Just got through paying for my No.1 300 H&H and can only afford to buy one more No.1 for the time being.I want to buy either a .303 or a 30/40 Krag. Decisions, decisions.Your thoughts please.

They are both pretty close from a ballistic standpoint, so I guess it boils down to which direction your nostalgia meter swings. If you plan to use it on plains game in Africa, then the .303 brings visions of "empire" and all that. If you plan to reload, the .30-40 could share bullets with the .300 H&H. It certainly has it's own brief military history with the Spanish-American War. Maybe a coin toss?

There is some forum talk that the 303 No1 may be a factory option next year, perhaps for a limited while anyway. If so, maybe the Krag now and the 303 next year. Or both and lay-away!

Cheers, Chris

I agree with Bobster - it's a coin toss! More bullets available for the Krag, would be the chief practical advantage.

But you can't go wrong either way. Just a couple of superb old cartridges.

And as they are both rimmed, either one will be perfect for a falling block like the No. 1.

30-40 AI

Perfect for a strong action.

Easy hand reamer work--

Case (and action) are capable of "Magnum pressure " loading.

Factory round fire-form in chamber.

Large bullet selection for reloading--etc.

The range of bullets available for the Krag is as good as it gets. I have the impression .303 brass is more readily available (the Krag brass appears to be seasonal). Both are classy cartridges.

The #1A in .303 British is on the market NOW.

Lipsey's is distributing the rifles, and they say they're getting "a few" from time to time. (This info received on Friday, July 16). My name is on the list, but they can't give me a delivery date...it's a case of sit back and wait.

I have high regard for both the .303 and .30-40, and the two cartridges are very nearly identical in performance. I used the .303 extensively on Canadian moose in my early hunting years, and it never failed to kill them stone-dead. I might just take this upcoming .303 #1 hunting in Alberta next year (along with my #1 .416 Rigby with cast bullets).

The #1 in .303 is long overdue!

I'd just enjoy the 300 H & H that you just finished paying for! The 30 Krag and the slightly more powerful 303 will just disappoint by comparison.

If you wanted a powerful similar diameter "heritage" rimmed cartridge to your 30 Krag or 303 British I'd look at the European 8x57JRS or even 348 Winchester?

In fact a Ruger No1 in 348 Winchester would surely be a fine "heritage" and practical weapon for hunting virtually everything in North America?

quote:

Originally posted by enfieldspares:
I'd just enjoy the 300 H & H that you just finished paying for! The 30 Krag and the slightly more powerful 303 will just disappoint by comparison.

If you wanted a powerful similar diameter "heritage" rimmed cartridge to your 30 Krag or 303 British I'd look at the European 8x57JRS or even 348 Winchester?

In fact a Ruger No1 in 348 Winchester would surely be a fine "heritage" and practical weapon for hunting virtually everything in North America?

I say get both, no matter when or how.

The .303 Brit has the "African" heritage, and to me, the .30-40 Krag has the "Townsend Whelen" heritage.

When Townie went for an extended hunt in British Columbia just after the start of the 20th century, he carried a .30-40 Krag in an 1885 Winchester ("Hi-Wall"), and that was the ONLY rifle he carried on that hunt if I remember correctly. Still, he killed everything B.C. had to offer in those days, and loved the rifle and the cartridge.

I plan to take my own advice when we get moved to Cave Creek AZ in about 3 weeks.

The .303 will replace my original side-lever Dan'l Fraser single shot .303 which has never extracted fired shells properly, and the .30-40 will be a surrogate for the rifle Mr. Whelen carried.

Now, if like EnfieldSpares I can be permitted to wish for another round in a classic mode, I'd want a Ruger No. 1-S in the forerunner of the .348 Winchester, the .33 Winchester. It uses the much more common .338 bullets from a necked-down .45-70 case, and has more history too....was originally chambered mainly in the Model '86 Winchester rifle.

But I'd take a .348 if the .33 wasn't made available. You betchum Red Ryder!!

quote:

Originally posted by enfieldspares:
I'd just enjoy the 300 H & H that you just finished paying for!

I agree with the above. If you are after a lot of different Ruger singles in many calibers then I guess the .303 would be easier to get ammo and brass for than the .30-40. But if you only have a .300H&H and you want a second single I would go up or down significantly. For example, you might consider .375H&H or 25-06 as useful complements to a .300.

If you just have to have another one, I vote for the 303. Classic Brit round in a Brit style Rifle.
I too have a #1 in 300 H&H and dearly love it. I don't see a need for me to buy another #1. This one does it for me.

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
When Townie went for an extended hunt in British Columbia just after the start of the 20th century, he carried a .30-40 Krag in an 1885 Winchester ("Hi-Wall"), and that was the ONLY rifle he carried on that hunt if I remember correctly. Still, he killed everything B.C. had to offer in those days, and loved the rifle and the cartridge.

Thats what I use!

30-40 only for the larger variety of bullet choices. Or .303 if you like it more.

The biggest drawback of the 30-40 Krag is that at least Remington brass is to much undersize. I think modern 30-40 chamber specs is i bit larger and has less freebore than the original specs making matters worse. I'm necksizing and the pressure ring gets so marked that I havent dared going past the third reload of 308 win level loads in my brass.

There seems to be a shortage of soft point 303 bullets in the correct original shape and the (only) three weights that the calibre was ever offered in: 150, 174 and 215 grains.

Norma used to load, for Kynoch, a 150 grain true spitzer shape and the 174 grain was always also spitzer shaped. The 215 grain was a blunt round nose.

If I had a 300 H&H in a No1 then I would want something a little different, something with a larger bore.

I would think about a 9,3x74R, 405Win, 45/70, or maybe even a 450/400.

I already have a .405

Get the .303B. It is a classic cartridge recognized world wide. The 30-40 Krag is virtually unknown outside North America.

Just purchased a .303 British in the Ruger No. 1A. Very good wood. "AGAIN" Ruger indicated they were making a run of only 250. My .303 is a joy to shoot off the bench. Very little felt recoil off the bench.

Ehg5640,Are you useing open sights? What type of groups do you get?

If you are not careful you can wind up with a .303 chamber that is very different from the ammo leading to short case life. Not exactly a preferred combination.

I would go with the 30-40 Krag. And I have been giving strong consideration to buying one. The only thing that has held me back is the wood. I do not mind paying a premium for premium wood. But they are charging a premium price without(IMO) the premium wood. I have looked at about 15 of the 30-40's so far. And one had really nice wood but it was sold. And a second one had decent wood, but nothing spectacular for the extra price. So I am still keeping my eye open.

I want the 30-40 because with the longer neck I think it would make a spectacular cast bullet cartridge. Almost the ultimate in 30 caliber for cast bullets. Tom.

As has already been said, there are more easily obtainable different bullet weights for the Krag. But if you do not handload, the .303 is now available in one of those light magnum or super high power factory loads with a 150 grain that is nearly as hot as a .30'06 and runs way ahead of the Krag.

I have an SMLE in .303, so I've been looking for an excuse to get a Krag. Preferably a strong single-shot to run it up to .308 pressures, or more likely rechamber to the Ackley Improved version.

Ackley did a fair amount of work wildcatting the Krag, and other early wildcatters ran it to what have to be ridiculous pressure levels (see Practical Dope on the Big Bores as well as Ackley's Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders). I'd like to play with the 30-40 AI, and it'd be a good general purpose hunting round, too.

But I think I want a longer barrel for my Krag single shot. Cimarron sells an Uberti High Wall in 30-40 Krag.

Steve

I bought a couple Siamese Mausers when you could buy them for about fifty-bucks at gun shows. They make a neat Krag, in any caliber.

Imagine the fun you could have with the Uberti with its' 30" barrel, in the PG DST version...

Rich

I have a Ruger No 3 in .30-40. It has No 1 wood in near exhibition quality. The wood adds a little weight and sure makes it nice to look at. With the range of bullets available in 30 caliber, this is the caliber I would choose if having to buy again. Besides, the .303 brass is usually good for only 1-2 reloads in an SMLE I think he .30-40 cases last a lot longer. I don't care what the rest of the world uses, I'll use my 30 calibers.

Regarding Townsend Whelen's first hunting/exploring trip in B.C., this took place from July 1901 until late fall, when Whelen and his companion had to leave due to the onset of winter.

On that trip Whelen's rifle was a Winchester 95 in .40-72 Win. caliber, which he wrote was "too reliable to relinquish for a high-power small bore".

His companion, Bill Andrews, carried a Winchester 94 in cal. .38-55. Whelen wrote, "I loaded ammunition for both rifles myself, with black powder, smokeless priming, and lead bullets." They took 300 cartridges for each rifle. He wrote, "Both rifles proved equal to every emergency".

Whelen wrote an article about this trip which was published in the Dec, 1906 issue of Outdoor Life under the title "Red Letter Days in British Columbia", from which these quotes are excerpted.

Near the end of the article he wrote, "Both our rifles did mighty good work. The more I use a rifle the more I become convinced of the truth of the saying, "Beware of the man with only one gun." Get a good rifle to suit you exactly. Fix the trigger pull and sights exactly as you wish them and then stick to that gun as long as it will shoot accurately and you will make few misses in the field."

Still sound advice 110 years later. I believe Whelen made other hunts in B.C. and may have used a .30-40 on a subsequent trip. But on this first trip, which he called "the hunt of a lifetime" he had his Winchester 95.

quote:

Imagine the fun you could have with the Uberti with its' 30" barrel, in the PG DST version...

Rich

I know! Gives me chills just thinking about it. And they look great, too. Though I prefer the look of the single trigger pistol-grip rifle. I like the High Walls with the Double set triggers when they have the enormously high cheek pieces set up for Scheutzen (like the CPA Stevens 44 1/2's).

I sure hope my new company's IT department isn't monitoring my time on buffaloarms.com and singleshotrifle.com.