30-40 Krag
The 30-40 Krag, a rimmed bottleneck cartridge, was once known as the 30 U.S., 30 Army or 30 Government. It had the distinction of being a milestone cartridge in two ways... it was the first cartridge to use smokeless powder and the first military small bore. The blackpowder style nomenclature was still used; 30-40 meaning a .30 caliber bullet propelled by 40 grains of powder. The bolt action Krag-Jorgensen rifle, chambered for the 30-40 Krag, was chosen by the U.S. miltary in 1892 to replace the 1873 Springfield Trapdoor 45-70. The Krag rifle is renowned for having a very smooth operating action. With only one front locking lug on the bolt however, the action is not very robust and chamber pressure is limited to 40,000 CUP. It was replaced in 1906 by the Springfield 03. The department of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) sold large numbers of Krag rifles to the public in the 1920's and 30's. They became quite popular as sporting rifles during that era. In 1893 the Winchester highwall single shot became available in 30-40. Other sporting rifles chambered for this cartridge included the Remington-Lee bolt action, Remington rolling block, and Winchester model 95 lever action. No rifles were built for this cartridge after 1936 with the exception of a few Ruger No.3 single shots from 1973-1977. As a hunting cartridge, it proved itself very capable of taking big game such as Deer and Elk. The original loading was a 230 grain round nosed bullet of .309" diameter. In 1893 the bullet diameter was changed to .308", reduced to 220 grains. Muzzle velocity was 1970 feet per second. Two loadings currently available; the Remington Core Lokt PSP and the Winchester super-x Powerpoint. Both use 180 grain bullets driven at 2430 fps muzzle velocity and delivering 2360 foot pounds of energy. Reloaders have a wide selection of available bullets from 100 to 220 grains. Velocities run as high as 3000 fps with 100 grain bullets. Long throated Krag rifles are more suited to 200-220 grain round nose where it earned a reputation for accuracy. Click here for
30-40 Krag
cartridge dimensions.
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