I did. I used cerosafe. My question is, what do you do with the dimensions once you get them? (as far as choosing a bullet diameter). I'm pretty comfortable with the .311s after shooting today, especially with Red Dot powder. It was easy on the rifle and me with good results.
What exactly were the .309 jacketed bullets that were keyholing?
"If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."
-Thomas Jefferson
.308 150 gr FMJ bullet. The 96/11 likes them, but not the Krag. I should have tried them with a reduced load of H4895 or the Red Dot.
I have read that some Krags don't like BT bullets. Haven't seen that for myself, my cutdown shoots the same bullet pretty good. But if I recall the first pics you posted of your carbine, the crown was pretty beat up.
"If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."
-Thomas Jefferson
There is rifling right to the end of the barrel. It's not too beat up but it's not the Mauser. Maybe I was just pushing that too small of a FMJ bullet too fast. The .311s did well with the Red Dot. I have to position the front sight where it should be so I can get a better idea of where it's shooting.
There is a pretty long throat on a Krag and the throat is often rather large diameter. A short bullet is going to have a long start to engage rifling and if it tilts in the process it isn't going to be accurate. If you can get some 220gr round nose bullets try them.
Jerry Liles
Yea, so the story goes, but I've got MOA groups with 168s @2000fps and even with bullets as short as the .310 123gr V-max for the 7.62x39 @2450fps.
"If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."
-Thomas Jefferson
The Krag won't ever be my best shooter, but what a great gun. I don't hunt or compete, but if I can work up a load that will hit the gong at 100 yds consistently I'll be happy. I really think I'm on to something with the Red Dot and bigger bullets in this rifle. I'd like to try a 220 gr bullet if I can find some. I keep checking Gunbroker but haven't seen any that heavy. I'd also like to find an uncut Krag rifle. My LGS had one that lasted an hour or so.
If you want to try some 311284's, shoot me a PM. I like Red Dot/Clays/Bullseye type powders too for accurate plinking loads with plain base bullets, to the extent those are mostly what I shoot. I also love somewhat slower powders like 2400, SR-4759, 4227, etc. for loads in the 1600fps neighborhood with gas checked bullets. On the rare occasions I have a need for full power hunting/long range target loads, I step up to the slower IMR powders. I can't speak to using jacketed stuff in Krags as it's been a few decades since I used them in such.
My Ruger#3 in 30-40 is rapidly becoming my favorite cast boolit launcher. A NOE311299 cast from ww+5% lino, Speedgreen lubed, sized to .310" over 18grns 4759 and seated to engrave on closing. Fairly consistent MOA accuracy at 100yds, with a SD of 6. This is using a beater 4X Nikon Prostaff scope.
Gnoahhh, I have been wanting to try some 311284s in my 30-06, would you like to trade some nekkid cast boolits?
I shoot so that I can handload.
I had this problem with my Krag and proceeded to fire lap and recrowned the muzzle. After that my groups tightened up and all was well. YMMV.Originally Posted by Battis
Listen! Do you hear it. The roar of cannons, the screams of the dying! Ahh! Music to my ears!
Did you recrown the muzzle yourself?
I got a batch of bullets from gnoahhh. They weigh approx. 215 grs. I sized them to .311 and they chamber perfectly (dummy rounds).
Now for The Question...
For powders I have Red Dot, IMR 4064 and H4895. I cannot find any load data for any of those powders for that weight cast bullet. And, I cannot find any of the powders listed on the Hodgon site.
With the limited supplies of powder, how do you cross reference powders? By the burn rate chart?
For 4064.
I would start with 60% jacketed data and work up from there. The service load for 30-40 is what, 2000, 2100 fps? It is not a screaming hi pressure load so your boolit will fair well down the barrel.
right in front of the case neck is the area called the throat. Measure that. that is the diameter you want your cast boolits. It seals the bore, and ensures the boolit enters the barrel squarely. At least, that is what I have read here and others places. Good luck. mikey
On the Hodgdon site, they don't list any data for IMR 4064 or H4895 for the 200 gr or 220 gr bullet. I checked the Lyman Cast Bullet book (4th) and nothing. I was just wondering if there's a rule of thumb for using unlisted powders. I'd buy one of the powders listed if I could find it.
red dot 13gr is Ed Harris' "the Load" (for 30-06 or large capacity 30 cal).
You would want to start with less, I'd start with 9 or 10gr...or maybe even less?
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ger-cases-then
You can search for red dot Ed Harris the load and find many more articles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001
I read about "The Load." I thought it said that the cartridge should be "larger than the 30-40." I'll reread it. With that in mind, I just loaded up 12 rounds using approx. 7.2 grs of Red Dot. Seems like a good place to start.
pretty much any of the .30 bore large sized case ammo would work with "the load". The .303 and the .30-40 krag are nearly identical.
I can't speak to using 4064 or 4895, but I have used Red Dot successfully. I would go straight to 12 grains. I use 4350 for near-2000fps hunting loads with the 311284. If it were me I would also try the 60% 4895 too. (60% minimum of whatever the book says is a starting load for a 220 grain jacketed bullet, and be prepared to increase it until I was getting 18-1900fps- a good deer hunting load in the Krag.) If you need more bullets (and it sounds like you will) give me another shout.
Most of my Krag shooting is with 2400 and SR-4759 loads in the 1500-1600fps range with that bullet.
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| C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
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| PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
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