.30-40 krag?

[troy_mclure]

ive had a growing intrest in old us military rounds. kinda working my way thru the list.

ive read a bit about the gun and round, but found nothing about real world experience as to how it shoots, what kinda critters people hunt with it, recoil, availability of brass, etc...

unless i were to find an amazingly cheap krag rifle ill prolly end up getting a bbl for my encore.

mainly i wanna hear about your experiences, thoughts, opinions on this cartridge.

 

[alistaire]

People hunt whitetails with Krags around here.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Power wise it is in the .300 Savage/.308/.30-06 family, so it's suitable for anything that can be hunted with those rounds.

 

[Scorch]

Ballistics are similar to 308 Win. It's a good old round, many old-timers were quite fond of it when I was a kid, probably because of availability of Krag rifles. Not very popular any more, again due to availability of Krag rifles.

 

[armsmaster270]

Rimmed cartridge like the 30-30 falls in between the 30-30 and 30-06 mild recoil and the slickest bolt you will ever find.

 

[mikejonestkd]

My dad grew up with a 98 krag and always fondly recalls it. Nice easy to shoot cartridge, smooth action rifle. it was a great combo. He went to the service and the rifle was gone when he came home..

 

[taylorce1]

Look around a lot and be prepared to buy one when the right deal comes along. I picked mine up for $300 at a pawn shop after a little price negotiation, I'm sure it wouldn't have been there long. I'll be taking it elk hunting this fall using Hornady 180 grain RN bullets. From what I've found spitzers don't always feed the best. I just picked up an old Rice aperture sight that mounts to the bolt assembly to try and improve my groups. IIRC the old 220 grain RN bullet was supposed to travel at 2200 fps which is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[44 AMP]

Two slightly different, but related questions

The .30-40 Krag cartridge, and the Krag rifle. Krag rifles are the slickest working bolt actions commonly found, in a traditional design. The Weatherby Mk V and the Colt Sauer are also very slick working actions, but are worlds different from the Krag.

The Krag has only one locking lug, and even though the workmanship is excellent, the newest of these rifles are 100+ years old, and the metalurgy of those days is inferior to that of today. The unique magazine is something that has never been done on any other rifle I know of, and is what makes a Krag, a Krag to me.

Designed to work with 40,000psi pressures, pushing the envelope with a Krag is asking for trouble. Krags in issue condition are collector's prizes (and have orices to match). Sporterised Krags are still often found, and usually at fairly low cost.

The .30-40 Krag cartridge (as SAAMI loaded) is at .300Savage/.308 Winchester power levels (a long barreled Krag will actually give you a few fps over a short barrel .308, usually), well below commercial .30-06 ammo of today.

The .30-40 Krag is most often loaded with 180gr or heavier bullets. Many years ago, I enjoyed shooting some 220gr FMJ GI Krag ammo, and the penetration was nothing short of amazing.

I don't have a Krag rifle anymore, but I do have a Ruger No.3 in .30-40 Krag. That ought to tell you something.

The Krag has killed dead everything that walks in North America, including grizzly bear (a record grizzly was killed in 1901 in Colorado). Not the fastest or most powerful .30 by a long shot, the .30-40 still works as well today as it did back then.

 

[sc928porsche]

The old 30-40 krag is a sweet shooting rifle with plenty of power to bring down deer and elk. Recoil is quite pleasant the the action is one of the smoothest you can find. You might have difficulty finding one in full military dress due to the fact that so many of them were sold at extremely low prices (my grandfather bought his for 10 dollars and I paid 25 for mine). They were almost immediately converted to sporting rifles. My grandfather converted his and I bought mine already converted at a gunshop in 1961. It was my very first purchaced deer rifle. I still own it and enjoy taking it out to the range to play. It also doubles as a loaner and back up when going on hunting trips.

 

[darkgael]

slick

A friend of mine took her doe last Fall with her 30-40 Krag sporter. As said, the slickest action you will ever find.
Pete

 

[Colorado Redneck]

Moose with 30-40 Krag

Many moons ago, when I was a kid at Steamboat Springs, colorado, I had a friend whose dad had a mounted moose head over the fireplace in their house. He shot that moose about where the ski area is now, with a 30-40 Krag. I would guess he shot it during the 1930's.

 

[Brasscatcher84]

30-40 Krag

I recently acquired a sporterized model 1898 Krag-Jorgensen. I believe the only original component is the receiver. heven't done much shooting w/ it yet, as ammo is not common in my neck of the woods. Can anyone tell me if hornady or remington or any of the other manufacturers will sell by mail direct to the public? Will I have to go through a dealer and special order and then pay the markup?

 

[moosemike]

The .30-40 is not in the same class as the .30-06 despite what some people are claiming on here. It is almost a ballistic twin to the .303 British.

 

[Mike Irwin]

I said family.

You know, family of .30 caliber rounds found in America?

But, it can be argued that they are in the same relative class. With 180 gr. bullets, the .300, the .30-40, the .308, and .30-06 all generate between 2,000 and 3,000 ft. lbs of energy.

That puts them firmly in the medium game class of cartridges. Yes, the .30-06 can bleed into the next class, large game, but it's certainly not a stretch to say that they are in the same class.

 

[eastbank]

i own two 30-40 krags ,a new winchester high wall src carbine and a new browning 1895 made in 1985. they both shoot fantastic. eastbank.

 

[OJ]

Not too long ago and for many years, the largest elk rack on the Boone & Crockett list was taken west of Crested Butte, CO, with a Winchester 94 in 30-40 Krag. I saw the rack (mounted on a different cape since the original wasn't kept) in a motel owned by a friend and both belonged to a friend of his.

My Winchester 95 is in 30-06 but, I have friends who still hunt big game with their Winchester 95s in 30-40 Krag and swear by that combo. For those of us who like lever guns, it seems like not a bad choice.

I've never shot the Krag-Jorgensen rifle but I understood it was popular largely due to the unique design of the magazine that allowed topping off on the right side without having to operate the bolt - plus the fact it was a better choice gun and caliber in 1894 when it was first produced.

 

[moosemike]

I would like to take a moose sometime with a 220 in a 30-40. I shot a cow moose a few days ago with a 30-06 220 and i'm now in love with .30 cal 220's. I've never gotten performance like that on moose before.