For The Love of Krags

[303 Epps]

Well I've taken the plunge to cast my own bullets. My mother inlaw bought me a casting kit this Christmas. (she's a keeper)
I want to cast for my 30cals,8mm and 303 Brits.
A couple of questions...
1. Can I use published data as long as I keep velocity down around 2000fps? Rifle powders at reduced velocitys. Big bullets but slower going. I'm not crazy about pistol powders in rifles. I've been reloading for 20years with factory bullets. But I don't see Lyman saying anything about rifle powders in 303 and 3040 sections.
2 Does the bore have to be perfect? my 1898 Krag has a less than pristine bore. I can see the lands but the grooves are rough. Rust, copper, lead ,powder from the Spanish American War. Also the fellow I bought it from had it in a closet for 30years.

I've already decided on gas checks with all rifle loads and I've got a supply of tire weights for making my alloy.

[Dean D.]

Most Krags seem to shoot the heavier boolits better.

I've been tinkering with a light 152 gr. GC Loverin design with good accuracy so far. I have been using IMR4227 but want to try 2400 and SR4759 also. None of my books list loads for cast using slower rifle powders so I cant help you out there.

Someday I hope to pick up a heavier boolit mold so I can play with them too.

Enjoy your Krag, they are a sweet shooting piece of history.

[madsenshooter]

I've been lucky and have got some with good bores, but from what I've read, the Krags will surprise you, shooting small groups with bores that look like the proverbial sewer pipe. I'm sure some fellows will chime in with some rifle powder loads with cast boolits, as long as you don't get the volume really low with super slow burners you'll be ok. 28-30 gr of 4895 would probably make an excellent cast load. Be sure to slug the bore of your Krag and use boolits sized just a tad larger, lube will eventually fill in any pitting your bore might have! Above all else, have fun!

[Bret4207]

I suggest you start with loads in the 12-1400 fps range and work up from there. I also suggest you start with something like Red Dot or 4227 until you get some decent grouping. Jumping straight into near full power loads with any powder is a good way to get discouraged. Start low and slow, learn to cast good boolits and slowly increase your speeds. My guess is you'll b like a lot of us and find happiness around 15-1600 fps in your 30, 8mm and 303. You are going to spend more time finding out what your guns require than you think now, so don't jinx yourself by limiting your choices only to slower powders. Faster powders work with cast and for some reason seem easier to get good results with for a lot of people. The slower powders tend to comes in with heavy for the caliber boolits and often require better attention to size and neck tension, etc.

Start with the simple stuff and go from there. Oh, and ALWAYS write down what you're doing or you'll be doomed to repeat the same work over and over.

[DanM]

Good advice above. Dont forget the 'old standard' load of 14-16grs A2400. A good starter mold might be the Lee 180gr, .311RN, or the Lyman 311299. Also be sure to start with a clean barrel. Use an ammoniated bore cleaner to be sure ALL the copper fouling is gone. Size your boolits so a loaded round will just chamber, and seat so the boolit touches the lands. Likely your ideal diameter will be about .002" over bore diameter. .001" over bore diameter may not be fat enough for optimum accuracy. Krags are fun, enjoy!

[RayinNH]

303, take Dan's advice and clean as much crud out of the barrel first or you'll just end up depositing lead on top of it all...Ray

[Throwback]

Good advice above. If your Krag won't shoot at 1,400 to 1,600 then it won't shoot the faster loads either.

Any load in a Krag that is safe for jacketed is safe with cast, but it may or may not be accurate. As Bret4207 points out, stick with 1,600 for the lion's share of your shooting. The heavier loads are excellent for hunting while the lighter loads are best for target shooting and accuracy.

The best powder I have found for heavy cast loads is H4895 though IMR 4895 is also good. 4064 and 3031 are also good choices. Do not be put off by pistol powder in cast rifle loads. 2400, 4227, and SR4759 have been used for years because they are absolutely superb. Accurate 5744 has lately proven to be a great choice also.

[Dean D.]

I just looked at my chrony data for the loads I mentioned earlier using IMR4227. 152gr GC 311466 boolit with 19.5 gr. IMR4227 @ 1568fps (8 shot avg velocity) 20.5gr IMR4227 @ 1641fps.

I was only able to shoot these at short range, 50 ft., but they grouped nicely. 19.5gr load grouped @ 0.412" and the 20.5gr load was 0.527. When the snow clears I hope to try them at longer range.

[4570guy]

19 gr of SR4759 under the Lee C312-185-1R sized .313 does very well in my Krag. Muzzle Velocity is about 1690 fps. It is my "go to" target load.

[David Caldwell]

Krags are great. I mostly use a Lyman 200gr w/gc, the 311299. I've tried everything from H4831 to Bullseye. Best results follow (groups are 10 or more rounds)
23.0 gr IMR4198 1700 fps 2 moa

8.0 gr Unique 1200 fps 2 moa

7.3 gr Unique unknown 1.7 moa

20.0 gr 2400 1660 fps 3.0 moa

17.2 gr 2400 unknown 1.5 moa This was the Baby Bear's Porridge. I
cleanly killed two white tails with it this winter. 1/4" high at 50 yds, 1/4 " high at 75, 1" low at 100. Because the scope doesn't mount directly over the bore, it's 1/4" right at 50, 1/4" left at 75, and 7/8" left at 100.

[Char-Gar]

The older Lyman/Ideal loading manuals are loaded with data for cast bullets and slower rifle powders in the Krag. The serious handloader needs a collection of these and you can pick them up on Ebay over time.

Don't give much heed to the old saw about powers changing over time. Sure there are variations, but no more than variations between lots of the same prowder produced close together. Mind you, I am not talking about the few powders that have been "reformulated", which means they are new powders with the old name slapped on them for sales purposes.

I agree with others that loads in the 1.4 to 1.6K fps area is the place to be with the Krag. 2400, 4227 and 4759 has similar burning rates and do great in the Krag rifle. Full snort pressure with these fast should be avoided in these rifles. The fast burning rate, gives a pretty good slap to the old steel. For higher pressure loads the medium to slow rifle powders will get it done while deliverying a slower shove to the steel.

I like 50/WC872 over a 200-210 grains cast bullet if I want velocity the same as the original military load with easy pressure. I have a custom 210 grain mold from Mountain Molds that has a .250 meplate that when backed up with this charge makes a serious hunting load. a .250 meplat on 30 caliber bullets is huge. It is not a target bullet but will deliver 2 to 2.5 MOA out to 200 yards which is plenty good for hunting.