Dennis, took your advice and wrote SR's CEO the following:
"Mr. Fifer, I'm a long-standing Ruger customer, user and a wildcatter. About a year ago, I had the good fortune of acquiring a Ruger No. 1 in 404 Jeffery. I had also previously bought 2 Hawkeyes in 375 Ruger - an African and an Alaskan model. As a result of the experience with these 3 rifles and through an on-line collaboration with 2 other experienced shooters who appreciate classic cartridges, I developed a 404 cartridge (.423" caliber) based on the 375 Ruger case. My rifle test-bed - the first ever chambered and fired in this caliber - is a Ruger Hawkeye African model re-bored to .423" from .375" by Danny Pedersen of Classic Barrel Works in AZ. Those of us who admire Bill Ruger's love of classic guns and cartridges would stand in line to buy a limited edition commemorative Hawkeye African (or Ruger No. 1) in 404 Ruger, because this cartridge epitomizes the combination of classic English medium bore size with the modern technology that the 375 Ruger case represents. After all, the revival of classic firearm forms and cartridges (e.g., 416 Rigby) improved through production by modern technological processess was Bill Ruger's single most enduring genius. That you've already produced the 404 Jeffery (as witnessed by my No. 1) should hopefully mean that the tooling for a 404 Ruger cartridge is already in your production facilities, and that a Bill Ruger Commemorative in 404 Ruger will soon become a reality."
I won't hold my breath waiting for a result
, but who knows? Stranger things have happened - just not often.
