Hi
I own a 24v savage chambered for 3030/12 and wondering if it is possible to rechamber it to 30-40 krag? these two cal�ibers are low pressures(3030 and 3040). do m 24 witstand the 3040's pressure or 3030 ackley improved is better choice?
regards
Danny

Dan, they should but why ruin a good old firearm.

I shoot a 30/40 Krag, and would not see a lot of practical gain. If push comes to shove with Win748 powder you can load a 30/30 to 30/40 Krag speeds. I have loaded a 30/30 using a 220 grain round nose in a 30/30, with 35 grains of W748 and got a velocity of 2100 fps. In a lever action the bullet is seated deeply, to clear the 30/30 lever actions shot opening when feeding.

This essentially duplicates the 30/40 Krag. Plus brass for the 30/30 is easier to find. With the Savage 24F, you can even load spitzer bullets, so why waste time on the conversion?
No practical gains I can see

hi Seafire
I was concerned about 220 grain@2100fps. Do you can acheive this kind of preformance in 3030 0r yours is Ackley improved chambeing.how many PSI this load can develope? I do load in spitzer typefor all my 3030s(my two and sons win 94 too)and it preforms much better"more accurate" than blunt noses .
best regards
Danny

Danny:

that load was worked up in an older 30/30 ( 1966 vintage).

I have no pressure listing equipment to test it on. It is very accurate but the recoil is noticably stronger than a regular 30/30 load.

The 30/30 brass is not all that strong, but my way of testing a load for pressure is to take five pieces of brass and load the same 5 a total of 5 times and compare how stiff or loose progressively the primer goes in. One this load the primer was as stiff going in as the first time.

Some armchair theorists on this board will be quick to jump on this load and scream You can't do that! Or their other favorite about screaming since this is not in a reload manual, you must be about ready to blow up your gun and your soul to hell with a load like that.

I have just found that with W 748, in that style of case, similar to a 223 ( IMHO) builds low pressure compared to other powders. So this was an educated guess that was slowly worked up and tried in an older rifle that would have a weaker action than newer stuff. I was happy with the results.

The need arose when someone I know wanted to hunt bear and elk and all he had or was able to afford was a 30/30 at the time.

In my 30/30s, I have also found that my most accurate loads are slower powders. Such as H4350 or IMR 4350, or 4831s. Their velocity is in the less than 2000 fps range, but they give some impressive groups out of my 3 different 30/30s at 50 and 100 yds.

For those armchair theorists, this is just my experience that I am passing on. If someone wants to use it, fine. If they want to complain about it, don't use it.

Some people think pointing the "accusational" finger at everyone else is what justifies their petty existence, and I don't really have the time or interest in every listening to them.

Good luck if you try it Dan!

Tom P:

A full house load on a krag is more like a 300 Savage than a 308.