.404 Jeffery vs .458 Winchester Comparison

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Only 404Jeffery.

 

[EfRed]

Woodliegh reloading manual has this to say
"When, first designed, the barrel specifications called for a 0.410" bore with a 0.418" groove diameter firing a 0.422 bullet. The chamber throat was designed to size the bullet down as it entered the rifling." Apparently this design was soon changed in favour of the bullet matching groove size.

As a side note Woodleigh FMJ's have a fairly thick steel cup and are .0005 to .001" undersized.

...and Woddleigh caution not to use their .423 bullets in a .418 bore....

 

[Professor Mawla]

Both are exceptional calibres . However , I personally prefer the .458 Winchester Magnum . A 500 grain .458 calibre bullet possesses a greater sectional density than a 400 grain .423 calibre bullet . The former bullet , when being propelled at a velocity of 2100 feet per second ; possesses far greater stopping power than the .404 Jeffery ( aside from punching larger wound cavities into the vital organs of game animals , it also delivers a greater amount of shock to the central nervous system of the animal ; provided that the velocity is adequate ) . The .404 Jeffery might possess greater penetration , but a properly loaded .458 Winchester Magnum penetrates more than acceptably enough .

To answer your specific question , let us access how the .404 Jeffery and the .458 Winchester Magnum would perform with 400 grain bullets . The .423 diameter 400 grain bullet of the .404 Jeffery possesses a far superior sectional density than the .458 diameter 400 grain bullet of the .458 Winchester Magnum .

Even though I exclusively use 500 grain bullets in my .458 Winchester Magnum ( being an ardent believer in the heavier-for-calibre philosophy ) , this article does speak quite highly of 400 grain bullets in the aforementioned calibre . Perhaps , it may interest you .

 

[Rule 303]

Thing to remember with the larger diameter, same weight and construction bullet. I might come out faster but it slows down quicker. So thought the 458 might have a Muzzle velocity advantage over the 404J it slows down quicker. I guess at 458 ranges this will not be a problem, start stretching the range say greater than 200mts and it may be a problem.

 

[Rule 303]

...and Woddleigh caution not to use their .423 bullets in a .418 bore....

Can't say I blame them

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Members , as always it is great to see how passionate us hunters are about our rifles .There are so much still to be discuss about the different calibres and comparison of different rifle calibres ...I would not try to compare a 404 Jeffery to a .458 Win Mag calibre at all. The .458 calibre was design to shoot a 500 gn bullet at close quarters on thick skin dangerous game animals, and stop a close up charge of an elephant, buffalo or lion....in the hands of a skilled dangerous game hunter or PH it has no rival in it`s class.

The 404 Jeffery has a much smaller diameter bullet, it was design to shoot with a 400 gn bullet. It is a hunter`s calibre , designed to give a hunter the opportunity to be able to hunt thick skin plains game up to thick skin Dangerous game like buffalo , rhino, and lion . It is a great buffalo hunting rifle if you up the grain of a soft or solid bullet to 450gn ( Dr. Kevin Robertson) . In the hands of a skilled PH /Dangerous game hunter it can be used to effectively hunt Elephant bulls with it... I would not consider using it to hunt tusk-less cow elephants at all...
Do not compare these calibres to shoot /hunt with further out than 80 meters at all..it was not designed for longer range hunting at all...

The .500 Jeffery is the only big bore calibre known to be very accurate out to 250 meters...I want to test this theory in the near future..

 

[Badboymelvin]

Hey guys,

If I personally had the choice I'd choose the .458 over the .404

History has proven that they both work but the .458 is my favourite caliber and I just prefer it over the .404 - just like I prefer Ford over Holden and the colour black over the colour pink.

I have loaded the 300gn at over 2600fps and up to the 550gn at just under 2100fps so I believe the .458 is a bit more versatile than many people give it credit for - and that 550 has hard!

So, my choice is the .458 just because I like it better, not because the .404 is lacking in any way...

Cheers,

Russ

 

[colorado]

I would go 404 Jeffery if I didn't have a 375 H&H. If I did I would jump right up to the 500 Jeffery or 505 Gibbs. No slam on the 458s, just don't see the point in stopping halfway if you have a 375 H&H already.

 

[John Tanuwidjaja]

You wouldn't play golf with only 1 club! Hunting is no different. Get both and have fun!!!

I did! They both have their pros & cons.

 

[Forrest Halley]

The .458 is not a difficult cartridge to reload nor is it difficult to obtain. There are inexpensive practice bullets available. It also fits in my .458 Lott.
For these reasons I choose it over the Jeffery.

 

[RayAtkinson]

The 458 got a bad rap with the factory ammo early on...Handloaded its a good caliber for any DG.

That said I much prefer the 404 or 416 on all DG, simply because they work for me better than the .458 Win. for a number of reasons. If I needed more I used the 450 gr. Woodleigh in my 404 at 2500 FPS in the 26 inch barrel Mauser with iron sights for DG..It never failed me and killed fast as anything else..I used the 470 500 and 505 Gibbs and they were no better with proper shots with all of them and on buff, Hippo, elephant the ranges are short enough for about any big bore..I never needed anything larger than the 404 or 416..