&H to .404 Jeffery.