January 04, 2019
By Lane Pearce
Early experimental loadings were composed of a 220-grain FMJ RN bullet and 40 grains of blackpowder, but that was soon changed to smokeless powder. In 1893 Winchester began offering the High Wall single-shot rifle chambered for the .30-40 Krag and, as such, became the first commercial U.S. arms maker to offer a small-bore smokeless-powder sporting cartridge. That was nearly two years before the smokeless-powder .30-30 Winchester.
.30-40 Krag Case: WinchesterPrimer: CCI 200Max Case Length: 2.314 in.Trim Length: 2.304 in.OAL Max: 3.089 in.
The .30-40 Krag served the country well for a decade, and when military-surplus rifles became available to the public, the cartridge proved to be very successful with hunters. With heavy bullets, the Krag can be effective on elk and moose, and loaded with a modern 180-grain bullet, the Krag is an excellent deer cartridge out to 250 yards.
Handloading the Krag can be tricky due to relatively inconsistent loading data. Special attention must be paid to working up maximum loads, especially in vintage Krag rifles. But as this project demonstrates, the results of shooting a modern rifle can be very pleasing.
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The industry Maximum Average Pressure for the .30-40 Krag is 40,000 CUP.
Lane's Favorite .30-40 Krag Loads Bullet Type GRS Case Primer Velocity Winchester 1885 Saddle Ring Carbine, 16.5-Inch Barrel, Leupold 2-7X 28mm Hornady 165-gr. InterLock SST IMR-4064 41.0 Win. CCI 200 2252 Hornady 165-gr. InterLock SST Reloder 17 46.0 Win. CCI 200 2294 NEI 165-gr. Cast RN w/gascheck SR 4759 22.0 Rem. CCI 200 1885 Hornady 180-gr. InterLock JSP H4831SC 49.0 Rem. CCI 200 2081 Hornady 180-gr. InterLock JSP IMR-4895 41.0 Rem. CCI 200 2235 Hornady 180-gr. InterLock JSP Reloder 15 41.5 Win. CCI 200 2279 Hornady 220-gr. InterLock RN H4831SC 42.5 Rem. CCI 200 1766 NOTES: Velocity is the average of 15 rounds measured 6 feet from the guns muzzle using an Oehler M35P chronograph.
