hello everyone,

I am in the process of setting up a website dedicated to this grand cartridge. I own a few rifles in this caliber as well as handload for it.
I am looking for any information, pixes, stories, ideas, loads, equipment recommendations, links to 404 Jeff articles, etc, to include in this web site. I'm teaching myself web development in the meantime.

Email any info/suggestions/ideas to
404jeffery@gmail.com

Thank you very much in advance.

http://www.404jeffery.com

Very nice CZ!

Bookmarked it. I'm looking forward to following your progress.

Nice rifle! I too own a 404 Jeff...a Heym Express with which I used in Zambia recently and took buuf, leopard, puku and Cookson's wildebeest. Fantastic cartridge and rifle.

Good luck with your endeavor.

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
SCI
DSC

This is probably the best place to find 404j advocates. I have been hunting & shooting w/ mine now for 5yrs now & can't think of a better 40 bore for DG use. Using 340-350gr bullets, it can be stretched for a one gun DG/PG rifle.

I just bought a .404J. I am a convert. This is a fantastic round. I love mine.

Thanks a lot Fellas. I look forward to seeing your pictures and stories behind each rifle.

Here's a .404 success story. It's old, but I hope fun to read. If you have a place for the same, include it if you wish:

Lumbering along on the deeply rutted track, I dozed on and off with the ticking drone of the diesel singing a wonderfully familiar lullaby. It was the last day of safari, late in the afternoon and I was content with my bag to date, smiling in my sleep, I'm sure, and beginning to convert actions into fond memories.



"Buffalo! Buffalo!" came a cry from behind me. Instantly awake, but not quite sure where the heck I was, I grabbed the rail in front of me and stood up and was immediately whacked by a branch full of thorns hanging across the road. Damn! Where are they...?



I'd seen at least 500 buffalo in the last few weeks, and had taken at a pretty good one, but the single word, "Buffalo" was to me like screaming "Gold!" to Cortez. Where are they? Where are they?



The two trackers had already bailed out of the Land Rover before it slid to a stop. The Game Scout was handing me my rifle. My PH, Clarke, was no where to be seen. I was picking thorns out of my brow and I still didn't know anything but that somebody had starting shouting "Buffalo!" and it was time to get my big fat butt out of the vehicle and get busy.



I swung down from the truck and ran to catch up with the last guy disappearing in the high grass. What was happening? I stopped to gather my wits and was about run over by the PH who was just behind me. I'd forgotten that he was in the cab of the truck.. stupid me! When I turned and looked into his eyes, I saw a cold, black stare of absolute seriousness. "Twenty yards and we'll talk.", were his only words. I followed. Sheep to the slaughter. Meat to be butchered. Thus was I.



As soon as I got a few yards into the tall grass, I understood. The grass was only good spit's thick, having been burned almost up to the road. We crept to the edge of the burn where the tracking staff awaited, peering intently through the last clumps of the wiry stuff down a little hill and into a copse of trees.



Son-of-a biscuit-eater! Three old dagga boys were standing about 200 yards away, as still as stone, deep in the shadows and almost invisible. How the trackers had seen them, I'll never know. Though barely discernable, yet seemingly vulnerable, they were still out of range for a sure shot, even with my .404 Jeffery with a good scope attached. I tugged on the PH's shirt sleeve and motioned for us to retreat a bit into the tall grass.



"Thought you might want to take a deep breath," were Clarke's first words during our respite. I took the last gulp of air for a while and nodded affirmation. Then, "Are your ready?" he asked. "Down the ditch on the left?" was my response. "Wrong wind. Back to the road and down through those trees to the right, but it's getting dark, so lets hurry" was his answer.



We scrambled back to the track and trotted 75 yards back from whence we came and then slid on our rear ends down the slope to get to a line of trees which extended towards the dagga boys, still resting in the shadows. Bent over like refugees from a lumbago clinc, we keep the brush and trees betweeen us and the buffalo, trying to keep as quiet as possible, knowing full well that darkness was coming and the wind was fickle.



All of a sudden the PH stiffened like like a 8th grade school boy watching cheerleading practice. What the hell? All I could see was Clarke's sweaty back. The buffalo were still at least 100 yards away, or so I thought. Why the alarm? What was right-damn-there that had stopped us dead in our tracks?



I eased my head over the PH's shoulder and saw the mother of all buffalo. Damn.. there was a cow with about 40 " horns (or so it seemed at the time), staring us down from only 10 yards away. Where the heck did she come from? She didn't bob her head or turn to the side or lick her lips... Hell, she didn't even breathe. She just focused all her energy on deciding if she was going to waste her time in killing us triffles or just walk away. In the meantime, she was ruining my underwear.



Crouched in a very uncomfortable position, I immediately started to cramp up. Pain began in the big toe of my left foot and radiated to the top of my head. I began to involuntarily shake. And then the second 10 seconds began. My first thought was that I had spent money to get to this place where I was going to die. I could have just walked in front of a truck back at home.



The big-mama cow slowly turned and let us know what she thought about us by raising her tail and dumping a steaming load of green shit, then she slowly walked away toward our right... away from the dagga boys. Whew!



After a look between the two of us that confirmed our individual suspicion that we were crazy as hell, we eased to the edge of the trees to check on the whereabouts of the bulls. "Still there," were the words I heard, but all I could see was brush and the sweat that had coated my glasses. I wiped them off, cursing age and infirmity. Figher pilot eyes that had gone to seed.



We then half-crawled another 50 yards and slowly arose, sliding up on either side of a palm which was right at the edge of our cover.



Now I could see! Only 20 yards away was the closest buffalo, butt to me, head down, apparantly dead asleep. Two dark shadows were on either side, and I felt, if not knew, that I could see rib cages expanding and contracting in the murk.



I raised my rifle to see if I could see the sights (scope now removed) and was pleasantley surprised to find that I'd have no problem in putting a bullet where it mattered, that is, if I could see which buffalo to shoot, and where.



The bull nearest to us had a broken horn, it extending only a few inches from it's head. What did the others look like? Clarke whispered that the head tracker,who was still in the high grass up the hill, had indicated that one of the bulls was a whopper. Crap! Right next to a great buffalo and we couldn't see a damn thing but dusky shapes!



Great things come to those with good sense. (This wasn't my idea, but I had already tipped the guy for my first buffalo! A good move, my friend!) Figuring out our problem, the reciepient of my largess simply stood up and walked a few feet out of the grass toward the bulls. I grabbed the tree with my left hand and cradled the rifle between my thumb and first finger, intent on the sights. Something was going to happen... and it needed to happen in the next few minutes, because nobody needs to fool with buffalo, particularly if wounded, in the twilight, and twilight was coming quickly.



One buffalo stepped forward towards the oncoming threat. The wise, old, broken-horned bull slipped like blown smoke into a patch of grass, never to be seen again. The third bull took three steps away from us and committed suicide by looking over his shoulder back at the approaching tracker. Every bit of my soul concentrated on the buffalo. I heard no noise even though I'm sure sounds were all around me. My heart didn't beat. It just swelled to bursting. I didn't even breathe. Just a flush of white heat to my intermost being encompassed me.



Deep dropping, 42" horns framed a mean-ass face which I could now well see and which was plainly exibiting a thoroughly pissed off disposition at the intrusion. Obviously he was deciding whether to fight or flee. I solved that problem with a 400 grain X-Bullet slightly behind his ear. The dagga boy hit the ground with a thump that registered like a 5.0 quake in San Fransisco. I worked the bolt and fired again, albeit into what I could then only see as a dark mass. I immediately sat my shaking rear end on a fallen tree and breathed for the first time in 10 minutes.



Another time of white hot quiet had come and gone.

Judge....Chapter 1? I like it.

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
SCI
DSC

The more I shoot my 404 Jeffery, the more respect I give it. If you need to load up a round to kick your ass it can do that! If you need a round to work at moderate levels, it's been doing that for a century!

JudgeG, fantastic reading!!

I've amassed data on the 500 Jeffery and the various Wildcats based on the 404 Jeff as well.
I think it will be good to make room for these items as well.

I started shooting the 404 Jefferys in 1970 some odd...I have built myself half a dozen 404 Jefferys on 98 Mauser actions, but someone always took them away from me..I have shot more buffalo than I can remember with the 404 and a lot of other animals on several continents.

It was from the beginning my favorite cartridge and still is today as any regular on this board can tell you..Some even accuse me of overloading it but thats BS..I get 2653 FPS with a 400 gr. bullet with 95 grs. of IMR-4831 and have for years albiet in a 26 and 27 inch barreled guns...Because of recoil and me getting a little long in the tooth I now load it down to 2400 FPS with 93 grs. of IMR-4831..

I even shot some buffalo with some old factory loaded RWS ammo at about 2100 or less FPS and it worked OK, but not like it does at 2400 or better...

Presently I am hard at work on my latest .404 Jefferys and it has a #5 contour Lothar walther barrel of 20 inches on one of Butch Searcys old medium action that are perfect for the .404 Jefferys. I sent the lovely piece of Russian Circasian walnut wood and a pattern stock of my old Holland and Holland rifle to have it turned and I am anxiously awaiting its return..I intend to keep this rifle for myself and leave it to one of my kids.

I simply love the .404 mostly out of nostalgia but the caliber has served me so well that I have all the faith in the world in it to stop and dangerous game animal as it has done on several ocassions in the past...It just works for me...Is it better than the .416 Rigby or .416 Rem, probably not, but I like the smaller package it comes in over the Rigby, and I like the case design better than a belted case, not to say the belted case is faulted, its not and has proven itself for ions, I just like the non belted case better for no particular reason...

When I was in Africa (1980s) I got a chance to handle quite a few that had been purchased for various game departments, quite a few of them were also in the hands of SA officers (just in case they had some free time during the campaigns.) I don't think anyone whom has shot a 404 Jeffery can honestly make a bad comment about it. I've been loading Hawk Bullets (300 gr) for smaller game as well.

Judge.
What a thrilling story, I was there with you.
You could, I'm sure, turn a dollar by putting pen to paper. Good luck and many thanks.

Euro.
What a good idea the 404 site is, we all look forward to watching it's progress.

quote:

but someone always took them away from me.

Ya just gotta love Ray!

He buys/builds some nice rifles and when the right money comes along, or he needs a something for the grandson it's gone.
One of the few true "Gun Whores" I've ever known.
Proud to know him!

my newest restoration project. An original 1905 model number 2 pattern .404 built by Jeffery on a standard length action. Unfortunately at some point in its past the original action was separated from its barrel and stock. I need to find a proper action and some custom work will need to be done to the bottom metal as well. I sure do like her though, fits like a glove and handles like a wand. All I need now is a Buff.....

I took a custom 404jef on my first hunt to africa,a plains game hunt in Zim.The PH asked me why I had brung it for plains game? My answer was"because i can!".Let me tell you it was some of the best fun I have ever had and it sure kills hippo like a bomb

Just got the new Sports Afield from the mailbox.....has an article on the 404....seems like everyone's on the bandwagon...and for good reason!!

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
SCI
DSC
....and for this thread...proud 404 owner!

Gar, what volume/issue? thanks

quote:

Originally posted by GarBy:
Just got the new Sports Afield from the mailbox.....has an article on the 404....seems like everyone's on the bandwagon...and for good reason!!

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
SCI
DSC
....and for this thread...proud 404 owner!

Now if they were just available. They are a little scarce and difficult to find.

Will you add a recoil pad?



my newest restoration project. An original 1905 model number 2 pattern .404 built by Jeffery on a standard length action. Unfortunately at some point in its past the original action was separated from its barrel and stock. I need to find a proper action and some custom work will need to be done to the bottom metal as well. I sure do like her though, fits like a glove and handles like a wand. All I need now is a Buff.....[/QUOTE]

Euro....it's the issue that just came out...November 2008. It has a pic of a grizzly on the cover.

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
SCI
DSC

no recoil pad, the metal plate served the last few owners well enough. Besides, if I can handle my super magnum paradox then this old girl should be a piece of cake.
Steve

quote:

Originally posted by eurocentric:
hello everyone,

I am in the process of setting up a website dedicated to this grand cartridge. I own a few rifles in this caliber as well as handload for it.
I am looking for any information, pixes, stories, ideas, loads, equipment recommendations, links to 404 Jeff articles, etc, to include in this web site. I'm teaching myself web development in the meantime.

Email any info/suggestions/ideas to
404jeffery@gmail.com

Thank you very much in advance.

http://www.404jeffery.com

Good idea.
Not to be negative here..
You could might aswell say: " I am gonna write a book about .404 jeffery".
I think if I were you I would write about all Jefferys cartridges, it would give some more editorial material to work with.
The 333/280 + .333 are two calibers which are very intesting too. I also believe they had their own rookrifle caliber too at one time??.
You are going to cover many things of history in doing a homepage devoted to .404, it will be impossible not to "touch" other jefferycalibers too. You will have to write about the "competetion" like .425 WR and the .416 Rigby aswell in order to define where the .404 stands in the crowd etc etc.
Just my two cents..
If I find some stuff like artical etc , I`LL be happy to contribute

I will have a section on the 500 and 333 calibers as well. I am not too interested in dealing with other cals. the 404 jeff can stand on its own merits. thanks a lot for the input

quote:

Originally posted by jens poulsen:

quote:

Originally posted by eurocentric:
hello everyone,

I am in the process of setting up a website dedicated to this grand cartridge. I own a few rifles in this caliber as well as handload for it.
I am looking for any information, pixes, stories, ideas, loads, equipment recommendations, links to 404 Jeff articles, etc, to include in this web site. I'm teaching myself web development in the meantime.

Email any info/suggestions/ideas to
404jeffery@gmail.com

Thank you very much in advance.

http://www.404jeffery.com

Good idea.
Not to be negative here..
You could might aswell say: " I am gonna write a book about .404 jeffery".
I think if I were you I would write about all Jefferys cartridges, it would give some more editorial material to work with.
The 333/280 + .333 are two calibers which are very intesting too. I also believe they had their own rookrifle caliber too at one time??.
You are going to cover many things of history in doing a homepage devoted to .404, it will be impossible not to "touch" other jefferycalibers too. You will have to write about the "competetion" like .425 WR and the .416 Rigby aswell in order to define where the .404 stands in the crowd etc etc.
Just my two cents..
If I find some stuff like artical etc , I`LL be happy to contribute

I haven't been back to hunt in Africa since buying my 404J from a fellow AR member, but it is without out a doubt the rifle I take to the range the most often. I just love shooting it. I load 400 grain bullets in the 2,250 fps range and it feels like shooting a 375 H&H, a real pleasure. The builder of the rifle had a Kreiger barrel installed on a Model 70 action and it is as accurate as any rifle, in any caliber, that I own. The .423" diameter bullets make it easy to shoot out the bulls-eye on a target at 100 meters. I long for some inexpensive bullets to come along so I can plink with something other than Swift A-Frames and North Fork bullets. By the way, I get 2,250 fps with 81,5 grains of VihtaVuori N550 under the Barnes 400 grain TSX, Norma brass, Federal 215M primer.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by eurocentric:
I will have a section on the 500 and 333 calibers as well. I am not too interested in dealing with other cals. the 404 jeff can stand on its own merits. thanks a lot for the input[QUOTE]

Janssen Sons & Co
'Chambered for Jeffery´s .333 High Velocity cartridge' (still at my gunsmith)

A poem that was on AR in the past:

Jeffery 404

With acknowledgement to Rege Podraza ( Where Elephants go to die )

“It rested between the ivory
That hung on grandpa’s wall
It’s finish checked and yellowed
Like the tusks it helped to fall

It’s barrel smooth and polished
From a hundred bearers hands
It reflected the light warmly
Like campfires flickering bands

The stock of English walnut
Chewed and clawed a bit
It still showed a trace of checkering
And a dent where a horn had hit

Stamped on the barrel lightly
Was a name and not much more
A single word “Jefferyâ€
“Jeffery 404â€

If that rifle could only talk
And take us back again
With grandpa in Africa
A time of buffalo, elephant and men


But that day has set it’s sun
And the rifle speaks no more
Oh what I’d give for one last time
To hear that baby roar

Grandpa's “Jefferyâ€
His “Jeffery 404â€

eurocentric, I found this on AR a while back and liked it,

I read a story once: when a safari hunter shows up in camp with a .375 H&H, the PH immediately knows he has a practical and able chap as a customer, who will listen.

When a hunter shows up in camp with a .458 Win Mag, the PH knows that the only experience the hunter has is Outdoor Life magazine, probably 20-year-old editions.

When a hunter show up in camp with a Weatherby in any caliber, the PH knows the customer's experience does not extend past the idiot clerk at the gun counter. (He also knows the guy can't hit an elephant in the butt at 10 paces).

When a hunter shows up with a double rifle, The PH knows he has an elitest for a customer (much like when the guy coming down the charter dock at the marina is seen carrying a fly rod) and approaches him with caution.

But when a hunter shows up in camp with a 404 Jeffery, the PH knows he has someone who hs studied and respects the rich history and traditions of the sport of big game hunting; someone who cares enough about said traditions and history to go to the immense trouble of building and loading a gun and cartridge long sacrificed to the gods of mass production and commercialism. The PH takes a liking to this guy immediately.

The article didn't mention the .416 Rigby.

Allen

I gotta admint: I love this

quote:

Originally posted by AllenBosely:
eurocentric, I found this on AR a while back and liked it,

I read a story once: when a safari hunter shows up in camp with a .375 H&H, the PH immediately knows he has a practical and able chap as a customer, who will listen.

When a hunter shows up in camp with a .458 Win Mag, the PH knows that the only experience the hunter has is Outdoor Life magazine, probably 20-year-old editions.

When a hunter show up in camp with a Weatherby in any caliber, the PH knows the customer's experience does not extend past the idiot clerk at the gun counter. (He also knows the guy can't hit an elephant in the butt at 10 paces).

When a hunter shows up with a double rifle, The PH knows he has an elitest for a customer (much like when the guy coming down the charter dock at the marina is seen carrying a fly rod) and approaches him with caution.

But when a hunter shows up in camp with a 404 Jeffery, the PH knows he has someone who hs studied and respects the rich history and traditions of the sport of big game hunting; someone who cares enough about said traditions and history to go to the immense trouble of building and loading a gun and cartridge long sacrificed to the gods of mass production and commercialism. The PH takes a liking to this guy immediately.

The article didn't mention the .416 Rigby.

Allen

eurocentric,

I have a couple of articles on the 404 Jeffery plus reamer drawings I could send you if you would like.

I don't know what the copyright status is on the articles, I can send them to you and you can use them at your descretion.

Stevespages.com at stevespages.com has case drawings.

On Nitro Express Forum nitroexpress.com forum there are some pictures of 404 rifles that you might be able to get copy's of plus the folks there would probably have some information,copy's of old advertisements, Jeffery accessories and things they might help contribute.

Also Alf used to post here quite a bit, though I haven't seen him much recently, but he is quite knowledgeable about about old Mausers their history and he has a collection that is amazing and he might be willing to share with you.

I think it's a great idea what your doing and would like to help if I can. You can contact me off line also if you would like and let me know what you already have and are looking for and I will see if I can find anything to send your way.

I have been bitten by Jeffery bug bad and am working on having rifle in 404 Jeffery put together but built as closely as possible to the pre war style H&H. It's taking a little longer than anticipated, but slowly moving forward.

Allen

By the way the CIP specs show bullet diameter at 10.72mm which I work out to be 0.42205". So there may be some slight discrepancies in different diagrams.

eurocentric, if you want the CIP specs just provide me with an e-mail address.