Grandpa's Krag Carbine.

[psteinmayer]

+1 on the Hornady locking rings. Once you install them, set your die depth, and lock the ring... your setting will NEVER change unless you want it to. I use mostly LEE dies, and have changed over most of them to the locking rings now.

Another note about reloading... and possibly the best advice I can give to a novice: Get a good loading manual. Better still, get two or three! I use the Hornady 9th edition as my Bible, and back it up with data from the Lyman 49th edition, Speer, and LEE (Lee load data tables are usually with their dies).

Now... let's talk about that 50 cal Paul... ;D

[Man-Goat]

You all have suck an awesome wealth of knowledge! Thank you so very much.

Are Hornady presses any good? I was thinking of jetting over into PA to hit up my local Cabella's and I think they carry Hornady presses on the floor. Unfortunately the People's Rupublic of New Jersey deems firearms 'weapons of mass destruction' so many of the local sporting goods stores have a rather anemic stock of accessories.

Also what is this annealing that I am hearing / reading about? Is that a process that is needed to reload your own? How about casting your own bullets? Does lead work well in Krags? I also assume that there are different types of powders and that a Krag would like a slower burning powder since it's an older rifle and the tech back then can't match the newer faster burning powders.

All in all thanks again. If I have more reloading questions I think I should probably just make a thread in the reloading section! Haha.

~Man-Goat

[Culpeper]

All of the single stage presses pretty much do the same thing. My Dad used a red press which I guess was a Hornady for his .222 Remington ammo. It did exactly what he wanted it to do. Nothing fast or fancy. They are only different by what kind of accessories can be attached to them.

Do a search on youtube for "reloading ammo" and see what other guys use and the manner that they use it.

Hickok45 has a well reasoned video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irC3NuIKDm4

Here Iraqveteran8888 uses a turrett press
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsyxlqpoG_s

If you want to save those videos then you can use
http://www.clipconverter.cc/ to download them.

[psteinmayer]

Hornady or LEE are about the same, with LEE being a little less in price. Both use quick change adapters for the dies, although each uses a slightly different system of quick change. Both are a great value too!

Cast bullets work great in Krags. Lead is less forgiving in size than jacketed, so you will want to slug your barrel to know the exact size. Madsenshooter is a wonderful resource with regard to loading and shooting cast, and taught me a great deal. He makes the bullets for me that I shoot in my sporterized Benchrest Krag.

Now, for powders, you will want to stick to the load tables in the manuals until you're well versed in loading and the exactitudes of the different powders. Slower-burning powders are better with heavier bullets, and slightly faster with lighter... etc. With cast, most use much faster burning powders, such as pistol/shotgun powders. The Lyman 49th has extensive data for both jacketed and cast bullets.

Yes, if you post in the ammunition section, or even just read, you'll gain a wealth of knowledge.... and there is no shortage of helpful people (including myself) to be found there! Fear not buddy... we'll get you headed in the right direction! 8-)

[psteinmayer]

Oh yeah... and as for annealing, most of us do it to help preserve our brass. The brass becomes brittle over time with repeated heating and cooling through the natural mechanics of being fired. Annealing helps to soften the brass in the neck area, making it more malleable. You'll want to re-anneal the brass every dozen or so loadings.

To anneal, you'll heat the neck and shoulder area until the color of the brass turns to a bluish hue. then, allow the brass to cool. It's that simple. Some drop the brass in water after heating. I chuck my brass up in a drill (using my LEE trimmer collet) and spin them as I heat them to help them heat evenly. Then, I drop them into a metal bowl until they're cool. Then, size, trim, prime, and load as normal.

Also, once, you've loaded and fired, you'll want to neck-size only from there on out... but that's another story we'll get to later!

[madsenshooter]

I would guess that whether or not the Roosevelt runs again next year depends on turn out this year. With a lot of fellows rebuilding old Krags, I would expect to see a lot of them on the firing line. Cheapest way to get into the game, considering the price of an 03 vs a Krag put together from parts, or the bargain basement prices one occasionally finds for a Krag in good condition. New barrels for both carbine and rifle are available from the CMP, that'll put a lot of "shot out" Krags back into action.

[Man-Goat]

Okay, you guys are an awful influence. Haha! ;D I drove out to Cabela's, and hour an a half, and since I drove all that way I wasn't going to leave empty handed! I picked up the Hornady Classic Kit, which comes with a Hornady manual and pretty much everything to get stated. I also picked up the Lyman manual along with the reloading magazine, just to be safe. I have an old ultrasonic cleaner / heater that I got from Harbour Freight a looong time ago. I also picked up powder and dies for my commonly shot rounds.

Since I have a 1903 A3 I figured I would start reloading those to cut down on cost and practice the craft. The bad part is now I need to build a small corner bench for "Hobbies" so that I'm not in the way too much in the small apartment.

I went with Hornady because they have a promotion for 500 free bullets with the kit and 100 free bullets per die set. All said and done I got the kit for free because of the cost of .45 ACP bullets. Not an awful deal if I do say so myself.

The one bad thing is that the kit does not come with a trimmer so I have to go pick that up after I build the desk.

I want to thank each and every one of you guys, you all are such nice and friendly people with so much information. When I get the system set up and I am ready to start reloading I will definitely post again in the appropriate section and pick your brains about that subject.

~Man-Goat

[FredC]

I would not worry about not having a trimmer. With low pressure rounds, I do not think the cases will lengthen very much. I got a trimmer a few years ago and only used it once to see how it worked. I have not fired any cases enough to really need it.

[psteinmayer]

You'll use the trimmer more with the 30-06 than you will with the 30-40 rounds... and as Fred said, you still won't use it that much.

Good job on the buy!

[butlersrangers]

The Lee trimmer is inexpensive and almost fool-proof.

It has a cutter and base that works for most calibers.

You then buy a (preset) shaft and head-holder for your specific cartridge.

It is a hand-held tool. You can do case trimming while watching TV.