Greetings!

To what pressure can a norwegian Krag M1894 be loaded to? I have heard that the Krag-action is weaker than the Swedish M96 but who much weaker?

Can I shoot standard factory ammo in it without risking something?

There are a few 6.5X55 experts on the web.
One of them has a site called the House of Karlina. Another is Mats Perrsons.
As I recall Norway and Sweden cooperated in the standardization of the round so it should be safe in both rifles.
Frank de Haas' book "Bolt Action Rifles" indicates the NK action had the guide rib bearing on the receiver as extra locking lug and was made of better materials and heat treat than the US Krag. I think it is the US version you have to be careful with.
Mats Weapons Page

Karlina

Sorry I do not know much about the NK but I have only seen one in my life. I would much prefer the NK to the US version.

The 30/40 American Krags are meant to run in a max pressure range of about 40,000 PSI...

I load a 6.5 x 55 Mauser as well as for an American Krag...

If you don't need to push the limits on it, a 160 grain RN ( over in Europe, you guys use 156 grainers I believe)... with a load of 30 grains of RL 7 ( which is made in Sweden by Bofors) will give you about 2200 to 2300 fps... and will be below the max pressure for the Krag...

Actually, I would love to get my grimy little mitts on a Norwegian Krag! To be a twin to my American Krag...

My American Krag, turns in some very unbelievable tight groups with a 190 grain Sierra Match King at 200 yds ( like 2/5 to 3 inch groups with a crossed eyed shooter, and open sites, with a Lyman Peep site on it).... MV is about 2100 fps

Thanks a lot guys!

Yep those loads seems nice. Found the 160 grains Woodleigh PP, should work fine to, has at BC high as the sky! (Well almost).

Have my eyes on a Krag M1894 "Langkrag" in mint condition, it will make a nice "unionbrother" to my M96 Mauser

Warning!!!!
The pressure limits for the Krag and Swedish mauser are different.

Loads for Krag

Start 156 grains Norma 40 grains of N160
Max 156 grains Norma 42 grains of N160

Start 144 grains match king 42 grains N160
max 144 grains match king 43,5 grains N160

Just read my notes about the loads that I've used in my NK. Here's some of the info that I have:
IMR information indicates 42.5IMR4350 w/140gn bullet at about 45400cup.
SAAMI @ 46000 Norma factory 51000
Speer indicates that their loads in book are up to 50000. Their max load is 44 IMR4350 w/140gn bullet.
Nosler lists 43 gn IMR4350 at max with 140gn bullets
Hornady lists 41.4gn IMR 4350 as max w/140gn bullets
Fired two Norma factory 156gn. No problems.
Loaded 140gn bullets with 36,37,38,39,40 gns IMR4350 with no problems.
Settled on 40gn IMR4350.
This information is from my notes. My notes do not reflect any specific source information (reloading manual version for instance). Check everything for yourself.
I really like my Krag. I believe that it's actually a smoother action than my Mannlicher Shonauer.
Enjoy.

I live in Australia and have ready access to the very high quality Woodleigh bullet range.

They have been swamped with demand for their 6.5x55 projectiles.

Whist this question is a little off the thread, what have shooters experiences been shooting Woodleighs . The view in Australia, is that in this calbire ( and certainly in .308W) they make a very potent combination.

quote:

Originally posted by Swedish Mike:
Greetings!

To what pressure can a norwegian Krag M1894 be loaded to? I have heard that the Krag-action is weaker than the Swedish M96 but who much weaker?

Can I shoot standard factory ammo in it without risking something?

The Norwegian Krag may be weaker than the Swedish Mauser, but not much! It is made of far better steel than we used in the U.S. Krags, and there is one GREAT difference - the U.S. Krag has but one locking lug, but the Norwegian Krag has TWO functioning locking lugs - one on the head of the bolt, as does the U.S. Krag; AND the massive GUIDE RIB on the Norwegian Krag's bolt, which actually locks up against the front face of the receiver bridge (unlike the U.S. model in which there is clearance here). That engagement is quite large, and the bolt/guide rib is a massive hunk of steel.

IMO, the Norwegian can stand the pressures of either Norwegian or Swedish service ammunition, and comparable handloads. In my Norwegian Krag, I used 46-47 grains of old original H4831 with 140 grain Sierra Gameking bullets, MV was between 2700 and 2800 FPS. The load depended on the particular lot of powder being used, as all loads were worked up to from below. If you do the same and work up your loads, you should have no problems. For the 140 grain bullet, I would use either H4831 or RE22...... Accuracy was good, and this load performed well on big NM mule deer!

I would NOT use ammo developing 50K PSI in either a Swedish Mauser or a Norwegian Krag!

The working pressure in Norwegian Krag is 2800 bar (40600 psi).

The AV with a 144 grains bullet should be around 2450 f/s