Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .30/40 Krag Questions

Somebody needs to invent a machine that will allow old rifles to talk.

That's a technological advancement I could really support.

Weaver made a side mount which looked liked a bent piece of steel and Williams Gunsights also made a nice one out of aluminum.
Be a shame to D&T a undrilled receiver, Redfield and Pacific made receiver sights that replaced the cut off on the left side of the receiver. They pop up on the auction sites.
Check out the kragcollectorsassociation.org and jouster.com both have a wealth of information on your rifle.
Good Luck you picked up a great gun, just check the front lug on the bolt as some have developed a crack between the lug and bolt body.
Bob

Lee24 already did that.....he's just waiting for the patent to be approved.

Thanks for the heads up on the websites

I have a couple of Krags. One is a Model 1899 carbine that has a Lyman 3 power -- 3/4 inch -- All Weather scope mounted in a Stith mount. This mount attachs to the receiver and the barrel. This gun likes 180 gr. Remington PSPCLs in both factory and handloads with IMR 4350.
The other is a Model 1898 rifle that has had the barrel cut down to 20 inchs. It has a Fajen stock, and for sights carries a Redfield receiver sight and a Williams front ramp with a gold bead. This gun gets 220gr. Winchester Silver Tips for its hunting load and Hornady 220s for just messing around, again with IMR 4350. Both rifles are great fun to hunt with. My father used to say that the 30-40 was "The best damn elk gun ever made". He could have been right! They sure make you feel like you are hunting.

I have a rare 1898 Calvary Carbine version of the Krag...I love the darn thing..

from cast bullet data, I have settled on three loads depending on powder availability...

1. 25 grains of SR 4759.. works with 180 grain RN or 220 grain RN..
2. 30 grains of IMR or H 4198, with 150 or 180 grain RN bullets..
3. 30 grains of RL 7, with 150 to 220 grain RN bullets..
remember to work up.. especially in the heavier bullets, alot of those old Krags vary in wear and workmanship..

I have also loaded mine with the above charges using 168, 175, 190 and 200 grain Sierra Match bullets, using a Lyman Receiver site and a Redfield post mount at the end of the barrel..

open sights it has produced 2 to 2.5 inch groups at 200 yds with those loads...not bad for an 1898 made barrel...

the most accurate is 25 grains of SR 4759...

Thanks for the data Seafire

I had good luck with about any 220 RN and enough 4350 to go 2000-2100 fps. It killed deer like they had been hit by a truck and shot less than two inches at 100 yds. with the military sights.

Thanks for the load info Husqvarna.

Here is a Krag scout scope mount:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=260383723475

and here is a comment on what I think is the same mount, on www.jouster.com, search under "Krag", there are photos




Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Northern Indiana, USA
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Krag Scout Mount

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In another post on down here, I had posted about using a Miller Kodiak Mount to put a scope on my Krag. Since then I found a fellow selling a scout mount on ebay that allows you to put a red dot or LER pistol scope on your Krag rifle. 2 of the 6 he had to sell arrived today, and I've attached some pictures. All you do is remove your rear sight and replace it with the mount he is making. For those of you shy on screws, he is even having the odd threaded Krag sight screws made to go with the mounts! It works with the 1901 handguard with no modifications needed, I haven't tried it with other handguards yet. He is also loading the Hornady 150gr BTSP @2300fps and selling them @$118/100rnds. The load appears to bust the myth that short bullets are not accurate in the Krag as he has shot a .45" 50 yard group with the load. After April 1st check him out: Ammunition & Sight Rails for .30-40 Krag Rifles Fellows name is Peter and he restores sporterized Krags.
Attached Thumbnails

Thanks for the info on the Krag scope mounts.

How about 100 rounds, free.




April Fools!

I see the Old Man is off his medication today

The brass, dies, and bullets for the Krag came yesterday. The rifle should be here by next Wednesday. I am like a kid waiting for Christmas to arrive

nice rifle ,hillbillybear. Here is a pic of mine I bought about a month ago.Probably going to load up some 180 gr Sierra rnd nose bullets that have been laying around for awhile.

In my Browning 1895 .30-40 I use the Hornady 220 RN over 43 gr. of H4350. My goal is to duplicate the original load. I think that Hodgdon now lists the max as 42 gr.

I know that back in the day the Army thought they could up the velocity a bit from the original 2000 fps and did so only to watch the bolts crack on the 1898 rifles so they returned to the original load.

Very nice Krags gentlemen. I also bought the only box of .30/40 factory ammo I could find so I will have some 180's to try in it too.

S&K makes a no-drill/tap mount for the Krag. It does, however, require a groove to be cut in the barrel channel of the stock just in front of the receiver ring. the groove is for a ring that supports the front end of the mount and the rear fastens with a hook that replaces the cutoff lever at the left rear of the receiver. Another feature that some may find objectionable is that the mount offsets the scope to the left half an inch or so. Biggest drawback of all is the price, right at a hundred bucks from Brownell's. I was lucky enough to find one for $12.50 at a gun show. It seems sturdy enough, and the sporterized 1899 carbine I put it on will shoot about 1.5 MOA with the Sierra 180-gr. roundnose (somehow spitzers just don't look right on the old .30-40 case, and the roundnoses aren't that much of a drawback within the Krag's range limitations anyhow).