rough barrel

[DiGGer]

Gents I have a Krag cut down rifle. Barrel is a little rough. I was thinking of shooting cast lead at about .310(after I slug the bore). I am not looking for a match rifle but something I can take pout to the woods and maybe shoot a deer. What do you all think of a semi low powered load in lead. Is there a 220 gr RN head out there that is a little oversized?

[steved66]

DiGGer,

My bore slugged to .310 so I use .311 cast lead bullets. The ones I purchased from Montana Bullet Works are 200gr RN Gas Checked. I use 16gr Alliant 2400 and this powder/bullet combination shoots beautufully in my Krag. It is a light load so for deer hunting you could probably add a few more grains (check the max load in reloading manuals). I see that MBW offers 210gr RN in .310.

[madsenshooter]

Here's some nice heavy bullets: http://www.accuratemolds.com/catalog.php?page=2 All flatnoses I'm afraid. I have the 230E. It weighs 220gr checked and lubed in my high tin alloy. When seated to the crimp groove it is into the rifling, and shorter than max magazine length. I haven't had a chance to shoot any of them yet though. I can vouch for the quality of his molds and usually very quick service. I had my mold two days after I ordered from his website. You can specify the band and nose diameter you want the bullet to cast at, and you have a choice of aluminum or brass.

[Mark Daiute]

go to castboolits.com, check out NOE's 311284. This cast projectile weighs in at more than 200 grains (219 IIRC) and was designed for the Krag and can be very accurate. Heck, I'd even lube and size some for you so you can try them. Are you new to re-loading with cast?

Problem is, my sizing dies jump from .309 to .311. Actually it's .312, right now I'm waiting for the .311 die to show up. it should be here in the mail any day now.

Best from Maine,

Mark

[jon_norstog]

Digger,

If you are going deer hunting you might consider using the softest lead that will shoot OK out your rifle, or maybe a hollow point. My guess is a hard-cast 220 would shoot right through a deer without expanding. One way to find out I guess ...


Good luck!

jn

[gnoahhh]

Yep, I learned that lesson the hard way about 40 years ago. The hard cast 311284 out of a Krag zipped through that deer like nobody's business, leaving a wound channel that looked like it was applied by poking a shish kabob skewer through it. That poor deer died hard. It was my first real lesson regarding softening up the hunting alloy. I have since made a file trim die that I use to apply a flat nose to that bullet (45 years and counting with the same old mold!) that aids expansion too, and only loses about 5 grains weight. Luckily my old Ideal mold throws a bullet that's a bit large in nose diameter, so it has served me well in a a few Krags over the years.

[DiGGer]

thank you guys! I am in fact new to reloading cast lead. I better read up on it it sounds like.

[Parashooter]

You'll probably experience better results, for both accuracy and expansion, with a nice jacketed bullet of about 170 grains. The flat-nose bullets designed for the .30/30 have a good reputation for terminal performance when driven to about 2300 fps from a Krag.

Getting cast bullets to group well from a rough bore can be a frustrating exercise for even an experienced specialist. If you're determined to go this route, Ed Harris's advice below may help.

". . . The secret in getting a worn bore to shoot
acceptably is remove all prior fouling and corrosion. Then you
must continue to clean the bore "thoroughly and often" until it
maintains a consistent bore condition over the long term. You
must also keep cast bullet loads under 1800 f.p.s. for hunting,
and under 1600 for target work.

A cleaned and restored bore will usually give good accuracy with
cast bullet loads if the bullet fits the chamber THROAT properly,
is well lubricated and the velocities are kept below 1800 f.p.s.
The distinction between throat diameter and groove diameter in
determining proper bullet size is important. If you are unable
to determine throat diameter from a chamber cast, a rule of thumb
is to size bullets .002" over groove diameter, such as .310" for
a .30-'06, .312" for a 7.62x54R and .314" for a .303 British. . . "