.30-40 Krag Advice

[OrlonTheBrave]

Hello friends,

I’m new to reloading, having started this fall. I began with .32 S&W long, and once I got the hang of that I decided to try .30-40 Krag. However, I’ve had some issues, and could use your advice.

I cooked up 13 rounds this week of a mild load to get started. I had trouble finding bullets the right size and weight. The only 220 grain I could find were labelled 300Blk, so I went with a lighter lrnfp.

Acme .309 155 grain powder coated lrnfp
20.4 grains imr4227
2.674” oal

I headed out to the 50 yard range and warmed up with my AR-15 (left). I shoot irons, and for a warm-up I’m happy if I can get most of my shots on the sticker.

When I shot the Krag (right?), all 13 rounds fed and fired without a hitch, and the recoil impulse was consistent. However, the rounds were going all over the paper, and even missing it entirely. It looks like one might have even keyholed.
https://imgur.com/a/6CFcqhW

https://imgur.com/a/6CFcqhW

What do y’all think might be the cause? I figure it might be one or more of the below, but I am not an expert.
- Shooter error
- Dirty rifle
- Damaged crown
- Jump (too short COAL)
- Shaved lead when seating
- Undersized bullets
- Too low velocity

When I checked the bore when I bought the rifle the rifling was clear and sharply defined, so I don’t think I’m shooting a musket. The sights are also aftermarket Williams, so I don’t think it’s that either.

It is a new rifle to me, the sights are open rather than aperture, and the trigger is heavier than I’m used to in a rifle, so it’s probably user error to some extent. However, given my grouping with my AR I would think I could get all the rounds on a pie plate, at least.

I’m going to need a case trimmer and case chamfer/deburring tool before I load up the next batch, which might help with seating and any case related issues. I’ll also give the chamber/bore a good cleaning.

What do y’all think might be the cause (and the solution)?

[Charliemac]

Clean and slug the barrel that may give you some insight.

[littlejack]

OTB:
First off, welcome to the CastBoolits sir.
Being new to the Krag myself, I can tell you, you have come to the right place for information. The members here are the best folks, and will freely give you the best advice. I was in your position a few months back, with buying my first ever Krag firearm. Here's some information I received from the members. First off, clean the bore until you're sure all of the old copper from jacketed bullets is removed. If you can, buy yourself a nice receiver/peep sight for your rifle. I found a really nice Redfield on flebay. IMHO, your biggest help to smaller groups would be to shoot longer heavier cast boolits. If your boolits are scattered or hitting sideways, they are not stabilizing. They're either to short, or do not fit the bore properly. As Charliemac stated, slug the bore to find out what size boolit is needed. I shoot the Lyman 311284 gc design. Do not full length size your brass, it will work harden quicker than neck or partial sizing and crack. When chambering a cartridge, you want to feel some pressure when closing the bolt. This means, there is no headspace.
If you will go to the Military Rifles sight, you will see I posted a thread titled " New to me 30-40 Krag" there is a lot of good information there. I see that you are new to reloading, so asking questions is the answer, and the right thing to do. If you are unsure of a procedure, ask questions. We can and will help.
You have opened up a whole new chapter in your life.

[405grain]

1. slug the barrel. You won't know what diameter bullets are going to work in your rifle until after you determine the bore size.
2. Don't shave lead. Before you seat a cast bullet in any cartridge, the case mouth needs to have a slight bell to it. Use either a Lyman M die or a Lee universal case mouth expander die.
3. The Lyman # 311284 bullet was literally designed for the 30-40 Krag. See if you can get some of these (but slug the bore first to make sure that you get the right size)
4. A velocity between 1600 fps and 1900 fps should give you best accuracy. You can work up loads to over 2000 fps with the Krag if the accuracy doesn't fall off.
5. Yes, check the crown. If the rifle was cleaned from the muzzle for decades with a steel cleaning rod the rifling at the muzzle could be damaged.

[gwpercle]

Welcome to Cast Boolits from Baton Rouge , Louisiana !

Your words remind me of my own questions ... it was about 1968 and I had a 1903-A3 Springfield 30-06 , single cavity Lyman mould and absolutely no idea what I was doing . This site will save you ... some Krag shooters will be along to give 30-40 advice ... but I can tell you you need to start with a completely cleaned bore .
Bore cleaning to remove all fouling isn't as easy as it sounds .
Cleaning rod , brass brush , bore cleaners . brass brush wrapped in 0000 steel wool and smeared with J-B Bore Compound and lots of elbow grease is step #1 .
Here is where the fun starts ,
Welcome aboard :drinks:
Gary

[mehavey]

- Undersized bullets
^^^^ THIS ^^^^

Take a look at I finally found req'd/works:
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6645327&postcount=8 (100yrd)
actual Oehler velocity: 2,173 ± 07
(Admission: it was benched [smilie=w:)


NOTES
- "Grafs (https://www.grafs.com/)" cases/brass
- 32-20 expander to get proper bell to start the cast bullet without shaving (I'd just use an M-die today)
- "sized" is the headspace for min "just close" case dimension (Hornady gauge)

[RayinNH]

Shooter error I don't think so. You posted 2 targets and you seem to be a fair enough shooter.
- Dirty rifle Possibly. Give it a good cleaning.
- Damaged crown Forget that for now. Go with the easy ones first.
- Jump (too short COAL) I've never shot that light a bullet in the Krag. Try seating it out further. Forget the crimp groove and load them singly into the rifle. They only need to be crimped if you're loading several in the rifle.
- Shaved lead when seating That's never a good thing. Until you get a chamfer tool you can use a larger drill bit (turn by hand) or even a pen knife to bevel the inside case neck. You only need to break the edge.
- Undersized bullets That's my first thought. I have 3 Krags and they all get .311 diameter bullets
- Too low velocity Probably not. Your charge of powder should put you in the 1700's range.

When I checked the bore when I bought the rifle the rifling was clear and sharply defined, so I don’t think I’m shooting a musket. The sights are also aftermarket Williams, so I don’t think it’s that either. As long as the sights aren't loose, you're fine. The sights might not be pointing at what the rifle is aiming at, but if the rifle is shooting fine, you should be getting a group. You can adjust the sights to hit a what you're aiming at later. This will change with bullet weight, powder charge, distance.

It is a new rifle to me, the sights are open rather than aperture, and the trigger is heavier than I’m used to in a rifle, so it’s probably user error to some extent. However, given my grouping with my AR I would think I could get all the rounds on a pie plate, at least.

I’m going to need a case trimmer and case chamfer/deburring tool before I load up the next batch, which might help with seating and any case related issues. I’ll also give the chamber/bore a good cleaning.

What do y’all think might be the cause (and the solution)?[/QUOTE]

[RayinNH]

I forgot to address case mouth bevel. 405grain mentioned a Lyman M die or Lee case bevel tool. For now you can get away with a pair of needle nose pliers to flare the case a bit.

[OrlonTheBrave]

Thanks all, for the advice and warm welcome!

Reloading .32 Long I found pretty easy; this is a bit more challenging (but hopefully eventually more rewarding). Sounds like I should:
1. Give the bore a proper cleaning.
2. Slug the bore. I’ll add some lead round balls to my Midway order.
3. Check the crown. I have q-tips I can use to check for burrs, which should be easy.
4. I flared the mouths using the expander die from my .32 Long set, but I guess not enough. I can try increasing the flare, and chamfer and deburr the case mouths to prevent lead shaving.
5. Acquire better bullets (if necessary, depending on bore diameter, jump to rifling, etc.). I don’t cast my own yet (I know, I know. But my girlfriend already has generously let me keep gunpowder in the house, and would kill me if I start melting lead in the kitchen of our little apartment. Maybe next year I can get away with it), and finding the right size/shape/weight for sale online has been difficult.

Anything major I’m missing?

I’m out of town for Thanksgiving and disappointed I can’t tinker with it till I get back, but I figure I can still do the planning while I’m away.

When I get back I’ll post some pictures of the rifle too. It’s pretty handsome for a sporter (and a good deal too).

[littlejack]

Don't get overwhelmed with the procedure. It may sound complicated, but it isn't. Just listen to the advice and suggestions from the old hands. There's moulds on flebay. I saw a single cavity Lyman 311284 just today, but there are others. I like the 311284 because it is a bore rider. That means the front section of the boolit will center the boolit when fired, and ride the lands going down the bore, while the driving bands will get engraved by the lands and spin the boolit. With any of the proper boolits, fix the cartridge overall length so the front of the bore riding section is engraved by the lands of the bore when chambered.

[Whole Bunches]

I cannot emphasize enough what others have said about slugging the bore. My M1898 Krag rifle has a beautiful bore, but gave "not good enough for me" results with my 30 caliber cast loads, even when sized to .311". Slugging the bore revealed a .303" bore diameter and a .313" groove diameter. Switching to use Lyman 314299 bullets (I use a .315" die to basically just lube them with no to the tiniest bit of sizing on the high points) (that I use for 303 Brit and 7.62x54 Russian, also sized with my .315" die), I get superb accuracy and no leading.

Note: I also tried a .314" sizing die, giving the same accuracy as with my .315" die, but prefer to simply use the .315" sizing die all the time.

[Adam Helmer]

Hello friends,

I’m new to reloading, having started this fall. I began with .32 S&W long, and once I got the hang of that I decided to try .30-40 Krag. However, I’ve had some issues, and could use your advice.

I cooked up 13 rounds this week of a mild load to get started. I had trouble finding bullets the right size and weight. The only 220 grain I could find were labelled 300Blk, so I went with a lighter lrnfp.

Acme .309 155 grain powder coated lrnfp
20.4 grains imr4227
2.674” oal

I headed out to the 50 yard range and warmed up with my AR-15 (left). I shoot irons, and for a warm-up I’m happy if I can get most of my shots on the sticker.

When I shot the Krag (right?), all 13 rounds fed and fired without a hitch, and the recoil impulse was consistent. However, the rounds were going all over the paper, and even missing it entirely. It looks like one might have even keyholed.
https://imgur.com/a/6CFcqhW

https://imgur.com/a/6CFcqhW

What do y’all think might be the cause? I figure it might be one or more of the below, but I am not an expert.
- Shooter error
- Dirty rifle
- Damaged crown
- Jump (too short COAL)
- Shaved lead when seating
- Undersized bullets
- Too low velocity

When I checked the bore when I bought the rifle the rifling was clear and sharply defined, so I don’t think I’m shooting a musket. The sights are also aftermarket Williams, so I don’t think it’s that either.

It is a new rifle to me, the sights are open rather than aperture, and the trigger is heavier than I’m used to in a rifle, so it’s probably user error to some extent. However, given my grouping with my AR I would think I could get all the rounds on a pie plate, at least.

I’m going to need a case trimmer and case chamfer/deburring tool before I load up the next batch, which might help with seating and any case related issues. I’ll also give the chamber/bore a good cleaning.

What do y’all think might be the cause (and the solution)?

Orlon,

Pardon my ignorance, but what sort of Krag are you loading for? I have both rifles and carbines and have many successful loads. I did not see what model Krag you are using.
Be well.

Adam

[OrlonTheBrave]

Good question, I should have described it better earlier. It began life in 1903 as a Springfield M1898 Krag rifle.

I find it surprising that there’s so much variation in bore size for these rifles. I wonder what the dimensions were of the army issue ammo, and whether troops were able to hit anything!

[405grain]

OrlonTheBrave: As other's have said, welcome to the site. When I suggested flaring the case mouths I should have been more concise. The case mouths only need to be flared just enough for about 1/2 of the height of the gas check to enter the mouth. There's no need to bell out the case mouth like a trumpet. Also, when new, brass can have sharp edges on the case mouth that might also shave lead. The answer to this is to use a chamfering tool to lightly remove the sharp edge (both inside and outside the case mouth). You only need to chamfer the case mouths once, unless you need to trim the necks back later - in which case you'll need to chamfer them again.

Something to remember is that when seating the bullet you don't want for the cartridge to go so far up into the seating die that the edge in the die that crimps the mouth of the case gets a chance to crimp that bell out of the mouth before the bullet is seated its the overall length. Don't give your reloading technique any chance to shave lead. I always (both pistol and rifle) do my seating and crimping as two separate operations.

If you slug your bore and discover that it's too large for the bullets that you've been casting you will have at least two options for dealing with this. First, powder coating can add up to .002" to a bullets diameter. The best powders that I've found for putting on a thick coat have been Smoke4320 signal blue, and Eastwood Hot Coat Ford light blue. (Smoke4320 is a vendor on this site. Look for his adds in the swapping & selling forum.) I use the Lyman #311284 bullet, powder coated and sized to .3125" to shoot in my 7.65x53 Mauser.

The second possible solution is to get a new mold in a larger size. Any bullet that was made for the 303 British, 7.7 Japanese, or 7.65 x53 will do. The most common bullet for that application is the Lyman #314299, but there are lots of choices from other mold manufacturers. Besides Lyman I have used molds from NOE and Saeco with good success. Best of luck with your Krag. I will forever be kicking myself in the butt for letting go of the 1898 Krag carbine that I had as a youngster.

[Thumbcocker]

I had one Krag that slugged. 316. You can use egg shaped fishing sinkers for slugs. Make sure they are lead and lightly lube the bore before slugging.

[pworley1]

Welcome. The 311284 works best for me.

[Mk42gunner]

Several members I respect have recommended going straight to a .313" sizing diameter for any Krag to try to fill the throat.

Worth a try.

Robert

[Shiloh]

I size the NOE 311299 at .312 for the Krag. Rings the gong for me. If I miss, it's my old eyes.

Shiloh

[OrlonTheBrave]

Hello friends,

I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving.

As promised, pictures!

https://imgur.com/a/WF7gGuK

I’ve ordered a Lee case trimming tool and accessories, an LE Wilson chamfer and deburring tool, and some soft .36 lead balls from Midway USA, which should arrive next week.

While I wait for those to arrive, I’ll work on partial resizing my fired brass. Looks like with a sharpie to assess, I can back out the sizing die. I thought about getting a washer but I only have the one rifle, so I likely won’t be doing much full length sizing now anyways.

If the .309 bullets I bought are undersized (which is seeming likely), are they something I can sell on here to other members? I won’t have much use for them otherwise.

[rintinglen]

I would bet a fair penny on your boolits being under sized.

"Fit is king" as Sundog used to say. Whenever I see scattered shots from cast, that is my first suspect. And while those undersized boolits are ricocheting down the bore, they'll be leaving splotches of lead that will screw up following shots even if they happen to be properly sized. The under-sized boolits quickly lead the bore and voila, a do-it-yourself scattergun. As soon as I saw you were using .309, sized boolits, that leapt to mind. IME, most Krags need at least a .311 boolit for best results, (most do better with .313-.314) and the long throats work best with 200-220 grain boolits like the 311-299, the 311-284 or the Accurate 31-220bg.

Good luck and welcome to the show. You'll learn more about casting here in a year than you will in 20 years stumbling along on your own. I'd been casting for over 30 years when I joined and I was absolutely blown away by the depth of knowledge to be found.

[OrlonTheBrave]

Just gave the bore a good cleaning. It doesn’t look as pristine as I imagined when I purchased it, as it has some pitting near the muzzle, but the bore is otherwise bright and the rifling sharp enough, given its age. I also checked the crown with a q-tip, and found no noticeable burrs.

My Midway order should arrive this week. Till then, my revised possible causes are:
- Undersized bullets
- Jump (too short COAL)
- Shaved lead when seating
- Worn bore (might account for some spread, but certainly not all)

Can’t wait to slug the barrel.

[littlejack]

I really like your stock. Have you any idea who the maker was? Keep pluggin away. "Endevor to Persivere!

[GrizzLeeBear]

Unless I am mistaken, those ACME boolits do not have gas checks on them. Powder coating is NOT a replacement for a gas check. Your load is probably around 1,700 fps. Along with getting a larger diameter bullet I would recommend a gas checked bullet at those speeds.

[brstevns]

My Rolling Block measures .3115 I shoot bullets sized to .314 with good results. Mine likes the Lyman 311284, Lyman 314299 and if I powder coat it the Lee 230gr made for the Blackout does well.

[WRideout]

I don't have a Krag, but I do cast the Lyman 311284, 220 gr gas checked boolit for my 30-06 (and Russian Mosin). If you PM me your address, I will send you some, free gratis. I can size them either .311" or .313".

BTW, that aftermarket stock looks beautiful on your Krag. Most of the Krags you can buy now have been sporterized with varying degrees of skill.

Wayne

[OrlonTheBrave]

Thank you for the kind offer, Wayne!

I don’t see any stamps on the stock, although it is a handsome piece of wood (walnut)? The recoil absorber is Red Head, who knows how old.

I slugged the bore! Used a .36 cal round ball from Hornady and a .22 casing on the end of a 1/8” brass rod. Many little taps.

The slug came out oblong, however. Is that normal? Some visible rifling, but not clear enough to measure. Rolling it around, the largest diameter I could find was .309” or so. I’m using Harbor Freight calibers, but I also measured one of the Acme bullets and that came out .309” on the dot.

If it’s supposed to come out round rather than oblong I can try again, although it’s seeming like the bore isn’t terribly oversized. Would it be worthwhile to slug the bore using the Acme bullet, to see if it comes out with visible rifling?

If the outer dimension of the bore is, in fact, .309”, should I be looking for .311” boolits?

[WRideout]

Bore diameter of a military 30 caliber rifle should be .308" so you may have a perfectly good one. I would try .311" to start.

As far as slugging the bore, I am no expert, but when I have done it, I tapped the slug in from the muzzle; using an oversize slug it would typically shave some lead from the circumference and fill the bore completely.

Wayne

[Char-Gar]

I am not new to the Krag having loaded and shot them for 50 plus years. Here is my counsel to the poster.

1. Krag barrels are usually coated with metal fouling and all cast bullet efforts will be in vain until the barrel is cleaned down to the bare steel. Shooting alloy bullets down a jacked bullet fouled barrel is like shooting them over a file.

2. Krag barrels groove diameter varies wildly from .308 to .317. .3095 is most common.

3. Slug the barrel if you wish, but it is not necessary, because all Krags have a very large throat and if the bullet matches the throat, it is guaranteed to be larger than the barrel groove diameter. It does no harm to the rifle or accuracy to shoot an alloy bullet larger than the barrel groove diameter.

4. Size your bullets as large as you can and still have the rounds chamber without binding in the chamber throat. This is usually about .312 - .315. The thickness of your case necks will be the determining factor. Sometimes it may be necessary to neck turn and thin the necks a smidge.

5. There are many cast bullets designs from 150 to 220 grains that will give good accuracy. Lyman 311284 is always a good bet as it was designed for the Krag rifle many years ago.

6. You will find accuracy in the 1.6 -1.8K fps range. A charge of 15-16 grains of 2400 will usually do the trick. Stay way from high pressure loading as they are brittle old rifles with only one locking lug.

7. All of the other cast bullet protocols like neck expansion, alloy temper and bullet lubrication etc, etc, apply.

6. Krag rifles often have excess headspace, so after the first firing to fit the case to the chamber, neck size only your cases.

[OrlonTheBrave]

MidwayUSA is having a sale on factory second bullets. I know lead should be oversized, but would .308” jacketed bullets work in a .309” bore? Something like the following: Factory Second Match Bullets 30 Caliber (308 Diameter) 208 Grain Polymer Tip Boat Tail
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1020524291?pid=431507

[WRideout]

MidwayUSA is having a sale on factory second bullets. I know lead should be oversized, but would .308” jacketed bullets work in a .309” bore? Something like the following: Factory Second Match Bullets 30 Caliber (308 Diameter) 208 Grain Polymer Tip Boat Tail
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1020524291?pid=431507

For the money, it looks like something you could try. HOWEVER; if it works really well, it is only as long as the factory blem bullets are available. After that, factory premium bullets may get a little pricey. Also, what do you intend to do with said rifle and load? A load worked up for target accuracy may be a poor hunting load.

Undersized bullets of any description generally don't do well.

Wayne

[35 Rem]

Not Krag specific but when I have been in doubt as to whether my bullets were being sized by the case necks, I've pulled a few bullets to measure and verify. You can use one of the Kinetic Hammer type bullet pullers with a wad of cotton inside to cushion the bullet so pulling doesn't deform it. Once you do this you know for a fact that your neck expander is working with your bullet and not sizing it down.

[OrlonTheBrave]

Hello friends,

An update! And I think I’ve answered my own question re: undersized bullets.

WRideout kindly sent me some of his cast boolits in the mail, sized .311 and .313” (thank you!).

I trimmed, chamfered and deburred all my cases, and loaded 5 with each, over 20.8 grains IMR 4227. I also loaded 10 rounds with my 155 grain .309” bullets, 5 seated to the crimp groove and 5 seated to the lube groove. I took them out to the range today, set at 50 yards.

https://imgur.com/a/1s96opV

The first two targets I shot with my 10/22 as a control. The next two are with the .309”s, and the bottom too with the .311” and .313”. The last two grouped! A little low and to the right, and the size of the group is mostly my fault (getting used to the sights and heavy military trigger), but the mechanical accuracy is there.

Next step will be to acquire some more bullets in the .311-.313” range (until I start casting myself). I don’t hunt (yet) so just going for accuracy at this point, but I’m very pleased we were able to narrow my long list of possible causes from my first post down to one cause (undersized bullets).

I’ll keep posting as I work on my load development, but I’m very happy to be grouping now.

[gwpercle]

Once you get the bore clean

Get a cast boolit that fits the bore properly (.311" - .313" is looking good )

The Lee C312-185-1R works for me - drops at .3125" diameter .

Try a similar weight boolit , heavy for caliber , 170 gr to 220 gr ...
...with 13.0 grs. Red Dot .

This is known as "The Load" ...

If your gun doesn't shoot 13.0 grs Red Dot with your proposed cast boolit choice ...
Something Dire is wrong . Every military rifle I have will shoot a properly fitting 30 cal. cast boolit , 170 gr. or heavier with 13.0 grs Red Dot into decent groups at 50 yards .

Keep On Keeping On :drinks:,
Gary

[WRideout]

Glad to see things are working out. If my problems were solved this easily, I wouldn't have a flat forehead from smacking myself.

Wayne

[Lance Boyle]

That wild variance is bore groove diameter did cause the army grief. They called in Harry Pope, barrel maker expert as a consultant. He basically looked at the inconsistency of what they were doing in barrel tolerances and had to chastise them for it. The model 1903 rifles did not have the same problem.

Edit. My Krag also takes 314299.

[300leonidas]

My favorite Krag load is a 200 Gr. Lee Cast bullet (which actually weighs about 190gr.) with 40 Grains IMR 4831. I powder coat and size the bullets to .311. These shoot very well in both my 30/40 krags.

You should do a cerrosafe chamber cast to check your chamber. See Mine below:

323090

[BCB]

Many years ago, I had as custom barrel (1:10 twist) in 30-40 Krag cartridge made by MGM for my Encore. Plans to shoot cast only using the NOE 311-202-RN and the Lyman 311041

They Lyman boolit didn’t do well, but the NOE at ~210 grains did pretty good

I have never been a small charges of fast burner powder type guy. I like slow burners to fill the case as much as possible but still stay at 2000 fps or less for most rifle cast

WC-852 (4350 burn rate), WC-860 (slower) & WC-872 (slower yet). Unless you got into the surplus powder craze when they were readily available, you might not have these powers, but you get my idea—Slow Burners

I have a variable ‘scope on it, 4x-15x, if I remember (haven’t had it out in some time) and it would put 3 into the 1” or a tad larger, ball park most of the time at 100 yards

Side note; It would shoot the Hornady jacketed bullets 220 RN and the 165 SST into .5”+ at 100 yards

Good-Luck

[OrlonTheBrave]

Hello friends,

Happy New Year! Thank you for all the advice.

I haven’t had a chance to load up any more rounds. In December I fired off 20 rounds (220gr RN, 20.8 gr IMR 4227), and had 3 primers loose after firing, one of which popped out. I don’t think my rounds were overpressure, but rather the primer pockets on those 3 rounds got too loose (new primers slip in and out with finger pressure). Still scary, plus I’ve been thinking about a new source of brass (down to 40 pieces now). I’ve been thinking of picking up a .303 rifle and using brass from that: I heard it should work in a Krag but would just be a little short, which is fine cause I single-load anyways (thanks, magazine cutoff).

Thanks to Midway birthday pricing I also picked up a box of Speer 180gr .311” bullets for cheap. Finding load data for IMR 4227 and jacketed bullets has been hard (I should probably pick up another powder), so I’ll start low and work my way up.
https://imgur.com/a/OL5c9EH

Oh, and I’ll throw my Acme .309” bullets in the classifieds! Maybe one of y’all can get some use out of them.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Bullet fit probably, Lee makes a C312-185-1R that might work also. I started casting with a Coleman Stove a 10lb cast iron pot and a Lyman lead dipper(14 years old,1964), so a fancy set-up is not needed. There are many Lee haters, but I can now afford what I want and I still use a lot of Lee stuff. You might invest in a decent stainless steel dial caliper, RCBS, Lyman, others.... You can measure to half a thou - .0005" and they are more useful than a 1" micrometer. It is usually best to err on the side of fat bullets.

[OrlonTheBrave]

Hello friends,

An update: I read that I can fireform from .303 brass, so to acquire more brass for my Krag I purchased this .303 brass processor and a couple boxes of PPU.
326048
326049
It has a bit of kick to it, and the flip-up buckhorn sights are difficult to use, but it sure does make .303 brass!

Will update once I get a chance to fire off some rounds.

[OrlonTheBrave]

Another update. Took the .303-.30/40 Krag ammo to the range. Here’s a picture of it, sandwiched between a piece of .303 brass (left) and a piece of .30-40 brass (right). As you can tell it’s a little shorter, but dimensions otherwise look good.
326201
It chambered and extracted fine, although occasionally had trouble feeding. Dunno if it’s the case length, OAL length, bullet shape, or something mechanical. The 180 grain .313” rounds also seemed to work fine, and grouped close enough that I feel confident I can work up a load.

The only issue was the brass came out sooty. Too low pressure is my guess. 34.9 grains H380, the starting load from this manual:
326202
This manual suggests a starting load of 42.0 grains:
326203
Guess I’ll start with 36.0 grains and work up from there.

[Texas by God]

The Remington 180 gr RN bullet in the .303 British factory loads was available as components back when I had my first Krag. They measured .310” and shot better than .308” bullets.
I don’t like ball powder for cast in the Krag because it can do weird stuff….
4227 and 4198 work well in my son’s Krag.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OrlonTheBrave]

So far the H380 worked for me, at least for jacketed bullets. I like how it doesn’t stick to everything like flake powder does, although it is a bit bouncy.

I liked 4227 for cast bullets, but I’m out of those right now. I did, however, find this load data for 4227 and lightweight .32-20 bullets, which I can easily order online. I might give it a shot.
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