303 british extractor?

[shjoe]

cruising ebay recently and noted a "krag 303 british extractor" for sale. I was unaware that there was such an item. couldn't find a mention in poyers book. were krags converted to 303 british? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Springfield-Armory-1898-Krag-303-British-Extractor-Bolt-Sleeve-MAY0718-39-14/263668199566. thanks, john

[Dick Hosmer]

Since the same guy offers a Krag .308 bolt body, it's a fairly safe bet that he is as full of s**t as a Christmas goose!

[Parashooter]

Looks like a simple case of seller ignorance. Note their additional listing of "Springfield Armory 1898 Krag .308 Bolt Body" showing a normal 1898 bolt. (Later - I see Mr. Hosmer posted similar advice while I was preparing mine. "Simulpost"!)

Most US Krags will feed .303 British ammo and a stout turn of the bolt will "re-form" the .303 case to fit the .30-40 chamber. Firing .303 would be problematic due to slightly larger bullet diameter and ~15% higher pressure than .30-40 standards. Image below has some .303 cartridges successfully chambered (NOT fired) in a US M1898 Krag.

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[shjoe]

great info parashooter and dick. I was thinking of getting a spare extractor. a would think that a 308 krag would be a single shot...

[Dick Hosmer]

I'm not sure why anyone would do that. The .30-40 can, without changing anything, be loaded SO close to (basic factory) .308 ballistics as to make any comparison meaningless.

[shjoe]

I am not sure why either, dick. 30-40 is an excellent hunting cartridge as is without having to push the envelope. if I ever needed anything heavier there is always my H&R buffalo classic in 45-70 or my eddystone 338-06. thank you for your insight. best, john

[Kragrifle]

What happens if you actually fire a 303 in a Krag???

[Dick Hosmer]

GUESSING, based on that story about the Krag which survived INCREDIBLE abuse with no locking lug - probably nothing, 99.9% of the time, but who wants to be the exception??

Thankfully, the ammo situation SEEMS to be getting better, if still a bit pricey. Cases which (segregated by rifle) do not require full-length resizing, are used for moderate loads, and which can be annealed if need be, will last a long time - certainly not "forever" but long enough to be a considerable economy, even at $1.50 (+/-) each, new.

[Ned Butts]

With the existence of over size bores you might find that SOME shoot quit well

[Dick Hosmer]

With the existence of over size bores you might find that SOME shoot quit well

True, but, I certainly wouldn't recommend it!!

Using .303 bullets, particularly cast ones, with light loads, in Krag cases, might not be too bad in a worn bore - but I believe the question envisioned a standard .303 service cartridge.

Of course, any such non-standard utilization should be approached VERY carefully.

[butlersrangers]

I've never owned a Krag with a terribly excessive bore diameter.

Most of my Krags have been model 1898 rifles and model 1899 carbines, with groove diameters running .3085" to .309".

A jacketed projectile, for .303 British, running .314" diameter (or .311" diameter), coupled with the heavier powder charge and pressure of .303 loads, as Dick Hosmer states is a needless risk.

[Sunray]

"....303 British, running .314" diameter..." That'd be an oversized, very close to worn out, barrel. The Brit uses a .311" bullet. There are no commercial .314" jacketed bullets either.
SAAMI Max pressure for .303 British is 49,000 PSI. CIP max is 53,000 PSI. MAP for the Krag is 400 CUP(no PSI figure).
In any case, like Dick says, I suspect the guy doesn't know what he's talking about.
The rim thickness and diameter on both is the same. No need for a different extractor.
Oh and no amount of bolt turning is going to form any case.

[Parashooter]

. . . SAAMI Max pressure for .303 British is 49,000 PSI. CIP max is 53,000 PSI. MAP for the Krag is 400 CUP(no PSI figure).
. . . Oh and no amount of bolt turning is going to form any case.
Horsefeathers! The Krag action has plenty of camming power to move the .303 shoulder back the ~.050" needed to form a nominal .303B case to fit a normal .30-40 chamber. How do I know? I've done it - and the results are shown in the photo posted at item #3 in this thread.

Pressure information below is copied from current SAAMI publication (MAP in CUP: 303B=45000, 30-40=40000). Comparing CUP (crusher) to PSI (transducer) figures introduces unnecessary confusion, particularly if one fails to multiply a SAAMI CUP table figure by 100 as indicated by the column header ("CUP/100").

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[madsenshooter]

I've done that too. I had a .311 groove diameter barrel on the Krag I used. They were 173gr Russian steel jacketed bullets from Wolf Military Classic .303 British Ammo, the stuff with the delay fire primers. In the end I wound up pulling the bullets, dropping the powder charge a couple grains, and loading them in Krag cases. They shot pretty good, I still have many of the loads. If someone starts importing Berdan primers again, I might have a use for the Bi-metal .303 cases one day.

[coastie]

Possibly you could have an "unbarreled" action.

[Dick Hosmer]

This category seems to have died - guess everyone's questions have answered.