Loads for 30/40 using IMR4895

[mikeallen]

G'Day All,

I have acquired a lot of dupont 4895 (IMR) about 6Kg (13lbs) and am looking for suitable load data for hte krag (mine's an 1898 rifle) using;

120 gn horardy spire points
150 gn winchester power points
180 gn winchester " "
220 gn sirrea round noses (pro hunter)

Load data is a bit rare here in Aussie so any help is greatly appreaciated.
Mike

[PiedTyper]

im going to copy these VERBATUM out of several books mainly a book i picked up at a local gun show called "One book/one caliber The complete reloading manual for the .30/.40 krag" i hope they help, really the only one ive ever used out of these is the 220gr round nose because as im sure anyone here will tell you, the round nose bullets work the best without getting jamed from the magazine... PLUS the 220 is one of the two (from what i understand [and ive been known to be wrong around here]) bullet types used by the military. NOTE this is not mentioned by the book and i dont recomend changing anything that the book says unless youve got some experience with reloading and understand what the implications of changing any factor of a load....but i often use Spitzer loads for round nose bullets since a round nose load is often not available, but remember that a round nose bullet has more contact with the barrel and will result in more friction and slightly higher back pressures so keep the loads on the mild end of the spectrum (especially since we're dealing with 100++ year old guns here)
ALSO loading info for Winchester bullets is scarce since everything you find is useing winchester powder (makes sense doesnt it) so you wont be finding any loads for "winchester" bullets here, but the best way to fix that problem is break out the magic marker and rub out "winchester" on the box, then they aint winchester bullets no mo (this isnt a terriable problem since i often buy bullets in a bag at the gun shop and who knows who made those)


LOADS FOUND IN
"Speer Relaoding Manual 9"

150gr (spitzer) bullet IMR4895
42.0gr 2493Muz.Velo.
40.0gr 2363Muz.Velo.
38.0gr 2272Muz.Velo.

180gr (spitzer) bullet IMR4895
39.0gr 2207Muz.Velo.
37.0gr 2099Muz.Velo.
35.0gr 1976Muz.Velo.

LOADS FOUND IN
"Lyman Reloading Handbook"

150gr (unspecified-jacketed) bullet IMR4895
MIN 41.0gr 2415Muz.Velo.
MAX 45.0gr 2590Muz.Velo.

180gr (unspecified-jacketed) bullet IMR4895
MIN 38.0gr 3132Muz.Velo.
MAX 42.0gr 2375Muz.Velo.

220gr (unspecified-jacketed) bullet IMR4895
MIN 36.0gr 1992Muz.Velo.
MAX 40.0gr 2183Muz.Velo.

LOADS FOUND IN
"IMR Powders loading guide"
NOTE:i have a sneeking suspision that these loads were created with cast bullets in mind judging by their VERY conservative figures

150gr (unspecified) bullet IMR4895
MIN 40.0gr
MAX 42.0gr

180gr (unspecified) bullet IMR4895
MIN 36.0gr
MAX 38.0gr

220gr (unspecified) bullet IMR4895
MIN 31.0gr
MAX 33.0gr

LOADS FOUND IN
"back of bathroom stall door"
(JUST KIDDING really found in "Sierra Relaoding Manual")

220gr (round nose) bullet IMR4895
32.0gr 1800Muz.Velo.
34.1gr 1900Muz.Velo.
36.2gr 2000Muz.Velo.
38.3gr 2100Muz.Velo.

NOW for some discussion, i was unable to locate any loads for a 120gr bullet (and i have many books to look at) BUT my educated guess, by useing the median of the 110gr load and the 130gr load which would put you at about 42gr or 43gr NOW REMEMBER i didnt say thats what came from a book and im not saying thats what you should use, but since ive never heard of a 120gr .30cal bullet we're kinda shooting in the dark, and if i happend to come across a literal ton of them for free, thats the point in which id start... i hope this helps, HAPPY SHOOTING

[Tom Butts]

Just wanted to chime in and say "thanks" for this very informative post on reloading. I'm sure it will help Mike out a lot and it is nice to see all of that reloading information compiled together in one place. Even for those of us that have been reloading for a while. Well done.

I also got a few laughs while reading through your post.
That is always a good thing.


Regards,

Tom

[mikeallen]

Thanks for the information re the reloading.

I found it very informative and yes entertaining as well ,

Loading info for the 30/40 and much US info is not really that easy here as we all seem to use Aussie Mulwex (ADI) powder (I mainly use AR2209 with the Winchester 150 @44 grains and for the Sierra 220 RN @ 37grns).

Thanks All once again.

Mike

[pv74]

I just bought an 1898 Krag last week.
A buddy of mine had some new Krag brass, a box of Hornady 180 grain round nose bullets and a die set.

I used 32 grains of surplus IMR 4895 powder. Grouped about 3" at 200 yards. Not too bad considering the bbl on mine is badly pitted and took me a whole evening to get somewhat clean. Recoil was very light.

I would load it a bit hotter, but I am concerned about the single lug action.

How concerned should I be about this? What powder/bullet combo is most suited to this gun and easiest on the action?