8x68
AH fanatic
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- Mar 1, 2015
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This is what I have experienced so far with my 4o4 (Stainless Win M70 375H&H parent rifle, installed 25" Lilja barrel, 1/14" twist)
The slower you shoot heavier bullets the more accurate they seem to be....at least in my rifle.
Hornady 400gr DGX, 73.9gr's of H414, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 1.25" group. Avg vel 2205fps std dev 56fps
Hornady 400gr DGX, 75.3gr's AA4350, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 1" group. Avg vel 2005fps std dev 22fps
*Hornady 400gr DGX, 77.8gr's IMR4350, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 0.75" group. Avg vel 2127fps, std dev 9fps
*most accurate load
*Woodleigh Weldcore 400gr RNSP, 77.8gr's IMR4350, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 0.50" group. Avg vel 2038fps std dev 13fps
Woodleigh Weldcore 400gr RNSP, 82.2gr's IMR4350, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 1.40" group. Avg vel 2208fps std dev 6fps. Group could of been less than inch but I clanked the last shot.....most irritating!
Woodleigh Weldcore 400gr RNSP, 80gr H4350, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 0.90" group. Avg vel 2111fps std dev 24fps
*most accurate load so far.
I still have some loads to test but I'm thinking that results are going to be similar. My rifle seemed to handle Woodleigh bullets the best.
Disclaimer: These results are from my rifle and are for informational purposes only. Individual results may vary.
Good articles on 404 Jeffery:
http://www.buffalosafaris.com/documents/The404Jeffery.pdf
http://www.allaboutguns.net/404_Jeffery.html
This was posted in another forum in 2011". I just copied and pasted so spelling and grammar are not my doing LOL.
"A friend of mine bought a Ruger M77 in this calliber and we worked up loads for it using H4350 , IMr4350 Rl15, And one other powder which can't recall off hand(just check notes and it was IMR4064, RL15 was a better choice). Using 400 A - frames. 2300 fps seemed to be the pressure/velocity cut off for for this bullet and the various powder combinations. We didn't try RL17 but I would think it might be a good powder for this round. Bullets for this round are very stout construction and can cause pressure variances between brands. The H4350 loads topped out at 85.0gr with a Fed 215 primer. Rl 15 was maxed at 78.0 gr (we had 40-50fps velocity spreads with this powder, It doesn't fill the case as well and I suspect ignition was erratic). Since velocity and pressure in the same cartridge in the same rifle are directly related and given my limited shooting of this round I would call a nominal 2300 fps with any 400 gr bullets a max load. Keep a careful eye on pressure signs, base dimension changes are a little more reliable than primers or case stretching.
I like RL17 and have used it in many cartridges with great results the starting loads in most cartridges are almost the same as IMR 4350 but the top loads will not be! I have had more velocity with no pressure increase. In my 300 H&H I have a strain gage for my RSI pressure system and it gives 65-75 fps increase over IMR4350 at the same pressure. The peak pressure moment is longer but no higher. I have foound that IMR 4007 performs similarly to RL17 in other cartridges.
A word of caution about the slow/4350 type or slower powders, Do not reduce the starting loads too much. Some serious overpressure events can occur. It is not as much a problem in large bore cases with heavy bullets as it is in smaller bore large capacity cases.
Hope this helps. Have fun with your rifle. The 404 is a lot of fun to shoot.
A lot of the membership on this site have probably seen this already but I'll post it again. I'm shooting my 404 offhand. Yes it hit my glasses on the left side somehow.
The slower you shoot heavier bullets the more accurate they seem to be....at least in my rifle.
Hornady 400gr DGX, 73.9gr's of H414, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 1.25" group. Avg vel 2205fps std dev 56fps
Hornady 400gr DGX, 75.3gr's AA4350, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 1" group. Avg vel 2005fps std dev 22fps
*Hornady 400gr DGX, 77.8gr's IMR4350, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 0.75" group. Avg vel 2127fps, std dev 9fps
*most accurate load
*Woodleigh Weldcore 400gr RNSP, 77.8gr's IMR4350, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 0.50" group. Avg vel 2038fps std dev 13fps
Woodleigh Weldcore 400gr RNSP, 82.2gr's IMR4350, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 1.40" group. Avg vel 2208fps std dev 6fps. Group could of been less than inch but I clanked the last shot.....most irritating!
Woodleigh Weldcore 400gr RNSP, 80gr H4350, Fed 215 primers, Hornady brass = 3 shot 0.90" group. Avg vel 2111fps std dev 24fps
*most accurate load so far.
I still have some loads to test but I'm thinking that results are going to be similar. My rifle seemed to handle Woodleigh bullets the best.
Disclaimer: These results are from my rifle and are for informational purposes only. Individual results may vary.
Good articles on 404 Jeffery:
http://www.buffalosafaris.com/documents/The404Jeffery.pdf
http://www.allaboutguns.net/404_Jeffery.html
This was posted in another forum in 2011". I just copied and pasted so spelling and grammar are not my doing LOL.
"A friend of mine bought a Ruger M77 in this calliber and we worked up loads for it using H4350 , IMr4350 Rl15, And one other powder which can't recall off hand(just check notes and it was IMR4064, RL15 was a better choice). Using 400 A - frames. 2300 fps seemed to be the pressure/velocity cut off for for this bullet and the various powder combinations. We didn't try RL17 but I would think it might be a good powder for this round. Bullets for this round are very stout construction and can cause pressure variances between brands. The H4350 loads topped out at 85.0gr with a Fed 215 primer. Rl 15 was maxed at 78.0 gr (we had 40-50fps velocity spreads with this powder, It doesn't fill the case as well and I suspect ignition was erratic). Since velocity and pressure in the same cartridge in the same rifle are directly related and given my limited shooting of this round I would call a nominal 2300 fps with any 400 gr bullets a max load. Keep a careful eye on pressure signs, base dimension changes are a little more reliable than primers or case stretching.
I like RL17 and have used it in many cartridges with great results the starting loads in most cartridges are almost the same as IMR 4350 but the top loads will not be! I have had more velocity with no pressure increase. In my 300 H&H I have a strain gage for my RSI pressure system and it gives 65-75 fps increase over IMR4350 at the same pressure. The peak pressure moment is longer but no higher. I have foound that IMR 4007 performs similarly to RL17 in other cartridges.
A word of caution about the slow/4350 type or slower powders, Do not reduce the starting loads too much. Some serious overpressure events can occur. It is not as much a problem in large bore cases with heavy bullets as it is in smaller bore large capacity cases.
Hope this helps. Have fun with your rifle. The 404 is a lot of fun to shoot.
A lot of the membership on this site have probably seen this already but I'll post it again. I'm shooting my 404 offhand. Yes it hit my glasses on the left side somehow.
