Does anyone still load the 30-40 Krag??

I always thought a Ruger #3 in 30-40 Krag would make a great little deer rig. Anyone know where I can find one?

They show up in the Gun List paper pretty often. I was inquireing because Shiloh is make a carbine 1853 chambered for the 30-40.

I still shoot a carbine that is an exceedingly well done conversion to sporter. I only shoot cast bullets in it anymore and as some of the older Lyman designs were specifically for it, it shoots them quite well. Grand old guns they are and actions as smooth as a school marms thigh!

Telly

I hunt with a #4 Lee Enfield I rebarreled to 30/40 years ago. It is accurate and I load it heavier than one would an original Krag. 180gr bullets at 2600 and 220s at 2320. Last elk I shot with the 220s hit the ground so fast he bounced!
In the winter 125 TNT at 3000fps are an effective coyote round.
I have a bunch of rifles but I use this one more than any other.
I always planned to build myself a No1 in 30/40 but never have gotten around to it. I built one on a Siamese mauser but though it looked pretty good and shot well, feeding was problematic and I never was happy with it. Regards, Bill.

I load for a Ruger No. 3 in .30/40 Krag. This rifle shot under 1" right out of the box with a Lyman All-American 4X on it, despite the forend band arrangement, which I understand does give some people problems. It is also very accurate with the Lyman 31141 cast bullet, and the 170-grain Hornady .30/30 bullet loaded with 50 grains of 4350. This load shoots under 1" at 2500 FPS MV. It is an excellent short-range deer load. Using a couple of Bob Hagels's WW760 loads from RIFLE Magazine No. 48, this rifle will shoot a 200 grain Nosler Partition bullet at over 2600 FPS and a 220 grain over 2400 FPS, with excellent accuracy and no signs of excessive pressures whatsoever. These velocities could be improved upon using H205 powder, which gave even lower pressures, but, of course, H205 has long since disappeared from the market!! I guess the performance of this powder was just too good to keep it available!!

The .30/40 is a very strong case; I have loaded some over 10 times, and they show no signs of wearing out yet. I believe both Ackley and Elwood Epps in Canada were able to duplicate factory level .300 H&H Magnum performance using P14 Enfield or single-shot actions and both .30/40 Improved and .303 British Improved cases.

[ 02-27-2003, 18:31: Message edited by: eldeguello ]

Bill Leepr, last year in the GUN LIST, there was an outfit that listed a special run of Ruger No.1A's in .30/40. Can't remember which company had them, though! I sure would like one also!!

I shoot a Ruger#3 in 30-40 and I love it! It works well with just about anything I put in it.
I also use the 170gr 30-30 bullet @ 2500fps .....it's awsome, like they were hit with Thor's Hammer! It likes the 180 gr cast bullet out of the Lee mold.
I've restocked it with a Bell&Carlson synthic #1 stock, all I had to do was open up the barrle channel (easily done w/a broom handle and sand paper). I've got other guns, but when I go hunting this one gets the call!

I always loved the old Krag rifle in 30-40 Krag caliber...I had one in my youth that I traded a bike for...

I could dump a handfull of cartridges in that old gun faster n heck and it shot great with the old iron sights..It was slick as goose grease...It killed like the hammer of Thor with those old 220 gr. soft points and would shoot through a mesquite tree and thats no light praise....

I still have a soft spot for those old Krags...I shot a buck on the trail facing me at 75 yards up hill and very very steep, he tipped over and down he came flopping and behind him came another, the second one got me That bullet had penitrated them both lenthwise and whizzed on up the trail towards Mexico with a loud ricochet...

Yip, got a sporterized carbine. Not the original barrel, but was put on in the '30's. Had a gunsmith rework the issue trigger to a single stage. Last three round group at 100yds was 1.3". Love that krag and still use it.

Atkinson Dittos on that. I still have mine. One of my treasures. I don't shoot it much anymore, shame on me. I just load 220 gr Hornaday RN at around 2400 fps. I have never had to shoot more than once. Spent a lot of happy days in the Long Poles an cedar swamps with that rifle. I even collected a few elk moose and a bunch of deer with it. It's something to think about, that a Nation State would issue such a fine rifle to its troops, for general use. Ok it was maybe not the best battle rifle ever made, but dam it had to be one of the finest crafted ever issued. Not like the plastic fantastics they use today. Then again maybe it was because men knew what a rifle was suppose to be and appreciated it. To think that those rifles are over 100 years old now and they are as perfect as when they left the armory , at least the ones that have been taken care of.

Hi guys.

I still shoot 2 rifles chambered for krag. One is a model 98 krag, and the other is a 95 win. src. Love them both and both do well with 220grn.

turfman