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commercial 30 40 availability?

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2023 12:25 pm
by Hunza
since only a few make 30 40 anymore and only in batches or runs. what is the timeline usually observed when the mfgs ramp up and make some more?

Re: commercial 30 40 availability?

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2023 3:19 pm
by psteinmayer
Good question! I don't know the answer to that... and I doubt it's done with any regularity anymore. I will say that earlier this year, the new owners of Remington have stated that they intended to return several calibers to production... which would include 30-40 Krag. Haven't seen any appear in the stores yet though.

FWIW, I was at the Michigan Antique Arms Collectors show on Saturday, and one guy with old ammo had several boxes of 30-40... including some new and some old. Unfortunately, his prices were quite high (he wanted $65 for a full box of newer Remington 30-40)! Being that I have BooKu amounts of brass, I didn't see the need to buy any and left it for someone else to discover.

Re: commercial 30 40 availability?

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2023 5:00 pm
by Culpeper
Really? Sixty-five a box? Well, heck. I will just have to under cut that guy. I'll let go of a couple of boxes for sixty bucks a box. I am certain most guys will see that as a welcome relief from the profiteers out there.

Yeah. All joking aside sure would be good if Remington or Winchester would bring twenty million rounds to market in the next year. A million boxes might satisfy all of the newbies's needs. I wonder if we can persuade Norma or maybe RUAG to produce a run.

Re: commercial 30 40 availability?

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2023 5:06 pm
by Hunza
i still have some from a few years ago. winchester and federal marked 8.00 for twenty and some Peters .

Re: commercial 30 40 availability?

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2023 6:09 pm
by Olpeddler
Hello Hunza,
About a year ago I had a pretty good experience with Hornady when I was looking for .308, 180 grain Spitzer and Round Nose Interlock bullets for reloading .30-40 Krag and 303 Savage cartridges. I called their HQ's and a service rep was helpful and patient with me. He told me that Round Nose was on the production schedule for April of this year, and Spitzer for July. Although I didn't ask him about factory loaded cartridges, said they would not be produced until the fall of this year.

Re: commercial 30 40 availability?

Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2023 1:17 pm
by Hunza
thank you..... that is good news. i remember when 30 40 was on every shelf. my first krag is either an NRA or DCM gun i purchased from a fella and ammo was plentiful. problem was i didn't shoot it much cause it is in full military clothes. i also purchased a Remmington made Mosin in the same new condition but ammo for it was hard to find. sears and roebuck and other stores has pages and pages of surplus rifles but i couldn't afford the habit. ahhhh for the old days????

Re: commercial 30 40 availability?

Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2023 3:22 pm
by Culpeper
Hunza wrote: Wed Sep 27, 2023 5:06 pm i still have some from a few years ago. winchester and federal marked 8.00 for twenty and some Peters .
That is before my time. The cheapest I ever found was November/December 2005 at Sportsman Guide for fifteen a box. It has been only up from there.

I ordered some Igman 7.62x54 so I can shoot a buddy's Mosin carbine in a match. I guess seventy cents is an alright price in these trying times.

https://wildhorseammunition.com/product ... E+SHIPPING

Re: commercial 30 40 availability?

Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2023 5:05 pm
by Hunza
getting back into the 30 40 a little. almost all of my shooting in 30 40 has been with the round nose 180 or heavier bullets. now it seems that the spitzer has taken over so how does the spitzer shape perform out of the 1898 shorter barreled Krag? should i reload with the spitzer or look for the conventional round nose bullets.

Re: commercial 30 40 availability?

Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2023 8:54 pm
by butlersrangers
Individual Krags vary in their ability to smoothly feed 'Spitzer' bullets. A RN shape helps guide rounds through the Krag magazine.

Jacketed RN bullets seem to have decreased in availability. My Krags seem to do OK with Spitzer shaped bullets. I find 165 grain to 180 grain hunting bullets to be a lot more available and cheaper than 220 grain projectiles. They shoot accurately with higher velocity, lower pressures, and less recoil.

Don't overlook bullets made for the .30-30 Winchester and cast bullet options. I've also had good results with 168 grain Sierra Match-Kings.

Attached: A couple of Krag carbine loadings that show promise at 50 yards. IIRC - The napkin shots were fired 'off-hand'.
The scoped Krag was being 'sighted-in' at the bench. The last 7 shots are near the box outline.

Re: commercial 30 40 availability?

Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 1:53 am
by Hunza
nice rifles and groups. is that a 1903 barrel on the first Krag? what type of peep sight is that?