picked up my first krag

[walrus]

i have wanted a krag for years but never took the plunge. i collect and shoot vintage military rifles and wanted a nice bore. today i found a 1898 rifle with a nice bore and good crown. after a good checkout its off to the range.
the rifle serial dates it to 1903 and the stock cartouche is 1903. what rear sight would be correct for the rifle? where can i get a new front blade? thanks for having me. fine forum to stumble on.

[butlersrangers]

walrus: Welcome to the Krag Forum and the 'World of Enjoying Krags'. I hope you enjoy your Range Session. You should give us more details on your Krag (i.e. barrel length, current sights, stock status). If you can post some photos, you will get lots of information from helpful members. There is a lot of information here, if you utilize the different pages of the KCA Website and the Search feature. I recommend that you build a Krag library and maintain a healthy curiosity and skepticism. Charles McArthur

[walrus]

ok, details - 30" barrel. stock with 1903 carcouche, p on wrist with small T.C or I.C above it, just below trigger guard. unit marks or rack number on stock 30 above 57. has the rear sight with slider locked by knob, calibrated out to 2000 yds. pinned front blade. the receiver is marked 1898 does all this sound correct for the rifle. according to the data online it was built in 1903. have not shot it yet. no local stores stock 30-40 krag. gee, don't know why?

[walrus]

[walrus]

[walrus]

man, thats distorted! sorry for the crappy cell phone photo. :-[

[psteinmayer]

You should be able to order Remington factory 30-40 ammo from Cabelas or a site like Cheap-As Dirt. It is available, but most stores will not carry the cartridge anymore. Many of us faithful Krag shooters hand-load our own ammo. Dies, and everything else you would need are readily available. I personally load a 165 grain Hornady spitzer with 38.8 grains of IMR 4064 with excellent results! If you buy factory ammo, save your brass! :) Good luck with your Krag... it should provide you lots of great shooting!

[Century2]

I personally load a 165 grain Hornady spitzer with 38.8 grains of IMR 4064 with excellent results!

I have worked up a similar load however it was for my 22" carbine so the load may be hotter than necessary for a 30" barrel. The load densities achieved with IMR 4064 are best with the shorter barrels. For 30" barrels, the IMR 4350 gives better load densities.

[walrus]

can anybody tell me if thats the correct rear sight for 1903 date?

[psteinmayer]

I personally load a 165 grain Hornady spitzer with 38.8 grains of IMR 4064 with excellent results!

I have worked up a similar load however it was for my 22" carbine so the load may be hotter than necessary for a 30" barrel. The load densities achieved with IMR 4064 are best with the shorter barrels. For 30" barrels, the IMR 4350 gives better load densities.

I'll keep that in mind. I normally loaded a 180 grain Hornady spitzer or 180 Grain Speer boattail with 38.4 grains of the 4064, also with good results. The Speer boattails can only be used single shot... with no crimp ring, they push back into the case when I try to chamber a round. I switched to the 165 looking for a flatter trajectory with a higher muzzle velocity. I think that round for round, the results (on a accuracy scale) are very similar in my 1898, and the recoil is very manageable with the 165 grain. Next time I buy powder, I'll look for the 4350. I also load 30-06 (180 grain)for my Garand, and I use the 4064 in those loads too, so it's convenient.