Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing What Donor Action Caliber or Length (Ruger 77 MKII or Hawkeye) to build a .404 Jeffery

Rebore, or Re-barrel? The best choice with the least alteration?

David

The Ruger M77 is not long enough to hold a 404 Jeffery.

unless it's the larger Safari action.

I have never played with a Hawkeye.

You can make a M77 MKII handle a 375H&H so you could do a 404.

Interesting article about it here.
http://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/article.cfm?tocid=1186&magid=84

Mag bolt face? (diagram shows face diam as .0543, the .404 Jeff max length 3.530". The pressures and size indicate to me a regular length action would work. As I understand it's history,it was built on the standard Mauser 98 action of the era. Don't know how to add the cartridge Diagram to a post. Anyway: .404 Jeffery as originally loaded fired a .423" diameter bullet of either 300 gr or 400 gr with MV 2600 or 2125 ME of 40200FP or 5400FP.

(19 g) with a muzzle velocity of 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) and muzzle energy of 4,500 foot-pounds force (6,100 N�m) or 400 gr (26 g) with a muzzle velocity of 2,125 ft/s (648 m/s) and 4,020 foot-pounds force (5,450 N�m) of energy.

Seems to me that a standard length action would suffice with a standard bolt face, but that is part of my question anyway.

thanks for the link Ramrod. I saved it to a document for future use.

I just found an old piece in Bore bore where Atkinson addressed this, and someone else observed the foolowing: You will need an action made for the RUM case, a Winchester Model 70 or Rem 700 in 300RUM would be the perfect donor, as would a CZ 500 in 375 H&H. Any H&H length action would work, but the RUM actions already have the feed rails opened up and are easier to convert. The CZ 550 is simply so massive that little internal modification will be needed; that said, you'll need a gunsmith who understands how to make a big bore feed.

Ray wrote:

" I think I have probably used the 404 more than anyone else around here..I have built a dozen or so of them for myself and ended up selling all of them..Its a wonderfull cartridge with a world of nostalgia behind it..I do recommend a Mauser Mod. 20 big action or one of its counterparts as opposed to a long action 98 Mauser conversion or a Mod. 70...Todays the most proper action a available is the new control feed Win M-70 in the RUM calibers that are built around the 404 case, they work well indeed and are second only to a full size Mauser. I have never been satisfied with the CZ in 404s...With 95 grs. of IMR-4831 you can get 2600 FPS plus depending on barrel length, you don't have to settle on those old 404 velocities of 2100 FPS..I loaded all mine with 93 grs. for a mild pressure and over 2400 FPS..that is a buffalo and elephant gun. I have probably shot around 30 or 40 buffalo with the 404 Jefferys, and a world of plainsgame. It can be much more gun than the 450-400 by about 500 FPS if you wish..I will say it kills much better at 2400 FPS than it does at 2000 FPS and the effect on buffalo is apparant to the eye and at 2600 FPS, the big bulls shudder at the shot..also at 2600 FPS I shudder at the shot.:) and Jim Brockman cussed me for lending him those fast loads to test his rifle, that made my day! smile

All this said, the 416 Rem or 416 Ruger is just as good and a hell of a lot cheaper to build or purchase in a new rifle, and I suspect Ruger will be the first .404 company in years with the 404 Ruger thats on the drawing board, and a cinch to put together on a std. Mauser, FN, or M-70..I have built two of them so far." - Atkinson.

So with this, the RUM would work, but I don't think Ruger mfg the RUM... at least in LH, that I have found.

Searching found this thread in Big Bore Forum. If others are interested, lots of material At the end are 3 more Links regarding the .404 Jeffery.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/3520442/1

While the MKII would make a nice light 404. If I was going to build one I'd grab a CZ action and go from there. One of the easiest ways to go.

thank you sir!... If I can find an LH CZ I will use that path. Right now, no one seems to have any in stock. -- David.

Honestly I can't see building a 404 unless going with a fairly classic big bore rifle build and that's going to be based on a 98 mauser or commercial variant and it won't be cheap or easy.

If on the other hand you simply want a 40 cal to launch 400 gr bullets 2200-2400 fps, I'd forget the 404 and go with a 416 Rem mag or 416 Ruger. You'll get exactly the same performance on game, but brass, dies and component bullets will be easier to find and less expensive.

I say this after having embarked on the 500 Jeffrey journey. The more exotic the chambering the more difficult and more expensive the package. If you're looking for a level of performance not available with more common chamberings or have a nostalgic itch to scratch, so be it. But if you're looking for a hunting rifle, a 40 cal 400 gr pill leaving the muzzle at 2400 fps is going to do the same thing to game no matter what parent action or what configuration your brass.

I would rebore a 375 RSM if I had to use a Ruger donor. You would probably have a nice factory stock and would have excellent sights.

Why not just have MRC build one for you?

Imagine that. Recommending a 700 for a dangerous game rifle. With the bolt handle falling off, the extractor failing and the trigger being all f----d up. That would cause someone to get killed just for thinking it.

Who suggested a rem 700 for the build? That guy has a few screws loose...

Read the second post from the OP. "A Winchester model 70 or Rem 700 in 300RUM would be a perfect donor" I thought my eyes were screwed tight, but do need new glasses.