Ammunition Reloading

Discussions, Stories, Hints & Tips about everything outdoors. Biking, Hiking, Fishing, Shooting, Camping etc.
User avatar
SoftShoe
Outfitter
Posts: 1165
Joined: January 10th, 2018, 1:40 pm
Location: Kentucky
Contact:

Re: Ammunition Reloading

Post by SoftShoe »

walt133 wrote:
SoftShoe wrote:Well you could do this but if the bullet is traveling slow enough to drop 2ft at 100yds (I believe that is the distance he wishes to shoot) just think what the drop would be like at 200? 300yds would be like artillery fire As an aside that is fun! Years ago I used to compete in 1000yd BPCR competitions shooting a Sharps in 50-110. Its been long enough that I dont remember what the ballistics were & I am at work so dont have my log at hand but the TOF was so long I could literally fire a shot, light a cig, lean over to the spotting scope & watch the bullet impact.
Very true! I really didn't read the whole thread. :D So his POI is 2 feet high at 100 yards? That is beyond ridiculous! I would have to say making a new front sight and filing down is his best choice then...

Oh I agree 100%! He was asking questions about reloading so I was answering questions about reloading :lol: It wasnt until this morn that I actually started to think about what his problem actually was & to come up with a solution. Long in the tooth folks tend to be singularly focused that way. No out of the box thinking for us, in fact we dont even get close to the edges ;)

My guess is his rear sight is on backwards. Baring that the new front sight will solve the problem. It would be more fun to find a reloading solution though :D

Image
User avatar
paul2012
Tracker
Posts: 190
Joined: August 26th, 2013, 4:46 am
Location: Minnesota, USA
Contact:

Re: Ammunition Reloading

Post by paul2012 »

SoftShoe wrote:Well you could do this but if the bullet is traveling slow enough to drop 2ft at 100yds (I believe that is the distance he wishes to shoot) just think what the drop would be like at 200? 300yds would be like artillery fire :lol: As an aside that is fun! Years ago I used to compete in 1000yd BPCR competitions shooting a Sharps in 50-110. Its been long enough that I dont remember what the ballistics were & I am at work so dont have my log at hand but the TOF was so long I could literally fire a shot, light a cig, lean over to the spotting scope & watch the bullet impact.
Good thing I have the volley sights :D
SoftShoe wrote:My guess is his rear sight is on backwards. Baring that the new front sight will solve the problem.
I don't believe that to be the case, the markings on the flip up peep ladder are facing the shooter. I've done a lot of research into the sights on this rifle because I was trying to prove if its carbine status was authentic. Carbines come with a nice premium and are also frequently faked. To save you the trouble of trying to make sense of all this I'll not go into all the details (also to keep me from looking like charlie from its always sunny)
Image

So throughout the Krag's bumpy service life, thanks to good old american cronyism, it had something like 7 or 8 different sights-to-rifle configurations. My specific gun is a 1896 carbine fitted with model 1901 carbine sights. If you are interested about learning more about the whole story I recommend watching C&Rsenal's video on the Krag to become a expert in a much shorter time than it took me. Now that doesn't really change the fact that my gun is shooting high but I've also heard that those Remington 180gr hunting loads don't actually shoot very good through Krags. I found a guy testing them and finding that he gets better groupings with his 150gr cheep plinking loads, though he did have an aftermarket sight on his. The theory was that those rounds where made more for guns like the 1895 Winchester that also came in that caliber and where more designed for hunting.

My current plan for experimentation is to try out a few loads and see how it affects things, maybe ask around and see if anyone has more experience with the krag, and then see about fixing those sights if it comes to it. If worse comes to worse, I can always aim low. ;)
MooseHunter330
Outfitter
Posts: 1716
Joined: September 14th, 2013, 5:54 am
Location: SW Germany
Contact:

Re: Ammunition Reloading

Post by MooseHunter330 »

SoftShoe wrote:...30-40 was originally a BP cartridge..
No it wasn't. .30-40 Krag was never intended to be loaded with black.
It's sort of a .30WCF becoming .30-30 thing, since most people were just used to that designation, so I doubt that it'd work.
It would certainly be interesting, though.
Spends all the gold and money to buy new weapons in the shape of guns.
User avatar
Jack.Grave
Outfitter
Posts: 2200
Joined: May 27th, 2009, 1:35 pm
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Contact:

Re: Ammunition Reloading

Post by Jack.Grave »

After short googling .30-40 Krag Cartridge were loaded with 220 grs RN-FMJ bullet driven out from muzzle at 2000 fps (Krag rifle) and or 1960 fps (Krag Carbine). I would recomend usage of slow burning powder under heavy bullet. Use as as starter 85% of max load + high quality magnum primers (LR) for better replicating of old corosive army issue primers. Jack
User avatar
gas56
Outfitter
Posts: 4340
Joined: April 4th, 2014, 12:51 pm
Location: Ohio
Contact:

Re: Ammunition Reloading

Post by gas56 »

30/40 Krag-Jorgensen rifles U.S. model?
http://candrsenal.com/a-quick-and-dirty ... en-rifles/
The 2nd question is what kind of condition is the rifle barrel in?
If everything is in good shape and the rifling looks deep and the shell fit is good than the next step would be taken.
Finding the right bullet & loads that will give you performance at the average distance range you plan on shooting at or under.
The rear sight adjusted at the lowest possible position should not put any bullet over at the 100 yard bulls-eye range mark.
Unless the rifle has been modified with its original sights.
Have you inspected the inside of the barrel yet?
User avatar
gas56
Outfitter
Posts: 4340
Joined: April 4th, 2014, 12:51 pm
Location: Ohio
Contact:

Re: Ammunition Reloading

Post by gas56 »

Here is a good review for anybody that aren't familiar with the 30/40 Krag
IMO I think it could be right in line for the game along with the other early Military bolt Rifles.
User avatar
paul2012
Tracker
Posts: 190
Joined: August 26th, 2013, 4:46 am
Location: Minnesota, USA
Contact:

Re: Ammunition Reloading

Post by paul2012 »

gas56 wrote:30/40 Krag-Jorgensen rifles U.S. model?
http://candrsenal.com/a-quick-and-dirty ... en-rifles/
The 2nd question is what kind of condition is the rifle barrel in?
If everything is in good shape and the rifling looks deep and the shell fit is good than the next step would be taken.
Finding the right bullet & loads that will give you performance at the average distance range you plan on shooting at or under.
The rear sight adjusted at the lowest possible position should not put any bullet over at the 100 yard bulls-eye range mark.
Unless the rifle has been modified with its original sights.
Have you inspected the inside of the barrel yet?
Oh believe me, I have read the C&Rsenal article and their video through and through. I also found an old US army manual on Forgotten Weapons that was published in 1917. That's how I came to my unofficial decision that mine is an original '96 carbine that was refitted with a 1901 sight for continued service. As for the condition, I have fully disassembled the rifle and cannot find any real flaws. The only thing I cant really check personally is the inside of the barrel. At a glance the rifling seems to be in good shape, the bore is smooth aside from the rifling which appears distinct and not disrupted in any way. However I wouldn't say I'd be surprised if this gun has burned through its fair share of rounds either in Cuba or the Philippines. Maybe even on all the way up to being a trainer during WW1, seeing as they updated the sights and didn't repurposed it as a sporter.
User avatar
gas56
Outfitter
Posts: 4340
Joined: April 4th, 2014, 12:51 pm
Location: Ohio
Contact:

Re: Ammunition Reloading

Post by gas56 »

paul2012 wrote:
gas56 wrote:30/40 Krag-Jorgensen rifles U.S. model?
http://candrsenal.com/a-quick-and-dirty ... en-rifles/
The 2nd question is what kind of condition is the rifle barrel in?
If everything is in good shape and the rifling looks deep and the shell fit is good than the next step would be taken.
Finding the right bullet & loads that will give you performance at the average distance range you plan on shooting at or under.
The rear sight adjusted at the lowest possible position should not put any bullet over at the 100 yard bulls-eye range mark.
Unless the rifle has been modified with its original sights.
Have you inspected the inside of the barrel yet?
Oh believe me, I have read the C&Rsenal article and their video through and through. I also found an old US army manual on Forgotten Weapons that was published in 1917. That's how I came to my unofficial decision that mine is an original '96 carbine that was refitted with a 1901 sight for continued service. As for the condition, I have fully disassembled the rifle and cannot find any real flaws. The only thing I cant really check personally is the inside of the barrel. At a glance the rifling seems to be in good shape, the bore is smooth aside from the rifling which appears distinct and not disrupted in any way. However I wouldn't say I'd be surprised if this gun has burned through its fair share of rounds either in Cuba or the Philippines. Maybe even on all the way up to being a trainer during WW1, seeing as they updated the sights and didn't repurposed it as a sporter.
The most important thing with these old rifles is checking the bolt of possible hairline cracks, and then inspecting shell fit. Go, No Go, gauges can easily check headspace fit,.. but the barrel should
be assembled with the bolt to the have a better reading with it against it with the gauges in place. A gunsmith inspection of the firearm never hurts, and doesn't cost that much and they have
all the tools needed if they are reputable.
If satisfied after the inspection, then going on to a good match of loading products with the right loads can be taken.
180 - 220 gr bullets can be used with what powder load you may discover which may work best,....
If you can get hold of a barrel laser sight-in tool it can easily show you the difference in adjustments to the iron sights and give you an idea where to start to see where it should be adjusted.
Before these were used, years ago we use to even look down through the barrel with the bolt off, and that can give you an Idea where to start to see where the iron sights should be adjusted.
Use a 3 inch bullseye on a white paper target preferably 3' by 4' sheets, especially afterwards where first checking where the bullets fired are hitting are targeted.
The main thing is getting to the point where consistency target hits can be maintained with your consistent loads,...
Which also can be achieved with shooting rounds as it shouldn't be that much of a problem unless the sights are out of whack which are causing misinterpreting correct bullet path.
I've found e-bay to have rifle sights at somewhat good deals,... and finding 30/40 krag sights can be common there.
This may be the remedy of getting the bullets to hit with consistent accuracy with this rifle.
Have a good 1..............................GAS
Last edited by gas56 on March 16th, 2018, 10:02 am, edited 3 times in total.
User avatar
InstinctiveArcher
Outfitter
Posts: 4876
Joined: May 2nd, 2015, 10:57 am
Contact:

Re: Ammunition Reloading

Post by InstinctiveArcher »

Interesting thread. I always thought it would be cool to try reloading my own bullets.
Image

In hunting, impossible doesn't exist any more than a sure thing does. - Tom Miranda
User avatar
SoftShoe
Outfitter
Posts: 1165
Joined: January 10th, 2018, 1:40 pm
Location: Kentucky
Contact:

Re: Ammunition Reloading

Post by SoftShoe »

gas56 wrote: Before these were used, years ago we use to even look down through the barrel with the bolt off, and that can give you an Idea where to start to see where the iron sights should be adjusted.
Years ago? I still do this :P

Image
Post Reply

Return to “The Great Outdoors”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest