PhilipDK,
Why not consider building a .404 on a Brno ZG 47 action?
They are a little bit longer than the original Mauser action, so there are minimal work to be done in getting the action accomodate the .404 cartridge.

I had Mr Tomas Albrektson at Norma making me a .404 on a ZG 47 action for more than ten years ago (JOHAN has seen some pictures of it). The job Mr Albrektson did was 100%. He raised the original magazine walls just some 1-2 mm so that the magazine takes 3 rounds. (Call him at +46 571 315 83)

/Husky -on summer leave!

Tim,
I wonder if you could post a few pictures of that London Guns bottom metal. I looked at your picture but can't get it to come up again. I went to their site but didn't see anything their. I e-mailed them but didn't hear back.How much work had you done to the one in the picture you posted?
Also if you don't mind what is the price for their bottom metal?
One other thing I would like to know is who did your re-case for you? I have had Blanchards do it for me in the past. Blanchard's charged so much for the first piece then a little less for the remaining pieces.The guy that did it was very good but I understand he passed away a while back.
Someone on AR posted that whoever it was that they had do their re-case charged so much per batch. $100.00 as I remember.If a batch was more than two recievers and bolts that would be a real good deal.
That is going to be a real nice .404 you are building. I hope you are going to put a British African style stock on it. But then again what ever makes the owner happy is the important thing.

Has anyone ever run a 404 Jeffery case through a 425WR sizing die and trimmed to length. It seems to me, based on the dimensions on the Clymer Tools website that you could form a nonrebated 425WR case this way.

This should eliminate the feeding problems associated with the rebated rim, fit in a standard length Mauser action and allow one to use 425WR reloading data. I would call this wildcat the 425 Jeffrey.

Jeff Collins

Been there done that. Works with no problem.
Back in about '73 I aquired a WR HD droplock double in .425 WR. I had no trouble with the ejectors as was, but I took the .404's and deepened the groove on a lathe and they worked great. No reason it won't work on a bolt action

jnc91,
Just funnin', eh?

Nice to correct that awful rebated rim, but you are still stuck with that awful .435cal bullet.

The 404/.423cal bullet is limited enough in availability. The 404 Jeffery never quite died and is making something of a comeback. Nice. The 425 WR is DEAD, and good riddance!

Of course in this big ol' world there are all kinds of nuts, and even some perverse enough to want to fool with the 425 WR. Nostalgia is not enough in this case, pun intended.

I can't disagree with RIP, still if it is what you want and you know the drawbacks...

Does anybody know what the life of rebated rim brass is? It seems likely to be short, based on the odd shape of the cartridge.

wildcats off 'odd' calibers, with expensive brass...


let me say this AGAIN

if you want the ballistis, 416 taylor

if you want the nostalgia, 404

if you want never ending trouble
425

jeffe

Shumba: Where do you purchase London Guns bottom metal? How much? Thanks.

The website for London Guns is www.londonguns.com

USA (805) 683-4141
info@londonguns.com
London Guns, LTD
Box 3750
Santa Barbara, CA, 93130
USA


There is very little information there, in fact, only the address, contact info. and a logo.

I actually called there once and found the person who answered the phone to be very un-helpful.

The gunsmith who did the feeding work on my action ordered the bottom metal directly and I had no contact with London Guns. I think the cost was somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 to $170, but I'm not sure. This bottom metal is cast and not CNC machined like Blackburn. However, it is also $200 less. Therefore you need to add the labor cost back in and decide which is the better deal. We went with the cast bottom metal because it allowed us to open up the back end a bit more than the Blackburn.

I am confident the finished product will look very nice in the end. The most important thing to me is that my barreled action holds four rounds of 404 Jeffrey in the magazine and feeds all four rounds perfectly.

The action was sent to:

Industrial Heat Treat
430 W 600 N, Salt Lake City, UT 84103
(801) 363-7318

I think it cost about $60 for the heat treating.

Now the rifle needs to go to the gunsmith I will be using for the finish work (polishing, sights, stock, etc.).

The only downside is that the rifle won't be ready for my August 2004 hunt in Zimbabwe for cape buff & plainsgame.

I guess I will just have to schedule another DG hunt for 2006.

Tim

Schumba

Do you have the web site for Blackburn ?

Cheers,

Andr�

Should be

www.blackburnmachine.com

Tim

I cannot quote exact firings per case, but i shot that old WR Droplock double probably 400-500 times in the '70's. I don't recall ever throwing away a case from "wearing out".

It resized easy in the RCBS dies, not trapped air grooves in brass and etc. I used original berdan primed Kynoch cases and cases made from Kynoch and RWS boxer primed from the .404. At that time the RWS stuf I had was very soft, but they did last well.

I found the case very easy to reload

I still have some steel jacket Kynoch bullets and some original cases as well, I think.

I have done one London guns box in my life, with a file, stones and paper, had it color cased and it looked great, but never again, 40 plus hours of labor makes the Blackburn look real good...

Nostalgic lust for a .425 WR?

I don't get it. The .425 WR died in infamy along with the game scouts equipped with it, under the trampling feet of elephant. Bwana's .416 Rigby bolt action (or whatever-caliber-big NE double) couldn't cover every retreating scout with a jammed rifle. Uganda? In other countries, the game scouts equipped with .404 Jeffery rifles had a much longer life expectancy.

No nostalgia for the .425 WR, please! It is just an odd duck for the truly bored with life.

I guess that settles it. THE Mauser 98 DGR has bloody well got to be a .404 Jeffery. Long live the Queen! Pip pip cheerio.

Thanks all of you who replied to my question!!!

This really widened my horizon on this topic!!

(Sorry for my late answer, but work upheld me!!)

.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. And now tell us, ALF, ol' boy, just how much is this gem yer contemplatin'? Last time someone showed one t'me, they were askin' rather over $6,000. Things like that are a bit outside the range of the rankers, what? F'the hofficer class, it's a different story, don'tcherknow.

.