In my recent quest for a 338 RUM I came across a Winchester classic stainless in 404 jeffery for a pretty good price. What kind of info is there on the jefferey case. availablity of bullets, brass, what powders and such. I reload so I have everything but the brass and bullets I would need. what do you guys think about the 404. Primary use moose/brown bears here in alaska.

buy it before someone else does!!!!!!!

damn! a stainless one...makes me wish i wernt broke

northfork makes softs and solids and brass is fairly avaliable...

shoot cast for fun and north forks for hunting.

400 gr @ 2300 is nominal with 2400 with a hotter load.

it is THE classic bolt african cart...it has killed many elephants so...you get the picture.

http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe/browse?TabID=1&Cat...*652***670***9013***

http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe/browse?TabID=1&Cat...*652***675***9016***


load info and history

the_bear, sir;

.375 RUM brass makes perfect .404 cases. Many here seem to think that it's a "rebated" case (rim smaller than body) and get all in a sweat about it, but the difference amounts to almost nothing, based on measuring various Kynoch .404 cases in my possession.

Size the .375 RUM case in the .404 sizer until it will JUST allow the bolt to close with a bit of "feel" on the handle. Drop 20 grains of 2400 into the primed cases, and fill them with cornmeal topped with a bit of tissue in the mouth to hold it all together.

Fire these "rounds" vertically into the air...horizontal firing may give irregular mouths on the cases.

I have now performed this operation on almost 200 new .375 RUM cases with ZERO failures or problems. Note that new-unfired brass usually fireforms better than stuff which has already been fired. The resulting .404 cases function perfectly in my Cogswell & Harrison Mauser.

Note that .338 RUM brass is shorter than the .375 RUM cases, which are full .404 length.

If you insist on "real" .404 brass, Midway lists Norma .404 brass at about $40.00/20....quite a contrast to the Remingtons at $12-$14!!!!

The cartridge is a superb performer on heavy game. My main use for it was against Wood Bison in Canada's Northwest Territories with Barnes Original (copper-tubing) bullets, and it was utterly deadly from ANY angle.

Enjoy!

while I have no personal experience with a 404J, reading what others with that DGR experience tell me that it is a stone killer, from elephant on down. With cast bullets it would probably be a real hoot to shoot, and 25-cents or so per shot. The nice thing about 375 and larger caliber rifles, is that they take to cast bullets and velocities under 2200fps like kids to candy. Shoot a lighter bullet and enjoy thinning out the rodent population. Shoot a heavier one at equivalent ME and recoil levels and stay in shape for hunting.

No lose cartridge!!

Rich

The who I might buy this from had two of these made up about 6-7 years ago and this was the backup of the two, the other one was his working gun. He usually used a load with 300gr Hawk at 2600fps, said it was a real hammer on moose/bears out to 300 yards. He also used the 380gr Northfork @ 2450. I might even be able to talk him out of some dies too!!

I have a M70 made up in .404jeffery, it's a great rifle & great round for DG. It's a bit heavy for an allround rifle, but it is happy w/ 300gr @ 2000 to 400gr @ 2400fps. I used the exc. 380grNF for a trip to Africa a couple years ago & everything, imcluding my buffalo, went down to one shot.
Like Bren said, brass is available from Norma in bulk & can be made from .375RUM cases. I use the .375RUM cases for practice & the Norma for hunting laods. You can use cast bullets, but I size down 300gr 44mag bullets for "plinker" @ 2000fps they are accurate & pleasent to shoot. Stay away from Hawks except for smaller big game, just too soft, especially driven @ 2650fps. Bullets are available from NorthFork, Woodleigh, Swift, Barnes & Hawk.

I would have thought that the 300gr hawk with the.050 thickness jacket would be tough enough for those velosities. They do look like an interesting bullet for alaska hunting.

The problem is they are very soft & expand quite a bit slipping their core. Ok for deer & hogs but I would shy away from moose or bear. A 350gr Woodleigh would be a good choice as would be the 340grNF.

That's a 380grNF on the left, moving right, a 380grNF, 400gr Woodleigh & 400gr/0.05 Hawk. All bullets were 2200fps+/- fired into wet phone books. The Hawk is almost inside out & has slipped it's core. The NF & Woodleigh are bonded. The Hawk only penetrated about 17", the others going 21"+. Not definetive but gives pause for thought.

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:
The problem is they are very soft & expand quite a bit slipping their core. Ok for deer & hogs but I would shy away from moose or bear. A 350gr Woodleigh would be a good choice as would be the 340grNF.

That's a 380grNF on the left, moving right, a 380grNF, 400gr Woodleigh & 400gr/0.05 Hawk. All bullets were 2200fps+/- fired into wet phone books. The Hawk is almost inside out & has slipped it's core. The NF & Woodleigh are bonded. The Hawk only penetrated about 17", the others going 21"+. Not definetive but gives pause for thought.

wow!

that bullet line up says it all...

that north fork should have its own spread in reloader magazine...

thanks for posting

Seems like someone could make some sort of a die to squish a 300gr .429 44 mag bullet down to fit the .423 bore for a practice/plinker load. Would make a heck of a snowshoe hare load . Anyone hear of anything like this?

That is exactly what I do for plinkers. I bought two Lee bullet sizers, one in .423 (custom order $25) & a .427 sizer. I use Imperial sizing wax & size them first in the .427 die then into the .423 die. Pushed along at 2400fps, they give me 1.5moa recoil is mild. Very cheap shooting, lead would be cheaper, but I don't like cleaning the bbl. before shooting jacketed.