Danish Krag reloading questions

[LWSTARKS]

Okay a while back I bought a Danish Krag that is in 8x58RD. I have some factory ammo from Norma. A month ago I stumbled over myself to buy RCBS dies for it for a whole $15. I now have the dies and when I looked at my brass, it is Berdan. Grrrrrr! Anyway, I have been reading and it appears that many have been using 8x56 brass and sizing them, in essence to a short Krag empty. I'm not opposed to do this and so I just ordered some from Graf, as well as a shell holder. Now here comes some of my questions for all of you that have been doing this: Does this only work for the rolling block rifles? Do I have to make any changes to the rim to work for this rifle? What shell holder do you use?

I plan to only shoot cast bullets in it, except for maybe a box of Norma's just to check out the strength, but only after I shoot cast in it. Any help will be appreciated.

[Oldeyes]

I have heard about using the 8x56 but have never tried it. Buffalo Arms makes their Danish cases out of 45/70, which is also short, but they are able to stretch the brass to the correct length. I make my brass out of 45/90 to obtain full length, and I use these in 2 Krags and a rolling block with no issues and no other modifications other than trim to length. Rim diameter has been fine. I have heard about different rim thickness in the two models but have not run into it in my own junk. As usual, YMMV.....
You got a bargain on that die set!! And as to your incoming brass, the 2mm shortness really won't matter much and it is probably cheaper than my 45/90. And for the shell holder, try a 45/70 if you have one; my Lee die set for the 8x56 came w/ a shellholder so I have never tried anything else for fit.
Gotta ask, what model Krag did you end up with?

Just thought I'd mention that my carbine with a mint bore slugs .325, and the tired long rifle is a roomy .329.
I think my RB is .327 but I have measured one as small as .321 and a second at .326; they are all over the place.

[LWSTARKS]

It is a model 89 krag. It has seen better days but I plan to not work it too hard. I tried the Berdan brass in the lee #8 s/h but it was too big, which didn't make sense. I am waiting on a number 18 to arrive to see if that is a better fit. What part of AZ are you at? I am native of Mesa, but moved to GA for school.

[Oldeyes]

I went out to the shop and started digging.... Graf's brass uses the RCBS #13 SH or the Lee #16. Looks like the 8x56 is a tad smaller both in rim diam. and head thickness, neither of which should be a problem with cast loads.
I am in the middle of nowhere, 25 miles east of Tombstone, near a hole in the wall called Elfrida. We now have two gas stations and a part time Post Office!

[LWSTARKS]

Lee 16 is the one for the 7.62x54R, right? If I remember correctly, it seemed too small. I am going to try a lee 18 and see if that one works. This is the only time of year that I don't wish to be in AZ, but at least monsoons start sooner down there than it does in Mesa, and more consistently too. Thanks for the help.

[Oldeyes]

I doublechecked, and yep, my 8x56R Lee dies came with the #16 shellholder. It fits my PPU brass (stamped nny, cyrillic) as well as the 1938 Austrian. It also fits the 7.62x54R as well. I am not familiar with Lee products enough to know their numbering system; I imagine there must be a list somewhere?? Lee precision is not always.... and I have noticed some slight variation in Lebel brass, maybe the 56R differs a few thou from lot to lot.
I love the monsoons, the dust is put to rest for a while, the mosquitoes come out, and my shooting area in the back pasture turns to a mud bog. I have buried my truck and the tractor trying to pull the truck out.... I'm not really whining, I really love the country life :)
I love springtime in Georgia but don't remember the summers, that was 50 some years ago!

[madsenshooter]

Just noticed Graf's shows Starline 45-90 in stock.

[LWSTARKS]

Well I will be trying out a load. I am using a lyman 323366 mold with 21.5gr of imr 4227, and federal 215 primer. I'm thinking that it should be a light cast bullet load. I am not going to get to try them out until next week, but exited to do so. I am using both 8x58rd brass and graf 8x56r brass. Here are some pics of them.