LEE 30-40 Krag Dies ??

[1hole]

I use the .303 Lee collet sizer for my Krags. I use .311-.312 bullets, which works out perfect. I can load many times before FL sizing is required.

I only have one lever action centerfire rifle, a 336 in .35 Remington I got used in 1978; I love it, deer don't. It's a hunting rifles, not for targets or plinking, so I don't load a lot for it. I got three boxes of Remington ammo for it, 60 rounds and still have most of them.

After shooting most of them up I evened the case lengths and started reloading them. After developing a full power 200 gr. RNCL load I soon had 60 rounds flying at 2,075 +/- fps that would consistently go into 1 1/2" at 100 yards. I love that ugly bullet but Rem has discontinued selling it as a component (I hate Remington). Hornady's 200 gr. RN actually shoots just as well but it sure doesn't expand as well.

Before each season starts, I clean the bore and fire a few rounds to confirm zero and then get one or two deer (one shot each). When I'm about out of ammo I'll refill the empties and keep going. I have now reloaded them maybe ten times each, only sizing with Lee's great little Collet Neck die and their excellent Factory Crimp Die. The still remaining cartridges (I've lost a few of those cases in the woods) in their now ragged ol' green and yellow boxes still feed and chamber slick as a greasy eel; no case has yet needed trimming and none of them have yet split.

I can't see how a .30-30 would be any different but I must be doing something wrong because all of the web experts say not to reload for lever guns exactly the way I always do!

[Hootmix]

UPDATE,,,,,, so a shooter called and said he had some "old" 30-40 Krag ammo, loaded, and a small box of "old" cast bullets, had no need for um'. The loaded rds. say "SUPER_X ", they have rounded primers, the bullets stick out of the case about 1/4"(ya'll tell me). The cast bullets look like the 311291, only you can tell they have been sized down to .309+-, and weighed between 188.8 to 192.0+ So, i loaded (10 rds.) of the cast bullets (w/ my homemade neck expander) and per Lyman 49th. w/ 19gns. of H-4198 to OAL of 2.925. They shot "round holes" at 50yds. My first time to shoot a 30-40, pretty darn nice, and didn't blow up my friend's gun. "BUT" the bullets didn't seat to the crimping grove, i also loaded 2 rds. of some 311466's (@161gns.) @ 3.025 & 3rds @ 2.095, all 4rds. had grease grooves exposed, "question", did i seat my rds. wrong or is this normal (pics. would help).
coffee's ready, Hootmix.

[Drydock]

What I did: Bought a Lee 45 Colt powder thru die. Bought a Lee .30 carbine powder thru die. Put the carbine guts in the Colt body. Screw into press just far enough to do the job. Now I have a powder thru expander/flare die for my Krag cast bullet loads.

[Hootmix]

Hey, Drydock, put mine in a Lee 40-60 pour thru, now to make a neck resizer to fit same.

coffee's ready, Hootmix.

[uscra112]

I've made a couple of neck sizers on the lathe to go into the Lee Universal Expander body. But you'd be better off with the Lee collet die for the .32-40.

Don't worry about damaging your friend's rifle, so long as you are obsessive about avoiding double charges. The Krag was built for loads in the 45kpsi range. Shooting cast, even the really heavy ones, your loads should not run more than about 30kpsi. Keep your muzzle velocities under 1800 fps and don't use fast pistol powders.

[Hootmix]

ucra112, sent PM.

Hootmix.

[todd9.3x57]

UPDATE,,,,,, so a shooter called and said he had some "old" 30-40 Krag ammo, loaded, and a small box of "old" cast bullets, had no need for um'. The loaded rds. say "SUPER_X ", they have rounded primers, the bullets stick out of the case about 1/4"(ya'll tell me). The cast bullets look like the 311291, only you can tell they have been sized down to .309+-, and weighed between 188.8 to 192.0+ So, i loaded (10 rds.) of the cast bullets (w/ my homemade neck expander) and per Lyman 49th. w/ 19gns. of H-4198 to OAL of 2.925. They shot "round holes" at 50yds. My first time to shoot a 30-40, pretty darn nice, and didn't blow up my friend's gun. "BUT" the bullets didn't seat to the crimping grove, i also loaded 2 rds. of some 311466's (@161gns.) @ 3.025 & 3rds @ 2.095, all 4rds. had grease grooves exposed, "question", did i seat my rds. wrong or is this normal (pics. would help).
coffee's ready, Hootmix.

in my krag i can set my boolits into the chamber and then put a case in it and it still can't touch the lands. i use a 165gr ranch dog with h4198 going 1926fps with the boolit set in the crimping groove. it averages about 1 1/2+/-" at 100 yards.

[Hootmix]

todd9, i could live w/ that, if i could see that far!!!!! I do like this 311291, and if i had a mould i believe i can throw more evenly case weights than what i'v got (but free is good). So, you think should just load down to the crimping grove?

coffee's ready, Hootmix.

[uscra112]

todd9, i could live w/ that, if i could see that far!!!!! I do like this 311291, and if i had a mould i believe i can throw more evenly case weights than what i'v got (but free is good). So, you think should just load down to the crimping grove?

coffee's ready, Hootmix.

Absolutely. The pressure difference will be negligible.

[Texas by God]

I size short of full length as seen by the smoked and sized case on the left. Not the same bullet you mention, but I seat the Lee 170 to the crimp groove but never crimp it. On the right is a Hornady 220 gr RN seated to magazine length. My barrel is a new Pac-Nor so I get by with .309" sizing.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[todd9.3x57]

todd9, i could live w/ that, if i could see that far!!!!! I do like this 311291, and if i had a mould i believe i can throw more evenly case weights than what i'v got (but free is good). So, you think should just load down to the crimping grove?

coffee's ready, Hootmix.

yep!!!

i don't see well anymore ( i have glasses), so 3/4 - 1 1/4" at 100 yards are rare. heck, i would do 3 - 4" at 150 yards and still get my deer.

i shoot deer out to a whopping 60 or so yards.

[gwpercle]

Thank you, GB, will be on it tomorrow. I will have more questions; this is a new cartridge for me.

coffee's ready, Hootmix.

Just about all dies , except for those marketed as "Cowboy Dies" will be set up to load J-word bullets . The Lyman M-Die is made for loading the larger softer cast boolts and is a seperate item to buy .
But Lee makes a Universal Case Expanding Die , in truth it only flares the mouth but sometimes that's all you need especially with a gas checked boolit ... and NOE sells expander plugs that expand just like an M-Die that can be used in the Lee Universal Case Expander Die ... NOE's expanders are much cheaper than a Lyman M-Die and come in many more sizes .
You just need some kind of neck flare / M-Die / NOE Expander to easily load cast .
Years ago I bought a 30 cal M-Die for 30-30 but since that time have discovered first Lee Universal Expander (Okay) and then the NOE expander inserts for the Lee Universal (best) ... NOE even sells the Lee Universal Expanding Die if you want to order NOE exp. plugs and the die all at once .
Check for availability & price at the shop . www.noebulletmoulds.com
Gary

[uscra112]

The URL given in my post #13 will get you closer. NOE's site isn't as easy to navigate as it could be.

[catmandu]

I agree with the NOE expanders, once you start you will love them. They go into a Lee Universal expander die and at $7.50 allow you to experiment with changing neck tension. Just be sure and read up on how to select the right one. It’s like an M die but you only need to change the expander to try a different tension so it’s cheaper.

Paul in WNY