Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Tell Me About The 404 Jeffrey

DF: We should all be lucky enugh to own what Tom Burgess could do to an Enfield....

I never did buy that rifle Bob. I have a .375 H&H on a Dakota 76, and if I decide to build another big bore I'll likely go JBs way of thinking and do a .416 Rem M-70 in a McMillan.

I have been very tempted from time to time though.

http://www.safarioutfittersltd.com/RiflesPage40.htm

I need to be REAL careful when I read threads like this one....

I clicked on that link. Super .404 J., and not a bad price for what you get.

DF

Yeah. You're right. Found this on line, with the caption, "Ultimate Enfield" by Burgess. I need a .404 Jeffery that looks just like that...

DF

That looks similar to the Montana Rifle and the CZ. I'm pretty sure you can get a Montana in .404 Jeffery for about half, but it won't be XXX Walnut.

good looking rifle and all but why start with a 1917 if your gonna change it that far? if i want a gun thats gonna look like that might as well start with a Winchester....

DF: That is nice!A beauty! You don't see them every day! Where is that one listed? Is it a 404?

Rattler, there are things you can do to an Enfield that you can't with a M70....a 404 may not be one of them, but for certain cartridges the bigger action was pretty much all they had to work with, true magnum Mausers being sorta scarce.It would just handle larger cartridges better than an M70. Back when Burgess did work like that,there was not the availability of actions that there are today for the bigger cases, so people remodeled Enfields.

About 5 minutes spent with Burgess metal work and you will not be wondering "why".If he were alive today, he would still rank among the best.





Doug: We both screwed the pooch on that Winston Elrod 404J...we ain't too bright. I handled it at Cabela's;it had some weight, but when you threw it to your shoulder it went completely "neutral",like many nicely stocked customs.It would be really hard to replace that rifle for what they were asking.



I just got an interesting email from a prominent custom rifle builder who read this thread; about a wildcat that has made the rounds over on AR:turns out this builder was working with it quite awhile back,and its a 375H&H round necked up...don't know all details but looks like the taper is left in the case,will work through a pre 64, or Classic M70, or Rem 700 375H&H action,and give a 400 gr bullet 2150-2200 fps with little to no modifications to the rails for function/feeding which the H&H round is noted for anyway.....Sounds pretty nifty....Mmmm

if you were going to a 505 i could understand.....not so sure on the 404.....guess im just a fan of the 1917 more or less as it sits so it makes me hard to see the point of turning it into a Winchester....not the quality of the metalwork im questioning, im sure its top notch and worth every penny, its the styling that i personally see no point in....

rattler yes I understand.Still is a swell hunk of metal though.....

I found a '50's vintage Weatherby .300, built on an Enfield action. The rear receiver bridge was milled for a Beuhler adjustable base, and wouldn't fit std. bases. It had aftermarket trigger, nice bolt handle alteration, a beautiful blue job and a vintage Balfor scope, the one with no internal adjustments. They are asking $550. If any of you guys are interested, I'll send photos and the number of the gunshop. It's way too uphill for this project.

I can get a Montana barreled action in .404 J for $1,100 blue, $1,300 SS. Sights would be extra.

I have a lead on a M-70 in .300 RUM with Nikon Bushmaster scope for $750. I don't what the scope would bring on Ebay, as I wouldn't keep it. A .404 barrel would be another $500 fitted.

With a M-70/clone, I'm thinking about a McM Express stock for $450 or so from Rick. I can do the bedding myself.

Thoughts...

DF

DF- From a purely economic standpoint, the MRC bbld action seems like the way to go. However, smiths around here don't like them much claiming they are very rough and need quite a bit of work to make serviceable. Which translated into $$. Myself, I don't like the bolt handles or bottom metal on mod 70's/MRC's, so would have to do something different there too, all adding up. I'm trying to build a 416 Ruger myself, and would like to use a Mod 70, but these issues keep creeping up.

Sold my Super Express M-70 .375 H&H, bought the Win SS M-70 .300 RUM, donor gun, for $700 plus $25 shipping. Gun and scope look to be near mint.

By the time I sell the scope, rings, bases, Tupperware stock, and take off barrel, the action should be less than $400. The gun looks almost new and I would bet the barrel is mint. Will check it with the Hawkeye borescope and if it's as good as I think it is, I'll offer it on the Wire Classifieds.

I'm looking for a SS .423" barrel. Someone mentioned Walther and they do list .404 barrels with 14 twist. Any experience with them or with .404 J. barrels in general?

DF

The MRC barreled action in SS is $1,300, the blue, CM version, $1,100. They want another $800 to do NECG express pop up rear sight, banded front sight and barrel band sling stud. All equipped, you're looking at $2,100 just for their SS Safari barreled action.

I believe I can build a very similar set up for less, without giving up quality. I'm looking at $1,200-$1,300 with sights for the barreled action, plus $450 for a McM Express stock from Rick. Doing the bedding myself, $1,600-$1,800 all up. MRC's completed rifle with synthetic stock is $3,700. And I'd rather have the McM Express than their Pendelton synthetic.

With a Walther barrel, or equivalent, a good Steelbed job by me in a McM Express stock, I think mine would run with theirs, may give it a real chase. And, I think it would look as good. The McM Express stock, IMHO, better looking than their stock.

IMHO, of course.

DF

Dirtfarmer.....I have a Walther barrel on my 9.3x62. This is only the second rifle that I've had done. This is also the 1st Walther barrel. I happen to like it quite a bit. It seems quite smooth and shoots nice tight 3 shot clover leaf groups. When I get the parts for my .375, I'll probably use another Walther in the H&H contour.

PacNor is 14 weeks out. Walther is 6 weeks out.

Some gunsmiths complain about Walther barrels being hard on reamers. Their stainless LW50 steel is reportedly pretty tough.

I'm ordering an LW50 SS Walther #1450 contour (about 3.5#), 23", chambered for .404 J, threaded for a Std. CRF M-70 with sporting crown for $477.

The Walther tech guy told me that the new FN M-70's have metric threads. My gun is pre-FN with the old style M-70 trigger.

By having Walther do the chambering, the only thing my gunsmith needs to do is tweak the shoulder and adjust head space, which he'll do for <$50.

DF

I do like the Mcmillan handles. I think brown or mcwoody w/ a red pad is skookum. But..............IMO the forends are too long. That's the only thing holding me back and pushing me toward wood. Even though wood is gonna be quite a bit more expensive.

Wood, especially high quality wood, is more attractive and more in line with the classic, vintage English Express rifles. Good quality synthetic is very functional, however, and much less expensive.

I had a nice conversation with D'Arcy Echols. He was returning my call requesting info on his Legend stock. He took his time and we had quite a discussion.

I concluded, with his help, that maybe I don't need express sights. He and I agreed that as our eyes age (he's younger than I am) iron sights become less useful. We older dudes have to depend more on the right optics.

I'm thinking about using the Echols Legand stock and a slick SS barrel. That will save around $4-500 without giving up a lot, other than style points.

DF

DF: Good move...you will like D'Arcy's stock.

I like the way they look. I saw the 9.3 that Phil built on a M-70 action, using a Legend stock.

At first, I was thinking the Legend was a bit straight for iron sights. D'Arcy told me it was designed for scopes, but one could still use tall iron sights.

By going without iron sights, the Legend is back on top of the list. It will take more work, as the bolt handle and loading port recesses aren't cut, but that shouldn't take long to do. Also, I think I'll have to cut the stock and mount a Decelerator, but I can do that. And, I'll have to paint the finished work, but I can do that, too.

The McM Express comes with a lot of that work already done and is a very nice stock. IMHO, the Legend has sleeker lines and to me, it's worth the extra effort.

DF

Gunner500 sold me a very nice walnut stock, all ready to go for the M-70 action. I'm going with walnut for the time being.

Will post photos when I get it.

DF