What bullets to reload in a Krag

[Mickey Christian]

If I remember right there was a discussion a while back about various bullets feeding properly in a Krag but I don't remember the particulars. Will a 150 gr Spitzer feed in a Krag, or is it necessary to use round hose bullets? If I load 150 gr round nose can I expect the bullet to stabilize? The barrel is original and in exceptional condition.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Mickey

[Pentz]

Spitzers feed fine, I've run 150-180s through my 1896 with no problems. Mine also feeds cast lead 311299s, Lee 185s and 311644s. But some do not feed lead well. Spitzer lead bullets should feed fine, as long as they are fairly hard, Lyman #2/BRN 15 or higher.

[madsenshooter]

Some rifles feed the spitzer ok, some don't. Most of my 92/96 rifles will feed them, even a FMJ with a pretty good size meplat. And, I use 168gr match bullets for target work. Sometimes you have to play with the seating depth to get them to work. I started out with an OAL of 3.10" and by the time I got things feeding good enough that I wasn't afraid of a hangup during rapid fire, I was down to 3.07". All you can do is try spitzers for yourself. A 150gr roundnose would stabilize, it'd be quite overstabilized, but I've got some good results with bullets as short as a 123gr spitzer.

[psteinmayer]

I've used 165 and 180 grain spitzers in both of my Krags with no problems... and with great accuracy. The only problem I ever encountered was when I used smooth bullets with no cannelure for crimping. I found that an un-crimped bullet will push back into the case neck upon chambering, causing the case to become jammed in the chamber cockeyed. Once I started applying a light crimp (with a Lee Factory Crimp Die), I never had another problem. In my sporter, I still use the 165 grain bullets. This rifle doesn't have a cutoff (used to have a Redfield #102 rear sight on it), but that doesn't cause any problems either.

(Please note Bob... I didn't say Spritzers this time, LOL)

[Griff Murphey]

All if them will work with round nose. Not all will work with spitzers. You can change parts, fiddle with trying to mess with the feed ramp likely if it doesn't feed spitzers from the get go, you are not going to get it to do so.

Some people cut feed ramps into the chamber where the spitzer tips crash and jam on the flat at the end of the barrel. That works, but you are creating a potentially unsafe situation and certainly are greatly decreasing the value of the rifle.

Issue GI ammo was all round nose. Commercial is usually round or semi round nose.

I agree with Madsen the 168 BTHP SMK is great in the Krag, but be advised not all will feed them. Unfortunately the CMP COF involves rapid fire.

[madsenshooter]

You know Griff, I been doing a bit more study on the 7 o'clock nose dive, I think either a different side plate, or work on what you got would fix that. Back end of the rim needs to go out a bit I think. I've also noticed sideplates with different numbers on the tang, that weren't serial numbers or parts thereof, like the armorers had a certain number to try for a specific problem. Maybe someone who notices more of such intricacies can tell us more about that. The 92/96 I have that feed spitzers best was once very rusty. Someone cleaned it up and the inside of the plate is pretty thin and pitted, but it works best. It's an original 92 plate.

[psteinmayer]

Current commercial ammo from Remington and Winchester are both 180 gr spitzers. Chances are, if your Krag will feed Remington 180 gr Core Lokt ammo, it will feed spitzers just fine. If not, then you might just have to resign yourself to firing round nosed bullets, which the Krag was designed for and usually give great accuracy. I agree that modifications to the chamber for feeding issues can be dangerous... AND unnecessary.

A 150 gr FMJ bullet (such as from an M2 Ball round) is very close in length to a 168 or 180 gr spitzer bullet. I might just load up a few dummy cases with those for testing purposes and see how well my Krags handle them. I might even fire a few live rounds in my sporter as soon as the weather breaks!

[M2Phil]

I stick with 180gr Hornady RN. Shoots very well, with zero feed problems. No doubt about it, there are more accurate bullets. However they can't be THAT much better, at least not at my skill level. Using RN ensures reliability, and in a match that trumps slightly tighter groups.
Stay warm, everybody.

[psteinmayer]

These days, I shoot Hornady 220 gr RN in my 1898 for matches. Very accurate and also zero feed problems. The 220 gr RN bullet is what the Krag was actually designed for...

[Hatilight]

Don't use anything less than 180 gr.

As has already been posted, Krags were desinged to feed 220gr. RN bullets and doesn't do so well with spitzers and not good at all with bullets lighter than 180.

I tried some Speer 165gr. bullets in mine and they kept hanging up when feeding.

[psteinmayer]

Don't use anything less than 180 gr.

I tried some Speer 165gr. bullets in mine and they kept hanging up when feeding.

Well, fortunately, not all Krags suffer from feed problems. Both of mine feed spitzers just fine. I normally shoot Hornady 165 gr spitzer bullets in my sporter with great results. I know of many who shoot 150 gr and even down to 110 gr spitzer bullets. Madsenshooter shoots 135 gr spitzers in his Krag at Camp Perry, and doesn't have any problems in the rapid fire phase. The bottom line is: if you can cycle Remington Core-Lokt bullets, you should be able to shoot pointed bullets with little or no problems.