Fast powder loads/bullet choices for the 30-40?

[arlon]

I just got a bunch of brass for my Krag (.308 groove dia.) and have been looking for a good fast powder bullet/powder combination. Not sure why but it seems every load I see is a 311291 or 311284 with powders in the 4195-4895 range. I'm sure someone out here has wrung out a Krag with faster powders. I have a supply of unique, clays, red dot, blue dot, etc. I have a number of 30 caliber molds. Just curious if anyone else has been down this path. Twist rate too fast for the little 115 gr "soup can"?

I'm just interested in paper punching from 50-200yards, Maybe the odd 500yd shot at steel just for entertainment.

[GhostHawk]

Don't have a Krag so I have not played with one.

But my Mosin's like the Lee .312 185 gc with 10 to 13 grains of Red Dot.

My .30-30 adores the little Lee .314 90 Truncated cone sized down to .309ish over 4.6 grains of Red Dot. Great close in load. In my Win 94AE the sights are right on at 25 yards. Just the ticket for rabbits, grouse, etc. Quiet too.

[Gewehr-Guy]

Arlon, I'm sure you can find accurate loads with all those powders listed, just lots of shooting and testing. I would start with about 8 grains of unique and red dot and your favorite bullet and shoot a 10 shot group, by the time you work your way up to around 10 grs I'll bet you will find a good load. My current favorite Krag load is 9 grs. Herco and a plain base 175 gr. bullet, Ideal 311403. On a good day it will shoot 1.5 in. at 100 and about 3.5- 4 inches at 200, but at 200 it is starting to become unstable. these loads are pleasant to shoot and cost only 4 cents apiece when I reuse my lead. I have not tried it yet ,but I would think the little Lee bullet would make a wonderful small game load out to a hundred yards or so. Anyway, it looks like lots of fun is headed your way, keep us posted with your results.

[Kosh75287]

Try 9.0-13.0/Unique/115 gr. "Flying Soup Can", as guidelines for load work-up. Top velocity should be in the neighborhood of 1800 f/s. The twist on the Krags appears to be 1:10". I don't know off-hand if that will stabilize the 115 gr., but higher velocity (more r.p.m.) might be your friend, there.

[arlon]

Arlon, I'm sure you can find accurate loads with all those powders listed, just lots of shooting and testing. I would start with about 8 grains of unique and red dot and your favorite bullet and shoot a 10 shot group, by the time you work your way up to around 10 grs I'll bet you will find a good load. My current favorite Krag load is 9 grs. Herco and a plain base 175 gr. bullet, Ideal 311403. On a good day it will shoot 1.5 in. at 100 and about 3.5- 4 inches at 200, but at 200 it is starting to become unstable. these loads are pleasant to shoot and cost only 4 cents apiece when I reuse my lead. I have not tried it yet ,but I would think the little Lee bullet would make a wonderful small game load out to a hundred yards or so. Anyway, it looks like lots of fun is headed your way, keep us posted with your results.

I'm sure I can find that load that's going to work for me. I was just hoping that someone had already narrowed it down a bit. (-:}
I don't mind experimenting.

I'll probably start with the soup can as it's done really well in my 30-06, maybe it will do the same in the Krag. Guess I'll just have to go burn up some powder.

[Maineboy]

I've done quite a bit of cast boolit shooting with my Krag and as you mentioned, most of it has been with heavier boolits. However I have shot quite a few Lee "soup cans" and a few Lyman 311008 plain base boolits through it as well. My best groups with the Lee boolit and Unique powder have been with charges of 10 to 11.5 grains. I only have one load with the Lyman boolit, 6.4 grains of Unique, which will do an inch to an inch and a half 5 shot groups at 50 yards all day long. The "soup can" loads are even more accurate. My Krag is not very fussy. It has shot nearly everything I've put through it very well and it is my favorite cast boolit rifle.

[BCB]

I may be the only one who shoots cast boolits in anything, except handguns, who does not prefer the fast burners in the bottle neck cartridges!!!...

I simply have always had better accuracy with slow burners which fill the case. I shoot powders that are too slow for the particular cartridge I am shooting—basically, just fill the case—although that may IS NOT be good advice unless you are very familiar with a particular powder…

These types of loads are, for the most part, very inefficient with the percentage of powder that gets burnt, but I seem to get better accuracy. Might be getting the boolit moving a bit slower rather than slam it and the pressure peaks in the first 0.1 to 0.4 inch rather than 1.7”. This is an example for the 220 grain boolit I am shooting in my 30-40 Krag…

Plus, to get the same or nearly the same velocity with the fast burners, I am always heading near a maximum pressure. Most of the time, I can’t get the same velocity at a safe pressure…

This has proven true in my 6.8 SPC, 30-30 Winchester, and 7-30 Waters. Although smaller cases like the 6.8 SPC tend to not necessarily follow that rule…

So, I’ll take a “too slow for the cartridge” any day of the week…
(This may not apply to a light boolit such as the soap can)

But the way, you might want to ask the same question on the following site. They may be able to help also as it is Krag specific. (Don’t mean to direct anyone away from this site)

http://www.kragcollectorsassociation.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?board=ammunution_board

Good-luck…BCB

[arlon]

I just got a 5lb jug of Blue Dot for cheap so that is going to be the powder I'm going to be looking to use first.

[Outpost75]

The ten-inch twist of rifling in the Krag will stabilize #311299 or #311284 at subsonic velocity without the GC.

Try about 6-7 grains of Bullseye or TiteGroup, 7-8 grains of W231 or WST or 8-10 grains of Unique or Herco.

[arlon]

The ten-inch twist of rifling in the Krag will stabilize #311299 or #311284 at subsonic velocity without the GC.

Try about 6-7 grains of Bullseye or TiteGroup, 7-8 grains of W231 or WST or 8-10 grains of Unique or Herco.

Have both of those molds. Have 231 and bullseye. At the opposite end of the spectrum I have lb Accurate 8700 I might try too.