I have never heard of a chamber problem with the NO.1, only with the 77, and I believe some of them had short chambers, and that is fixable...

404 barrels can come in .418, .424 and .423 so unless one stipulates it is possible to get a different bore size and many of the old guns like the 10.75x68 had a .424 bore size...best to slug and chamber cast the old guns..Allways a good practice....

As to the recoil factor of the .404 being mild of recoil, that was simply by the fact that the original loads were a 400 gr. soft at 2000 to 2100 FPS depending on barrel length...thats a sweet load and a decent killer of DG...but crank that puppy up to 2653 in a 26 inch barrel with 95 grs. of IMR-4831 and it will drop all your dentures and/or fillings.

The 404 is my choice of all the DGRs in a bolt gun..It has served me well and in some cheeky spots and it always came through, thus I have confidence in it, and thats what counts...I shoot it well from all field positions and never give recoil any thought, something I could never quit so with my 458 Lott or especially my 505..I could shot them both off my hindlegs standing up, but put me in a compromising position and they hammer the crap out of me, thus I always had to think "don't flinch, squeeze the trigger" before I shot, something I don't have to do with a 404 or 416..Bottom line is I know my limitations ....