30-40 Brass Requests

[psteinmayer]

I should probably start looking into getting some too.

[Stretch32]

Just go out and pick up a nice Lee Enfield No. 1 Mk III and then you have an even better reason to stock up on .303 brass. Then you'll have a 2 for 1 going.

[Culpeper]

I have a SMLE somewhere in the pile along with two thousand rounds of S&B ammo. Would you believe I have never shot it? Of course I have seen neither of them since 2005.

[psteinmayer]

As great as that sounds... one could wind up in a great deal of trouble if they weren't extremely careful. Ammo loaded for 30-40 used in a British Enfield - no problem, although the accuracy would suck. However, ammo loaded for .303 used in a Krag could spell a very bad day for the shooter! Higher pressures coupled with the .312 dia. bullet would be well over the acceptable 40,000 cup acceptable pressure of the Krag action.

Food for thought, and one of the reasons I'm very hesitant to use .303 brass for my Krags. Although I don't own a .303 Enfield, I may one day!

[butlersrangers]

Paul - With its case shoulder further forward, I don't believe a .303 round will chamber in a Krag. (So, it is not likely to be a safety issue).

[Culpeper]

.303 will have to be F/L resized in a .30-40 die.

[psteinmayer]

Yeah... as soon as I saw your responses (Chuck and Paul), and thought about it for a nano-second... I realized I had suffered a catastrophic brain fart! LOL

Belay what I said about trying to fire 303 in a Krag!

[Culpeper]

Well at first I thought you must taken one too many tokes from the hash pipe but I dismissed that right away because you sold that months ago for your krag addiction. (One addiction at a time is what i say) Then I thought maybe you had laid in a years supply of airplane glue but I thought about the people in your PBA group (Paper Bag Anonymous) who would be disappointed that you relapsed from plastic for paper. (Again)

Then it came to me in a snap of the fingers. Ol' Steinmayer had a stroke. That could be the only answer and sure enough I was right.

To our visitors:

Steimayer's comments about firing loaded ammo is spot on. Resizing brass in times of brass shortages will get you through the hard times.

[Parashooter]

While there's a certain amount of variation in U.S. Krag chambers and probably somewhat more in new .303 brass, it's been my experience that most .303 cartridges can be chambered in my Krag using only a minor amount of brute force turning down the bolt handle. Try it with some new .303 brass and you may be surprised. (Shoulders are pretty far back on most unfired specimens I've handled.)



Naturally, firing this combination isn't a recommended practice - but probably wouldn't produce a disaster since the Krag's breech configuration provides outstanding case support, even if the primary (forward lug) is compromised.

[madsenshooter]

That's how I sized my PRVI .303 brass. It is nicely annealed and forms fairly easy in the rifle.