Well, based on the Obscure Hunting Caliber thread and some of the other treads, I have decided that I am going to carry my old 30/40 Krag out in the woods for Bear this year.

Made in 1898, it has a 1950s vintage Lyman Peep site on it. It is one of 5,000 carbine versions made, with a 24 inch barrel. With 168 grain, 175 grain and 190 Grain Sierra Match bullets it will give 3 inch groups at 200 yds pretty consistently.

Loaded up some 220 grain Round Noses for it tonight, and also some 220 grain MatchKings.
If the bear is not too big, I might just take a shot with the Matchking to see what all the ARGUING on here is about.

Velocity is going to be about 1900 fps. Range will be less than 100 yds. In Oregon we have a lot of black bears, the trick is finding them since they banned hunting over bait or with dogs.

In the past have used a 7 x 57 with a 154 grain Round Nose at about 2400 fps.

All of us who are getting old, have to prove that something old can still do a decent job.
With a second elk tag this year, I just might even carry it for Elk.

Everyone wish this 105 yr old Rifle a good hunt this year. ( the "kid" carrying it is only 51, so he has a lot of time left in him, ( he hopes))

I have a krag of the same age group. I have do dought that it well do the job. No matter what bullets you use. As long as you put them in the right place. I old hunter around hear used a krag with fmj son not to ruin much meat killed his deer evry year with it. Use the MK's you well be surprised.

I have always wanted to find a Ruger # 3 in 30/40 Krag. Figured it would make a very handy little deer package with the right handloads.

seafire
Sounds like a good plan, you just feel good hunting with a rifle like that.

Crowrifle
A hunting buddy of mine bought a 30/40 Ruger No3 about 24-25 years ago. He used 308 loading data. With the 165 Sierra HPBT Gameking [they did not call it the gameking then] his No3 shot groups the size of my thumb nail at 100 yards [it was scoped]. It was a very good rifle.

I've never loaded for or shot a 30/40, but from the loading data given in various loading manuals, it looks as if it can be loaded to be at least equal to the .300 Savage, and almost as powerful as the .308, and I doubt that there's a huntable big game animal species native to North America that hasn't been taken successfully numerous times with the .300 Savage.

I do understand that the Krag-Jorgensen rifles were not especially strong, having only one locking lug, so one shouldn't try to push one's luck by making hot loads for it.

[ 08-27-2003, 05:27: Message edited by: LE270 ]

Seafire, I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures. In case you might be interested, author Ross Seyfried wrote a fascinating article on hunting and handloading with the .30-40 and the .303 British in "Rifle Magazine" March/April 2000. In that article, he recommended the Hornady 220-grain Roundnose for the .30-40 and the Woodleigh 215-grain Roundnose for the .303 for virtually identical performance.

His powder of choice was Reloder 15, without qualification. He suggested that loaded to about 2,100 feet per second, these were outstanding elk loads and would give virtually identical penetration to a .300 Magnum loaded with a Barnes X or Failsafe bullet.

This is also the historically successful hunting load that gave both cartridges such outstanding reputations as penetrators and game-getters at a time when there was a lot of game for the getting.

After trying several powders this morning ( played a little work "hookie") I have settled on the load for this season in the Krag will be a 180 grain Speer Round Nose loaded up with a mild 30 grains of IMR 3031. Recoil with 3031 was substantially less than with 4895 or 4064 or RL 15 or W 748. Velocity is about the same tho according to the reload manuals. I have not chronographed it yet, but should be in the 1900 to 2000 fps range.

Recoil is much like a 243.

P 17, I must admit, I never cared much for the British SMLEs in 303. It has nothing to do with the cartridge tho. I think it and a Krag are pretty interchangable. Too bad the old 215 grain RN was canned. I recommended 303 bore bullets to someone at the range that had a out of spec bore on another Krag. The 312 bore did the ticket!

Load data can be similar to a 300 Savage, but I use the Starting load data. Almost all of my reload manuals have tons of data on the Krag.
Owning several 30/06s and a 300 Mag, along with several 338 Mags and a 338/06, I have no reason to try and soup this rifle up at all.

Thanks for the responses. If I and the rifle are lucky, I will post the results.

seafire,

Have no fear that .30-40 Krag will handle any black bear that has ever walker in Oregon. Same goes for elk. Have fun and hang on to that Krag, I wish I had the one the father of a close friend had. I have never found one in good enough shape to be worth buying or one would be in my safe now. Lawdog

LawDog:
Gary, this rifle is definitely a nice find. Paid $200.00 for it. Found at a local gun shop after the original owner passed away and his wife took the gun down to sell it.

Actually it is one of 5,000 carbines made, and I found out its value is $1800.00 or more.

However, I won't get rid of it in my life. I hope my son grows to have an appreciation for it, or I will line up someone who will and give it to them.

The load I made for it chronographed at 1900 fps, and that is fine for 100 yds. Went out in the woods and kicked up a small bear this evening. However, it was definitely BooBoo. Not big enough to waste a shot on, figure it was a year old or so. Hope it is a good omen!

seafire, it's too bad you never developed a fondness for the British SMLE. It's ugly. It's crude. It can't be customized too much. And it works. Really works.

It may be the slickest, fastest bolt action rifle in the world. It also has what is probably the toughest most reliable detachable box magazine in the world. I mean, this magazine could be loved by even those who hate detachable mags on a rifle.

Accuracy has never been its strong point. These days I shoot the Parker Hale "sporterized" SMLE that my dad bought when I was a kid. It has a 20-inch barrel and a Monte Carlo stock, and I played a bit with the bedding, using sawdust and epoxy as a bedding compound. Many would consider my father's rifle no beauty, but in my book beauty is as beauty does. And with a decent handload and a Hornady bullet, I can get groups of 1 inch at 100 yards on a fairly routine basis.

That's more than good enough for an old warhorse, in my opinion

I think that five military calibers of beginning of 20th Century vintage, or even a bit before then for some of them, are essentially equal in power and performance, given bullets of the same weight and composition: the 30/40 Krag, the 303 British, the 7.65 Mauser, the 7.7 Japanese, and the 7.62x54 Russsian.

The U.S. 30/06 is more powerful. The .308 Winchester falls between that group of five and the 30/06. The .300 Savage is another that is essentially equal to those five, but, to the best of my knowledge, was never used as a military caliber. The 7X57 and 8X57 are a bit less powerful than the 30/06, maybe essentially equal to the .308.

I doubt that there is a huntable animal in the world that would notice the difference in any cartridge from this list, given reasonable distances (say 200 yards or less) and appropriate bullets, loaded to max or near max levels.

[ 08-28-2003, 09:28: Message edited by: LE270 ]