Rebarrel a BRNO 602 to .404 Jeffery?

[CoryTheCowboy]

DISCLAIMER: NOTHING IN THE FOLLOWING POST HAS TO DO WITH NEED, THIS IS ALL ABOUT WANT (and maybe cabin fever setting in early)
Good day folks,

I have an ugly old BRNO 602 in .458 Win Mag that came to me in...misrepresented condition. I repaired the broken stock and have tried to sell it, but no one is interested. I used it to shoot a black bear a couple years ago (and it worked). I look at it everytime I walk into my gunroom and think it deserves to be hunted, and in it's current state of dress, you could do it without feeling bad about bringing it out.
The only issue I had with it, and I think it's a relatively common issue, is that the short Win Mag case in that great big magazine will occasionally cause jams. When I loaded 350gr TSX way out, or 500gr bullets, it was better, but with the stubby 350gr Hornady RNs, I'd frequently have an issue.
Now, I know the easy button is to get it rechambered to a Lott or Ackley, but I feel like then I'd lose the history and romance, and if I'm being honest, I like cartridges with a bit of history.
While I don't ever plan to hunt internationally, if there's ever been a cartridge with history, in my mind it's the .404 Jeffery
I'm well aware that a .404 Jeffery is completely unnecessary in NW Ontario, but then again, so is the .458 Win Mag.
I understand that the .404 was a factory offering in the 602, so I'm assuming that it's a do-able job, but does anyone have any suggestions on who can do the work? Or does anyone have any arguments against the conversion that could overpower my want with facts?

Thanks,
Cory

 

[DGY]

Yeah totally a good idea, I will support you morally during the process!
While you are at it may as well do it right and get a new stock made….
What about the guy that did your Ruger #3?
There is a smith that would totally do it, https://www.facebook.com/GunsmithCalgaryAB/
I contacted him regarding my 458 win mag.

 

[Potashminer]

Ha! There was an old saying about "Great Minds" and I think it included something about "Fools". I also got rid of my 458 Win Mag rifle - I still have some reloading stuff and some 510 grain Super-X factory ammo here. Currently working to make a 416 Rem Mag - no real reason for that thing, at all, where I live - maybe stopping gravel trucks or similar. I say "building", but the thing has been sitting like a year - a "gunsmith school" project 416 barrel that was threaded with those funky square threads for an Enfleld P14 action, chamber is mostly reamed out from something else that was belted and shorter - I do not think that barrel had been mounted or fired when I received it. 400 grain Woodleigh bullets on hand and new Hornady brand brass on hand - just gotta get a surge of gumption and finish the thing. A "not finished" stock for it and a Boyd's laminate stock for it. My target weight for it is like 12 or 14 pounds - I understand these boomers like to "kick" - is a smaller Leupold 2 1/2 power "ultralight" that will eventually go on that action - so sort of set up for 75 yard work.

 

[boxhitch]

edit- editting out my bs

there was someone in Kelowna a couple years ago that built a bolt 404 Jeffrey, maybe he'll read this post and chime in
neat cartridge, no belt, easy to load for B.C. hunting
watching for your project