30-40 Krag... obsolete??? thoughts on lack of ammo & brass???

M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
So... as I go through my collection & try to build up a good "shooting supply" of brass for all my guns, I'm surprised that 30-40 Krag is lacking everywhere...

even PRVI that seems to make ammo & cases for almost everything doesn't make anything... it's been a while since I looked at what I have... I know I have 100 to 150 of 2 brands of brass ( & no where near enough of either or both ) ... Remington, & either Lapua or Norma

so... is this one going to be tough to get ammo or brass for in the future, or what is going on here??? I'd personally like to have 500 matching headstamp cases, but at this point, I guess I'd have to buy what ever I could get, if I could find any...

you guys that have had the rifles for a while now, hording the stuff or what ;) Thoughts???
 
I expect it is like most other uncommon brass, they make a batch of it once a year or so, and when it is gone, it is gone.
 
I have 30/40 Krag cases, I have 40 that are glued into a 50 case holder. Show and tell only but I do not want anyone using those cases.

F. Guffey
 
see... you're even "wasting" them by gluing them in some type of display :D

what's a newer owner of a Krag to do ( I've only had mine for a couple years ) certainly not long enough to decoupage any extra cases... :D

maybe they are getting shot more than the ammo / case makers think they are??? is there anything popular that the 30-40 cases are getting formed into???

IMO, it's not alone in that group of guns with no cases available, but the others ( besides 45-70 right now ) are not domestic guns or cartridges... BTW... I actually saw some 22 Hornet ammo for sale the other day, or that would also fall into that class of cartridges
 
Thanks for the suggestion... Hmmm... wonder what the headstamp reads on those "30 Army" & how many they have in stock???

I have a slight OCD issue, & enough Contender barrels in chamberings that require forming other cases... that on "regular" cartridges, I try to have the correct headstamps... That, & my milsurp ammo bench would be a royal headache if things got messed up, & I had to figure out the difference between a 6.5 Arisaka, & a 6.5 Caracano & 7 X 57 Mauser, 30-40 Krag, & .308, 7.62 X 45... etc... ( 7.62 X 45 is already in 220 Swift headstamp cases :o )

I guess I'll just try to be patient...

maybe I can campaign PRVI to start making 30-40 Krag???
 
All the manufacturers make seasonal-runs of low demand calibers. Try finding a box of 375 Winchester and feel my pain. It's just (a) devoting manufacturing time to calibers that are more in demand, and (b) trying to move us old farts over to those new-fangled wallet emptiers over our tried-and-true game getters.
 
I only have a Contender barrel in 375 Winchester, so I can get by with a smaller "shooting quantity" of 375 Winchester... but I don't think I have enough of those either...

so I'm feeling that pain as well brother :)
 
Well, my Grandpa's customized Krag still shoots pretty straight.

Admittedly, despite seasonal runs of factory, 30-40K ammo is a hand-loading proposition.
That said, the old (traditional) 220gn Krag load hits really hard on game.

 
You can find hunting ammo at the gun shows, check the collector tables. That's where I got the last 40 rounds I bought. The Winchester boxes were doggy, so $50 got them both. Ammo was nice and clean, looking forward to recycling the brass.
 
I'm surprised that 30-40 Krag is lacking everywhere...
Click to expand...

Maybe not everywhere, but everywhere its easy to look? Maybe its just your local area? I no longer trust the "you can find everything on the internet" line. All I ever find is "out of stock"...

Been buying brass at gun shows for a while, have several hundred .30-40 virgin, most Remington, one bag of Winchester, maybe more, still finding coffee cans with brass in them, :D

and no, mine! mine! My Precious....:D
have a Ruger No.3 in .30-40 and my buddy has a Winchester 95, so we need it!

I feel your pain with the .375 Winchester. Try and find .350 Rem mag! Only Remington ever made brass for that one. And I've got one even worse!

I would trade some of my .30-40 stash (not trading my .350s!) for factory .357 AMP brass. Good luck, I won't hold my breath...

.30 USA...I remember some of that. Its the old name. .30 US, .30 USA, .30 Govt, and oh, yeah, .30 Army. Those names were used before the 30-06 arrived, and for some time after, but I don't know how long.

I remember, I got a Krag in the early 70s, and there was no ammo in the stores for it then, either (its seasonal). Went to local gunsmith, he rummages around in the back for like 15-20 mins and comes out with a (large) coffee can about half full of loose .30-40 rnds. About a box worth of the lovely Winchster 180gr OPE load, and the rest was FMJ (220gr) headstamped .30 USA or .30 Army.

That stuff was old, back then, but it all worked and WOW did it work. Fairly thick trees went from "cover" to mere "concealment".

If anyone has any new ammo marked .30 Army or .30USA (and by "new" I mean made in the last 40 years!) I've never heard of it.

If you do find any of the old ammo marked .30 Army, etc, it will probably still fire. And It will probably have corrosive primers, expect that.

Actual GI stuff will be corrosive primed. Civilian ammo might be, depending on its age. Not sure if the general name change to .30-40 Krag was before or after the introduction of "kleenbore" and other non corrosive commercial primers. US commercial ammo, after WWII I would expect to be non-corrosive.
 
Forming 303 is my option. I have 200 or so actual krag cases and an enfield I never reload for so. I buy the privi 303, shoot it in one gun and then reload it for the other.
 
I have had 2 rifles chambered in the 30-40. One was a Krag and one was a Russian. Both accurate, but hardly hunting friendly. The cheap rifles went away, hardly anyone shoots them anymore, so the ammo goes away. It is the way of most surplus rifles. I have a rifle chambered in 7-30 Waters. I don't believe anyone ever made empty brass for that and it has been slowly "Going away". As others have already pointed out, some cartridges just can't stand on their own.
 
When I first started shooting my Krag, I did have a hard time finding brass, but as it was pointed out cabellas had it, so when ever I saw a box on the shelf, I bought it, as well as brass at gunshows. I now have 500+ cases that will keep my Krag from starving for a very long time.
Ammo is out there, just have to look.

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Here in NWA Ive seen a box or 2 on the shelves each year. Academy got it once and cabelas every now and again. I'll keep my eyes open for components
 
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