Norwegian Sporter Krag

[Thomassen]

My Norskie Krag came yesterday. It's a 1912 serial # 419 made in 1913. I wonder what its history is. Original stock has been shortened and refinished. The barrel and action have been blued. Not a collector or in line for a restore. The bore is dark and pitted with strong rifling. Bore diameter slugs at .257. The rifling seems strong to the muzzle and it has a good looking crown. I hope to take it out Saturday or Sunday. I'll give a range report.

[Thomassen]

Took my Norse Krag out today for the first time. I had very inconsistent results.

My loads wer:

Sierra 140 grain SBT 31.6 grains Varget Remington brass and WLR primers

Sierra 140 grIN SBT 32.5 grains Varget Remington brass and WLR primers

All my case mouths were sooty after ejection. Most all my cases had primers that were slightly backed out.

I've read that sooty case mouths and backed out primers are a sign of low pressure and that will effect accuracy.

I cut a case down the middle to see if there were any signs of beginning case head thinning. There was none. I figure I can go up to 33.5 grains of Varget and that will keep me under 40000 CUP.

Any suggested loads out there in Norskie Krag Land?

[madsenshooter]

One of the things I like about the Hodgdon website is the fact that they give the pressure of their starting loads, unlike most others that give only the pressure of their max loads. 32.5gr of Varget is their start load, @ 37,500CUP. Keep working up until the cases seal, which shouldn't be far above the start load, max will be 36gr.

[Thomassen]

Thanks, madsenshooter.

[gunboat57]

Thomassen, what kind of results did you get at the range? Large groups? Double groups? Just curious.

[BM1455]

Lymans also publishes a Varget load for the 6.5x55. They did their testing out of a Swedish M38 Mauser which has the same barrel length as your M1912 Krag. These two rifles both have larger military chambers than SAAMI guns so they are probably as close to each other as you will find for published load data. I always try a load in the Mauser first, then try it in the Krag if no pressure signs appear in the Mauser.
Though Varget is a suitable powder for these guns you may want to try some slower powders as most of the 6.5x55 data these days is for slower burning powders. I like Vihta Vuori N-160 for 139-140gr bullets. It is similar to RL19 or IMR 4831 and it is one of the powders in the Norwegian load books for the Krag. Hornadys and Lymans both have load data for this powder but I found that Hornadys starts a little lower and the opening load gave me a sticky bolt on the Krag so it was probably too low.
I also have found that with my two guns, the Krag shoots all similar rounds about 30-50 ft/ sec slower than the Mauser . This is probably a function of the Krag having a slightly larger chamber and also that my Krag barrel slugs at around .266 while the Mauser slugs at .265. This should also mean that there is a little lower pressure being produced in the Krag with most of these loads as long as you are not going too low.
I found that mine likes Privi 139 BT with 40grs N-160 using Privi cases. 2 inch group at center of target with a six OClock hold at 100 yards. (2250 ft/ sec) My eyes are the main issue with original sights on the guns. It also did well with Sierra 140gr SP Gamekings and 38grs of N-160 and Privi cases aimed at the center of the target. (2144 ft/sec) Just a note on the Privi cases. They are the correct 6.5x55 dimensions as opposed to the US made cases and they have thicker brass as well so they are good long lasting cases. They will produce a little more pressure per load than the data using US cases so just keep that in mind.

[Thomassen]

I started at 50 yards yesterday with the rear sight set for 100 meters. My first group was a foot high and about 6".and almost off the paper. (I shot 3 shot groups). My second group was a two shot group with the group center 4 inches to the right of POA. I then moved to the 20 yard line. My first group here was a two inch three shot group, also to the right, and also a two inch group. I adjusted the rear sight for windage and elevation and then shot a 1 inch group at POA. Two of the bullets were in the same hole. I was feeling better about things when the next group opened up a bit and shot low.

So....... Could this erratic shooting be caused by shooting low pressure loads? The case mouths of all my spent shells were sooty from the case mouth to the shoulder. All had primers that had backed out a little. I dissected a case to check for high pressure signs and saw no thinning of the case head wall.

Here are some pics of a few of my cases. Thanks for the input. :)

[BM1455]

I started at 50 yards yesterday with the rear sightt set for 100 meters. My first group was a foot high and about 6".and almost off the paper. (I shot 3 shot groups).my second group was a two shot group with the group center 4 inches to the right of poi. I then moved to the 20 yard line. My first group here was a two inch three shot group, also to the right, and also a two inch group. I adjusted the rear sight for windage and elevation and then shot a 1 inch group at poi. Two of the bullets were in the same hole. I was feeling better about things when the next group opened up a bit and shot low.

So....... Could this erratic shooting be caused by shooting low pressure loads? The case mouths of all my spent shells were sooty from the case mouth to the shoulder. All had primers that had backed out a little. I dissected a case to check for high pressure signs and saw no thinning of the case head wall.

Here are some pics of a few of my cases. Thanks for the input. :)

I assume you mean POA not POI?
Also, I have never had any primers back out on me like that so I would guess that you are too low as well.

[Thomassen]

Yep, meant POA. Correction made.

[gunboat57]

Just a basic question since I'm not familiar with Norwegian Krag sights, are the sights loose in any way? Does the rear sight hold its adjustment in windage and elevation?

A while back I had trouble with one of my Krags stringing vertically. Turns out the elevation adjustment was slipping with each shot. ::)