Good sunday to you all.

A 425 Westley Richards, on a M98 action.
It is a good caliber, but not loved.

The rebate rim I guess..But, is that not right?
CAN a action be made to work 100%?
WR made some guns in these caliber, but I guess, feel, there was never a high a number of them, high price and hard to made work 100% when a bad gunmaker did work one one...

So, is it something that can be done today? Or, will I end up with a feeding problem, no mater what/who make the action?

Have a good sunday all.

W-R used specially-machined wide leaf springs as feed rails to retain the rebated-rim cartridges in the magazine while at the same time allowing them to rise high enough for the rims to be picked up as the bolt is cycled.

You or your smith need to closely inspect one of these original 425s to determine what's necessary.

Here's a clue about the conversion: Finn Aagard had one of these original 425s and when he rebarreled it he chose to convert to the 458 Win Mag. Coulda been feeding problems, coulda been ammo problems, coulda been personal preference, who knows? But IIWY I'd expect some sort of problem since no one else seems to like the 425 cartridge very much (grin).

BTW I believe my friend the local smith actually possesses a new never-used 425 chamber reamer....(!?)
Regards, Joe

i remember seeing that rifle at one of the julif big bore shoots. i didn't inspect it up close but i remember seeing & thinking to myself thats weird.
kinda wish i would have taken some pictures of it now

Yes, it can be done. I built one for a member of these boards last year using a VZ24 action. We also fitted a second bolt with a .404 Jeffery boltface so he could use .404 brass as an alternative to the WR brass. As J.D. points out the hard part about making it feed is getting the cartridges to sit high enough in the action so the boltface can catch the rebated rim.

Thank you for the information.

Hmm..HArd to say, it can be done. Hard, yes. But, I kind of like it to..

In one of the old gun digests,Jack Lott did a very good article on the .425. He mentioned doing what John did, make a second bolt with .404 rim dia when he couldnt get brass for the original, he made them from .404's. I seem to recall the spring feed clips were mostly for the high-end rifles with the big extended mag box and the extra spring power needed for it. Lott seemed to think done right, it was a great cartridge. I never heard of problems with the 11.2x72 shueler when done right either.

I designed and built a 8mm x .425WR X 2.5". Than opened up the bolt face to accept the .404 case. Later adapted it to reformed .375 Ultra cases. The chamber had to be slightly lapped.The available .425 brass at that time was soft as was some of the .404 brass. FYI roger

First you need to be a handloader.
Then lose the rebated rim.
Using .404 brass it should be a good combination.

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
First you need to be a handloader.
Then lose the rebated rim.
Using .404 brass it should be a good combination.

But after all this (an others have posted similar) what is the point just to end up with a rifle that will shoot a .435 bullet (425WR) when the stock standard 404 will do anything the WR cartridge will with better known and easily obtained cases and bullets as well as a good range of factory ammo.

So, it CAN be done.

But, maybe better off with a 404.

Thank you all for helping me with information.

Hi Fellas'

Just thought I would chime in here on the 425 WR.
I own one of the 425 WR original rifles made in 1924. It is one with the feed clips and the droped magazine . It also has the 28 " barrel . It is a real classic.
As far as feeding it is brilliant . It will feed empty cases without any problems.
I have been shooting it with Bertram Brass and Woodleigh Bullets and it is a performer.
I am so impressed that I ordered a chamber reamer from Manson and a Pac-Nor barrel to build a new rifle that I can alter with scope mounts and bolt handle alteration and not be altering a classic rifle.I will try to make the feed rails by copying the original. I am just waiting on the barrels so that I can start.
Thanks , Jim

Like Bison-J, above, I also own a WR 425, mine was built in 1922 with the extended mag, feed clips and 28" barrel. It also feeds flawlessly using old BELL brass. I have also added another bolt opened to use 375 RUM cases, these feed well also and the cases are easier to get and probably more durable. I visited WR in Birmingham 2 years ago and they referred to this conversion as the 425 Improved. I'm also enjoying shooting cast bullets, getting about 2125 FPS using hardened wheel weights. Accuracy is as good as jacketed loads and I'm getting about the same horse power as out of a 450-400. If I were building a rifle in this caliber I'd go with the RUM/404 case option first, then play with the rebated rim later if you get truely bored.
Best

Thank you for the good information.
Good to hear some use these old classics.
Thank you for the tip.

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
First you need to be a handloader.
Then lose the rebated rim.
Using .404 brass it should be a good combination.

But after all this (an others have posted similar) what is the point just to end up with a rifle that will shoot a .435 bullet (425WR) when the stock standard 404 will do anything the WR cartridge will with better known and easily obtained cases and bullets as well as a good range of factory ammo.

Why use a .404 if you can use a .416 Rigby or ?

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
First you need to be a handloader.
Then lose the rebated rim.
Using .404 brass it should be a good combination.

But after all this (an others have posted similar) what is the point just to end up with a rifle that will shoot a .435 bullet (425WR) when the stock standard 404 will do anything the WR cartridge will with better known and easily obtained cases and bullets as well as a good range of factory ammo.

Why use a .404 if you can use a .416 Rigby or ?

Why a 404 instead of a 416 Rigby...

1) Building on a 98 Mauser....from a practical prospective 404 is largest case that will fit without significant modification, etc...
2) There really is no advantage to the 416 Rigby case over the 404 Jeffery...either is capable of pushing 400 grain bullets at 2500+ fps...who needs more?

quote:

Originally posted by jjs:

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
First you need to be a handloader.
Then lose the rebated rim.
Using .404 brass it should be a good combination.

But after all this (an others have posted similar) what is the point just to end up with a rifle that will shoot a .435 bullet (425WR) when the stock standard 404 will do anything the WR cartridge will with better known and easily obtained cases and bullets as well as a good range of factory ammo.

Why use a .404 if you can use a .416 Rigby or ?

Why a 404 instead of a 416 Rigby...

1) Building on a 98 Mauser....from a practical prospective 404 is largest case that will fit without significant modification, etc...
2) There really is no advantage to the 416 Rigby case over the 404 Jeffery...either is capable of pushing 400 grain bullets at 2500+ fps...who needs more?

I was responding to a similar question....

Thank you for the help.
The more I think about it, the more I think I will go for a .404 on a M98 action.

Brass is cheaper and easier to get than to a 425 WR.