Norwegian style Krag twist rate question.

[ammohead]

I have a Norwegian style krag built in Steyr in 1897. It has a sporter stock and the barrel has been set back and rechambered to 300 Savage. Unusual yes, but that is why I had to have it. I am not sure if it started life as a .308" groove rifle or if it was rebored, but it is obviously set back by the placement of the matching serial number. Sorry I am between cameras right now.

I measured the twist rate as 1 in 12" and it has six lands and grooves with the lands being about 20% of the groove width. At what weight/length of boolit would you guess that I will have trouble stabilizing. I have been having trouble finding a accurate combination for this rifle. It is in such good shape that I am loathe to give up on it and am looking for any input you may have as to origin specs and what I may expect twistwise.

[Bulltipper]

There are much more powerful minds here, but 1 in 12 is 30-06 territory, so you should be safe in the 170gr to 220gr range, there is a great 210gr Krag boolit mold out there, I have one - if you want the numbers let me know and i will go out to the shop and get them for you

[gnoahhh]

First off, if it is a Norwegian military Krag, it would have originally been chambered for 6.5x55 (which I suspect you know, but some out there won't). That means that it has definitely been re-barreled or re-bored at some point in its history. Not unusual, for 9 out of 10 6.5 Krags I have looked at had bores like sewer pipes. Probably re-bored and set back as the 6.5x55 is a skinch bigger in case head diameter thus necessitating a set-back to allow the chamber to clean up with the .300 reamer.

It sounds pretty cool to now be in .300 Savage. 1-12 twist was the standard for the .300, just use any bullets recommended for that caliber- anything up to and including 200 grains. I never had much luck going heavier than that in a .300. I feel the .300 is custom made for 150-165 grain bullets. Without knowing how well the rifle is bedded, throated, or any of the myriad other things that we know can effect accuracy, it would be impossible to offer advise on how to make it shoot better. Remember, Krags are a law unto themselves and don't necessarily respond to the accurizing tricks that work for, say, a Remington 700. And, as I'm sure you know too, don't try to hotrod it like a .308, especially in a 116 year old action.

[ammohead]

I knew that norwegian made krags were chambered in 6.5x55, but seeing as it was made in Steyr Aus? I wasn't so sure. So many different actions made under license it is hard to know all there is to know.

[gnoahhh]

Steyr was a big contractor for foreign governments, second only to Mauser back then. If a small country felt that domestic arms making capacity was not up to fulfilling demand, or non-existent even, they would go to an outfit like Steyr to have their needs met even if it meant having Steyr build something they didn't design.

[ammohead]

Went out yesterday with rcbs 180 gr and 10 gr of unique. Showed signs of wanting to group so maybe longer is better!