I know that the Norwegians had the Krag in 6.5x55. But I have a sporterized barreled action U.S. Krag in 30/40 and I want to rebarrel it and chamber it in .26 caliber based on the .30/40 case.
I know that there are different .25 Krag (Ackley's) but what about a .26? Anyone ever hear of or are doing this themselves?

Haven't done it, but I've thought about it given the success of the .25 Krag AI and the inherent accuracy/good bullets for the .264.

I'd be interested in how it goes if you do it.

I've got a Shilen .264 barrel from a project where I did something different and a bunch of Krag brass from a single shot project where I ended up going 45-70. I've toyed with building another single shot in .264 Krag AI, but right now, I'm leaning towards my original idea of a .30-40 Krag AI.

British aligned countries necked their 303 up and down into all kind of configurations. This sounds very close to the 6.5-303 or 6.5 Epps.

I might be wrong but is'nt the 6.5 JDJ a 30-40 case necked down and blown out a little?

I chambered a Ruger #1 in 6.5/303 Epps for a friend. Here is some fireformed brass from my test firing. He hasn't got it up and running yet. Still has to mount sights. I can't wait to see how it does.

I have an 1898 Krag action also. Trying to figure out what it needs to be.

Roger

There are already a 6,5x57R and a 6,5x65R,,all loaded by RWS.
What would be the idea to do a .264 cal wildcat on the 30US rimmed?
There are ofcouse also the factoryloaded 6,5x58R Krag, which were made here in denmark around 1928.
If one want to do a special...have a 6,5x68R made up.... Rare cartridge, but has been factoryloaded once.

quote:

I might be wrong but is'nt the 6.5 JDJ a 30-40 case necked down and blown out a little?

Running from memory but I believe the 6.5JDJ was based on the 225Winchester which I believe was built from the 30-30.

The most common JDJ rimmed family is sourced from the 444 Marlin. You have to go through SSK Industries to get the official JDJ name. The generics skirt this by just going by ???x444.

@Jens - unfortunately, anything RWS based over here would practically be the same as a wildcat.

Here's the 6.5 JDJ case dimensions:


here's the 30-30:



I'd have to say it was made from the 30-30 case, but here's the 225 case:



Depends on whether you can size the solid portion of the 225 case down a thousandths or not.

quote:

The most common JDJ rimmed family is sourced from the 444 Marlin. You have to go through SSK Industries to get the official JDJ name. The generics skirt this by just going by ???x444.

Well my memory was OK. The 7mm and smaller JDJ were based on the 225W larger on the 444. Stole this from the SSK site.

SSK has chambered well over 200 calibers in the Contender. The most popular are the JDJ series which exist in almost every caliber. JDJ cartridges give the highest ballistic performance in each caliber consistent with safety, long gun life and exceptional accuracy. The most popular are the 226, 6 mm, 257, 6.5 mm, 270, and 7 mm JDJ which are based on the very strong 225 Winchester case. The 309, 8 mm, 338 #2, 358, 375 and 416 JDJ are based on the very strong 444 Marlin case. The 6.5 uses 120 grain bullets at 2400 FPS, the 309 uses 165s at 2400 and the 375 uses 220s at 2250, 270s at 2100 and 300 FMJS at 2000 which gives plenty of penetration to take elephant (in 1984 19 elephant were taken with the 375). The 257 gets up to 2900 FPS with an 85 grain to make it the most effective long range varmint caliber for Contenders, and the same load is excellent for whitetail and antelope.

Here's the Marlin 444 case:

That one is called the 6.5 Krag or 6.5 x 30-40 Krag.

Case wise it would be a relatively simple, straight forward necked down of the 30-40 case to 6.5 cal...NOT to be confused with the 6.5x58R Krag-Jorgensen which is a different, slightly larger case...

As far as the rebarrel is concerned I've never played with a Krag action so I would talk to a gunsmith and find out what is entailed in the chamber/barrel work.

The Krag receiver is rated at ~40KCUP so you would have to be careful in the reloading.

The down side is the 30-40 case...there are several much better and presently available cases that would work much better...the 260 Rem, 6.5x444. There are many 6.5x444 Encores out there and it is a popular wildcat...

You might check with CH4D and PT&G to see if they have dies and reamers before getting too enthusiastic.

The 6.5 cal is an excellent one to pick, but I would keep the Krag a Krag and go with a modern action in 260 Rem, buy the cheapest Savage and an aftermarket 260 barrel or pick up a M96 6.5 Swede...it will be cheaper in the long run. ALL those components are available and relatively cheap compared to doing a custom military conversion.

I'be been wildcatting 50 odd years and unless you just want to get beat around continuously or throw all your money down a rat hole, buying a factory shooter is ALWAYS the cheapest route.

Luck on your project.

Tone doesn't really come across, I wasn't trying to "score".

Another wrinkle, a quick check of Midway and Grafs show Krag brass as seasonal, currently unavailable in either Win or Rem offerings. But, 303 Brit gets you cheap PRVI brass.

Ultimately, Foobar probably has the right idea.

quote:

Originally posted by wookie76:
Tone doesn't really come across, I wasn't trying to "score".

Another wrinkle, a quick check of Midway and Grafs show Krag brass as seasonal, currently unavailable in either Win or Rem offerings. But, 303 Brit gets you cheap PRVI brass.

Ultimately, Foobar probably has the right idea.

http://www.precisionreloading.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?

http://www.bluestarbrass.com/catalog/ofrbrass.htm this is once fired

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti...30-40%20Krag%20brass

http://www.auctionarms.com/sea...m=10024439&oh=216543


There's nothing wrong with PRIVA brass and by the way Winchester doesn't make all it's own brass in certain calibers....example of one is 7.62x54R.

Sounds like it would make a good cartridge for a contender if pressures were kept low. With a 20 inch barrel it would be a hell of a truck gun. DW

After reading this and not to hijack the thread, but has there been a 7.62x54r necked down to 6.5?

quote:

Originally posted by ikesdad:
After reading this and not to hijack the thread, but has there been a 7.62x54r necked down to 6.5?

YES! roger

quote:

Originally posted by ikesdad:
After reading this and not to hijack the thread, but has there been a 7.62x54r necked down to 6.5?

Mosin Nagant Vostok 6.5x54R Olympic Winter Games Biathlon rifle

Fifty years ago there were a lot of .30-40 Krag rifles around and 30-40 ammunition and brass was plentiful. Several wildcat cartridges were made up on the Krag case for use in re-barreled military rifles and, because of the rim, chamberings for single shot rifles. Cartridges have been made in just about every caliber possible with a Krag case from 17 caliber on up.

Krag brass is getting harder to find and for that reason alone you might consider using a wildcat on the .303 case (like the various Epps versions) or the 7.62x54R case.

If you want to go down this road, use a Ruger #1-A to build a 6.5X53R Dutch & Roumanian - Aka THE ".256 Mannlicher". It is not a wildcat in name only. It is a classic African round that was superceded by the 6.5X54 Mannlicher Schoenauer. It has been left an orphan due to the lack of Steyr 95 Dutch actions.
On the other hand you could just buy the current Ruger #1-A in 6.5 Creedmoor and cut a rim recess for the appropriate .444 brass.....

Or rebarrel the #1 RSI