I have a chance to Pick up another english Jeffery 404 in "hunted with shape"or a Wesley Richards 425.

My head tells me to get the 404 Jeffery: easy to sell, bass and bullets easy to get and Built to work.

I just find the 425 sexy, the long barrel, the buffalo horn nose cap, the buffalo horn bolt handle, the sexy drop mag, the flip up moon sites. Long slim lines....like anorexic modle.


I think this may be a mid-life thing.

urdubob

Hey

Either choice will be lots of fun. I too looked hard at some WR 425s and 404s, and ending up buying a Jeffery in 404 Jeffrey.

My reasons: I read about them. The 404 is a great cartridge. As for the 425s, turns out most of them were the "Scout" model, which were an inexpensive rifle built for game department employees- the magazine spring was faulty and led to many mis-feeds. There were some of better quality made, but how to determine which is which, I don't know.

Another knock against the 425 was that long sexy barrel. Most hunters of the era found it to be too long and unweildy for the hunting it was defined for (DG).

John Taylor wote about the 425 sortcomings, my version is from memory.

Here is a quote form an article on Africa-Hunter.com - Killed by and Elephant- where there was some indication the 425 may have contributed to a hunters death"


"the rifle in question was a .425 Westley Richards. Calibre wise, it was more than adequate. Introduced in Circa 1908, it was, upon its initial introduction considered to be the most powerful magazine rifle in the world. Its bullet weight was 410 grain with a m.v. of 2,350 fps. Some hunters did however; feel that the 28" long barrel was a limitation, this due to its snagging in thick brush. Westley Richards also built a cheaper model for the Colonial trade. These models, with a customary five shot magazine gained a reputation for magazine springs that were inclined to weaken, and were thus unable to lift up the round sufficiently for the bolt to get hold of it."

The rest of the article is pretty good:
http://www.african-hunter.com/killed_by_an_elephant.htm