Ken,

I have been interviewing gun people on the .404 Jeffery/10.75X73 cartridges -- .404 Jeff for short. I say cartridges, because there appear to be more than one of them. The recent threads on Accurate Reloading got me interested, and a fascinating email from Tom Burgess in response to a post I made there really got me interested in writing something for African Hunter. I have been searching the Internet for reference material, and also interviewing knowledgable people via email (and on the telephone for those without).
There are several references to European standard and American standard for the .404 Jeff.

I know of your experience with designing cartridges on the .404 case, but what about the parent? What is your history there?

thanks...jim dodd

The .404 Jeffery isn't alone in this regard.

All the major and even a few minor American factory cartridges have European counterparts as far as "official" dimensions are concerned. The United States has no governmental authority setting "official" dimensions for our cartridges. Our SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute) is a function of the member manufacturers.

The Europeans have CIP (Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes � Feu Portatives) in Li�ge, Belgium.

SAAMI's cartridge and chamber dimensions are set by the originating company (.260 Remington by Remington, etc) or the American company loading European cartridges, and adopted by SAAMI -- not established originally by any single American authority following rigidly set rules or principles.

As a central authority with stricter rules and principles, CIP establishes standards that often produce dimensions that don't match the American dimensions for the same cartridges. The differences between ours and theirs are usually more obvious (in the numbers) than substantial ("in the flesh").

Ken,

Thanks for the favor of a reply.

I have found bullet diameters of .418", .421" and .423"; two versions of the shoulder angle; and three different primer types and sizes (which is more understandable) -- and maybe a migration in the CIP standard from the early days to the cartridge version we see today.

I have a contact at Norma in the works, likewise one at the Birmingham Proof House; can you suggest a contact at Ruger who can discuss why they announced .404 Jeff rifles but did not bring them to market? I have one source who says that Ruger used A-Square data for chambering, but pulled the rifles when Kynamco ammunition would not chamber.

Thanks again...jim dodd