I was very fortunate to buy a .404 Jeffery. This .404 Jeffery is 80 years of age. It shot a lot of elephants and buffaloes in the 1930 era in the Tembe region ( Southern Mozambique/Northern Zululand, South Africa.)It shot the last elephant in the Thembe region, and was re-barreled in 1976 when the current owner bought it from his friend. This .404 Jeffery cost me only R10 000 , a give away price...so you can say I am extremely fortunate. A few photos of the .404 Jeffery.

May be the first here to say congratulations on a really neat old rifle!

That is a a really cool rifle,...in a really cool cartridge.

Nice! A classic working gun with some good use is much better than a new safe queen any day IMHO.

nice rifle

Is it just the photos or do the fired casings look bulged?

Nice classic rifle at the price of a factory 270!

A true "been there, done that" classic!

Some of the cases are .375 H&H, eh?
The stock looks like a new one too, tighter grip angle than the old ones, and the checkering is pristine.
The stock over-runs the thumbcut of the milsurp Mauser.
Who made the rifle?
Re-barreled and re-stocked?
How long is that barrel?
Nice it is.
Those belted (bulged) cases are not 404 Jeffery, eh?

I will take more photos, the .404 Jeffery and .375 H&H cases came with the rifle. The ammo came with the rifle from the 1930 era. I already shot some of the old ammo, it is cordite loaded( I pulled a bullet and burn some of the strands, it burned faster than the .303 cordite strands)
.I am still busy completing a build on a ,375 H&H Magnum Cogswell & Harrison my first novice rifle build.
I am pursuing my hobby, to become a gunsmith under the guidance of an excellent and knowledgeable gunsmith by the name of Johan Greyling(South Africa). I will take some measurements regarding the new barrel fitted in 1976, take more photos and give a more detailed description. Thank you kindly for the kind words regarding my .404 Jeffery, it really was a chance one out of a million getting hold of such a rifle since it seems the .404 Jeffery is regarded as the "holy grail" of classic rifles of a by-gone era.

you are a fortunate man...

I have a Haenel Sporting Rifle built on a GEWEHR 88 action. It's the favorite rifle to pull out of the safe and just wonder about its history in the gamefields.

congratulations again,

Rich

Gert, congratulations on a once in a lifetime find. The 404 Jeffery is my all time favorite caliber, and my go-to gun in my safe. Now you need to join us on a Big Bore of South Africa (bigbore.org) shoot, because a rifle like that is meant to be used.

quote:

RIP: The stock looks like a new one too, tighter grip angle than the old ones, and the checkering is pristine....The stock over-runs the thumbcut of the milsurp Mauser....Who made the rifle....Re-barreled and re-stocked?

Nice rifle but the stock, barrel and sights are not circa 1930s. Looks like a military Mauser action. Looking at the bolt & triggerguard, definitely not a commercial Oberndorf.

Wow, you must have known the seller to get that for $1,000! I am envious.

Thank you kindly for the positive remarks, I appreciate it. Fla3006 yes you are correct, I have the original sights, the owner bought the rifle from his friend in 1976 and re-barrel it since it was keyholing when he bought it, he kept the original sights and I received it with the rifle, it is the sights in one of the photos. The rifle have been re-bluing by a gunsmith. The owner told me his friend was 35 years older than him, and the first owner(his friend) told him he shot elephants and buffaloes in the 1930 when sleeping sickness break-out in the Thembe region , that is where he shot the last elephant in that region. I do believe this person since he has no reason to make this information up. But it really does not matter I really am not interested if it is an original collectible Mauser rifle, the history coming with the rifle is good enough for me. It is a .404 Jeffery and that is all that matters to me...it shoots very accurate and the recoil is moderate and very manageable. At this stage I am looking for dies. Johan , dankie , ek wil graag by die Big Bore manne aansluit, ek wil my .375 ook saambring om te skiet. Thank you again for the kind words from you all. I will be getting to take more photos and measurements of the .404 Jeffery.

Did you get the original barrel? would be interesting to know the twist and bore/groove dimensions if you did.

Boom stick
Unfortunately not, only the original sights, front and back sights.Underneath the blue that is currently on the rifle there are some engraving on the receiver that is not clear to read, I plan to re-bluing it, I may then be able to determine if it was a Coggswell & Harrison ot a Westley & Richardson. Maybe putting the original sights back on .

Gert

Great rifle and caliber! Good luck with your gun smithing venture too!

Nice find. Congratulations.

Beautiful rifle!

Thank you kindly for the positive replies,it really is appreciated. I decided to use the .404 Jeffery as a normal hunting rifle, shooting animals like impala, zebra, kudu and eland if I manage to shoot a bushpig it will be a bonus. To wait for a once a lifetime dangerous animal hunt opportunity will only being result into the .404 Jeffery standing in a rifle-safe. The Big Bore community seems to being revive in South Africa and it really will be making sense to join them and shoot this .404 Jeffery frequently with members who know a lot about the big bore rifles.

Congratulations on a great rifle and my all time favorite caliber. I cannot imagine needing any other gun for DG..It has served me for many years..

Good Day to you Ray
Please tell me more about the use of the .404 Jeffery on normal plains game? Would a hunter be using the 400gn on something like an impala or kudu as well? Did you use the .404 Jeffery on plains game or only on dangerous game animals?