I have a .30-40 Krag sporter that I rarely shoot. However, I recently bought a Weaver K3 for it and found a box of Remington factory ammo (180 gr Core-Lokt), so off to the range I went.
It shot pretty well. This was the last of the bullets I had for 100 yds after sighting in, save 5 more for 200 yds which shot a little more than 2x as big.
My question now is how to make it shoot well with handloads and cast bullets.
I have a mold 311284 which has, more or less, the original round-nosed profile. It is gas checked and weighs a nominal 220 gr in mystery alloy.
So, my question is what sort of alloy would be best. What I know and use a lot is lead:tin mixes as stiff, as 16:1 to as soft as 40:1.
I also have several hundred pounds of lead that is supposed to be pure -but certainly is not. It is was also supposed to be from Helicopter rotor weights (doubt it). What I do know is that it likes to be cast at least 100 degrees cooler than my normal Lead:tin mixes. It produces a very nice, but frosty white looking bullet. It is lighter (less dense) than even 16:1. Its hardness is comparable to Lyman #2 (this from a friend that tested the hardness for me). Whatever this is, is it likely to be better than lead:tin alloy?
While we are at it, would this mystery alloy be acceptable for a .38-40 load (180 gr RCBS Cowboy bullet, 7 gr Unique)?
Finally, I'm looking at recipes in the Lyman 4th (page 147). I see loads for 4198 and 5744 from 18 gr to 28 gr. But there are no pressures listed. I'm unlikely to go to max loads, but someday I may want to hunt an elk with this. So, how do I know these are safe in a Krag rifle? After all, they chambered .30-40 in Ruger #1s and certainly that could take much more pressure. I'm only interested in safe loads for a Krag rifle.
Thanks for all comments.