Krag Collectors Association Forum

I've read elsewhere that the Hornaday 220 RN is a favorite bullet for Krags(for ease of feeding, I suppose) but, what powder is everyone using for best accuracy? I'm completely new to reloading 30/40 but, have reloaded most of my adult life, now 67YO. What modern powder and bullet would match military loads of the early 20th century as far as velocity and accuracy?
Steve

I've got best accuracy with medium burners, 4895, 4064 and other powders in that range. 4350 does well too. I've played with a lot of different slow burners, but when I get up over 40grs with them, the accuracy isn't there anymore. I'm loading 168 and 190BTHPs, so there's a jump to the rifling. My Garand doesn't care about that jump, why should my Krag? Actually, if you keep rounds below magazine length, even the 220RN has considerable jump.

I load my rounds with the Hornady 220 RN using 40.0 grains of IMR 4350 and a CCI 250 Magnum primer. This is about as close as you can get to the ballistics of the original .30 US Army round that our Krags were designed for. This is what I'll be shooting at the Nationals this year in three weeks.

That said, there are a plethora of different loads and bullets which work well in Krags. I know a guy who shoots a 150 GR RN bullet in his and regularly shoots 296+ all day long in CMP matches (300 is a perfect score, so you can imagine how accurate he is). Not all Krags love the same loads, so once you find what works for you in your Krag, stick with it!

I load the 220 grain Hornadys with 42.5 grains of IMR 4350.

GAB!!! That 42.5 grain load will crack your bolt lug!

Amen to that! 41 grains of 4350 is about as hot as you want to go in a Krag, and even that is pushing it. 40.0 is the normal loading, and you should try to stick right around there!

Sierra manual goes a bit higher. Test gun identified as Krag, 22" barrel.

30-40 Krag

.308 220 gr. RN
Cartridge OAL: 3.000"

Velocity------1800 1900 2000 2100
IMR-4350 38.2 40.2 42.3 44.4

Accuracy Load: IMR-4350/42.3 grs.; 2000 fps/1954 ft.lbs.
Hunting Load: IMR-4350/44.4 grs.; 2100 fps/2154 ft.lbs.

Conservative loads certainly offer their advantages, especially for target shooting, but if Sierra's data can be trusted there may be little cause for alarm at 42.5 grains

I tried the 42.5 grain load and cracked the lug on my 1896 bolt somewhere during two 5-shot strings. That is the level of velocity & pressure that caused the highest velocity military ammunition to be withdrawn from service.

Any Sierra 220 gr. users here? Has anyone seen an advantage in Sierra's?
Steve

Anymore, we use what we can get.