.30-40 Krag for hogs?

G

gmarr

New member
I recently shot a 1898 Springfield a friend owns. Kind of loved it. I have a sporterized 1903 in .30-06 that we did a side-by-side. Besides using up a lot of ammo I came to the conclusion (wait for it) that I want a 1898 to keep my '03 company.

So, I've used my '03 on hogs. No problem. But for the Krag what's a good ammo choice? Can't seem to find many options but there's a 180 grain Core Lokt from Remington that looks good. Suggestions would be appreciated.

No, I don't reload and distances would be out to approx 100 yards.

Thanks in advance
 
You don't have many options,,,

You don't have many options,,,
You might as well use what you can find.

I'm not attempting sarcasm here,,,
It's just that for that rifle you won't find many options.

I had a Krag when I was a younger guy,,,
My Pop took a deer with it using off the shelf ammo,,,
One shot with a good hit and I don't think the deer even blinked before dropping.

It's a 30 caliber rifle that many people compare to a 30-30,,,
Hit the hog in the sweet spot and it should go down with any bullet.

Aarond

.
 
.30-40 Krag is only loaded "seasonally" by Winchester and Remington. No mention by anybody of when that season is either.
Ditto for brass. You can make brass out of .303 Brit cases though.
Not even OWS has any.
Anyway, the Krag will do pretty much the same things any .30 cal will do.
 
Factory ammo for a Krag is a take what you can get when you can get it proposition. Fortunately, either the 180 grain Corelokt or Winchester's 180 grain Power Point would be a fine choice for hogs. It's roughly between a 30-30 and a 308.
 
Remington Corelock is your best bet as others have stated. That's what I use in my Remington Lee and it takes down deer just fine. After you shoot save the brass and reload what you think is a better option.

I would also buy ammo whenever you find it. In the midwest it can be had at Cabelas and Scheels. Usually 10 boxes on the shelf or none.
 
The 30-40 is a perfectly fine middle power range caliber. The Krag rifle is elegant and oozes panache. But I think the 30-40 is a cartridge that demands loading your own due to limited factory offerings and high cost. Being a .308 there is nearly an endless choice of bullets. I have loaded mine with 170 grain lead and 150 grain FMJ military surplus bullets and both work well for fun shooting. If I hunted with mine I would likely go with a 165 grain soft point.

Oh, here's mine...

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The 30-40 is just fine for hogs or deer up to medium ranges.

If you don't reload, you'll probably use the Remington 180-grain loads, the people who stock the round usually have these. Good luck finding ammo on a consistent basis, buy it when you find it and don't hesitate.

Sometimes you'll find some vintage ammo at a gun show for a good price.

Do keep your brass, you'll reload it eventually.
 
I don't have a Krag, but I can get one from a friend if I want it. It's such a temptation but so far I've resisted. Several times I've researched the cartridge and it appears to me the 180 factory loads would be just the ticket for pigs, however as others have mentioned, handloading would be the best bet for a variety of options.

I just love the slick working action on those things, you rarely hear someone fail to mention it, and the carbine my friend has is no exception. Buttery smooth, old world craftsmanship.
 
I do have a Krag, but its in 6.5x55mm Swede! :D

I have a .30-40 Krag rifle, its a Ruger No.3 :D:D

I did quite a bit of shooting the .30-40 in Krag rifles in my younger days. Winchester 180gr OPE (a neat bullet), Remington Core-lokt 180s, and a number of rounds marked .30 US Army, .30 USA, and some original military rounds as well. Quite a few of the 220gr FMJ RNs.

velocity numbers for the .30-40 are not impressive, but the penetration of the round is! The 180s are very good, and the 220s penetration just about has to be seen to be believed. Never recovered one from a deer, and I doubt you would from a hog, either.

There's an old saying that the .30-40 Krag has killed dead everything that walks in North America. Personally, I don't doubt it one bit.

Put the bullet where it needs to go, and the Krag will do the job.
 
As mentioned the 30-40 has killed every thing that crawls on this earth. I even saw an Alaska Native that used it on whales in on the Bering Sea.

The factory loading of a 200 Gn bullet is all you need. The sights on the Krag rifle were made for this rounds.

In the book "Alaska-Yukon Trophies Won and Lost" by G.O. Young, they carried a Krag 30-40 as back up and to finish off the large brown bears.

What one must understand, is the US Military Krag Rifle does not like high pressure rounds. The Army tried to push the velocity from 2000 to 2200 fps and started screwing up the bolt lugs.

Don't do it, its not needed.

Another thing I like about the Krag, is if you're on a budget, you can load and shoot cast bullets at the same velocity 1900-2000 as the military loading.

My '98 Krag Rifle is quite accurate, and loading to the standard military loadings, the sights work quite well.

It has the smoothest action of any bolt gun I have and I think it would be an outstanding Hog Gun..............though I haven't hunted many hogs.
 
This is a really good article about loading cast bullets in the 30-40 Krag.Worth saving.
Even talks about hogs.

Do slug your barrel!My Krag is a little over.It accepts .303 dia pin gage for bore dia.
Good news! A mold mentioned in the article as designed for the Krag is the Lyman 311284.There is a .303 British version of the same bullet,the 313284.
Just saying between a .002 or so larger bullet,and the variety of sizer/luber dies,a guy can likely get a fit.

I'm also curious about the powder painted bullet thing.Supposed to ad .001 per side,or .002 on the dia.Supposed to handle the velocity.
A guy might be able to tune bore ride,etc on bullets measuring .308 as cast.

I'm going to play!

http://www.lasc.us/FryxellCB30-40Krag.htm
 
As kraigwy said, the 30-40 will kill anything, at appropriate range with good bullet placement, of course. I have thought there were only two factory loads available, both 180 gr spire points, one from Remington, one from Winchester. I have not been aware of a factory 200 gr load and would like to find out who offers it. The 180 loads make about 2400 fps and could be expected to drop hawgs quite effectively.
 
My buddy has killed a lot of deer with an old Krag sporter in 30-40. We live in a heavily wooded area, shots are short. I've used a shotgun for years, he loads 220 grain cast bullets to about 1650 fps. seems to work just fine.
 
HiBC thanks for that link. I have always liked Glen Fryxcell articles over on Leverguns.com. I need to get my 30 caliber mold out and cast some lead bullets for my 30-06 and 30-30.
 
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