.30-40 Krag-Jørgensen

[Chris C]

I've been wanting one for awhile now and while at Cabelas in La Vista yesterday noticed they had two of them in the gun library.  Looked at both of them went home slept on it and decided I wanted the older of the two.  So went back today and bought it.  Still would like to learn more about it but looking at the serial number it dates to 1899.     

[sparky0068]

Must bring to vintage shoot tomorrow morning.

[bkoenig]

That's purdy.

[Chris C]

Must bring to vintage shoot tomorrow morning.

I'd really like to shoot it soon but this rain last week really put a damper on getting the weekend off from work.

[CliffD]

Nice rifle! And congrats

I looked at them both in the library and noticed they even had ammo out on the shelf. Both looked really good and I tried hard to talk myself into getting one, but decided to wait a bit. You got yourself a pretty awesome piece of history Sir, again, congrats!

[Chris C]

Thanks    This is the first older firearm I've ever bought.  Just a wee bit a little bit different than modern guns.  I cleaned it up a little last night with some of those barricade rust protection wipes and ran my bore snake through the barrel a few times which was really dirty.  Being as old as it is I wonder if using a cleaning rod and brush would hurt the rifling or if I should just stick with the bore snake? 

[bkoenig]

Thanks    This is the first older firearm I've ever bought.  Just a wee bit a little bit different than modern guns.  I cleaned it up a little last night with some of those barricade rust protection wipes and ran my bore snake through the barrel a few times which was really dirty.  Being as old as it is I wonder if using a cleaning rod and brush would hurt the rifling or if I should just stick with the bore snake? 

A rod and brush will be fine, in fact a brush with some good solvent will probably get it cleaner than just the bore snake.  Just clean from the breach, and it's best to use a bore guide for the rod.

[Wildgoose]

That's a nice clean unaltered Krag. These are getting very hard to find as many were sporterized for hunting back in the day. The good news about that is brass and components are available to keep it shooting. The Krag is a single lug bolt so modest loading is recommended. IMHO this fine old war horse calls out for cast bullets and the Vintage Rifle Match at Ike's where we can all drool on it. My Lyman manual recommends the #311284 210 grain cast gas check slug. That with some mid range loads of IMR-4198 around 20 grains would threat the old girl gently and most likely deliver some fine accuracy. Not that I am jealous or have given any attention to what having a rifle like yours would be like.  

[Chris C]

I did pick up 100 rounds of this Remington ammo when I bought the rifle at Cabelas.  http://www.midwayusa.com/product/248306/remington-express-ammunition-30-40-krag-180-grain-pointed-soft-point-core-lokt-box-of-20  Figured I would shoot that and reload those cases.  At least it will buy me some time to get the die set and bullets.  I've looked in to casting bullets but being new to reloading it's something I'm going to hold off on right now.   

[Wildgoose]

I did pick up 100 rounds of this Remington ammo when I bought the rifle at Cabelas.  http://www.midwayusa.com/product/248306/remington-express-ammunition-30-40-krag-180-grain-pointed-soft-point-core-lokt-box-of-20  Figured I would shoot that and reload those cases.  At least it will buy me some time to get the die set and bullets.  I've looked in to casting bullets but being new to reloading it's something I'm going to hold off on right now.   

Your plans are fine Chris. I am just daydreaming on what I would do if I were to invest in something like your Krag. Due to the number of old vintage and historical rifles I shoot casting became a real aid in keeping costs down and in some cases like the black powder cartridge rifles the only way to make up safe ammo to use. Keep it in mind for down the road as you may find these types of old guns can become a bit of an obsession. If you do ever decide to make the jump into casting I would be happy to give you a hand in getting started. Enjoy that Krag.

[bkoenig]

You can also buy cast bullets from a place like Missouri Bullet Company:

http://www.missouribullet.com/

The nice thing about cast bullets in an old rifle like this is that it makes for almost no wear & tear on the rifle.  That and it's cheap.  I'm really becoming a proponent of cast bullets for most of my casual shooting, and even some competition.

[unfy]

You can also buy cast bullets from a place like Missouri Bullet Company:

http://www.missouribullet.com/

The nice thing about cast bullets in an old rifle like this is that it makes for almost no wear & tear on the rifle.  That and it's cheap.  I'm really becoming a proponent of cast bullets for most of my casual shooting, and even some competition.

For any classic rifle more than 40 years old, I'd prolly suggest cast bullets as well... simply for reducing the wear and tear on the barrel.  Hell, depending on how your and DD's rifle PC goes ... I'd suggest powder coat bullets .

Even old military war horse rifles I'd still suggest cast bullets (except possibly some of the gas operated ones... depending on your luck with leading in the piston etc).

[Chris C]

You can also buy cast bullets from a place like Missouri Bullet Company:

http://www.missouribullet.com/

The nice thing about cast bullets in an old rifle like this is that it makes for almost no wear & tear on the rifle.  That and it's cheap.  I'm really becoming a proponent of cast bullets for most of my casual shooting, and even some competition.

Cool thanks for the link.  I saved it in my bookmarks.  Once things cool down so there's not a 3-4 week wait looks like I'll be ordering from them.  It looks like they have some pretty good prices. 

[bkoenig]

Also check www.grafs.com.  They're a dealer for MO Bullets and may have better prices than buying direct, since you can get free shipping.

[Chris C]

Finally had time to shoot it although indoors still got to shoot it.  First impression it kicks like a pissed off mule!    Similar to a 12g.  I need to get a rubber butt pad on there for recoil.  At 50’ my 10 round group wasn’t bad at all.  One thing I did notice is at least indoors the really thin front sight was pretty hard to see.  Will be nice to get it outside.