Relining a US Krag to 8mm?

[huntj3]

Hello all,

I have an 1898 Krag with a sewer pipe barrel. I still have to try a solvent marinade in there, but at worst case is there enough material to reline .309 to .323? Or would I have to go .338 at minimum?

[Der Gebirgsjager]

You have to bear in mind that a caliber change to 8x57mm Mauser would subject the very old action to much higher pressures than the original cartridge, especially if loaded to European levels. Perhaps you, assuming that you're a reloader, would be cognizant of the potential problem and download your reloads to a pressure level similar to the Krag cartridge, but there's no guarantee that a subsequent owner would share your wisdom. Far better, I think, to re-barrel to the original cartridge.

DG

[Paul in Oregon]

It would not necessarily have to be 8x57 ,how about 30-40-8mm. I would think that you could reline back to 30 cal.,why not?

[Texas by God]

Call JES and see if he will rebore it into a 33-40 Krag or a 35-40 Krag, assuming the original barrel has enough muzzle diameter.

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[beshears]

Remember the Krag only has one locking lug and is prone to crackingthe lug.

[725]

Somebody mentioned it already. Weaker action ~ hotter cartridge. How about a reline to .30 for the .30-40 K? Bob Hoyt could advise on that.

[huntj3]

I’m talking about keeping the same cartridge but opened up to 8mm. .323-40 maybe 8mm-40?

35 krag (offered by JES) is a popular but old wildcat. Wouldn’t be much harder to reload than 30cal. I was trying to keep as much steel in the barrel as possible.

[uscra112]

call jes and see if he will rebore it into a 33-40 krag or a 35-40 krag, assuming the original barrel has enough muzzle diameter.

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^^^this^^^

Stevens used to argue that their .32 Ideal cartridge "offered new life to many .32-20 rifles that were shot out or rusted". The .32 Ideal was a true 8mm cartridge, and the assumption was that there was enough metal left in the .312 .32-20 barrels to clean up when reamed to 8mm. I have a couple of .32 Ideals, and notice that moulds for 8mm are a bit thin on the ground.

FWIW here's a cracked Krag bolt. It's not the lug that cracks but the bolt body underneath it.

[2152hq]

If you want to save the orig bbl for it's exterior looks,,then a rebore/re-rifle to 35-Krag is probably the most efficient way to go.

Re-lining the bbl (full length liner) in it's orig 30-40Krag caliber ,,,you likely won't find many bbl'smiths that would do that work. The cartridge is a bit too HP
for the strength issue at the chamber end of the relined bbl.

'Criterion' still offers reblacement bbls for the US Krag in both 22" carbine and 30" rifle lengths.
The just under $300 price for the bbl isn't too bad. It'll be back to 30-40Krag caliber w/a new bore.
You'll have to fit the front & rear sights (back)on to it no matter if it's a sporterized Krag or a Military issue rifle you have.
Then the bbl has to be blued.
Fitting it is simple enough, but not a kitchen table project, so figure some $$ to pay someone to get the old bbl off and the new one on and headspaced.
https://criterionbarrels.com/product-category/30-40-krag/?v=7516fd43adaa

[uscra112]

Unscrewing a Krag barrel is non-trivial. It requires a special wrench to avoid distorting the receiver. I have pictures of one made by one of our posters (Bullshop?) but have never copied it.
290202

[smkummer]

I believe CMP will do the work to rebarrel a Krag with a Criterion barrel.