Are there many other members on here that have any interest in the Old 30/40 Krag rifles and cartridges?

I have one made in 1898 that is a military carbine version, and for being 106 yrs old is amazingly accurate.

Just wondering if I am walking a path alone or are others still interested in this old cartridge?

Cheers
seafire

I did have a 30-40 Krag, it was a Bannerman cutdown. They made it in to a carbine. I traded it off last May. The old Krags are about the slickest action you can find, to bad they are not a bit stronger. How ever the 220gr @2200fps will still take any game animal in North America. It was a true speed demon when it was new. A flat shooting match round to boot.

Your 1898 carbine should be a joy to shoot and to carry in the woods.

Hog Killer

really not a bad cartridge at all.
The Krag rifles are really quite weak, extra brittle.
Most of the one floating around now are just wall-hangers.
Occasionally you will find one that still works and shoots well.

-Spencer

They are real shooters. With 45 gr of 4350, and
the 180 rn bullet you will get around 2300 fps
and good accuracy. If you want to plasy around
a 40 ge .224 bullet with a sabot will give 3500 fps with 40 gr of 4198. It is a neat rifle that will kill anything you want it to. besides it will only go up in value.
Enjoy!

I'm planning on a new Encore barrel in .30-40. It is the road less traveled but that suits me just fine.

You bet! I love Krags, and not just the U.S. kind. I once had a Norwegian. And, unlike the U.S. Krag, the bolt guide rib of the Norwegians actually locks against the receiver bridge, as a second lug, making them a lot stronger than the one-lug U.S. variety. In addition, the Norwegian Krags are made of a lot better steel than U.S. Krags, and they are properly heat-treated, too! I've never heard of a cracked lug on a Norwegian Krag!

In addition, I have a Ruger No. 3 in .30/40, which is an entirely different proposition altogether. The .30/40 case is very strong, and has a greater powder capacity than the .308 Winchester, permitting loads that are pretty impressive in a No.3!

However, the U.S. Krag and the M95 Win. in .30/40 are very good hunting rifles. When the .30/'06 first came out, there were a lot of people, including Elmer Keith, who thought the .30/40 was a better killer of large game thatn the '06. And it was at that time! But the reason was that these old boys were shooting .30/40 Krag bullets in the '06, and the bullets weren't tough enough to stand up to the increased velocity! Penetration was atrocious.

You'd think Keith would have known better, but maybe he hadn't caught onto the need for better bullets in the '06 when he was a young cowpoke! Later on, after he'd declared the .30/'06 only "fit for jackrabbits", he refused to change his evaluation (for fear of looking silly??)


Here's a group I shot with the No.3 (Lyman 4X AA scope) @ 100 yards with 50 grains of IMR 4350 behind a Hornady 170-grain .30/30 bullet. Vel = 2500 FPS @ 10' from muzzle. This rifle also does well with 200-grain Nosler Partitions and IMR 4350, and 220-grain Sierra RN using WW 760.....

I just rescued my brothers krag from him. He should be ashamed of how he treated it! After an extensive clean-up, I discovered a rifle under the crud! It's a carbine that's been altered so much there's no value in it. The rear sight is gone, in it's place are some sort of dovetail blocks. Apparently a scope was once on it. There's a little peep sight on top of the bolt.

He used it for woods deer hunting back in the late 50's to early 70's. It accounted for several deer.

I can't stand to have a rifle that I don't handload for, so off to a gunshow I went! I was lucky, I found a brand new set of lee dies,(3 die set included a FCD), an original box of 180 grain coreloct rem.,( have to be 30 years or more old), a bag of 50 brand new winchester brass. I've got some loads ready, but thae weather has been normal, we just got about a foot of snow! So much for outdoor shooting for a whaile.