Which action/calibre is need for a 404 Jeff build? I'm talking Win. 70 action.

Thanks,

David

I haven't post this pic in awhile. I used a M70 300RUM, factory stock (shortened forend), Dakota 1/4rib, NECG banded front.

Dang Fred,

that made up into one sweet rifle. What's it weigh ready to go with a full magazine?

Rich
DRSS

I used a Montana Rifle Co. Long Action for my 404 Jeffery projects. Tip Burns did the metal work and John Valicek did the stock work. Both live in Canyon Lake, Texas. Engraving by Roger Kehr aka ScrollCutter.

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/...=211104196#211104196

Here is mine 404 , its buildt upon an VZ 24 action

Probably the finest 404 Jefferys made from M-70 are the classics originally chambered for the 300 RUM.

I looked at one at Gary's sport shop in Sioux Falls SD and didn't buy it as I just didn't see a 404 Jeffery when I looked at it.....what a mistake!

Thanks Idaho. The rifle comes in @ 10 1/4# ready to hunt. Some would say too heavy but recoil is very managable & I don't think I would want it much lighter.
mrRigby, if I ever repalce the factory stock, I like the pattern of your rifle w/ the drop mag.

Dang guys, ya'll really stepped up quick. Damn nice pieces. Fred's is really what I'm looking toward right now. Relatively inexpensive, most money spent on the barrel and metal work to make it work. I might want to re-stock it later, but for now, I'm not concerned.

Will a 375H&H action work at all? There appears to be only .002 differnce in the rim dimension, but the 404 is a lot fatter. Don't know about the length. ?????

Thanks guys,

David Walker

Jeff don't take that the wrong way. Your rifle is just about exactly what I'm looking for. I even considered synthetic stock, just don't know if I can do that to a 404 Jeff.

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:
Thanks Idaho. The rifle comes in @ 10 1/4# ready to hunt. Some would say too heavy but recoil is very managable & I don't think I would want it much lighter.
mrRigby, if I ever repalce the factory stock, I like the pattern of your rifle w/ the drop mag.

That build of the rifle is a rare one from this smith, for after his education was over, he hasnt worked as a gunsmith so if he worked as it , he would have been one of the famous ones over here.

The cutout on the stock at the magazine is wery good to use as a handsupport in prone shooting if you like it.

yes its an working rifle and i like the thought of having 5 hasslefree rounds ready if you need it. SO now its work and save cash for BG or DG hunts in the furture, i know what rifle to bring for them.

What to do with a .404 Jeff? I sure wanted mine in Africa last month! We were in tall grass where the shots were fast and close. My scoped 9.3x62mm just did not cut it under those conditions, but the iron sighted .404 would have been perfect. We were chasing Waterbuck, Bushbuck, and Duikers near the Limpopo. Yeah, I know, overkill for a Duiker, but when you are shooting for random targets, use enough gun.

LLS

If you can find the 300 RUM magazine box, or simply "window" a standard .375 H&H or .416 RM box (or make one of these sheetmetal things from scratch), and get the proper follower (same as on the later M70 Classic .416 RM) and spring (flat spring without the space wasting hump) ...

Then you can use any standard M70 Classic H&H length action.

Just to enjoy some more jeers (again), here is my .404 Jeffery done by rebarreling a 300 RUM M70 Classic Stainless.
McGowen 10" twist, 24" barrel.
Brown Precision stock reinforced and "camoflaged" by yours truly.
Maybe I like them trashy.
Beauty is as beauty does:
1/2 MOA with
400-grainers at 2400 fps
380-grainers at 2525 fps
340-grainers at 2700 fps
320-grainers at 2800 fps
SWAG: 60K psi or less for the above loads, and the M70 can handle it with ease.
Fired prone in full recoil (380-gr/2525fps):

One shot and one tasty 1300-pounder ready for processing:




The JB Weld camo pattern hides where the stock was drilled to insert cross bolts, pillars, a rod of steel all-thread axially through the grip, and the nuts holding the sling swivel base to the tip of the forend, free floated barrel. AcraGlass and JB Weld.
Of course the "camoflage" could be sanded smooth and the whole stock repainted. But I like it like it is.
The bare-naked-empty weight of this rifle after all that stock weighting is a perfectly balanced 8.5 pounds.

Confession: Actually, the stock on my .404 Jeffery started off for a .308 WCF length M70 whatever ... I picked it up at a gunshow in Montana.

That is why I rebuilt the Brown Precision so heavily: lengthening it from .308WCF to .375 H&H length.

It works. It is so functional it is beautiful.
And so I have finally confessed to why it is so uglied up.

I promise to do better auto body work on the MPI for the .395 Tatanka M76 Dakota African.
That one will be painted gray all over, no camo.
Such thorough reinforcement (and more) is a neccessity with an MPI.

And a McMillan CZ/BRNO stock should work for a Satterlee Magnum Mauser with little fuss ... if I ever get the chance.

Stuart: I'm winking at you.

Just a note to those coming in late here....This is the 21st century version of The African Sheep Rifle. gduffey

I had one built using a Winchester Mod. 70 Classic, which I bought (new) in 7mm Remington Magnum.

Other than rebarreling, very little work was needed on the action to make it feed right (I think Ward Dobler opened up the feed rails just a small amount, as well as the bolt face of course).

It was a very smooth, slick action, and one of the guys here on AR bought it from me....I used the funds to build my 400 Whelen (Improved).

Someday I'll build another one, but probably using a Mauser action.

Garrett

quote:

Originally posted by gduffey:
Just a note to those coming in late here....This is the 21st century version of The African Sheep Rifle. gduffey

The "Ugly African Sheep Rifle" is a monument to the conversion of a short action stock to a long action stock. I leer at it as the cartoon below, bedazzled by the short and tall of it:





Gary,
"African Sheep Rifle" is a multifaceted play on the facts:

1. Mr. Chadwick took the greatest North American trophy of all time with a 404 Jeffery shooting 300-grain bullets: The Chadwick Ram, still the No. 1 Stone Sheep in Boone and Crockett after 81 years.

2. We Sheeple flock to the cartridge: The 404 Jeffery is supposed to be the most nostalgic of African calibers and predates (1905) the .375 H&H (1912) and all others, as the first successful bolt action cartridge for African DG, PG, or any game for that matter. It was most widely used of all, issued commonly by game departments for control work.

3. The .404 Jeffery is thus the quintessential "African" rifle and the "Ultimate Sheep" rifle, so it has to be an "African Sheep Rifle." That means stainless and fiberglass to me, in the 21rst Century, as you say. Free thinking sheeple can choose more than just walnut and rust blue.

4. A sheep rifle must be a little lighter than usual and shoot to long range competently, for mountain hunting. That leads to higher velocities and pressures and the need for not stressing an opened up Mauser, hence the M70.

5. Varmints, sheep, DG, PG, the 404 will do it all at short range or long range, on anything Africa has to offer. If only there were some African sheep ... Well, in Stone Sheep Country, it is good to carry a rifle adequate for grizzly bear. In Africa it is good to carry a rifle adequate for anything, including non-existant sheep.

Well done...you may have helped me define myself. I may be.....an extended pinkie African Sheep rifle loving sheeple. I like blue and walnut. Is there a book that recounts F.C. Selous Alaskan adventures? gduffey

Right. I don't know what all the sheep humping is all about, but I like the rifle, JB weld or not. Straight forward, get 'er done, business machine.

X2mosg

X2mosg,
Thanks. You are smart. Your sense of humor is either a bit limited, or beyond my grasp (I don't hump sheep), but you are still very smart. O.K. funny too. I get it.

Gary,
That is a very interesting book whatever one it is. Selous in Alaska, before or after 1905? I seem to recall it was in the late 1890's so he could not have used a .404 Jeffery for Dall sheep.

But I do suffer from sometimers disease ...
Now I gotta know.
Research time.

speaking about mountain rifle, the previous owner of my 404 told me that he has used it on Moutain grouse with 300 grain Mimek lead bullets.

I read that and had to wonder: Did he take their heads off with the 300-grainers?

What does a Norwegian mountain grouse look like?

http://www.miljolare.no/delt/bilder/artsbilder/frode/lagopus_muta.jpg

here the Lagopus are depicted, i dont know where he hit them but he had used a 4-14x scope on the rifle for some types of hunting.

here the Lagopus are depicted ...

Looks a bit like Alaskan ptarmigan or "spruce grouse."

"Norwegian Grouse Gun" or "African Sheep Rifle," it's all good!

Don't know why I feel compelled to write this, but the picture proferred by one of you guys and repeated below, is the best reasonwhy I'm glad I chose the 450 Dakota over the 416 rigby for my new rifle , jorge

Ron, Do you have a rear peep for your rear scope base? I noticed the nice banded front sight. That is the perfect Alaska rifle. gduffey

Gary,
That one has the NECG peep to fit the QRW base. Carry in pocket or pouch on belt.
I would use it only if the scope got stuffed. BTW, it has a pop-up "H&H" moon bead too. Ha, ha.

Jorge, speaking of stuffing:
The 450 Dakota is a real stopper, quite stunning, and does fill out the bra quite well, but that little .375 walking next to her could be more comforting in some positions I can think of.

It's been posted that a RUM action will accommodate a .404 with minimal modification so I thought I'd post what Winchester did to my particular M70 to get the Ultra Mag to work. I suppose you could do the same to any long action M70 if so inclined.

The follower:
0.935 wide at rear
0.735 wide at front
0.360 tall in middle
looks like center ridge comes up to meet a .530ish cartridge diameter (not a jam fit or loose fit between ridge and magazine sidewall


The magazine box (p/n 1480):

3.625 inside length
0.975 inside rear width
0.750 inside front width (before corner radii)
2.28x0.45 notch in each side wall, 0.75 from rear, 0.68 from front.




The action mag well:

inside dimensions fit od of mag box
0.550 depth up to ejection side rail
0.600 depth up to left side rail
0.600 parallel rail opening at rear
0.690 opening cut in left rail for approx 1.3
0.620 to 0.650 tapered opening in front of notch leading into feed ramp



All measurements in inches.

I have a .404 Jeffery that was a Model 70 Classic in .300 Rum...

The original follower wouldn't feed, but when exchanged for a .375 H&H follower, it fed like corn through a goose. The little slide clips that hold the mag to the wood had to be polished, too, but that was all.

If you saw my elephant DVD, you can see how well the gun feeds!

quote:

Jorge, speaking of stuffing:
The 450 Dakota is a real stopper, quite stunning, and does fill out the bra quite well, but that little .375 walking next to her could be more comforting in some positions I can think of.

Rip: Nah, I'd rather be crushed by the 450, regardless of position...jorge

My only question in regards to this situation.

Would you need a wingman to take them both at once or do you feel lucky punk? Well do ya?

One of my favorite sayings in regards to tall women, "you'd need a ladder just to go down on her."