"The Load" and .30-40 Krag

I have heard of the "The Load" and am interested in loading some for some milsurp bolt action rifles. I have Mosin, 1903, 03A3, M1917, and .30-40 Krag.

My confusion is, if you Google "The Load" you come up with a number of hits, with slightly different info about the .30-40.

One says it is great in .30-40 Krag. Another says only for 1898 Krag rifles. Another says only for cases LARGER than .30-40.

So what is up?

And if not "The Load", what reduced charge, similar load is good?

My club shoots various matches, all at 100 yards, where I can shoot these various rifles.

Thanks.

By the guy that knows (i.e., original author/Harris):

The Load" has shown complete success in the .30-40 Krag, .303 British, 7.65
Argentine, .308 Win., 7.62x54R Russian, .30-'06, 8x57 and .45-70
(strong-actioned rifles such as the 1886 Winchester or 1895 Marlin -- 12 grs.
is maximum for 400 gr. bullets in the Trapdoor Springfield -- Ed.) Though I
have not tried it, I have no doubt that "The Load" would work well in other
cartridges fitting these parameters, such as the .35 Whelen, .358 Winchester,
.375 H&H or .444 Marlin, based on RCBS and Lyman published data.
https://castbulletassoc.org/forum/th...ns-of-red-dot/
http://guns.connect.fi/gow/ed.html

With a Sierra/150gr SP, it's about 35ksi in a Krag

That 13 grains of Red Dot always seemed kind of hot to me, I'd start with ten or eleven grains.

RCBS Cast Bullet Manual #1
30-40 Krag, model 1898 , 21 " barrel , RCBS #30-180-SP-GC , sized .309.
Red Dot - starting load : 11.0 grs. @ 1430 fps.

Red Dot - maximum load : 13.0 grs. @ 1558 fps.

RCBS says to start at 11.0 and do not exceed 13.0.... "The Load"
I would do the same for 170 gr. or 165 gr. cast boolits

Work up carefully to the load , we like to load safe !
Gary

Max load of Unique listed by Lyman is 11 or 12 grs depending on bullet weight for bullets in the 160-200 gr weight range, and Red Dot is a lot faster than Unique. Per Lyman #3 12.5 grains is top load in 308 Win with pressures nearing 40K PSI. The 30/40 has about the same capacity as the 308 so 13 gains of Red Dot is really pushing it. Starting load listed was 10 grs at a bit below 30K. Good advice to start at 10 grains and remember, unless you have a Ruger, rifles for this round are 100+ years old. These are relatively mild loads but for shooting at 100 yards they should be more than adequate.

But another version states:

Quote:

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"The Load” is 13 Grains of Red Dot"

By C.E. Harris, Revised Sept. 27, 2007

1. The case must be LARGER than the .30-40 Krag, and have a normal working pressure greater than 40,000 psi. The No. 4 Enfield in .303 Brit is OK, the 1896 Krag is not!

---

https://castbulletassoc.org/forum/th...ns-of-red-dot/

Fair point (and interesting revision on Ed's part).
Hence I would rely on Quickload to keep charges/pressures well under 40ksi as the bullets become heavier.

Can I interest you in some nice . . . Retumbo ? :bigsmyl2:
https://thefiringline.com/forums/sho...27&postcount=8

And that is why internet load data is inherently sketchy.

Fwiw:

Attachment 236268

CAUTION: For Comparative info Only.
Your mileage may vary
Work up in your own rifle

30-40 Krag ??? I'd use 2400 as mentioned in this article (at the halfway mark).

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...Rifles-Article

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mehavey

Fair point (and interesting revision on Ed's part).
Hence I would rely on Quickload to keep charges/pressures well under 40ksi as the bullets become heavier.

Can I interest you in some nice . . . Retumbo ? :bigsmyl2:
https://thefiringline.com/forums/sho...27&postcount=8

---

Wow, Retumbo. That's a lottle surprising, but the results speak for themselves.

I shot a lot of 2400 behind the 314299 with excellent accuracy, even in a very rough barrel. I ran out of that boolit, but had a lot of 311284 on hand, which did equally well with 4198. Never exceed the manual loads with a Krag. There's no reason to, if you're plinking. I shoot my 92 cutdown in cowboy silhouette with great success using those loads.