Hello all,

Is your .425 Westley Richards reliable from a feeding perspective?

Many thanks.

Buliwyf

Yes.

Hi

Yes, old and beaten up FN and no clips! Don’t know what is the fuss about rebated Rims?

My friend in Colorado owns one. It doesn't have the fancy spring guides or anything like that. It not only feeds slicker than snot on a brass doorknob but, I made cases for him by turning down the rims on .375 RUM's and reforming them and it feeds those like a dream. A really great rifle built on a standard 98 action.

Thanks guys. I appreciate your responses. My .500 Schuler feeds super-slick also. I've never had any problems with rebated rims either. Glad to hear how to form brass. Beautiful rifle oz.

Hello Gentlemen,

Can you direct me to a source of loading data for the .425 WR?

Thank you.

I don't know. Bought a 425wr in zim last year and have not fired it yet. Hope to do so this year and will cheerfully report any and all success.

I'm still working on velocity's at the moment, but 74grns of Varget/AR2208 powder with Hornerber cases , Woodleigh bullets, Fed 215Mag Primers and a 24" barrel produce around 2200fps.

Nice shooting and perfect group shape! I believe factory ballistics are 2350 fps with 410 grain bullet for 5000 plus ft-lbs of energy. Do you think 2350 velocity is possible?

1. What action is your .425 built on?

2. How do you rate Horneber brass?

Thanks oz.

Don't forget 2350fps was with a 26 or 28" barrel so with a 24" barrel and modern powders 2250fps should be possible and I've seen reports here and on NitroExpress where people have been able to achieve 2300fps.
Hornerber cases are great but expensive and have found my 425 cases have less rim than Bertram cases but have had no problems with this.
I presume the action is an FN.

Thanks a million oz.

I don't have the .425 but the 11.2x70 which is essentially the same rebated case. It is a Schuller and feeds beautifully. It was used for a number of years for Elephant control which would indicate it was

I don't have the .425 but the 11.2x70 which is essentially the same rebated case. It is a Schuller and feeds beautifully. It was used for a number of years for Elephant control which would indicate it was very reliable.
Frank

I was flabbergasted to see that CZ USA is offerring a .425 WR.
Saw it in a full page CZ add in the May/June Sports Afield.


"Doin' good ain't got no end ...": It is an end unto itself.

http://www.cz-usa.com/media_releases.php?m=4&msgid=97

Holy crap!

It is in there "Express" size rifles. (9,3x62 size)

Open up the bolt to .532" or .545" and we have a winner

If they can get the 500 Jeffery to feed I "ass u me" they should get the mega rebated 425 to work.

Since there is no need for the extreme rebate and the rebate was there to fit the abundant .470" boltface mauser rifles (right?) Why not modernize it? Nostalgia dont mean crap when the next round wont chamber. Slick feeding design like the 404 as long as long as the next round is picked up.

Were the infamous missfeeds of the 425 WR on non WR rifle conversions done by smiths that did not get it to feed perfectly?

So factory gun "OK" Jo billy bob smith 30-06 conversion "Bad" since from what I hear it takes a friggn expert to get a serious rebate stagger feed to work flawless.

404 Jeffe performance in a smaller gun is pretty cool.

Hello there Dr. Berry from Kaintucky!!!!

How's your shootin eye a doin? How's 'ole Purple and that fearless .375 Weatherby of yourn a doin? How about puttin som rifle pictures back on your signature line?

Flabbergasted were ya?? Well pilgrim, that there .425 Westley Richards is a BIG time classic from '08 or '09 and if I remember correctly was the most powerful bolt rifle in this world at the time of its introduction.

Fabulous decision by CZ!

boomer,
I guess that means it is made on the 550 Medium action?


Buliwyf,
I won't be hornswoggled! (Old Kaintuck' term.)
The 404 Jeffery of 1905 beat the 425 WR in every way, including seniority.

The 425 WR was a weak pretender, and you know it!

A CZ 425 WR on a 30-06 action:

"Doin' good ain't got no end ...": It is an end unto itself.

I have a couple dummy rounds of the 425 with a .532" rim made from RUM brass and think it is the bees knees. Since finding 425 WR loaded ammo in the bush will be like finding the 1967 Bridgette Bardot in your tent why not go .532" and have cheap brass????

Just put in a 532" bolt right???

Could you not swap back and forth of rim size by swapping bolts?

BB was so cute in 1967, but my what an ugly old woman she became. I sure hope she does not get undressed for any PETA ads!
Perfect mistress for Walter. They should both practice birth control together. Walter won't have to remove a stitch, as long as she gets undressed.

Switch bolt rifle?
Got a spare bolt with enough plus-tolerance on the locking lugs to lap into a snug fit? Should be do-able ... but that would be like both Walter and BB getting undressed together for the purpose of what?
Oxymoronic Insanity!


"Doin' good ain't got no end ...": It is an end unto itself.

The purpose of the switch bolt rifle would be to use factory and non factory ammo or to chose from mega rebated factory ammo to semi rebated cheapo brass of the RUM and the non rebated but more expensive 404 persuasion.

Did not the original 404 have a slight rebate and then ditch the rebate later???? Why not the 425? the 500 Jeffe needed the rebate to work in the medium Mauser bolts but the extra rebate of the 425 is just silly and without need today like a Democrat who thinks socialism is new and vogue

boomer,
Yes, that is where I thought you were going.
If someone must have a 425 WR from CZ, I hope they simply have the bolt face opened up and stick with the 404 Jeffery case head ... for both mental and physical health reasons.

"Doin' good ain't got no end ...": It is an end unto itself.

They are doing the 416 Ruger on the same platform so nouveau riche vs nostalgia extended pinky... monocle and pith helmet vs Maui Jims and cammo baseball cap

Heard over tea and crumpets in Westley Richards R&D, 1906:

"Blimey! Those Jeffery buggers have been working on a bolt action DGR since last year and are about to spring it! You blokes better form a committee and come up with our answer to the 404 Jeffery, and do it yesterday!"

Thus the 425 WR was born, designed by a committee. The brindled gnu of cartridges.

Hello again good Kaintuck doctor,

I don't understand you last post ??

The .404 Jeffery started life with a 400 grain pill at 2125 fps and 4000 ft-lbs of muzzle energy in about 1911. Until 1910 there were no magnum Mauser actions available which the .404 was built on. Hence Westley Richards had access to only standard Mauser actions. Thus the .425 WR in about 1908 was designed around the standard action before the .404 Rimless Nitro Express was conceived due to action availability. The .425 WR started a 410 gr bullet at 2350 fps for over 5,000 ft-lbs of energy.

Howdy do good Kaintuck doctor!

Sources are:

Safari Rifles by Craig Boddington
African Rifles and Cartridges by John Taylor

I don't understand your "me-too-trying-too-hard" comment. 5,000 ft-lbs of muzzle energy was/is an excellent energy level to tackle big stuff. Interesting point on bullet technology. Taylor cites bullet problems with the .404.

Look forward to hearing back from you. You certainly know the CIP drawings.

Builiwyf,
Neither Craig Boddington nor John Taylor are infallible. Both have been known to spread some bad poop.
This does not mean that they are without redeeming social value.
You are going nowhere with this.
Go study and learn, and quit sucking your thumb!

It would be interesting to see the original 404 with the shorter neck and to know if any or how many were made. Are there any prints on it?

Hello good Kaintuck doctor,

I am a fan of the Classics. I started this thread to get feedback from other Classic enthusiasts. You crashed our party for some reason??

I realize nostalgia holds little allure for you as you have stated in past posts. That's ok with me. I simple cited what I had read and found interesting. The .425 Westley Richards may in fact constitute the world's first short magnum.

I for one am glad CZ is factory chambering for the .425 WR.

Buliwyf,
O.K., now that you have qualified the 425 WR as the first "short magnum" DGR, I'll accept that unless one of those rocks is turned over to reveal something else.

I don't think the Pre-1905 404 Jeffery Short got into production ... don't know for sure.

I am guessing that WR R&D "Design Committee" took the 1905 404 Jeffery case and did this:
*rebated its rim severely
*moved the shoulder baseward
* reduced the minimum case taper of the 404 Jeffery to almost straight-sided in the 425 WR
*kept the same shoulder angle: 8.5 degrees (What a coincidence!)
*shortened the case from ~2.87" to ~2.64"
*necked it up to anywhere from .428" to .435" bullet diameter (various reports in the literature)
*base diameter of case head was left the same (Another coincidence?)
and:
VOILA! The 425 WR (Westley-Richards' Wildebeest Rifle)

The larger bore compensates somewhat for the smaller case of the 425 WR, compared to the 404 Jeffery, but there are several other flies on that cartridge! None on the 404 Jeffery, the Grand Pop bolt action DGR (More nostalgic still!).

But, I am so happy this ugly duckling 425 WR is giving you nostalgic jollies.
Hip-hip-hooray!

Fair enough Good Doctor

The .425 WR is an "ugly duckling" like the wildebeest isn't it. I think that is part of it's rich history....too unique to be forgotten. One look and you know it's out of Africa The .425 WR had a distinguished career in the Uganda Game Department Elephant Control Section.

It's not like you to be so cantankerous, I'm writing this off as a stressful day in the operating room.

BTW, do you own a double rifle? If so, what manufacturer and chambering?

To perfect the "Ugly duckling" just get rid of the excess rebate and use a 532 bolt. 425WR evolved. The radical rebate was a solution to a problem that no longer exists. It is like the story of the woman who cut the ends off the roast and never questioned it till she got married and her husband asked about it. She told him that is what her mother always did. On asking her mother "why" her mother replied "To make it fit in our small oven" Nobody uses the old "small ovens" anymore.

The 500 Jeffe still needs the rebate to fit in a mauser... the 425 does not.

Now you went and done it boomie, I'm off in search of a hot roast beef sandwich!!!!

Buliwyf,
I am always cantankerous, nothing personal.
470 NE Merkel.