Where would one find ammo?

[gnoahhh]

Yep. Just anneal the necks and go with neck sizing for as long as you can get away with it.

[Darreld Walton]

Geeze, I'm glad that I bought the heck out of it back in 1999 when I got my first carbine!! People then looked at me like I was insane pushing 300 rounds of new WW brass in those spiffy white 20 rd boxes across the counter. Hadn't heard about making it out of 303. I DO occasionally run across ammunition once in awhile, but haven't bought any because of what I already have on the shelf.

[psteinmayer]

Wish I had some of the 300... I consider the WW brass to be the best out there! Oh how I wish that Winchester would start producing it again...

[19coupe55]

I have tried to contact Starline a couple of times an asked why they don't make 30-40 brass! Never had an answer from them. Anybody have an educated guess why they don't produce some?

[JimF]

I have tried to contact Starline a couple of times an asked why they don't make 30-40 brass! Never had an answer from them. Anybody have an educated guess why they don't produce some?

My "educated guess" is . . . .

There are only a relative FEW of us old. grey-beards that are interested in the old "wood-and-steel" rifles!

Now, if some company was to make a "black, plastic, laser-sighted, AR-platform" rifle, chambered in 30-40 Krag . . . . .

[psteinmayer]

FWIW, I wrote Prvi Partizan last week asking them to consider making Krag brass. No reply as of yet!

[5MadFarmers]

My "educated guess" is . . . .

There are only a relative FEW of us old. grey-beards that are interested in the old "wood-and-steel" rifles!

Correct. Which is why ammunition isn't as hard to acquire as people imply.

Local auctioneers often have "sportsman" auctions. That is where the old ammunition is to be found. With fewer and fewer people interested in the Krags you can normally take full boxes from those auctions for not much money. Over the last decade I've taken enough that way to fill ammunition can after can. If you're concerned that it was reloaded knock it down and reload it.

If you live in an area which doesn't have those auctions then troll the online sites which cater to them: Auctionzip and Proxibid.



Auctions without an online buyer's option are better as it's local competition only. Yesterday I was at an auction where the first 100 lots were old ammunition. Those weren't available online as they didn't want the pain of selling it to people not at the auction. After those lots were gone it was guns which were available online. I had two auctions to choose from with the other having an incredibly amount of ammunition but it was a further drive.

It's out there. Auctions.

The last "new" box of Krag cartridges I saw was in 2013 in a Gander Mountain in Utah. I bought exactly one box as I already have more than I'll shoot.

[CJCulpeper]

I know of four boxes of Remington Krag ammo at hole in the wall gun shops. I asked the latest one last week if he had any Krag ammo and he opened a glass front cabinet door and pulled out a box. I could see that he had three boxes. I didn't want to buy all three nor did he suggest it.


Here is my intel report for you new guys without ammo. One shop is near New Philadephia, Ohio and had two boxes for sale as of a month ago and the one mentioned above is near Westminster Mayland. If you are near those places shoot me a pm and I'll tell you the names and contact info.

Getting off both of the Inter-State and Internet super highways has sevred me well. Plus I get to see some of America while doing it.

[psteinmayer]

For what it's worth... I wrote Prvi Partizan last week asking them to consider making 30-40 brass. I got this reply last night:

Dear Mr.,

Thank you for contacting our company, and also for your suggestions.

We would like to inform you that we will not manufacture 30/40 Krag, in the future, but we will consider your opinion in our development plan.

Best regards
PPU Team
Prvi Partizan A.D.

Has anyone contacted Starline yet? I understand they are now making bottleneck cases (308 Win/7.62x51mm)

[Dick Hosmer]

There seems to be a little language/semantics/translation issue there, unless they were just being polite and a trifle condescending. Anyway, they clearly aren't going to do it NOW. Still cannot see why they won't, if they make .303B. Wonder if they ever thought about making a generic, partly formed case that could be sized and trimmed by the user, ala some of the BELL basic cases?

[PhillipM]

School me on a Bell basic case, please.

[Dick Hosmer]

BELL = Brass Extrusion Laboratories Limited, I believe. They may be out of business.

They made (amongst more mundane items) some "basic" extra-long cases which could be necked and trimmed for, as an example, the numerous Sharps and oddball Winchester, Marlin, etc. calibers. I was thinking of a too-long .303B case, with perhaps a generic shoulder, which, given the proper dies and a trimmer, or by fire-forming, could possible serve both .30-40 and .303 British (and perhaps some others) reloaders. I am NOT looking at comparison data as I type this. Perhaps it would not be feasible.

[madsenshooter]

Well, I've been saving this tidbit until I got some myself, but now that we're talking basic cases and such, PRVI makes an extended .303 blank that would blow out to beyond Krag length. I got some people pulling their chain about getting some pulled from production, before they're primed, loaded and final formed. Unlike US made blanks, PRVI assured me they use the same brass for the blanks that they use for loaded ammo. The blanks are out there now, I'm not pointing you to the best price! As discussed on the KCA forum, you can close the bolt of a Krag on .303 brass with a bit of extra effort. This blank is all the more reason PRVI would have no problem making 30-40. If you buy them all up before I get a chance to get some, I'm not going to be pleased with y'all!

[psteinmayer]

I wrote Starline this morning:

Good Morning,

I am a long time shooter and reloader. I load for many different cartridges, and I use Starline for many of them, but there is one that is now almost impossible to find anymore - the venerable 30-40 Krag (formerly known as .30 Army or .30 USA). This round has existed for more than 120 years, and is still very much in demand. There are hundreds of people shooting this cartridge on a regular basis, including hunters, match shooters, and recreational shooters. I, along with dozens more compete with our original Krag rifles in registered Vintage Rifle Matches throughout the year. Presently, only Remington makes live ammo, and only on a very limited seasonal basis… and no one is making brass for sale. However, there is an enormous (and rapidly growing) demand for the cases.

Is there a possibility that Starline start producing 30-40 Krag brass for bulk sale? If so, this could be quite profitable as there are hundreds of shooters looking for it (I’d be good for several hundred rounds worth myself).

Thank you so very much for your time on this matter.

Very respectfully and with warm regards,
Paul Steinmayer

Let's see if they respond...

[psteinmayer]

Encouraging news!

I wrote to Colorado Custom Cartridges. LLC a couple days ago and received a nice letter from them.

My letter:
Hello, I am a long time shooter and I dabble in a large array of different guns, mostly antique military rifles. I shoot in several classes of military rifle matches, culminating in the National Rifle Matches at Camp Perry every year. Of all the weapons I shoot, my favorite by far… and the hardest to obtain viable ammo/components for… is the venerable US Krag Jorgensen rifle. The 30-40 Krag round (formerly known as .30 Army or .30 USA) has existed for more than 120 years, and is still very much in demand. There are hundreds of people shooting this cartridge on a regular basis, including hunters, match shooters, and recreational shooters. Presently, only Remington makes live ammo, and only on a very limited seasonal basis… and no one is making brass for sale. However, there is an enormous (and rapidly growing) demand for live ammo and brass cases. The case dimensions for 30-40 Krag are almost identical to that of the .303 British round, with the same rim and case size, and with a slightly longer neck and a shoulder that sits slightly further back.

Is there a possibility that the Colorado Custom Cartridge Company add 30-40 Krag to your already impressive list of calibers? I can state without hesitation that you would be rewarded with a very large demand for this product. If you didn’t want to produce live ammo, then simply producing the brass would be very profitable! Thank you so very much for your time on this matter. Very respectfully and with warm regards

Here's the response I received yesterday:
Hi Paul,

Been many years since I shot at Perry. Good memories for sure. Your correct the brass for the Krag has all but dried up. There seems to be always a couple guys on gun broker that think
the brass is gold and are skinning people. WE do not play that game. I can make krag brass from either .405 Win. It's dimensionally super close. Another caliber is the .303 British. It's is
functional and depending on the chamber, may be useable a few time (reloaded) after fire forming. The .405 makes a great case BUT!! has several more steps to make it "correct". This means
neck turning and correct sizing. Both calibers of brass are readily available.

We do load for several match shooters using a variety of calibers. Depending on the degree of accuracy you are in search of we can go either way as brass. Remington will "some day"
run this again and there is rumors that an importer is making noise of making this caliber also. Are you shooting .308 or .309 diameter bullets? Another point of interest is that the .303 British
reformed case is short! 2.215 in comparison to the Krags 2.3142 Having not shot this short case myself, reports are that they worked fine. I would choose to test some before ordering a quantity
of ammo.

Let me know your thoughts. We are always up for a good challenge and "match ammunition" in this caliber is way over due.

Regards

Looks like there is hope!