Anyone that knows anything about these care to comment? Is it a useful round in an M98 Mauser.

I have had a couple of original Westley 425's that were pre-war guns. They were done correctly with the clips installed in the rear of the receiver to aid in feeding. They both had the extended magazine boxes and both shot very well. If you decide to build one be sure you have a gunsmith that can help with the clips or you may have feeding problems.

In a M98, I would make a single stacked magazine with an new floorplate 1/2" thick to give room for 3 down. That way it will be rather cheep, and you can put your money in a better piece of wood.
It can be done the Westley Richards way, at a much stiffer price.
Biggest con is availability of bullet, as far as I know, one is limited to Woodleights.

Selous himself had one, and thought highly of it.

assuming it feeds, it is a very useful round.

now, the cons
REBATED hugely
odd-duck bullets
hard to get DECENT brass
feeding issues
"mag clips" are usually used
special mag box required
416 hoffman is a better round

jeffe

I think I would prefer a 416 Rem Mag, a 404 Jeffery or a 400 H&H.
I like the 400 H&H best I think.
Straight line mag/feed is a good idea.

My PH has a Whitworth Mauser action in 458 Lott that has been converted to straight line mag/feed.

Hello all , gumboot here. HAWK makes .435 bullets for the 425 W.R. . In several different weights and jacket thicknesses I hope to have an original takedown by summer. Ide have it now but the IRS got to me first. I like it better than the 416 Rigby as it doesn,t have a 45degree shoulder. It was the original short mag. And It has been there done that. I essespecially like the fact they were made at a lower cost so the average Settler could afford one.And the stripper clip ability for shooting herds. I know all you Elitests will cry and moan and quote Pondoro .But , his point about useing clips was for the long distance {Blazeing Away into the brown of the herd } Who ever would do that ought to be whipped anyway.. Sadly one of the greatest cartridges ever { the 416 Rem Mag } is seemingly suffering from stupid Eliteism and gunwriters who should be kicked with a pair of new Viberg cork boots.Now Holland & Holland have come out with Thier round . A bit late I think. Where was it in 1950 when it would have complemented things . Sorry I got side tracked. I bet GS Custom will make solids for it also. I think thier web site is www.gscustom.za. As I had a rifle made up ,I chose the 416 rem mag. The Rigby uses 10 -20 gr more powder to do the same thing , The best use for 416 Rigby brass is to make 500 Van Horne ammo.. I hope the info helps and the pot stiring doesn,t cause any undue illness... gumboot out

jeffe,

I would still like a 760 in 425WR!

Roger QSL

quote:

Originally posted by Roger:
jeffe,

I would still like a 760 in 425WR!

Roger QSL

hmm, there would be an interesting one, no?

A 760 what?
Not a Remington...?

A major 'con' is that factory ammunition, brass, and bullets are not widely available.

Sure, there are sources, but relatively few compared to a .416 Remington.

George

George,
I am aware of the ammunition and component concerns. I am more interested in fit and feed issues in a Mauser. I am concerned about the large size and the possibility of the bolt overrunning the rebated rim.

From practical standpoint, when compared to .458Lott it's got very little going for it.

Roger,

JUST STOP THAT...RIGHT NOW!!!!


Rich

I have one without the feeding clips and it feeds like a dream. Ganyana thinks it may have been filed by hand to get it to feed so well. I dont know, but it shows it can be done. He also believes a rebated rim lessens felt recoil.
Send a PM to Alf on this forum in case he has´nt noticed your post yet, he seems to know a lot about the 425 WR. Ive seen him jump to its defence a few times on this forum.
Dont give up,the cartridge is like a little torpedo from hell.

Rich,

Just for drinking and talking only, could a 760 barrel (ya, Remington) in 35 Whelen be re-bored to 428 and survive?

Remember, just talking.

Roger QSL

theoretically, yes; practically, probably not. The case is 2.64" VS the Whelen at 2.494", but IMHO the primary obstacle to be overcome is the .073" larger body diameter and that stinking rebated rim. It is made from the .404Jeffery, and it is likely too fat to be made to fit in an '06 diameter magazine/clip. Are you looking for something with a bit more steam than the Whelen for a 760? My suggestion would to be wait just a couple more weeks and build either a 35 or a 40 Newton, using the Jamison brass. The case is .520" head and .525" rim diameter, and 2.494" long. Length is a wash, and the rim could be turned down to a dimension that would feed and eject reliably. Maybe just look here for the 375 Ruger dimensions, that might be THE answer, ecked up a little. The easy answer, build a 375 Whelen. If you really want a big bore, and will wildcat; look at the 9.3x64 Brennecke cartridge. It is .504" body diameter, and .492" on the rim. Just open the boltface .020" for the rim, and neck it to .404J or even a short .458". Could kick some serious big game butt as a .458x64.

Waaaay more information than you asked for, but some serious options. .458 Ruger...that will work I think.

Rich

Rich,

As I'm just thinking out loud here, I'm also stomping on the original poster's thread.

I'm going to move this to the gunsmithing forum, and procede there.

Roger QSL

Roger,
I posted a little info on the gunsmithing forum.