For sale 500 Jeff Sterling Davenport

[AZDAVE]

Good afternoon,
After a lot of soul searching made the decision that this years elephant hunt I will use my double.
This is a fantastic 500 Jeffery built on a Mauser Banner action, set up as a single stack feeding is now being put on the market.
I purchased it from a AH member last year. I am using the pictures from that sale as they a 1000 percent better than I can do.
I have put 50 rounds through it and feed perfectly and is balance perfectly. The stock is a thing of beauty and the checkering is
among the best I have ever seen on a rifle The only difference from the original pictures is one that has the current spacer and pad
to get it to my 15 in LOP. I have the original pad that has it at 13 3/4 in LOP.

Asking $9200 delivered to your FFL.

 

[krish]

Beautiful Rifle.
GLWS.
KRISH

 

[Green Chile]

Ahhh my old rifle. It is beautiful and feeds well. Let me add to the description and a bit of Sterling history….

It utilizes the NECG slide in front sight so there are multiple options for load development, it will come with a solid brass bead, and a brass bead with flip up ivory. It has a single blade, checkered traditional flag safety, what appears to be 24 LPI mullered border checkering.. Pachmyar pad that shows some wear and black ash stains from the scorched earth where one would be in pursuit of buffalo or elephant. It has a few dings and has clearly been hunted, I would grade the wood at 90%, metal is perfect. The most unique feature of this rifle is Sterling Davenports rendition of a lipped center feed 3 shot design capacity with fixed coffin type bottom metal held in place by his renowned engraved allen head action screws. The combination of Mauser CRF extractor with a center feed lipped design provides 100% reliable, smooth as silk straight up the tube function. No hitchs, no dinged cases or dented shoulders, no bullet tips angling in and getting damaged while chambering, he was truly a master.


Here are the details of the rifle:

24" Barrel

11.2 lbs, mercury recoil reducer professionally installed

13.75" LOP

History of Sterling Davenport

Sterling Davenport retired from the US Navy after 20 years’ service in 1975 at the age of 40. During his stint in the Navy, he was trained as an aviation metal smith and while stationed at Pearl Harbor, he did light gunsmith work for Honolulu Sporting Guns. Finding his work well accepted, when he retired he attended the 10-month gunsmith program at the Colorado School of Trades for Gunsmiths, graduating with a job as a gunsmith with Harry Lawson Custom Gunmaker in Arizona. During his next 20 years, Sterling showed his own work in shows such as the Safari Club and others where the talents of the American Gunmakers Guild members were displayed. It was at one of these shows that Paul Roberts of Rigby examined Davenport’s work and hired him to build bolt rifles for Rigby under the Rigby name. Sterling said that Roberts would supply the barreled actions and the wood and Davenport would take it from there. His first firearm finished for Rigby had such exquisite and fine checkering, that Roberts complained that it was not of the Rigby style. From then on, Sterling finished the stocks and sent them to London for Rigby’s checkerers to finish, which used smaller patterns with coarser checkering than the work that Davenport did. For Rigby, Sterling used BRNO actions for the magnum action and either FN or Pre-64 Model 70 actions for the standard length cartridges. He said, “The BNRO forged Magnum action was as good as it gets… the more renown Oberndorf Mauser Magnum action is really no better, just more in demand and short in supply.”

Davenport figures he only made about 60 rifles under his own name; this is truly a rare masterpiece in one of the most sought-after calibers for the magnum actions.

 

[Wildwillalaska]

What a gorgeous rifle.

 

[Dakota300]

Good afternoon,
After a lot of soul searching made the decision that this years elephant hunt I will use my double.
This is a fantastic 500 Jeffery built on a Mauser Banner action, set up as a single stack feeding is now being put on the market.
I purchased it from a AH member last year. I am using the pictures from that sale as they a 1000 percent better than I can do.
I have put 50 rounds through it and feed perfectly and is balance perfectly. The stock is a thing of beauty and the checkering is
among the best I have ever seen on a rifle The only difference from the original pictures is one that has the current spacer and pad
to get it to my 15 in LOP. I have the original pad that has it at 13 3/4 in LOP.

Asking $9200 delivered to your FFL.

Serious beautiful rifle!

 

[AZDAVE]

@Green Chile thank you for all the additional information. you rock my friend.

 

[Nevada Mike]

Good luck with the sale, Dave.

 

[Wildwillalaska]

Sure wish someone would jump up and take this gorgeous rifle so I can stop looping back to lust over it. I was pretty set on finding a Gibbs or building one, even maybe just ordering one from Heym after talking with Chris Sells. Then I keep seeing folks singing praise of the 500 Jeffery when feeding is properly set which this one seems.

@AZDAVE, when you get time, could you share what the thickness is of the original pad you took off? I don’t need 15” LOP but would like 14.25” which might proof achievable with a slightly thicker pad without a large spacer. Also, how’d it shoot accuracy wise for you? Know it’s a rifle that will be shot off hand as much as sticks, but it’s still an important issue for me personally. Just haven’t kept a rifle in last couple decades that I can’t at least load to shoot ragged 3-shot holes. For a dangerous game rifle designed for close quarters, certainly don’t expect .5 MOA 5-shot groups at 100 yards, physically impossible for me with iron sights, but important enough I have to ask.

I expect the darn thing likely shoots lights out given the maker.

Cheers. And still hope someone speaks up for this thing before I talk myself into it or AZ decides he wants a Dakota 416 Rigby impartial trade…lol.

Will

 

[Altitude sickness]

That is a rare and beautiful rifle. However buys it Is a lucky man.

 

[AZDAVE]

@Wildwillalaska It had a 3/4 in pad on it for the 13 3/4 LOP is you get a 1 1/4 pad you would be at your desired LOP. and yes it will shoot ragged 3 hole groups as long as the shooter is capable. I have shot it with 525gr 570gr and 600 gr bullets and it shoots them all one on top of the other. I have a custom 416 rigby so don't need another one. along with a couple wildcats in 416, and a double in 500/416 so have the 416 cal covered.

 

[AZDAVE]

If you talk yourself into it. We can discuss selling some reloading supplies to go with it.

 

[Altitude sickness]

These don’t come up for sale often

 

[buckstix]

Sterling Davenport built wonderful rifles. He is now retired and will be building no more - a big loss to the Big Game World. Is the single stack feeding 1 up and 2 down?

 

[AZDAVE]

Big loss to custom builders. One in the chamber and two in the magazine.