I guess I'm learning something here. I burned a lot of 4350 when I was shooting the .243 Winchester off the bench. I've always thought of it as a powder for 50,000 psi and up, but obviously it's not. Still have quite a lot in store, so if I ever get the Krags out again. . . . .
Cognitive Dissident
Thanks so much for all the great advice guys. For the most part the American powders are prohibitively expensive here so I will try to find safe loads similar to the IMR and Hodgson suggestions using Vihtavuori, Lovex, or something else European.
Yes, the original XMP-5744 was a Czech military powder. Surplus, not pull-down, as I learned it. Been quite a while, so I can't confidently say anything more, except that it works when used correctly.
Cognitive Dissident
My Krag shooting begins and ends with moulds that resemble good old Lyman #311284. Powder of choice for 2000fps for me begins and ends with 4350 also. Remembering the issues that service units had in the field with bolt lugs cracking when velocity with the 220 grain service bullet was raised to 2200fps, I wouldn't exceed that 2000 velocity level with heavy bullets for any reason.
As with any gun, but especially with Krags and their sloppy attention to bore and throat dimensions, a chamber cast is positively in order. Size the bullet to match throat diameter, or a half thousandths less, and guarantee that the nose rides firmly on the lands like Phil said, and your accuracy will be all you can hope for. Guessing at those bullet dimensions, or taking internet advice at face value, puts success squarely in the realm of luck. (What works for Joe X's Krag may or may not work in Ralph Y's Krag, and truth be told probably won't due to wildly varying/non-spec Krags that are out there, and add to that varying degrees of round counts/wear over the last 130 years and you have a real melange of issues to surmount.)
Once again I'll post these pictures of cracked lugs. I think Gary makes an excellent point about stressing these old Krags to OEM levels.
Cognitive Dissident
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |