Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Help me build a 404 Jefferey

Looking to start a project to build a 404 jeffery.

Don't really have any plans on going to Africa anytime soon but shouldn't everyone have a big boomer in the safe?

I already have a lead on a model 70 in 300 rum for the action.

Im looking for suggestions on barrel length and maker...ss or cm?
Type of wood for stock? Recoil pad?
Type/manufacturer of iron sights?
bottom metal?
Gunsmith?

any and all suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Sights should be NECG. For a builder, I would use Jim Kobe if you're building on an M70, or Wayne at AHR if you want one one a modified CZ550 Mauser.

I would talk to Roger Ferrell. I believe that he has built a few on rum actions and is building one on a Mauser for me. I concur on the NECG sights and would contact Cecil Fredi for the wood. I'm using a Lothar Walther barrel.

Here's a link on one I built on a M-70 RUM and a Walther barrel.

DF

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7846376/5

I would get a piece of bastogne with good grain flow for the stock. It is the densest variety of walnut. Something like this would be dandy...

Another early decision is if you want to use a drop magazine for extra capacity. You might look at Blackburn and Duane Wiebe's websites to see what they have available.

Shane Thompson, a part time gun builder and stock duplicator out of Soda Springs Idaho built a .416 nitro express on a 1909 Argentine Mauser and submitted it as his test rifle for membership in the custom gunmakers guild. I have held that rifle, and it is magnificent; much trimmer and lighter in the hand that one would expect of a big gun. It was featured in the January 2003 Custom Corner column in Rifle magazine, with some great photos. It could be a source of some ideas for you.

Just to be clear, I say that Shane is part time not to disparage his talents in the least. He works at the local agri-chemical plant to get health care coverage for his family. He did the metalwork on the mini-Mauser that TC1 chronicled on the campfire. So while "part time" is not a quality comment, it does affect the amount of work he can take on and his turnaround time. You might want to see what patterns he has that could work for your project. I believe his phone number is 208 547 0383.

I bought the blank shown in the post above from him. I suspect he has others that are comparable.

Thanks for the help guys....keep the info coming.....

That is a nice looking hunk of wood there....

There is an old english bolt rifle for sale here in town by a retail store with a nice dark walnut stock in 404 Jeffery. I believe they have it reasonably priced. The gun store name is N.W. Pony Express in Hayden, Idaho. I know the rifle has taken at least three cape buffalo in it's lifetime. Buying an experienced rifle may be a better alternative than building one.

If you are working with a Model 70 action you might also want to discuss the project with Redneck (aka Lee Christianson sp?) who posts on this site regularly.

There is a Lothar Walther barrel for sale on Accurate Reloading forum.

Seems like a few of these 404j's are being built with lothar walther barrels. Any particular reason for this? Are these barrels considered the same quality as the high end manufacturers or more so to the level of an er shaw?

They are pretty high end Tico.

I think it's just that Lothar Walthar barrels are more commonly available in that size. The .423 (or .424) bore is pretty odd and not a lot of barrel makers make them. Krieger does but they often have a big wait time.

Lothar Walthar barrels are button rifled.

Apologies. Crow Hunter is dead on Tico.

They are excellent barrels. My 9.3x62 was a tack driver. Some gunsmiths don't like them because of the alloy- I have heard that they can be rough on reamers. The wait time is not too bad- my .404 barrel took about 3 months to arrive.

Walther is a premium barrel maker. Thru the Hawkeye borescope, you won't find a slicker, prettier bore finish. And they shoot as good as they look. Walther steel is pretty tough to machine and some smiths complain that it dulls reamers. When asked that question, a Walther tech bristled somewhat and told me in no uncertain terms that some smiths don't know how to ream a barrel. Anyway, Walther steel is high quality and their workmanship is top notch.

Not all barrel makers offer .423 bores, so Walther wins a lot of those orders by default and their turnaround time isn't that bad.

DF

Classic build!!! My favorite action. I have used Krieger barrels and like them. Worth the wait, but I never had more than 8 weeks.

just to throw it out there, have you considered a necked up .416 Ruger. Then you could get by with just a standard action.

I have a 9.3x62 using a Lothar Walther barrel. I have no complaints and it has great accuracy.

Just another thought to throw out there, if you're going the full custom route, why not get a Heym Martini rifle in 404? I've checked our Ralf Martini rifles as well as the Heym Martini and they're really nice and pretty much embody my idea of a classic African express rifle.

If you want to build the custom as you like to spec parts, then I would recommend the sights from NECG. Banded H&H night sight in the front and a Banded H&H rear sight, barrel band sling swivel, and a red recoil pad.

With the Walther barrels, the drill is to work out your external dimensions with Woody Woodall, at Walther Precision Tools, at Cummings, GA. Then he sends your order to Germany, and it comes back to him. Unfortunately, a lot more comes over to him at the same time. So they can get bogged down separating and unpacking your small order. Woody told my on the phone that these Air Freight shipments have to clear customs and run $30K or so.

Since I was making a copy of P.H. Harry Selby's 416 Mauser, I went so far as to order a custom Bavarian 1500 profile. Woody made one change before he would accept my dimensions, and place this order. BTW, my copy uses a wildcat 10.6mm x 375 Ruger, instead of the really large 416 Rigby cartridge.

My barrel came as a profiled blank, and it was very highly polished. This paid the freight for my G.S.'s turning and threading the barrel shank for my Mauser action. It was an unexpected cost savings, for me.